I-89 Commuter Transit Service Feasibility Study FINAL REPORT Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission April 2017 I-89 Commuter Transit Service Feasibility Study AECOM Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 2. Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 1 3. Previous Studies .......................................................................................................................................... 1 4. Existing Transit Services .............................................................................................................................. 3 4.1 Local Bus Transit ............................................................................................................................... 3 4.2 Commuter Bus Transit ....................................................................................................................... 5 4.3 Intercity Transit .................................................................................................................................. 6 4.4 Rideshare Services ........................................................................................................................... 6 4.5 Park-and-Ride Lots ............................................................................................................................ 7 5. Market Conditions ........................................................................................................................................ 8 5.1 Demographics and Socioeconomics ................................................................................................... 8 5.2 Employment .................................................................................................................................... 12 5.3 Future Growth and Development...................................................................................................... 20 6. Peer System Review .................................................................................................................................. 20 6.1 Description of Peer Systems ............................................................................................................ 20 6.2 Stops and Stations ........................................................................................................................... 24 6.3 Operations ...................................................................................................................................... 24 6.4 Fares .............................................................................................................................................. 25 6.5 Funding ........................................................................................................................................... 26 6.6 Technology ...................................................................................................................................... 27 6.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 28 7. Public Outreach ......................................................................................................................................... 28 7.1 Pubic Drop-in Sessions.................................................................................................................... 29 7.2 Surveys ........................................................................................................................................... 33 7.3 Public Outreach Summary ............................................................................................................... 34 8. Development of Alternatives ....................................................................................................................... 35 8.1 Alternative Characteristics for All Alternatives ................................................................................... 36 8.2 Alternative 1 .................................................................................................................................... 45 8.3 Alternative 2 .................................................................................................................................... 49 8.4 Alternative 3 .................................................................................................................................... 53 8.5 Alternative 4 .................................................................................................................................... 57 8.6 Alternative 5 .................................................................................................................................... 61 8.7 Alternatives Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 65 9. Preferred Alternative .................................................................................................................................. 67 9.1 Selection of a Preferred Alternative .................................................................................................. 67 9.2 Potential Phasing of Implementation ................................................................................................ 67 9.3 Operating and Capital Plans for Core Service ................................................................................... 68 10. Funding Strategies ..................................................................................................................................... 70 10.1 Funding Overview............................................................................................................................ 70 10.2 Federal Funding Options ................................................................................................................. 71 10.3 Innovative Funding Options.............................................................................................................. 74 Appendix A: Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix B: Survey Responses by Question ......................................................................................................... 79 Appendix C: Demand Calculations by Alternative ................................................................................................. 100 Appendix D: National Review of Innovative Funding Strategies ............................................................................ 106 i | P a g e I-89 Commuter Transit Service Feasibility Study AECOM List of Tables Table 1: Previous Studies ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Table 2: Advance Transit Route Operating Characteristics ........................................................................................ 3 Table 3: AT Vehicle Fleet ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Table 4: Park-and-Ride Lots .................................................................................................................................... 7 Table 5: Population by Community........................................................................................................................... 8 Table 6: Major Employers in the Study Area ........................................................................................................... 17 Table 7: Means of Transportation to Work (#) by Community .................................................................................. 19 Table 8: Means of Transportation to Work (%) by Community ................................................................................. 19 Table 9: Peer Systems .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Table 10: Peer Route Characteristics ..................................................................................................................... 24 Table 11: Peer Stop Statistics ................................................................................................................................ 24 Table 12: Peer Operating Characteristics ............................................................................................................... 25 Table 13: Peer Fare Structure ................................................................................................................................ 26 Table 14: Peer Pass Structure ............................................................................................................................... 26 Table 15: Peer Technology Comparison ................................................................................................................. 27 Table 16: Summary of Public Outreach .................................................................................................................. 29 Table 17: Summary