transit choice

From bad to worse for RT finances

2009-07-23T19:58:54Z

What's Sacramento Regional Transit to do? There's just no good news. That at least is the conclusion to be drawn from the agenda package for Monday's board of director's meeting.

General Manger Mike Wiley tries to paint a rosy tint on his Key Performance Report to the board.

"Despite the economic challenges imposed by declining tax revenues and state budget cuts to public transit funding, the District's financial statistic report closing out fiscal year 2009 is positive ($6.6M*)," Wiley says.

Yes, but...

Take away the largess of the Obama administration and Congress' efforts to stimulate the economy -- $8 million more than RT had counted on in its budget -- and that $6.6 million evaporates. (Read the full Key Performance Report)

As it is, the preliminary year-end report for 2009 has the district less than $700,000 in the black.

The district management managed to save nearly $2.2 million by trimming expenses from the 2009 budget and the federal government tossed in nearly $7.5 million more than the budget anticipated, but that only slowed the hemorrhaging.

Despite rate hikes in January, fare revenues were down $4.25 million below the budgeted target. And then there was the $4.1 million loss of local sales tax revenue.

And now we learn that matters are getting worse.

The 2010 budget adopted last month was balanced in part with the promise that service would be cut in January enough to save another $1.1 million.

"Since the FY 2010 Operating Budget was adopted on June 22, 2009, economic conditions have worsened," RoseMary Covington, the assistant general manager for planning and transit system development, explains in an issue paper prepared for Monday's meeting.

"RT has been notified that the Sacramento Transportation Authority will reduce its FY 2010 sales tax based, Measure A, projection by 3%," Covington reports. "This will reduce expected RT revenue from this source by $932,000. In addition, SACOG staff has advised there will be a further reduction in RT's Local Transportation Fund (LTF) allocation of approximately $1.5 million, also due to the decline in expected sales tax revenue."

The district had hoped that recently adopted federal legislation allowing transit agencies to redirect 10 percent of their stimulus money to operating expenses would help, but that won't be enough.

"Current estimates indicate that in addition to the $1 million in January service cuts already factored into the FY 2010 Adopted Operating Budget, an additional $1.4 million must be found in order to re-balance the budget," Covington reports.

Covington anticipates that staff can back fill some of that $2.4 million shortfall with cost reductions, but at least $1.4 million in service reductions will still be necessary.

"Since January is half-way point of the fiscal year, in order to realize $1.4 million in savings, it is necessary to make service reductions amounting to $2.8 million on an annual basis," Covington explains.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with RT's efforts to cope with the economic downturn and the outright theft from the state, I suggest reading "Attachment 2" from Covington's report. "Sacramento Regional Transit District Actions To Meet State Budget Revenue Shortfalls" itemizes the more than 30 steps taken since 2008.

The question of which combination of route elimination, reduction and realignment will balance the budget will be the subject of discussion at Monday's meeting. Here's a link to the staff's preferred option.

"Based upon the public comments, further direction from the Board, and any changes to RT's funding situation, staff will return to the Board for final approval on August 24, 2009," Covington said.

The end of free at RT

2009-07-23T06:09:54Z

Seniors who are 75 or older or will be prior to Sept. 1, should hurry down to the RT service center at 13th and R streets and pick up their free lifetime pass. On Sept. 2, the free pass will be no more.

On Monday, staff will ask the board to approve a Super Senior Discount that will drop the monthly pass from $50, the price riders 62-74 pay, to $40. A good deal, but not free. (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/17598999/090727RTItem16SuperSeniorDiscount">Read the staff report.</a>)

And while we're on the topic of the end of free things, commuters who park at Watt/I-80, Watt West and the Roseville Road will have to pay $1 a day to park beginning next year if the staff manages to get its pilot program past the board. (<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/17599000/090727RTItem17parkingfee">Read the staff proposal.</a>)

Regional Transit General Manger Mike Wiley has been trying to collect parking fees since at least November of 2007. The board has resisted the idea of making people who drive to light rail stations pay to park.

In April, a proposal to start charging at all park-and-ride lots failed to get a majority vote, with the board splitting 50-50. Board member Lauren Hammond made sure she wasn't there to break the tie, and she since then she has expressed opposition to charging for parking in her end of the county.

So while Hammond joins forces with the board members representing suburban commuters, workers who commute in from Rosevile and beyond will donate $150,000 to help paper over the district's 2010 budget shortfall.

And this is only the minor items on the agenda for Monday's board meeting, which will include discussions of how the district will cope with a hole in the budget that has grown from $1 million to more than $2 million in the last month.

RT Key Performance -- Dismal

2009-06-24T06:52:13Z

On Monday evening, General Manager Mike Wiley volunteered to skip his monthly Key Performance Report to make time for the crowds who wanted to rail against proposed fare hikes and service cuts. He was most likely happy to avoid the onerous task of delivering still another report about declining ridership and fare income falling short of expectations.

In May, the district experienced a double-digit decline in system ridership, the second month in a row of negative growth. And for the second month in a row, fare revenue was under budget, which has exacerbated the district's financial situation.

The report Wiley wrote but didn't deliver at the meeting attempts to put a smiley face on May's bad news by pointing out that systemwide ridership remains up 4.74 percent higher than last year. Conveniently ignored is the fact that in April that same statistic was 7.15 percent and in March it was 8.51 percent. At this rate, it won't take long for this statistic to go negative.

April's total ridership was down 3.62 percent. May's total ridership dropped a whopping 15.2 percent, with bus ridership falling 13.3 percent and rail ridership declining 17 percent.

"Last year's escalated fuel prices helped boost RT's ridership significantly and this year, the impact of a higher [un]employment rate and furloughs are finally impacting transit ridership," Wiley said in the report.

But that drop in ridership and the impact furloughs have had on state worker buying patterns has exacerbated the district's budget troubles. Fare recovery in May was below the district's goal by 2.1 percent.

"In the month of May," Wiley said, "RT's fare revenue was under budget by $755,000."

This follows April's fare recovery shortfall of $596,000.

Wiley continues to say the district could still meet or exceed the district's annual fare revenue goal. But that may be just wishful thinking.

Fare increases will arrive in September. But will they, like the fare hikes that took effect in January, fall short of raising the amount of money the staff predicts?

Before RT has a chance to answer that question, the staff will be back before the board in July to discuss service reductions that would take effect in January.

Yes, getting to skip that report was a thin silver lining to a dark and stormy Monday night.

June 22 (May) Key Performance Report
June 8 (April) Key Performance Report
May 11 (March) Key Performance Report

RT fares up, service down as board balances budget

2009-06-23T07:49:02Z

Sacramento Regional Transit's board of directors tinkered around the edges of a staff-proposed solution to the district's budget mess, but in the end accepted that fares had to be increased and services reduced. Only directors Roger Dickinson and Steve Cohn balked.

In September, the basic fare will increase from $2.25 to $2.50 and the discount fare paid by students and seniors from $1.10 to $1.25. Gone will be the central city fare, the shuttle service fare and the discount shuttle service fare. Basically, there will be just two fares -- full and discount -- and you'll have to pay that fare each time you board a bus or light rail train. The 50 cent transfer fee (25 cents for students and seniors) will be no more.

