Transit Integration and Efficiencies Study Report Sonoma County Transportation Authority SONOMA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Transit Integration and Efficiency Study November 2019 Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | Transit Integration and Efficiencies Study Report Sonoma County Transportation Authority Table of Contents Page 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1 Process ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Implementation ........................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 7 3 Study Process ...................................................................................................................... 9 4 Analysis and Findings ...................................................................................................... 11 Governance and Coordination ............................................................................................................. 11 Finance ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 Physical Assets .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Technology Systems ................................................................................................................................. 26 Fixed Route Service ................................................................................................................................. 31 Paratransit ................................................................................................................................................. 43 Customer Experience ............................................................................................................................... 50 Customer Service and Marketing ......................................................................................................... 61 Labor Force ............................................................................................................................................... 66 5 Recommendations and Implementation ........................................................................... 72 Measuring Success ................................................................................................................................... 72 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 74 6 Conclusion and Next Steps ............................................................................................... 85 Appendix A: Existing Conditions Reports.………………………………………………………………………………………………….. A-1 Table of Figures Page Figure 1 Levels of Integration ................................................................................................................. 1 Figure 2 Phase 1 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................................................... 3 Figure 3 Phase 2 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................................................... 4 Figure 4 Phase 3 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................................................... 5 Figure 5 Phase 4 Strategies and Recommendations .......................................................................... 5 Figure 6 Bus Transit Network among Sonoma County-Based Providers ........................................ 8 Figure 7 Sonoma County Total Operating Expenditures by Year and Provider (in 1,000s) .. 16 Figure 8 Fixed Route and Paratransit Expenditures by Year and Provider ............................... 17 Figure 9 All Agencies’ Capital Revenues Estimate (2016-2024) .................................................. 18 Figure 10 All Agencies’ Capital Spending Forecast (FY 2016-2024) ........................................... 18 Figure 11 Fixed-Route Fleet Details by Agency ................................................................................. 21 Figure 12 Transit Facilities in Sonoma County ..................................................................................... 24 Figure 13 Maintenance Fleet Capacity, by Agency .......................................................................... 25 Figure 14 Potential Opportunities for Physical Asset Integration .................................................... 25 Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | i Transit Integration and Efficiencies Study Report Sonoma County Transportation Authority Figure 15 Technology Systems Comparison ......................................................................................... 27 Figure 16 Opportunities for Agency Integration ................................................................................ 30 Figure 17 Petaluma Area Fixed-Route Transit Network ................................................................... 33 Figure 18 Petaluma Transit Service Characteristics (span and average headway) ................... 33 Figure 19 Sonoma County Fixed-Route Transit in Core Population Area ...................................... 35 Figure 20 Sonoma County Transit Service Characteristics (span and average headway) ....... 35 Figure 21 Santa Rosa Area Fixed Route Transit Network ................................................................ 37 Figure 22 Santa Rosa CityBus Service Characteristics (span and average headway) .............. 38 Figure 23 Paratransit Operations and Policy Comparison ............................................................... 45 Figure 24 Paratransit Metrics.................................................................................................................. 45 Figure 25 Paratransit Operating Expenses ......................................................................................... 46 Figure 26 Sonoma County Transit Customer Overall Experience Rating ....................................... 53 Figure 27 How Often Customers Use Transit in Sonoma County ..................................................... 54 Figure 28 Smartphone and Internet availability ................................................................................. 55 Figure 29 Weekday Transfers Needed for Petaluma Transit and Santa Rosa CityBus Riders ........................................................................................................................................ 55 Figure 30 Sonoma County Transit Customers Transfers Needed to Reach Destination ............... 56 Figure 31 Fares across the Sonoma County Transit Agencies (Feb 2019) .................................... 57 Figure 32 Sonoma County Fare Zones .................................................................................................. 59 Figure 33 Fare Categories by Transit Agency .................................................................................... 60 Figure 34 Type of Fare Payment Used, by Agency .......................................................................... 60 Figure 35 Opportunities for Agency Integration ................................................................................ 61 Figure 36 Call Center Hours.................................................................................................................... 63 Figure 37 Social Media Presence among the Transit Agencies ....................................................... 65 Figure 38 Opportunities for Agency Integration ................................................................................ 65 Figure 39 Labor Force Summary ............................................................................................................ 67 Figure 40 Existing Transit Operator Staffing Levels .......................................................................... 69 Figure 41 Overhead Charges by Jurisdiction ..................................................................................... 70 Figure 42 Phase 1 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 74 Figure 43 Phase 2 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 78 Figure 44 Phase 3 Recommendations .................................................................................................... 81 Figure 45 Phase 4 Recommendation ..................................................................................................... 84 Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | ii Transit Integration and Efficiencies Study Report Sonoma County Transportation Authority Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | iii Transit Integration and Efficiency Study Sonoma County Transportation Authority 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study seeks to find opportunities to coordinate or integrate many aspects of providing transit service among the three