San Francisco Bay Ferry 2013 Passenger Study Draft Methodology Report Conducted by: Redhill Group January 21, 2014 - THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK - TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ i LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ iii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. iv PROJECT OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 1 COMMUNICATIONS SUMMARY ......................................................................... 1 FIELD SURVEY OPERATIONS COMMUNICATIONS ...................................... 1 PHONE SURVEY COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................ 2 DETAILED SAMPLING PLAN ............................................................................. 3 SURVEY INSTRUMENTS .................................................................................. 12 FIELD SURVEY ............................................................................................... 12 TELEPHONE SURVEY ................................................................................... 13 DATA COLLECTION: FIELD SURVEYS ........................................................... 15 RECRUITMENT .............................................................................................. 15 TRAINING ....................................................................................................... 16 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE ............................................................... 16 RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 17 DATA COLLECTION: PHONE SURVEYS ......................................................... 26 SURVEYOR RECRUITMENT ......................................................................... 26 TRAINING ....................................................................................................... 27 FILE RECEIPT AND LOADING ....................................................................... 28 SURVEY SCHEDULING ................................................................................. 28 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE ............................................................... 29 QUOTA TRACKING AND MANAGEMENT ..................................................... 37 DATA CLEANING AND WEIGHTING ................................................................ 38 DATA CLEANING AND FILE PREPARATION ................................................ 38 DATA WEIGHTING ......................................................................................... 39 i Redhill Group, Inc. (800) 333-0830 APPENDIX A: SURVEY ANNOUNCEMENT DOCUMENTS ............................. 43 APPENDIX B: FIELD SURVEY INSTRUMENT ................................................. 45 APPENDIX C: TELEPHONE SURVEY INSTRUMENT ...................................... 47 APPENDIX D: FIELD TRAINING MANUAL ....................................................... 49 ii Redhill Group, Inc. (800) 333-0830 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Sampling Plan – Weekday Boardings by Terminal Pair ............................ 5 Table 2: Sampling Plan – Weekend Boardings by Terminal Pair ............................ 6 Table 3: Ferry Expected Response Rates .............................................................. 7 Table 4: Weekday Field Sampling Targets by Terminal Pair and Daypart .............. 9 Table 5: Weekend Field Sampling Targets by Terminal Pair and Daypart ............ 10 Table 6: Weekday Field Sampling Target Summary by Time of Day .................... 11 Table 7: Weekend Field Sampling Target Summary by Time of Day .................... 11 Table 8: Field Survey Distribution and Refusals ................................................... 17 Table 9: Weekday Field Survey Results by Terminal Pair and Time of Day ......... 19 Table 10: Weekend Field Survey Results by Terminal Pair and Time of Day ....... 21 Table 11: Weekday Field Survey Results by Time of Day .................................... 22 Table 12: Weekend Field Survey Results by Time of Day .................................... 22 Table 13: Weekday Phone Survey Results by Terminal Pair ................................ 23 Table 14: Weekend Phone Survey Results by Terminal Pair ................................ 24 Table 15: Weekday Phone Survey Results by Time of Day .................................. 25 Table 16: Weekend Phone Survey Results by Time of Day .................................. 25 Table 17: Ferry Call Statistics ............................................................................... 28 Table 18: Weekday Weights ................................................................................. 40 Table 19: Weekend Weights ................................................................................. 41 iii Redhill Group, Inc. (800) 333-0830 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Field Surveyor Qualifications ................................................................. 15 Figure 2: Display WETA Surveyed Terminal Pair and Review the Region............ 31 Figure 3: Search Origin ......................................................................................... 32 Figure 4: Search Destination and Review Trip Region ......................................... 33 Figure 5: Boarding Search and Access Mode Time/Distance Logic Check .......... 34 Figure 6: Alighting Search and Egress Mode Time/Distance Logic Check ........... 35 Figure 7: Check Logical Progression of Spatial Data ............................................ 36 iv Redhill Group, Inc. (800) 333-0830 PROJECT OVERVIEW In the fall of 2013, Redhill Group conducted an origin-destination study for WETA (Water Emergency Transportation Authority / San Francisco Bay Ferry). This project was part of a larger Metropolitan Transit Commission initiative whose purpose is to compile travel behavior and demographic data for transit passengers in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are two primary goals of the effort. The first is to collect demographic data to assist with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act compliance for regional expenditures and to facilitate equity analysis. The second goal is to collect passenger travel pattern data to support the refinement of MTC partner agencies’ analytical tools and regional and county- level travel demand models. Each transit agency’s participation is voluntary and WETA is the tenth agency to participate. The project included the development of a sampling plan, onboard data collection of rider contact information, and subsequent telephone surveying using real-time trip mapping to provide fully valid and logical trip summaries that include GIS data for origin, destination, boarding, alighting, and transfer points. All project tasks were conducted by Redhill Group. Using a standard set of questions a telephone survey was used to collect GIS data, access and egress modes, and distance to and from the ferry terminal, fare media, discounts, traditional demographics and supplemental information to support Title VI reporting. The survey also included transit property-specific questions regarding fare usage, and six operator-specific questions as requested by WETA. This report constitutes the technical memorandum for WETA. COMMUNICATIONS SUMMARY FIELD SURVEY OPERATIONS COMMUNICATIONS Redhill Group coordinated with the WETA management team including Ernest Sanchez, Manager of Public Information and Marketing, and Kevin Connolly, Manager of Planning and Development, to initiate the survey process. Redhill Group originally met with Kevin Connolly in May of 2013 to review the: 1. Project goals, 2. Survey methodology and process, 3. Surveying time frame, 4. Sampling plan, 5. Coordination of ferry route specific times and schedules, 1 Redhill Group, Inc. (800) 333-0830 6. Fare media, 7. Custom questions, and 8. Surveying language to comply with Title VI, LEP requirements. Redhill Group reviewed the goals of the sampling frame for weekday and weekend service and subsequently worked with Kevin Connolly and Scout Houston to secure both ridership and operations information to facilitate the development of the final sampling plan. Based on geographic data of the service area, a decision was made to survey riders in English and Spanish. The surveying timeframe was originally set for the spring of 2013 but due to logistical issues was delayed until the fall. In August 2013, the revised field surveying time frame was scheduled for October but was later shifted to November 12th to November 18th because of the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) work stoppage. Redhill Group provided Mr. Sanchez with sample announcement information including a sample notice poster for drivers, a sample notice poster for patrons, and sample multimedia messages for Facebook, Twitter, electronic boards, the customer service center and onboard announcements. These documents are attached as Appendix A: Survey Announcement Documents. Redhill Group requested than an announcement be provided to all operations personnel so that they would be aware of the survey initiative. Redhill Group also provided a copy of a sample badge to WETA to help operations staff to easily identify field surveyors. Copies of the field survey in English and Spanish were provided to Mr. Sanchez for review. The field surveys were finalized and delivered to WETA on October