The result of these changes could have the odd of effect of increasing ridership, or at least increasing the number of trips by the riders who don't just get back into their personal autos. That's because the daily pass, which will remain at its current $6, will become an instant bargain for anyone making a roundtrip that requires a transfer. Forced to buy a daily pass, you may decide to take advantage of the "free" ride for the rest of the day.

Where the board balked at the staff's proposal was on the topic of limiting Paratransit monthly passes and taking back the lifetime free ride granted to people over 75 years old.

The staff proposed both increasing the Paratransit monthly pass from $100 to $125 and limiting the number of rides that could be taken in the month to just 15 roundtrips. Nearly all of the people who came to address the board during the public hearing were concerned with Paratransit, and the biggest complaint was the limit on the number of rides that could be taken.

Early on in the hearing, the board members indicated it was unlikely they would go along with staff on that idea, or with the idea of taking away the "lifetime" free rides the district had granted to seniors over 75 years old, but the staff had made it clear that any change in the fare proposal had to be covered by reduction in service worth the same amount of money.

That led to some old-fashioned horse trading. Director Bonnie Pannell wanted to save weekend service for her district's No. 54 and 65 lines by instead cutting the No. 63 route in half. The 63 will now connect with light rail, and riders who used to ride the 63 to City College will take the train instead.

In order to protect existing "lifetime" riders, the board dedicated the remainder of the savings from the No. 63, cut the No. 83 from half-hour to hourly service and threw in the potential revenue from an as-yet-to-be-approved parking fee at Watt/I-80, Watt West and Roseville Road.

The idea of dumping the staff's proposal to limit use of Paratransit monthly passes proved easier to deal with when the staff admitted that the 30-ride limit didn't have an associated cash savings value. Therefore, nothing had to be cut to cover the change.

This is not the last that will be heard on this topic. In late July, the staff will be back with a second round of service cuts. The question of how much will depend on whether the budget outlook improves. One possible source of funding may come from the Iraq War funding bill. That bill, oddly enough, includes a provision that would allow transit districts to use as much as 10 percent of their stimulus funds (RT will receive $14 million) for operating expenses. General Manager Mike Wiley said that if the president signs the bill, the money could be a significant help.

Balancing RT -- fares vs. service cuts

2009-06-19T22:44:00Z

Sacramento Regional Transit's board will be asked Monday to decide whether to adopt a larger fare increase than originally proposed last month in order to accept a smaller reduction in bus service. But that won't be the end of the discussion. The staff has asked the board to hold a hearing next month to plan for the service cuts that will be necessary in January if the district's budget picture doesn't improve.

"Given the uncertainty and potential severity of January service changes, staff intends to notice all routes for elimination, so as to allow contingency planning with maximum flexibility," the staff report says.

RT had originally proposed to raise $1.8 million through fare increases and $2.2 million through service cuts to balance the 2010 budget. Monday, the board will consider $3.3 million in fare increases and just $700,000 in service cuts.

The basic fare will rise from $2.25 to $2.50 and the discount fare for students and the elderly to $1.25. The Paratransit single fare will increase to $5 and the monthly Paratransit pass to $125. More important, the monthly Paratransit pass will only be good for 30 trips.

The biggest hit will be taken by those people who rely on transfers. Today, if you must transfer from one bus to another to complete your trip or from a bus to a train, the transfer is an additional 50 cents. After Sept. 1, there will be no transfer discount. Each time you board a transit vehicle you will pay the full fare.

Some solace can be taken from the fact that RT is proposing to leave the daily pass fare at $6. Anyone who needs to board a vehicle three or more times in the course of a roundtrip will want to buy a daily pass.

The monthly passes and various stickers will remain at their current prices. The exception is the "Lifetime Pass" that allowed people 75 and older to ride free. That's gone. Those riders are back on the senior discount.

View PowerPoint to be shown at the board meeting

Read the full budget and fare issue paper

In exchange for this larger fare increase, the service reductions have been reduced from the original 36 lines to just 11.

* 5 - Meadowview-Valley Hi - Sundays/Holidays - Eliminate.
* 36 - Folsom - Weekdays - Decrease service frequency from 30 minutes to 60 minutes.
* 37 - Tahoe Park - 21st Avenue - Weekdays - Eliminate; Route 8 provides alternative service.
* 54 - Center Parkway - Saturdays - Eliminate; Route 56 provides alternative service.
* 65 - Franklin South - Saturdays - Eliminate.
* 73 - White Rock - Saturdays - Eliminate.
* 75 - Mather Field - Saturdays - Eliminate the 6:40 p.m. and 7:25 p.m. trips.
* 140 - Ziggurat - Downtown - Weekdays - Eliminate; Yolobus Route 40 provides alternative service.
* 141 - 3rd/16th Streets - Weekdays - Reduce to peak only service with 30-minute frequency.
* 142 - 9th/10th Streets - Weekdays - Reduce to peak only service with 30-minute frequency.
* 212 - 14th Avenue - 21st Avenue - Weekdays - Extend route south to serve segment of Route 37 from 21st Avenue and Bradford Drive, south on Bradford Drive, east on Vandenberg Drive, south on 79th Street, west on 39th Avenue, south on Wilkinson Street, west on Lemon Hill Avenue, and south on Logan Street to Stallings Drive

The board will also hear a proposal for a pilot program to test charging $1 a day for parking at light rail park and ride lots beginning in January. The unlucky guinea pigs will be customers of the Watt/I-80, Watt West and Roseville Roads stations. Security guards will be the primary enforcers. The pilot program will cost about $30,500 to implement. New stations could be brought into the program for $5,000 each. RT estimates that the Watt/I80, Watt West and Roseville Road lots could generate $300,993 in annual revenue. (Read the staff proposal)

The question of further service changes in January would come before the board July 27. While it is possible that a go, no-go decision by the board could be postponed until late September, the size and shape of the service reductions must be completed by Aug. 24 in order to accommodate preparing the schedule in September and driver bidding for routes in October.

Distasteful tasks: RT considers fare hikes, service cuts

2009-06-07T22:11:59Z

I'm not going to be attending Monday's Sacramento Regional Transit board meeting. At about 6 p.m. I'm going to be doing the work required prior to having a colonoscopy Tuesday morning. I'm not sure who will have the more distasteful job Monday evening, me or RT's staff.

General Manager Mike Wiley will report to the board that total ridership in April declined for the first time since last November. Ridership in April was down 3.62 percent compared with April of last year. The number of riders was also down when compared with March. The rolling year total -- May 2008 to April 2009 vs. May 2007 to April 2008 -- shows the district still 7.34 percent higher than the comparison 12 months.

Bus ridership in April was down for the third consecutive month, falling 2.29 percent in comparison with April 2008. The rolling year total shows bus ridership just 3.33 percent higher than the previous 12 months. Will these numbers fall of a cliff after September's service cuts?

While light rail ridership showed a slight increase from March to April, the total April ridership was 4.84 percent below the April 2008 total. The rolling year total shows light rail ridership up 11.57 percent.

More troubling, at least as far as budgeting for the coming year, is the fare recovery figures. While the district did 3 percent better in April, the 24.5 percent fare recovery was below the 26 percent goal for the year. The year-to-date rate is just 24.4 percent.

