South Lake Tahoe/BlueGO 2010 Short Range Transit Plan Final Prepared for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Prepared by LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANTS, INC. South Lake Tahoe/BlueGO 2010 Short Range Transit Plan FINAL Prepared for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency 128 Market Street P.O. Box 5310 Stateline, Nevada 89449 775 588-4547 Prepared by LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. 2690 Lake Forest Road, Suite C P.O. Box 5875 Tahoe City, California 96145 530 583-4053 December 21, 2010 LSC Ref. 097130 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 Introduction....................................................................................................................1 2 Study Area Characteristics...................................................................................................3 Study Area.....................................................................................................................3 South Lake Tahoe Background......................................................................................3 Population ......................................................................................................................6 Employment.................................................................................................................18 Commute Patterns........................................................................................................19 Economic Trends.........................................................................................................20 Planned and Potential Developments in the South Lake Tahoe Area .........................23 Review of Existing Plans and Policies.........................................................................24 3 Transportation Services.....................................................................................................31 BlueGO ........................................................................................................................31 Financial Characteristics..............................................................................................51 BlueGO Capital Assets................................................................................................54 Other Regional Transit Providers ................................................................................57 4 Transit Needs and Demand................................................................................................61 Transit Demand Summary ...........................................................................................61 Unmet Transit Needs...................................................................................................67 Key Person Interview Summary ..................................................................................69 5 Passenger Activity and On-Time Performance Analysis...................................................75 Introduction..................................................................................................................75 6 Service Plan .......................................................................................................................85 Transit Service Overall Strategy..................................................................................85 Service Plan .................................................................................................................86 Discussion of Compatibility of the SRTP with Regional Long Range Plans............103 7 Capital Plan......................................................................................................................105 US 50 Transit Priority Corridor .................................................................................105 Vehicle Purchases......................................................................................................107 Passenger Facilities and Amenities............................................................................111 Implement an Automatic Vehicle Location/Fleet Management/Passenger Information System..................................................................................................113 Recent Equipment Purchases and Needs ...................................................................114 Operations Facility Improvements.............................................................................114 8 Institutional, Management, and Marketing Plan..............................................................117 Institutional Strategies...............................................................................................117 South Lake Tahoe/BlueGO LSC Transportation Consultants, Inc. 2010 Short Range Transit Plan Page i Management Strategies..............................................................................................118 Service Performance Measures..................................................................................126 Marketing Strategies ..................................................................................................129 9 Financial Plan...................................................................................................................135 Financial Sources.......................................................................................................135 Capital Funding..........................................................................................................140 Fare Changes..............................................................................................................142 Financial Summary....................................................................................................143 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 2000 South Lake Tahoe Region Total Population and Characteristics by Block Group.......................................................................................................................7 2 Historical Population for City of South Lake Tahoe .........................................................12 3 Top 15 Employers in the South Tahoe Area......................................................................18 4 South Tahoe Area Employment, 2000...............................................................................19 5 South Tahoe Area Commute Pattern Data, 2008...............................................................20 6 Travel Mode of Work Trips in the South Tahoe Area.......................................................21 7 Hotel Room Nights Rented in South Tahoe Area..............................................................21 8 Hotel Rooms Rented in South Tahoe Area, 2009..............................................................22 9 Room Tax Collections for the South Lake Tahoe Area.....................................................22 10 Stateline Gaming Revenues...............................................................................................23 11 BlueGO Operating Data by Year.......................................................................................39 12 BlueGO Ridership January 2009 through April 2010 .......................................................40 13 Forecast BlueGO 2010/11 Service Characteristics............................................................42 14 BlueGO Seasonal Ridership 2009/2010 ............................................................................49 15 BlueGO Fares.....................................................................................................................50 16 BlueGO Revenues..............................................................................................................52 17 BlueGO Operating Expenditures and Cost Model.............................................................53 18 Active BlueGO Vehicle Fleet ............................................................................................55 19 BlueGO Transfer Centers and Bus Shelters Locations......................................................56 20 Amtrak Schedule to and from South Lake Tahoe..............................................................58 21 BlueGO Boarding and Alighting by Stop and Transit Zone..............................................76 22 BlueGO Ridership and Performance by Transit Zone.......................................................79 23 BlueGO On-Time Performance by Route..........................................................................82 24 BlueGO Year One Operating Plan.....................................................................................89 25 Triangle Plan Service Schedule .........................................................................................91 26 BlueGO Operating Subsidy Forecast.................................................................................92 27 BlueGO Annual Operating Budget Balance......................................................................93 28 BlueGO 2015 Scenarios Service Improvements................................................................95 29 Ridership Elasticity Impact Analysis.................................................................................96 30 BlueGO 2015 Service Plan – Base Scenario .....................................................................98 31 BlueGO 2015 Service Plan – Recovery Scenario............................................................104