TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN FY 2012 - FY 2021 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-1 1.0 BACKGROUND AND UPDATE PROCESS 1-1 1.1 TDP Purpose 1-1 1.2 Current Update 1-1 2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS 2-1 2.1 Introduction 2-1 2.2 Demographics 2-1 2.3 Mission Statement 2-3 2.4 Transit Program 2-3 2.5 Current Initiatives Underway 2-7 2.6 TDP Work Effort 2-9 3.0 SITUATION APPRAISAL 3-1 3.1 Introduction 3-1 3.2 Issues 3-2 4.0 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 4-1 4.1 Introduction 4-1 4.2 Development Process 4-1 4.3 Goals and Objectives 4-3 5.0 VISION PLAN 5-1 5.1 Introduction 5-1 5.2 Development Process 5-1 5.3 Guiding Principles 5-5 5.4 Vision Plan Summary 5-6 5.5 Vision Plan Ridership Projections 5-11 5.6 Enhanced Transit Options 5-12 6.0 STATUS QUO PLAN 6-1 6.1 Introduction 6-1 6.2 Status Quo Plan Preparation 6-1 6.3 Status Quo Plan Summary 6-3 6.4 Operating Program 6-3 6.5 Capital Program 6-7 6.6 Initiatives to Address Gaps 6-10 7.0 ACTION PROGRAM 7-1 7.1 Introduction 7-1 7.2 Policies and Actions 7-1 7.3 Monitoring 7-13 Appendices Appendix A: Public Involvement Summary A-1 Appendix B: Overview of July and November 2011 Service Changes B-1 Appendix C: Farebox Recovery Maximization Report C-1 Appendix D: Existing Conditions D-1 Appendix E: Service Evaluation E-1 Appendix F: TBEST Methodology and Summary F-1 Appendix G: Vision Plan Financial Plan G-1 Appendix H: Financial Assumptions H-1 Appendix I: Status Quo Financial Plan I-1 Appendix J: Status Quo Plan Capital Program J-1 Appendix K: Summary of Plans and Projects K-1 Appendix L: Alternative Funding Sources L-1 Appendix M: Public Inventory Plan M-1 Appendix N: FDOT Matrix N-1 List of Tables, Figures, & Maps List of Tables Table 2-1: Population by Jurisdiction, Hillsborough County (2000-2010) 2-1 Table 2-2: 2011 HART Fare Structure 2-5 Table 3-1: Race and Ethnicity in Hillsborough County (2000-2010) 3-10 Table 3-2: Ad Valorem Revenues (FY 2007-2013) 3-25 Table 5-1: 2021 Operating Expenses, Revenue and Shortfall – Vision Plan 5-11 Table 5-2: 2021 Capital Expenses, Revenue and Shortfall – Vision Plan 5-11 Table 5-3: TBEST Ridership Projection Results* 5-12 Table 6-1: Comparison of Operating Costs to Revenues, 2012-2021 6-5 Table 6-2: Comparison of capital Needs to Revenues, 2012-2021 6-9 Table 6-3: Bus Replacement Program, 2012-2021 6-10 Table 7-1: Organizational Performance Goals 7-13 Table 7-2: Implementation Policies and Actions 7-14 List of Figures FIGURE 3.1: 5 Year Fixed Route Ridership Trends (FY 2006-2010) 3-3 FIGURE 3.2: 5 Year Fixed Route Service Trends (FY 2006-2010) 3-4 FIGURE 3.3: 5 Year Fixed Route Operating Expenses (FY 2006-2010) 3-4 FIGURE 3.4: 10 Year Fixed Route Ridership Trends (FY 2001-2010) 3-5 FIGURE 3.5: 10 Year Fixed Route Service Trends (FY 2001-2010) 3-5 FIGURE 3.6: 10 Year Fixed Route Operating Expenses (FY 2001-2010) 3-5 FIGURE 3.7: 5 Year Paratransit Ridership Trends (FY 2006-2010) 3-6 FIGURE 3.8: 5 Year Paratransit Service Trends (FY 2006-2010) 3-6 FIGURE 3.9: 5 Year Paratransit Operating Expenses (FY 2006-2010) 3-7 FIGURE 3.10: 10 Year Paratransit Ridership Trends (FY 2001-2010) 3-7 FIGURE 3.11: 10 Year Paratransit Service Trends (FY 2001-2010) 3-7 FIGURE 3.12: 10 Year Paratransit Operating Expense (FY 2001-2010) 3-8 List of Maps MAP 2-1: Study Area 2-2 MAP 3-1: Development Patterns 3-14 MAP 5-1: 2021 Vision Plan 5-8 MAP 6-1: July 2011 Transit Network 6-6 Transit Development Plan Update (2012-2021) Executive Summary The Transit Development Plan (TDP) is required of each transit agency receiving state funding from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The TDP assesses existing conditions and presents strategies and programs to meet the transportation needs of this community. The plan serves to guide the allocation of local, state and federal funds to where the funds are most needed. FDOT requires a major update of the TDP every five years. The previous major update was the FY2007 – FY2016 TDP. This year’s FY2012 – FY2021 TDP is a major update. Vision Plan The Vision Plan sets the goal for what HART aspires to achieve with its transit services over the next decade to meet Hillsborough County’s mobility needs if funding was not a constraining factor. While many of these services and projects are not affordable with existing funding resources, it does provide a framework for pursuing strategies to address the County’s mobility needs. The preparation of this year’s Vision Plan was informed by several guiding principles. These were developed based both on technical analysis and public input. The technical analysis identified the service improvements needed today as well as those needed to accommodate growth projected over the next 10 years. Public input on service