Wiley's April Key Performance Report puts the district operating revenue $4.2 million under budget. The fare revenue in April was $596,000 below budget targets and nearly $2.1 million below targets for the fiscal year. And fares are only part of the problem. The district budgeted $6.1 million in local subsidy funds -- i.e. sales tax revenue -- and received just 2.78 million. For the year, local subsidy funds are running $2.16 million below budget. The Total Fiscal Result: The district was $4.98 million in the hole as of April.

RT says the hole is too deep to fill by simply cutting expenses. As a result, some combination of services cuts and fare increases will be required.

On the agenda Monday will be the question of whether to set in motion a second fare increase this year. RT is proposing raising single fares by 25 cents to $2.50 and daily passes by 50 cents to $6.50. The "discount" fare would rise 15 cents to $1.25. RT is also considering either eliminating the free ride that people 75 years old and older receive or changing the qualification to 85 years old. RT would also either eliminate or increase the price of Paratransit monthly passes. Paratransit has suggested a third alternative: Limiting the total number of rides that the monthly pass would cover.

(See Fare Hike Proposal) (View Full Staff Report)

RT has said it wants to limit service cuts as much as possible, but Monday night will see the first hearing on cuts that would eliminate nearly 10 percent of bus service. Here's the preferred choice, still painful but limited to routes that have alternatives for current riders:

(See Option 4 Service Cuts) (View Staff Report)

These changes would go into effect Sept. 6. But if the 2010 fiscal year budget still looks like it isn't out of the red, RT will begin looking at something from this below list for implementation in January 2010: (View Options)

The art of pruning transit services

2009-05-30T03:16:07Z

On May 11, Sacramento Regional Transit's board of directors set in motion the machinery required to reduce service levels. The first look at what that machine has wrought will come Monday at the board's executive committee meeting.

The staff operate under ground rules established by the board back on Aug. 29, 2001. Bus routes have to meet certain criteria and those that fall below the standard are subject to remedial action.

Those rules worked well enough during service reductions mapped out in 2006 and 2008, but not this year.

"Using the 2001 Guidelines as the strategy for recommending reductions at this time would affect routes which currently maintain a relatively healthy ridership base, while preserving other routes that have low performance but are within their group averages," the staff explain in an issue paper. "This could leave some areas of higher ridership without access to service."

So instead of taking a chain saw and lopping off whole limbs from the tree of service, and perhaps threatening the tree's survival, the staff has set about with pruning sheers. It is deeply regrettable that any cuts are necessary, but clearly thoughtful pruning is to be preferred to the alternative.

The proposed service cuts have been split into two blocks. The first would take effect Sept. 6. The second in January. Whether the January cuts would be necessary would depend upon the state of the budget in September.

The staff's pruning has targeted for the first round of cuts those low-performing routes where alternative service is available. In addition, reducing service on routes rather than eliminating them and modifying routes to minimize the impact of changes are also guiding the pruning shears.

Even with the use of shears rather than chain saws, the preferred option would cut nearly 10 percent of bus service and displace roughly 40 drivers. An estimated 800,000 annual passengers would be affected.

Here's the proposal. Click to view image. Pay attention to the notes.

Eliminating the No. 9 community shuttle on Walnut Avenue in Carmichael and modifying the No. 82 to cover much of that route on every other trip will leave me with hourly bus service since I live inside the area likely to be skipped in order to cover Walnut.

The elimination of the No. 73 in Rancho Cordova will discomfort the wife's already uncomfortable bus to light rail to bus to work and back daily commute. Instead of having a choice of overlapping hourly buses -- in effect a bus every half-hour -- she'll have just one chance each hour to make her connection.

If, in September, it looks like more cuts will be needed, RT may have to pick up that chain saw and whack evening or late night and weekend bus and rail service. Alternatively, or maybe even in addition, the community bus service and the express routes could disappear.

Or maybe the board can break that 50-50 tie and finally start charging for parking. Third time's the charm, as they say.

Here's the full issue paper.

Sacramento Regional Transit's continuing budget woes

2009-05-29T06:24:21Z

In January 2008, Sacramento Regional Transit cut bus service 5 percent in order to balance the 2008 fiscal year budget. To balance the 2009 budget, RT eliminated the free rides for Paratransit-qualified riders, raised the price of monthly passes from $85 to $100, daily passes from $5 to $6 and single fares from $2 to $2.25.

Now for 2010, RT is again standing in a budget hole looking for a way out.

Monday evening, RT staff will present its proposals for balancing the coming year's budget and get some direction from the district's Executive Board Committee on whether any of these ideas will fly when the issue gets a public hearing before the full board on June 8.

The fare increases that took effect in January aren't generating as much cash as staff had hoped. It is now estimated that fare revenues have fallen $2.6 million below the levels anticipated when the fare increases were adopted. Fare revenue in 2010 could be as much as $3 million below earlier projections.

The decline in RT's share of Measure A sales tax revenues combined with the fare shortfalls has dug a $9.0 million hole in the coming 2010 budget.

What to do? Fare hikes and other potential changes are in the works, including the possible elimination of the lifetime pass, the free ride RT offers to residents who are age 75 and older.

First the handicapped and now the elderly. Children next?

Actually, RT hasn't given up its efforts to balance the budget on the backs of the handicapped. Staff are suggesting that the monthly Paratransit pass either be eliminated or the cost significantly hiked. Staff point out that the Paratransit monthly pass is not required by federal ADA regulations. And in the 18 years that the Paratransit monthly pass has been offered, there has been just one price increase – from $80 to $100 in 2003. During the same period, the single Paratransit fare has risen from $1 to $4.50. It's no wonder sales of monthly Paratransit passes have quadrupled since 2003.

I admit it's a cheap shot to suggest RT is picking on the handicapped and the elderly. None of RT's riders will be spared as staff look for ways to fill the budget hole. Well, that's not completely true either. Staff haven't tried to resurrect the twice-rejected parking fee proposal. But everyone else will have to contribute if RT is going to balance its budget.

Staff are proposing single fares increase from $2.25 to $2.50 and the discount fare from $1.10 to $1.25. The daily pass would go to $6.50. Only the monthly pass would remain unchanged. RT wants to encourage riders who stopped buying the monthly pass after this year's price increase to start buying the monthly passes again.

But even those fare increases won't be enough to cover the 2010 shortfall. RT estimates $7.2 million in service reductions and other cost-containment options – a continuing hiring freeze and no wage or benefit cost increases in pending union contracts – will still be necessary.

The service cuts proposal deserves a separate discussion. Staff are proposing some interesting choices for the board.

Here's the staff budget report to the board

Bus service cuts coming in September?

2009-05-12T04:21:07Z

Without a word of discussion, the Sacramento Regional Transit District board Monday evening unanimously approved a staff request to start the process required to cut bus service. Thirty-six weekday, Saturday and Sunday routes face reduction, realignment or elimination. Bus service cuts could begin as soon as Sept. 6.

"State funding in the Public Transportation Account (PTA) has been reduced, and RT's State Transit Assistance (STA) share of funding has declined to zero beginning in Fiscal Year 2010," according to the RT staff agenda background document. "This will continue into future years. At the same time, Local Transportation Funds and Measure A funding have also declined due to the reduction in sales tax receipts. RT's revenues have therefore been reduced substantially in the Fiscal Year 2009 and Fiscal Year 2010 preliminary budgets, meaning that RT may no longer be able to provide the same level of service as in Fiscal Year 2008."

On the block are 18 weekday routes, 12 Saturday routes, six Sunday and holiday routes and four supplemental routes.

