Agenda Packet 10-15-18 Work Session

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JARRETT WALKER + ASSOCIATES 1 I NT R O D u CT I ON AN D S u MM A R y | 8Existing Conditions and Choices ReportLane Transit District How do LTD’s services perform? Key Findings The following is a selection of the most important findings of this Choices Report: • Most people can access an LTD bus route within a short walk, but few have access to frequent service. As a result, public transit is not a viable transit option for many people, even though it reaches nearly everyone in the Eugene/Springfield metro area within a half-mile. • The usefulness of LTD’s transit network depends a lot on your location. People who live or work near more frequent services can use transit to reach far more places in the same amount of time than people elsewhere. Because of its frequency and speed, the EmX provides more benefit than any other LTD bus route. When transit is more useful to reach places quickly, it is a more viable alternative to driving. • Ridership responds strongly to frequency. Transit’s usefulness is strongly correlated to how often the bus comes. LTD’s more fre- quent routes attract more riders per hour of service than routes that operate every 30 minutes or less often. And system ridership is much lower in the evenings and weekends, when most routes operate only every 60 minutes, and some routes don’t operate at all. • Most of LTD’s network is centered around timed connections that take place every 30 minutes at Eugene Station. This timed connection provides significant benefit to riders on less frequent routes, allowing them to travel across town without long waits for a transfer. But it doesn’t fix the long wait at the bus stop (or knowl- edge of the schedule) required in the first place. • Quality of service on LTD’s more frequent routes is negatively impacted by the desire to make timed connections. Frequent routes are useful in part because riders know they can show up anytime, and the bus will come shortly. Requiring frequent routes to make timed connections requires scheduling uneven waits or holding buses for several minutes at transfer locations. Added time waiting at a bus stop (or while a bus holds) makes frequent transit a less viable alternative to driving than it otherwise might be. • LTD has made significant investments in infrastructure on selected corridors. These investments support frequent service, and improve the pedestrian and cycling environment. Development of EmX and its Gateway and West Eugene extensions served as the catalyst for improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities How do we measure LTD’s performance? Many different measures provide insights into the effectiveness and effi- ciency of LTD’s services. But LTD’s performance as a transit agency isn’t just a function of its services. Factors outside the agency’s control also have a direct bearing on the likely performance of any public transit. Transit Tomorrow starts with this Choices Report, which examines how LTD is performing through a comprehensive lens. In this report: • Chapter 2: How Transit Works explains what makes transit service valuable, and how land use, neighborhood design and street design contribute to how useful a bus network can be. • Chapter 3: Market and Needs Assessment describes how the location of population, jobs, and universities in the Eugene/ Springfield area influence the demand for transit service. • Chapter 4: The Fixed-Route Network is a detailed look at LTD’s existing network. This includes facts, analysis and discussion on topics like the following: »How LTD’s bus routes combine to form a network, and the ways in which different routes complement and conflict each other. »How well the existing network does (or doesn’t) facilitate access to jobs and opportunity. »The relationship between ridership and service levels and how that has changed over time. »How ongoing changes in revenues and service costs are influenc- ing the amount and types of service LTD can provide. • Chapter 5: Demand Responsive Services describes how LTD’s unique RideSource model combines ADA-required paratransit with medical and human services transportation, and how that is benefi- cial to riders, to the agency and to the general public. • Chapter 6: Travel Options (Point2point) describes LTD’s regional travel options program, how its activities interact with transit and the overall transportation system, and opportunities to further increase its reach. near transit stops. This is also reflected in the ongoing MovingAhead and Main/McVay studies defining the types of infrastructure that would best support frequent transit service in other corridors. • The university of Oregon is the largest single source of transit ridership in the region. At least 17% of all LTD weekday trips start or end within one block of UO. The vast majority of these (74%) take place on EmX. • Ridership on most LTD routes is down 20% since 2011, but ridership on EmX is up 35%. Ridership losses have been especially significant (-50%) on the 70- and 80-series routes that are specifically geared to providing service to UO and LCC. • The amount of service LTD provides is vulnerable to increas- ing costs and swings in the economy. Most of LTD’s revenue comes from a local payroll tax; this is significantly and immediately impacted during recessions. Furthermore, the cost of providing service has increased much faster than inflation in recent years. • LTD’s RideSource program provides both all-purpose ADA paratransit and externally funded non-emergency medical transportation. This reduces the amount of local public funds required for paratransit, while increasing the total amount of transportation provided to special-needs populations. The whole community benefits, as funds that would otherwise be neces- sary for paratransit are instead available for fixed route service that is available to the general public. In many other communities, a signifi- cant portion of trips taken on paratransit are medical in nature, but are paid for by the transit agency’s general funds. • The Point2point travel options program leverages LTD’s invest- ments in service and infrastructure, by ensuring that more people are aware of the different travel options available to them. Point2point’s emphasis extends beyond transit to cover events and information campaigns that promote walking, cycling, carpooling and vanpools. October 15, 2018, Work Session – Item 2