SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT SamTrans Youth Mobility Plan FINAL AUGUST 2, 2017 YOUTH MOBILITY PLAN SamTrans TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .....................................................................................6 Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 7 1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 14 Purpose of Youth Mobility Plan ..................................................................14 SamTrans Bus Services and Service Area ....................................................15 Regional Context .......................................................................................18 Study Contents ..........................................................................................25 2 Existing Conditions ................................................................................ 26 Youth Demographics .................................................................................26 Schools in San Mateo County .....................................................................28 Population and School Enrollment Projections ............................................29 SamTrans Youth Transit Services and Fares ...............................................32 Other School Transportation Services ........................................................38 3 Trends in Youth Travel............................................................................ 40 Travel Behavior of American Youth ............................................................40 Setting the Stage for Adult Transit Use ......................................................40 Technology and Choice .............................................................................42 San Mateo County Trends ..........................................................................42 4 Outreach and Surveying .......................................................................... 55 Youth Focus Groups ..................................................................................55 Parent Questionnaire .................................................................................62 Other Outreach and Survey Efforts .............................................................67 5 Potential Youth Initiatives ....................................................................... 71 SamTrans Organizational Improvements ....................................................71 Fare Options ..............................................................................................74 Marketing and Technology ........................................................................80 Bus Operational Improvements ..................................................................83 6 Initiative Screening and Outcomes ........................................................... 87 Screening Criteria ......................................................................................87 Screening Outcomes ..................................................................................90 Cost/Benefit Analysis ................................................................................92 7 Recommendations and Phasing ............................................................... 95 Advancing to Implementation ....................................................................95 Phased Approach to Implementation .........................................................99 1 YOUTH MOBILITY PLAN SamTrans Interrelation of Initiatives.........................................................................103 Measuring Initiative Effectiveness ............................................................104 8 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 105 9 Appendices .......................................................................................... 109 2 YOUTH MOBILITY PLAN SamTrans FIGURES Figure 1: Youth Ridership Frequency ..................................................................8 Figure 2: Fare Payment on School-Related Routes by County Area .....................9 Figure 3: SamTrans Bus Route Map (San Mateo County) ....................................16 Figure 4: SamTrans Bus Route Map (Downtown San Francisco Service) ..............17 Figure 5: Under 18 Population Densities, San Mateo County .............................19 Figure 6: Median Household Income by Census Tract, San Mateo County .........20 Figure 7: Percent of Students Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Meals during the 2014-2015 school year, San Mateo County...................21 Figure 8: Zero-car Households by Census Tract, San Mateo County .................23 Figure 9: Minority Population by Census Tract, San Mateo County ....................24 Figure 10: San Mateo County Youth Population by Age Group ..........................26 Figure 11: Language Spoken at Home by Youth SamTrans Passengers .............27 Figure 12: Ethnic Background of SamTrans Passengers ....................................27 Figure 13: Historic and Projected Population of 12 to 14 Year-Olds in San Mateo County ................................................................................29 Figure 14: Historic and Projected Population of 15 to 18 Year-Olds in San Mateo County ................................................................................30 Figure 15: Historic and Projected Population of 19 to 24 Year-Olds in San Mateo County ................................................................................30 Figure 16: Historic and Projected Public School Enrollment in San Mateo County ...........................................................................................31 Figure 17: Youth Ridership Frequency ..............................................................43 Figure 18: Youth Trip Purposes ........................................................................45 Figure 19: Youth Ridership and Fare Payment Distribution by Month ................46 Figure 20: Youth Ridership on North County Regular Routes ............................48 Figure 21: Weekday Ridership (Averaged Over 12 Months) and Fare Payment Type on North County School-Related Routes ................................49 Figure 22: Weekday Ridership (Averaged Over 12 Months) and Fare Payment Type on Mid-County Routes ..........................................................50 Figure 23: Weekday Ridership (Averaged Over 12 Months) and Fare Payment Type on Mid-County School-Related Routes ..................................51 Figure 24: Weekday Ridership (Averaged Over 12 Months) and Fare Payment Type on South County Routes ........................................................52 3 YOUTH MOBILITY PLAN SamTrans Figure 25: Average Weekday Ridership (Averaged Over 12 Months) and Fare Payment Type on South County School-Related Routes ..................52 Figure 26: Fare Payment on School-Related Routes by County Area .................53 Figure 27: Total ECR Weekday Boardings per Month ........................................54 Figure 28: Weekday Split in Non-Clipper Youth Fare Payment on ECR in 2016 ..54 Figure 29: Focus Group Participants by Age .....................................................58 Figure 30: Type of School Attended by Children of Parent Questionnaire Participants ....................................................................................63 Figure 31: “How Did You Pay for Transit Last Semester?” from Half Moon Bay Respondents ..................................................................................69 Figure 32: “How Did You Pay for Transit Last Semester?” from South San Francisco Respondents ..................................................................70 Figure 33: Snapchat Spectacles ........................................................................97 TABLES Table 1: Potential Youth Mobility Initiatives ......................................................12 Table 2: Projections of Community College Enrollment in San Mateo County ....32 Table 3: Summary of School-Related SamTrans Routes ....................................33 Table 4: Summary of Routes Serving Community Colleges ...............................36 Table 5: SamTrans Fare Table ..........................................................................37 Table 6: Average Weekday Ridership by Summer Youth Pass Holders ...............47 Table 7: Youth Program Participants Invited to Participate in Outreach .............56 Table 8: Youth Mobility Plan Focus Groups .......................................................57 Table 9: Questionnaire Response Rates ............................................................64 Table 10: Evaluation Framework and Criteria ....................................................87 Table 11: Overall Scoring Scale ........................................................................88 Table 12: Scoring Scale: Resources Required ....................................................88 Table 13: Scoring Scale: Market Capture ..........................................................89 Table 14: Scoring Scale: Ease of Implementation ..............................................89 Table 15: Overall Scoring Thresholds ...............................................................90 Table 16: Screening Outcomes by Initiative ......................................................91 Table 17: Qualitative Cost/Benefit Analysis – Recommended