These routes do not meet productivity standards. The standards are based on boardings per revenue hour. A route that's below 70 percent of peer routes is considered failing.

And that's not the worst of it:

"Due to the severity of the budget situation, staff is preparing to make an additional service reduction in January 2010 as well," the staff reported.

Weekday routes on the chopping block this year: 6,9,10,18,20,36,37,63,73,75,83,94,95,106,107,140,141,142

Saturday routes: 6,16,24,28,34,47,54,61,62,65,73,74

Sunday routes: 5,8,13,34,82,75

Supplemental routes: 205,249,251,261

After the first hearing, June 8, the board will be asked to adopt specific changes on June 22. At that same meeting, the board will be asked to set a hearing for the January 2010 changes. That hearing would be held July 27 and the changes would go to the board for adoption on Aug. 24.

On July 10, the district expects to take the September changes to its union, the Amalgamated Transit Union. On Oct. 2, the January changes would be delivered to the ATU.

The first cuts would take effect Sept. 6 and the second round on Jan. 3.

The agenda item from tonight's meeting is available here.

Fantasy and reality collide in RT parking lot

2009-04-14T07:01:27Z

What would you do if you were a Sacramento Regional Transit board member and your chief financial officer shows you this slide during a discussion of the budget hole the district is facing in next year's budget?

You probably would not do what six board members did Monday night. They dug the hole $2 million deeper.

It was a bizarre night all around.

The board started with approval of the release of the draft TransitAction Plan, a long-range vision for Sacramento that is, in a word, fantastic -- as in "marked by extravagant fantasy."

The board followed that up with approval of the final environmental impact report and other steps that will launch the construction of the first phase of the downtown-Natomas-airport light rail line. Groundbreaking is expected to start by August or September. Longtime DNA proponent Roger Dickinson and board colleague Ray Tretheway were besides themselves in wonder that the day had finally arrived. Twenty years they've been talking about this, said Dickinson.

What was a wonder was the disconnect between future plans and the fiscal reality that was graphically brought home by the district's chief financial officer in presentations on amendments to the current budget year and the start of discussions for the coming year.

Nobody wanted to hear what Dee Brookshire had to say. Not even the $14 million gift from federal taxpayers may be enough to save the district from more hard choices. As the above slide explains, service cuts of 10 percent or another round of fare increases may be necessary.

Read for yourself what Brookshire had to say about the current budget and the one next year.

So it was as if no one had been paying attention when the discussion shifted to a proposal to charge a dollar to park all day on weekdays in the district's park-and-ride lots. The token fee for using RT's lots would have generated an estimated $1 million this year plus another half-million from the fines that would be collected from people who didn't bother to pay.

In the end, it came down to a battle between suburban interests and city folks.

"No" votes were cast by Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, who represents Citrus Heights and Folsom; Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli, who represents Galt, Isleton, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova; Folsom City Councilman Andy Morin; Citrus Heights Councilman Steve Miller; Elk Grove Mayor Pat Hume; and Rancho Cordova City Councilman David Sander.

Voting "Yes" were Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, who represents the city of Sacramento and Natomas (see DNA vote above); Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn; Sacramento City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell and Sacramento City Councilman Ray Tretheway.

Due to RT's weighted voting system, those six noes and four ayes made the vote 50-50.

The deciding vote was cast by Sacramento City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, who left the meeting before the issue came up for a vote.

Stimulating RT's budget debate

2009-03-20T01:10:14Z

Sacramento Regional Transit received some welcome news from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments today. SACOG has set aside $22.24 million in federal stimulus money for RT's use. But the largesse may just add fuel to a growing dispute between RT and the Paratransit board, not to mention undermining efforts to force cost-cutting concessions from RT employees.

SACOG announced the distribution of $76 million for transportation projects in Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. The SACOG press release said this is in addition to $32 million authorized in February for road rehabilitation. The amounts are based on the region’s estimate of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February.

Specifically, RT is scheduled to receive $946,296 for preventative maintenance and another $13,053,704 for preventative maintenance or, in other words, exactly $14 million for preventative maintenance. In addition, RT will receive an additional $8.24 million for "UTDC light rail train retrofits."

RT has been hammered by the loss of state funding over the last two years. Despite raising fares this year, RT is looking at a $14 million budget deficit over the next two years.

On Feb. 23, Sacramento Regional Transit staff announced at a board meeting that the district's plans to balance this year's budget and next year's rely on getting at least $14 million in federal stimulus funds, with at least $7 million arriving this year and a like amount next.

RT's budget balancing relies on the stimulus funds displacing current expenditures, thus allowing the carryover into the next fiscal year of $7 million. That $7 million carryover plus the second year's federal stimulus allotment will paper over the deficit in the district's 2010 budget caused by state cutbacks in funding.

Meanwhile, Steve Robinson-Burmester, Paratransit's chief financial officer, has been making noises about getting a cut of that federal money to shore up Paratransit's operation. He wants ADA funding increased 8 percent in the 2010 fiscal year.

According to a March 9 memo from Dee Brookshire, RT's chief financial officer, to Laura Forester Ham, the director of accessible services, Burmester has been told that there will be no increase in ADA funding in the 2010 fiscal year over the 2009 level. Brookshire characterized Burmester's assertion that an increase in ADA funding is due as "false, misleading and contradictory to the information he has been provided directly and in writing . . ."

Burmester had suggested RT was in line to receive $28 million in stimulus money. In the March 9 memo, Brookshire responded:

"RT is working with SACOG on a methodology that we believe will yield a total of $14 million in preventive maintenance funding in FY 2009 and FY 2010, not $28 million. If successful, this effort will go toward bridging RT's funding shortfall of $4-5 million in FY 2009 and the additional funding shortfall of $13 million in FY 2010."

So did RT get an extra $8.24 million in federal stimulus funds beyond what they require?

Alane Masui, the assistant general manager of marketing and communications for Sacramento Regional Transit, says, "No, SACOG staff recommended $8,240,000 for UTDC retrofits at the SACOG board meeting in March."

According to RT documents, the district acquired 21 used rail UTDC cars from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). RT envisions using the UTDC cars as a cost effective solution for RT’s light rail fleet expansion requirements, allowing RT to complete the midlife overhauls for the 36 Siemens light rail vehicles and also cover the South Sacramento Phase 2 light rail extension.

According to SACOG documents, RT requested $1.125 million for retrofitting the 21 UTDC light rail vehicles to add automatic audio and text train announcements and CCTV surveillance systems. Another $6.3 million would pay for UTDC fleet midlife refurbishment.

Based on the premise that RT would only receive $14 million in federal stimulus plans, Brookshire said RT would require that everyone tighten their belts.

"[I]nternal cost cutting measures include freezing wages, increasing benefit costs to employees, and furloughing staff for at least 12 days over the next 21 months. In addition, all contracts for service such as those with Paratransit Inc. and Sacramento County will be frozen, with no increases, through FY 2011."

On March 9, the district board implemented changes in the wages and benefits for management and confidential employees. At RT's March 23 meeting, the board will amend the contracts of RT's top two employees -- General Manager Mike Wiley and Chief Legal Counsel Bruce Behrens. They will be required to take 12 furlough days between March 16 and Dec. 31, 2010. They will receive no "upward salary adjustments during the same period."