needs and funding issues was drawn from the extensive outreach undertaken as part of developing last year’s Rapid Transit Investment Plan (RTIP), recent outreach for service and capital initiatives as well as additional outreach conducted for the TDP update. The guiding principles are as follows Service on existing routes should be enhanced to make the service more attractive, be competitive with the automobile, and address future growth needs New service should be provided to areas not currently served ES-1 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Transit Development Plan Update (2012-2021) A variety of service types is needed to serve the different development patterns in the county, including local and express bus, flex routes, circulators, and paratransit service for persons with disabilities Connections to other counties are important, although enhanced dedicated funding for these services is critical Continued improvements are needed to enable all passengers, including those with mobility limitations, to access fixed route bus stops, including bus stop landing pads, sidewalk connections, and safe intersection crossings To make the service more attractive to those with other travel options, new technologies are important, including fareboxes that accept credit and debit cards, enhanced customer information, as well as transit signal priority at intersections Despite some support for high-capacity services such as light rail, the current focus should be on less costly services, such as enhanced bus service, bus rapid transit, and express bus service using dedicated lanes Funding is a major issue that must be addressed carefully given the widely opposing views on the issue The Vision Plan developed using these guiding principles is a bus-oriented plan, as presented in Map ES-1. The light rail service included in last year’s Rapid Transit Investment Plan (RTIP) has been set aside because the high cost associated with light rail implementation is not assumed to be affordable within the next ten-year period. Efforts to pursue enhanced transit options to better serve the community needs, however, are an important element of the plan. The plan builds upon the agency’s recent success. Ridership, which is at an all-time high, has been enhanced through recent service initiatives directing service to the highest productivity needs. Expanded service on existing routes, new routes and services to other areas, and supporting capital projects are key elements to better serve the needs of existing passengers who rely on the service, and to make the service more attractive and easier to use for new passengers. ES-2 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Development Plan Update (2012-2021) MAP ES-1 VISION PLAN ES-3 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Transit Development Plan Update (2012-2021) The plan includes the following elements More service on existing routes - increased frequency, late-night, weekend New routes serving parts of the County presently not served o Local and express routes o Flex routes o Circulators in major activity centers Paratransit service for disabled passengers at the same time and to the same locations as the local service MetroRapid service on major travel corridors, including SR 60 to Brandon, Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Dale Mabry Highway, Kennedy Boulevard Regional connections – additional service to connect to service provided by Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) and Pasco County Public Transportation (PCPT) in neighboring counties Supporting capital projects o Bus acquisition for new service o Improvements to maintain the fleet, facilities and infrastructure in a good state of repair o Park and ride lots o Technology to make it easier to use transit and enhance service reliability o Accessibility improvements at bus stops and facilities o Energy and environmental initiatives, including Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) facility and supporting maintenance modifications Enhanced service options – higher capacity transit service that is fast, provides a direct connection to key destinations and is easy to use o Potential options include buses operating on high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) or high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes Projected operating costs with full implementation of the services in the Vision Plan in FY2021 are estimated at $136.4 million, with ten-year capital costs estimated at $421.8 million. ES-4 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Development Plan Update (2012-2021) Ridership projections for services in the Vision Plan show a 70 percent increase in average daily ridership compared to future ridership with the existing services.