Alert! RT offers Neighborhood Bus email status alerts

2009-03-16T20:18:22Z

Sacramento Regional Transit has quietly opened an email alert system for its Neighborhood Ride bus routes.

"Do you want to know if your Neighborhood Ride bus is delayed before you walk to the bus stop? With RT’s new Transit Alert service, all you need to do is enter your travel schedule and contact information to receive notification by e-mail or mobile phone about disruptions that may affect your trip.

Transit Alert is a free subscription service that will quickly notify you by e-mail or mobile phone if your Neighborhood Ride route is affected by schedule changes or service disruptions. Information will only be sent about the Neighborhood Ride routes you choose, when you choose.

Transit Alert subscribers will receive text message notifications as soon as RT learns that a route has been disrupted. In addition, subscribers can sign up to receive other RT information and updates, including service changes and RT news."

According to Mike Mattos, chief of facilities and business support services division, the new service is known as the "CBS Transit Alert System," and RT's marketing staff will launch its information campaign next week.

When asked if the system will eventually be available for the other fixed bus routes and light rail, Mattos replied, "Staff will be presenting our future plans and reporting on the CBS implementation of the alert system at the 13 April board meeting. At that meeting or subsequent to it, staff will provide details regarding our future plans."

On the drawing board, according to Mattos, are telephone automated next bus/train information, e-mail transit alerts and passenger information signs at light rail stations.

The Neighborhood Bus alert system has a number of "nice" features. For instance, you can specify when you need to receive the alerts. You could, for instance, requestto receive information Monday through Friday mornings between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and at separate period Wednesday evening between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Couple this with the rest of the fixed-route service and Sacramento Regional Transit will have a very useful service.

These are the routes currently available for alerts:

9 - Carmichael - Walnut Ave (A.R.C. - Manzanita/Fair Oaks)
10 - Carmichael - Dewey Dr (A.R.C. - Manzanita/Fair Oaks)
16 - Del Paso Heights - Norwood Ave (Norwood Center - Arden/Del Paso)
18 - Del Paso Heights - Bell Ave (Norwood Center - Marconi/Arcade)
33 - Dos Rios (Richards to D & 12th)
37 - Tahoe Park - 21st Ave (Sim Park - 39th St Station)
47 - Phoenix Park (Florin Mall)
85 - McClellan Shuttle (Roseville Road - Luce & Peacekeeper)
94 - Citrus Heights - Mercy San Juan (Citrus Heights - Auburn Blvd.)
95 - Citrus Heights - Antelope (Citrus Heights - Antelope Rd.)

The direct URL of this service is alert.sacrt.com.

The "welcome" page is here.

Two-bits a copy, a buck to park and a budget balanced with federal stimulus funds -- oh, boy

2009-02-24T07:14:39Z

Sacramento Regional Transit will soon nickel and dime people who want paper copies of district documents and likely this year start charging to use light rail park-and-ride lots, but none of that will be worth a penny if RT doesn’t get at least $14 million in federal stimulus money.

In the past 12 months, RT has had to deal with an $18.3 million reduction in state funding. A number of cost-cutting moves have been implemented and this year RT resorted to raising fares.

Last week, the state took another $3.9 million that RT had been banking on, and next year there will be nothing from the state.

RT staff presented a grim budget outlook. Last year’s revenues totaled $149 million. This fiscal year will end with $145 million in revenues. The 2009-2010 fiscal year revenues, with zero help from the state, will total just $131 million.

That’s where the federal stimulus comes in. Federal regulations governing the stimulus funding require that at least 50 percent be spent within 180 days. That will buy preventive maintenance on buses and light rail cars, improvements to light rail stations and a number of other things. But more important than that, it will make it possible for RT to carryover a like number of dollars into the next fiscal year. That carryover and the second installment of $7 million in federal stimulus funds will bridge the $14 million gap between anticipated revenues and operating expenses.

And that is on top of what will amount to a pay freeze for employees. Wiley said any increase in employee pay or benefits will have to be paid for by an increase in efficiency that covers the cost. In other words, no extra money will go to salaries in the next budget.

RT’s plans depend on the cooperation of SACOG and the other transit agencies served by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Wiley announced that SACOG has postponed a decision on how to allocate the stimulus funds while RT seeks support for its plan.

The staff will be back before the board on March 9 for approval of an itemized list of cost-cutting moves that will be necessary.

One anticipated source of new money will be fees for parking. After staff made its presentation, every board member commented. It was clear that if the vote were today, a majority would support charging a dollar to park all day in a park-and-ride lot.

Only one RT board member, Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli, flatly ruled out supporting charging parking fees. Nottoli represents Galt, Isleton, Elk Grove, and Rancho Cordova, all areas that, if they use transit to get to downtown Sacramento, are likely to rely on park-and-ride lots.

The biggest concern for board members was the impact of commuters who attempt to avoid the new fees by parking on nearby residential streets or in neighboring shopping center parking lots.

The staff had originally anticipated bringing a resolution approving the fees to the board on March 9. However, the need to investigate how to mitigate the impact on RT’s neighbors will force a delay until the end of March.

The staff also had said in an issue paper that no public hearing was required, but the board made clear that a hearing will be needed.

The earliest that parking fees could be implemented would be the end of July, but staff said it is unlikely to start before late September.

What’s going to cost more next month will be paper copies of district documents. Effective March 1, copies of public records will be 25 cents a page. The large budget documents will be $25 each. Fees for audio and videotapes, postage, online purchases will all cover the district’s costs.

The staff Issue Paper on the fees mentioned that meeting agendas would be available online, but made no mention of any other documents being made available.

I spoke to the board on this topic and said that any document that RT will charge for should be made available online. I also suggested that the fees should be postponed until the system for getting the documents online is operational.

Although the resolution creating the fees effective March 1 was in no way changed, the staff said no fees would be charged until all documents are available online.

Paying to park at RT's 5 & Dime store

2009-02-23T06:04:48Z

Two separate money-making ideas will be on the agenda of the Sacramento Regional Transit board of directors meeting Monday evening -- charging to use RT's park-and-ride lots and charging for copies of documents.

The parking fee is a rerun of the idea shot down late last year when the board was deciding how it would fill the hole in the budget left by the state's thievery. Whether or not it will receive a better reception now is anyone's guess, but the state's theft of still more money RT had been banking on surely increases the need to do something.

Tonight's discussion on the parking fee is an informational item focused on two areas:

1. If RT charged a fee to utilize the park and ride lots will it discourage riders? If so at what fee level do we minimize ridership loss?

2. If RT implements a fee program what methods of payment are more desirable?

The tentative schedule has the board approving parking fees at the March 9 meeting. Procurement of the vending machines would happen the next day and the park-and-ride fees would take effect Sept. 1. No public hearings are required. The board just needs to give its OK.

The staff issue paper is available here.

RT paid Transit Marketing, LLC to conduct a pair of focus group polls.

"The two focus groups were presented with multiple fee options for parking at light rail park and ride lots. These included various daily rates; a single price or different prices at various stations; discount rates for longer terms; including the fee in each ticket; and other methods of charging," according to the Issue Paper accompanying agenda item No. 15. "Both of the focus groups concluded that charging a fee of $1 per day would not discourage riders from utilizing the park and ride lots."

Staff estimate that a $1 daily fee would generate an additional $1 million annually. Startup costs are estimated at $210,000.

The focus group report makes interesting, if not surprising, reading. The draft report is available here.

The document copying fee on the agenda isn't intended to generate extra money. It is just supposed to cover the costs RT previously absorbed. According to the Issue Paper for agenda item No. 16, the district would charge 25 cents a page for agendas and agenda packages, issue papers, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, standard operating procedures and other district records.

Those charges add up. A copy of Monday's 29-page general manager's report would $7.25. The 19-page focus group poll for the parking fees would be $4.75. Another issue paper here, an ordinance there, and pretty soon you're talking serious money.

Staff propose a $25 limit for annual reports such as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and annual budget documents.

RT would also recover the actual cost of duplicating audio and video tapes, postage and online sales processing fees, returned check charges and fees to certify documents.

The issue paper suggests that charging fees will not hinder public access.

"Public access to Regional Transit's Board or Committee agendas will not be impaired as the result of the proposed charges where in addition to reviewing these documents at the District's offices, the documents will be made available for review on-line at Regional Transit's public website in a PDF format for the period of one year from the date they are published. Likewise, the audio and video recordings of Board and most Committee meetings will also become available at no charge on-line for a period of 1 year from the date of the event."

While it is nice that the audio and video recordings will be online, the close reading of that paragraph suggests that only the agendas will be online, not the agenda packages or the issue papers or the ordinances or the resolutions or the contracts or the standard operating procedures or other district records. If so, that needs to change.

The staff report is available here.

RT ridership still up despite fare hikes; federal stimulus funds may help

2009-02-21T02:06:16Z

Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley has plenty of good news to give the district board of directors at Monday evening's meeting. But it's just not enough to make up for the bad news coming from the economy in general and the state in particular. And it won't forestall consideration of charging for using RT's park-and-ride lots

Wiley reports in his "FY 09 -- Key Performance Report" that systemwide ridership is up 10.2 percent counting year-to-date and up the same margin when compared with last January. Light rail is up 7.1 percent on a year-to-date scale and 11.54 percent compared with last January. The bus ridership year-to-date is 13.6 percent higher and compared with last January up 9.07 percent. Bus riders continue to outnumber light rail riders in January.

Unmentioned by Wiley's report is that this increase comes in the face of January's fare increase. Fears that higher fares would discourage ridership haven't been borne out, at least not yet.

That increase in fares in part accounts for the good news on fare recovery.

"For the month of January, RT's fare revenue is above $3.1 million," Wiley reports. "January's fare recovery ration is at 28.1 percent. Compared to the same period last year it is 8.1 percent higher."

As a result of this increase, the district has adjusted its budget, one of the few positive shifts RT is anticipating.

The full report is available here.

At Monday's meeting the board will receive a report on the budget that underlines the double-whammy that has slapped the district -- local economic decline shrinking the sales tax revenue and state banditry stealing what was left of the state's assistance to public transit.

On the positive side of the leger, RT expects the Sacramento Urbanized Area to receive $41 million from the federal economic stimulus package.

"This could mean additional funding for RT's preventative maintenance costs up to $6.8 million if all formula requirements are met," reports an Issue Paper that accompanies Agenda Item No. 14.

The Issue Paper is available here.

State forcing RT to cut: Will Sunday service and free parking disappear?

2009-02-20T01:56:39Z

The final deal that state lawmakers forged the other day is slightly -- only very slightly -- better for transit agencies, but it won't stop the bleeding. Sacramento Regional Transit has begun talking to unions about mandatory furloughs and the end of Sunday service. On Monday, the RT board will consider ending free parking at RT park-and-ride lots.

Transit agencies normally receive quarterly payments from the state. Last year, these State Transit Assistance funds amounted to $306 million, which were the paltry leftovers after $1.8 billion in transit-dedicated funding available for 2008-09 was raided to patch other holes in the state general fund. Sacramento Regional Transit's share of that pie: $5.6 million.

The budget adopted back in September included a 75 percent cut in the STA funds. Essentially, the agencies could keep what they got in the first quarter, but nothing for the remainder of the year.

Under the new budget, transit agencies will receive their second-quarter payments -- about $77 million -- but the third- and fourth-quarter are eliminated. Next year, the agencies will get nothing. The entire STA fund has been zeroed out.

Back when the governor first proposed that the STA funding be eliminated, RT General Manager Mike Wiley said in a press release, "If this proposal is approved by the Legislature and the STA funding is eliminated, the result will be an additional $5.6 million hit to RT's current budget and a 16 percent reduction in RT's annual operating budget going forward. RT will be forced to cut productive bus and light rail service at a time when people are turning to transit more than ever before."

RT has already been pushed to the wall by the state and been forced to respond with a large fare hike this year.

"During the past two years," Wiley said, "the Legislature and the Governor have diverted nearly $3 billion in transit funds to address the state budget shortfall, which in turn has impacted RT's ability to provide the necessary service to our growing region."

According to one insider, RT has already begun talking to its unions about cuts being planned:

MCEG staff were told last Friday that furloughs and decreased benefits will begin early March and continue through 2010.

AEA employees will endure the same furloughs and cut in benefits - but have not been told as of yet. No amount of secrecy will turn the tide in this situation.

ATU & IBEW employees are under furlough consideration but no plan has been announced. Speculators assume loss of service one day per week - possibly Sundays?

Alane Masui, Assistant General Manager of Marketing and Communications Sacramento Regional Transit District, responded:

"For FY 2009, the state has already taken $18.3 million from RT and we expect an additional $3.9 million reduction. With projections of continued declines in sales tax revenue and the elimination of State Transit Assistance funds (FY 2010 - 2013), RT is facing a potential budget deficit for FY 2010. RT is working with management and administrative employees to identify cost containment measures and find ways to control labor-related costs.

"Regarding MCEG and AEA employees, there are ongoing discussions.

"Regarding ATU and IBEW employees, there are no plans for furloughs.

"Regarding service, there are no plans for reductions. RT does not want to cut service and reductions would be the last option that would be considered."

The agenda for Monday's RT board meeting includes these items:

14. Information: Mid-Year Status Report on Operating Revenues and Expenditures with Projects to Year-End; FY 2010 Revenue Outlook; and Further Re-Balancing Strategies for FY 2009 (Brookshire)

15. Information: Charging for Parking at Light Rail Park and Ride Lots (Mattos)

16. Resolution: Establishing a Schedule of Fees and Charges (Mattos)

The board last year vetoed the idea of charging for parking, but that was before the state action. Now it appears far more likely that the board will be forced to acquiesce.

Bad news from state for Sacramento Regional Transit

2009-02-13T04:51:39Z

I suppose there's some grim humor in this. California lawmakers will apparently throw transit agencies under the bus in order to steal the last pittance of state support in order to balance the budget. It's shameful.

Here's the text of a press release from the California Transit Association:

'Armageddon Scenario' Has Arrived

If the new proposal to bridge the state budget gap is adopted, public transit providers will be finished commiserating over ongoing state budget cuts.

That's because the latest plan to emanate from the "Big 5" budget negotiators doesn't just cut public transportation funding - it eliminates it.

Already saddled with an 85 percent raid on available state funding sources via the budget adopted in September, transit operators throughout the state are now bracing for what has long been considered the "Armageddon" scenario - the abolition of the State Transit Assistance (STA) program, the only ongoing source of state funding for day-to-day transit operations. STA accounts for as much as 70 percent of the operating budgets of transit agencies in California.

Expected to be taken up during legislative floor sessions on Friday or over the weekend, the plan calls for $536 million in transit cuts, achieved through the cancellation of the remaining $230 million due to transit agencies from the September budget's STA allotment of $306 million and the eradication of the entire $306 million in fiscal year 2009-10. The $306 million was established as a baseline figure after $1.8 billion in current-year transit-dedicated funds were diverted to fill non-transit holes in the General Fund.

Democratic leaders had originally sought to preserve the STA at a bare bones $150 million level, as contained in their December version of the budget. But the most recent reported agreement reveals an apparent capitulation to demands by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Republican leaders to completely eliminate the program.

"Are Republicans and the Governor that bent on destroying public transit that this one last crumb of funding is really seen as making a significant difference in the budget crisis?" wondered Joshua Shaw, Executive Director of the California Transit Association. "And why after indicating all along that they understand the dire circumstances faced by transit providers throughout the state did the Democratic leadership ultimately cave?"

Shaw noted that transit agencies throughout the state have already enacted or contemplated a combination of fare increases and service reductions to cope with the $3 billion in state funding that has been raided in just the last two years alone, and warned that more such drastic measures are on the way. "We will see fare increases. We will see service cuts. We will see layoffs," he predicted. "I can say that with certainty simply because we've already seen those things happening even before the state apparently decided to abandon its responsibility to fund public transportation."

There are a number of other documents at Caltransit.org here.

Last year, Sacramento Regional Transit cut bus service 5 percent in an effort to cope with state cutbacks in funding. This year, after the state siphoned off still more money, RT was forced to raise fares. Now this. Maybe the coming federal stimulus money will help, but it is unlikely that the stimulus money will be available for operating expenses or that it will free up money that can be used for operating expenses.

It is hard not to imagine RT on a precipice, leaning over the edge, facing a plunge into a spiral of declinging service leading to declining ridership, leading to declining service and down and down and down.

The DNA of Sacramento Regional Transit

2009-02-12T00:24:23Z

Sacramento Regional Transit has launched a new website devoted to the Downtown-Natomas-Airport light rail line at www.sacrt.com/dna/

During last week's web chat, RT General Manager Mike Wiley said RT is advancing the time schedule for the DNA line completion:

"The RT Board of Directors directed staff to accelerate completion of the Downtown-Natomas-Airport (DNA) project as much as possible. We have therefore sped up planning for the project, with an anticipated completion date in 2017 for the connection to the Airport. This would coincide with the completion of the Airport's Terminal B expansion. As a "down payment" on this commitment, RT just this week released a Request for Qualifications for the design and construction of the first phase of the DNA, from 7th Street to Richards Boulevard. The projected revenue operation date of that segment is October 31, 2010."

Stimulating Transit

2009-02-09T22:51:54Z

Fears that the U.S. Senate would gut the stimulus money for transit in the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" appear to have been unfounded. The Senate is preparing to vote on bill that essentially maintains the House-passed funding levels. The Senate final vote is expected by Tuesday, with the House and Senate conference starting soon after.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, "Transit funding is expected to remain at $8.4 billion and high-speed passenger rail funding will remain at $2 billion. Transportation programs in the Senate bill are funded as follows:

* $8.4 billion, urban and rural transit formula;
* $27 billion, highway formula;
* $5.5 billion, intermodal/discretionary program;
* $2 billion, high-speed rail corridor investments;
* $250 million, intercity passenger rail grant program;
* $850 million, Amtrak;
* $60 million, ferryboat discretionary grants;

Last week Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley explained the importance of the stimulus package to RT during his monthly web chat.

"RT has been working closely with our funding partners, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, other transit agencies, and Caltrans, to identify projects that will benefit from the economic stimulus program. These projects are intended to provide improvements in our light rail and bus operations, improve transit user information systems, and help us accelerate service improvements such as limited stop (express) services. We are still unsure about how much funding will be provided, but RT is ready to 'hit the ground running' when the funding becomes available. We anticipate that the stimulus package will be signed by President Obama before February 15."

Furloughs, stimulus and DNA -- Let's chat!

2009-02-07T03:39:44Z

Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager entered cyberspace for an hour Friday for his monthly web chat. The full text of the session can be found here. What follows is a personalized summary, along with a little regrouping to make the story a little easier to follow.

Being the state capital and the home to so many state workers, it wasn’t surprising that the topic of furloughs was on the minds of several participants in the chat.

Wiley offered that RT won’t be giving Regional Transit staff extra three-day weekends. “No,” he said, “Furloughs only save money for Regional Transit if they are in concert with service reductions. We want to avoid an additional service reduction. The transit system is seeing huge increases in ridership. Cutting service when we are having these great ridership gains, doesn't make sense. Our goal is to trim everything else in an attempt to avoid service reductions and layoffs.”

He also explained that RT has been there, done that with service cuts: “Due to previous state budget cuts, RT cut 5 percent of unproductive bus service in January 2008. The $18.3 million loss of state funds for this fiscal year resulted in a fare increase effective January 1, 2009.”

Actually, Wiley said RT considered the furlough option: “The vast majority of employees at Regional Transit are drivers and mechanics. We have just enough people to provide the service we operate. If we furloughed employees, we are indirectly cutting service for those trips that would not operate. In the case of our mechanics, buses and trains not safely maintained are not operated. This would result in sporadic service cuts throughout the system. We don't think service cuts are the answer to our budget problems.”

Which is not to say RT isn’t trying furlough-like options. Said Wiley, “We are looking for budget savings everywhere they might be found. This included a detailed analysis of potential furloughs. Those that pencil out are being brought forward to our board for their consideration. Some, like a hiring freeze for most positions, have been in place for nearly two years. We are totally focused on keeping our costs under control and finding savings where we can. We will avoid service cuts as long as possible. “

As a transit enthusiast myself, I want to underline and clip and save this part of Wiley’s chat: “With the ridership numbers we are seeing, service expansion is what's needed for the underserved communities in the region.”

Wiley also explained that the state furloughs won’t be used as a justification for service cuts. “No,” Wiley said, “we've looked at running holiday service on the State Furlough days, but since they only reduce the number of bus runs during the day, and only 26 additional days in a year, the cost savings are minimal. On light rail especially, many more people than state workers would be inconvenienced if we reduced light rail service. We may be reducing the length of the trains on those days as demand could be some what less.”

Speaking of the length of trains, Wiley was asked, “Do you think RT can operate three-car Light Rail trains in the middle of the day? It seems the current two-car non-peak operation between rush hours results in overcrowding, especially around lunch time.”

Wiley replied: “We monitor the conditions on the light rail and buses, and have noticed that there has been an increase in crowding during the midday. We have to plan well in advance to change the number of cars. … If crowding persists, we will consider increasing the number of midday cars. This is limited, however, by the maintenance requirements on the fleet. … There is a cost to increase the number of cars. With the State of California still considering an additional $3.9 million raid on our budget we may not have the funding to add service.”

Before we get too far from the furlough question, I must include this question from a Citrus Heights resident: “Given that the State has now mandated Furloughs to its employees, has RT considered giving a further break in cost to its State employee riders to help out?”

Disclosure moment: I’m married to a state government manager. I’m not a disinterested party to the consequences of what is, in effect, a 10 percent pay cut state workers will swallow if furloughs continue. Still, I think Wiley was right:

“The state subsidizes the cost of state employees' tickets,” he said. “Since the subsidy is set at a maximum amount the state contributes, employees will be receiving a full monthly subsidy spread over fewer days. From RT's perspective we are loosing a large number of riders each day the state furloughs employees on top of the transit dollars the State is raiding to help balance the State budget. It's important to remember that the fare revenue we collect covers about 25% of our operating cost.”

While the state has been taking money away from RT, it looks Congress may soon throw some cash RT’s way: “RT will receive an as yet undetermined amount of funding under the stimulus package. We have worked closely with our regional partners to identify ‘ready to go’ projects that can help us improve service to the public without drastically increasing our operating costs. As you may have read, the stimulus package does not provide any new resources for operating costs. However, we have requested funding for projects that allow us to implement limited stop services, continue to work on a second bus maintenance facility, rehabilitate some of our stations, refurbish 21 light rail vehicles, upgrade our work trucks and equipment, and implement an electronic information system for our riders (automatic vehicle location, next stop announcements, electronic signs). We will know more about how much money we might receive when President Obama signs the stimulus package into law. The current projection is that he will do so before February 15.”

Specific “ready-to-go” projects identified by Wiley include accelerating the South Line light rail extension and other key capital projects. “These projects would have a positive economic and environmental impact on the Sacramento region, and could add new service and improve RT's infrastructure,” he said. “All of the funding we expect to receive will be utilized for our capital program. At this point we do not expect to receive any financial support to cover our operating cost. Consequently, we will not be able to restore bus service reductions implemented in January 2008.”

Not only can the stimulus not be used for operating expenses, but it won’t be useful for buying buses or light rail cars.

“The stimulus money is intended to support capital projects that are "ready to go" within 90 days from the date of enactment of the law. Unfortunately, it takes about 18 months to order buses, and about 2-1/2 years to order trains, unless we can tack-on to an existing bus or rail car order,” Wiley explained. “So, RT went through its capital program and specifically identified projects that we could both commit the funds to (get our Board approval for) and expend the funds on within two years, as required in the stimulus package. We are requesting funds to rehabilitate the 21 rail cars that we bought from Valley Transit a few years ago. These will provide us with the ability to improve our service with limited stop (express) operations on the Blue Line from Downtown Sacramento to the Watt/I-80 Station.

On the subject of the Folsom express light rail service, a Carmichael resident asked it if would be possible to do that with the existing tracks.

“We are making changes to the signaling system to enable the limited stop service,” Wiley said. “Limited stop service is a service where we stop at only the major the stations. This saves time for the riders.”

Help for this effort, Wiley explained in response to another question, will arrive from the settlement of the Highway 50 HOV lane lawsuit settlement.”

“RT should receive the money from the Highway 50 compromise this summer, which will allow us to begin procurement of parts and equipment,” Wiley said. “There is no track construction as such, because we are talking about having limited stop (express) service from the Historic Folsom Station and 15 minute frequency service from the Hazel Station to downtown. The funding from Caltrans will actually fund signaling, safety, and grade crossing improvements to make the limited stop service operational.”

An “Elk Grove, CA, CA” resident (we have to use euphemisms for those things) asked: “Many aspects of the stimulus bill seem to be under attack. Is there anything we as citizens can do to make sure transit gets a good share of the stimulus funding?”

“Recent amendments to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) include funding for transportation infrastructure projects that suggest significant increases in transit spending including funding for "ready-to-go" projects. … These amendments are up for debate in the Senate. Contact your senators today and urge them to support amendments to increase transit spending.”

And Folsom improvements and the South line extension aren’t the only places where things may be moving soon.

Someone from Portland , OR, asked, “Any long term plans about getting LR service to the airport?”

“Yes,” Wiley replied. “Only they are not so long-term. The RT Board of Directors directed staff to accelerate completion of the Downtown-Natomas-Airport (DNA) project as much as possible. We have therefore sped up planning for the project, with an anticipated completion date in 2017 for the connection to the Airport. This would coincide with the completion of the Airport's Terminal B expansion. As a "down payment" on this commitment, RT just this week released a Request for Qualifications for the design and construction of the first phase of the DNA, from 7th Street to Richards Boulevard. The projected revenue operation date of that segment is October 31, 2010.”

And to another question on the same topic, he added: “RT has made significant progress with the DNA line over the last several months. We are completing a project level Environmental Impact Report for the first segment from 7th and H to Richards Boulevard, and are planning to start the Federal environmental process on the rest of the line within the next year. This week, we published a request for qualifications for firms to bid on a design/build contract to design and build the first phase of the DNA. We are actively working with the City of Sacramento, the Railyards and Township 9 developments, and others, to clear issues along the right of way. Our goal is to complete the first phase, which we are calling "The Green Line", by October 31, 2010. We hope that we will have the funding to purchase and operate the Green Line using low-floor, universal access light rail cars, as a downtown circulator from our 13th Street Station all the way to Richards Boulevard.”

There’s more to read at the RT web site, but I want to end with this particularly useful exchange:

From Sacramento, CA: “Light Rail Door Alarms: The current buzzers that sound when doors open and close are really annoying. Can't we get a chime or tone that's a little less harsh on the ears?”

Wiley’s reply: “Actually, the buzzers are intended to be somewhat irritating.”

And you thought it was unintentional.

OK. That’s the Fox News version of what Wiley had to say. Here’s the SacramentoPress version:

“Actually, the buzzers are intended to be somewhat irritating so that people do not ignore them. They are a safety requirement, and they have to be audible even to persons with certain hearing impairments, so they know when the doors are preparing to close. It is actually a small irritation if it prevents someone from being injured by a closing door.”

Chatting with Mike

2009-02-05T16:32:30Z

Got a question about the operation of Sacramento's bus and light rail system? You can take your question right to the top Friday and ask Sacramento Regional Transit General Manager Mike Wiley directly.

Wiley will be answering questions in a live online web chat between noon and 1 p.m. at iportal.sacrt.com/WebApps/Onlinechat/

What was the thinking behind raising the monthly pass from $85 to $100? How is it determined where and when security personnel are assigned to the light rail? Can you make the 80 and the 84 every 30mins? Why doesn't RT offer free rides on Spare the Air days? Do you ride transit to work?

Questioners are anonymous. There's no registration requirements. To participate, you fill out a form that includes your hometown and the question. The web chat site opens for question submissions two hours before Wiley is scheduled to start answering at noon. You don't have to stick around to see the answer. Each session is archived on the site.

But this is not strictly a chat. There's no back and forth and no guarantee you'll get the answer you're looking for, as this exchange from last month illustrates:

Sacramento, CA: Why did you call this Chat? It is not chat! And you haven't answered my question. I understand if you are swamped. A chat room would be better as riders could share knowledge.

Reply: We created a tool similar to what Washington DC's Transit system uses that allow the community to ask their GM questions. The goal of this tool is to allow me to respond to questions from the public in an easy forum that is informative. In a traditional blog or chat the dialog is between the people logged in. So in keeping with our goal, please let me know if you have any questions about RT.

The chat sessions began last year in October and generally occur on the first Friday of the month. With the exception of a session back in November that focused on the district's Transit Master Plan, the chat sessions are open to any question about the operation of the district.