City of Santa Clarita Transit
Accessibility Advisory Committee Meeting
Minutes for June 5, 2008
Meeting Called to Order at 9:10 am
AAC Members present: Ken Schwartz, Anna Martinez, , Linda Wood, John Taylor, and Sam Sammons
AAC Members absent: Lupe Covarrubias, Kurt Baldwin, Keith Curry
Also present were: Adrian Aguilar, Sintia Guerrero, Gary Simpson and Al Scullen, Raychel Martinez, and Michael Paletz
Approval of Minutes: We have a quorum this month. A motion was presented by John Taylor, seconded by Ken Schwartz and a voice vote carried approval by all present.
Chair Report: Ken: Due to the 4th of July holiday we usually “go dark” in July (not have a meeting) and I think we should do this again. Everyone agreed and a motion was presented by Sam, seconded by John and a voice vote carried approval by all present.
When asked about the new provider, it was noted by Adrian that the new Transit provider will be posted on the City website today after 12 pm.
As you know Kurt Baldwin and Jim Hogan filed a complaint with the FTA in regards to Bus #8 a commuter bus. I feel that Jim and Kurt’s letters may have fallen by the wayside because I noticed that the City of Santa Clarita is now running commuter buses on Rt. 8. Why is that happening? Was it a political issue or a decision someone made? Adrian said it was neither. It was an operational issue. In order to get more buses into the yard to be painted and still provide service to the ridership, it was decided to run commuter buses temporarily on Rt. 8.
Linda Wood asked Adrian if ACCESS would be at the meeting today and he said no because they were having a meeting launching a new contract with MV in the San Fernando Valley. A concern was expressed by some drivers to Ken that some road supervisors were using vans with disabled stickers (?) on them without transporting passengers and they could get a ticket and also, is there a shortage of vans? It was replied that the road supervisor for ACCESS is Marilyn and she has authority to use the vans and does sometimes transport passengers. Drivers should not be concerned, there are enough vans.
It was noted that ACCESS vans are still being used by DAR passengers when they are an add-on to the manifest. It rarely happens, but does occur.
Ken also related a problem with a transfer point and a territorial jurisdiction by a provider.
Al talked about the fare discrepancy between various modes of transportation in different cities.
Adrian related that there was no word yet on the new Freedom Grant and we would probably not hear anything until August.
New ACCESS riders under 60 have not been getting approval for both DAR and ACCESS, only ACCESS, because of the split in services. Adrian said it costs the City $32.74 per trip when ACCESS riders use DAR in addition to normal operating costs.
The change in the length of the window times came about because of the split: ACCESS is 20 minutes and DAR is 30 minutes. You can only book 1 day in advance for an ACCESS ride and some people are still booking 7 days in advance which isn’t necessary. The ACCESS policy is 1 day in advance.
Raychel and Michael discussed drop-off and pick-up points in reference to changing them during a ride. Because of the logistics involved, it was advised that they stick to the original points on the manifest. However, you can call dispatch and ask for a change yourself. Drivers cannot do it.
Michael gave compliments and an apology to Sintia.
DAR REPORT: Adrian: The “no-show” policy is going to be enforced. Riders need to use the 2 hour cancellation line to cancel rides, but calling even ˝ hour ahead of time is better than no call at all. Six to nine “no-shows” in 90 days will result in a “Did you know?” letter. These will be sent for two to three months, if the “no-shows” continue.
Then you get a written warning, a seven day suspension and then a suspension up to thirty days.
Call-outs are not guaranteed but you can request one and they will try to do it.
Wait times are much shorter but people are still hanging up after 2-3 minutes. They should wait 2 minutes more and they will be answered. Hanging up puts you back at the end of the queue.
Linda asked what her options were in getting to the AV from SC. She was told that the SC Transit Bus #795 was a commuter bus that goes there. She could also schedule a transfer trip on ACCESS. You get picked up at the Metrolink station in Santa Clarita and then in the AV it’s curb to curb service. The trip costs $6.00 each way. Its option #6 on the telephone tree here in Santa Clarita. Luggage can be carried on or stowed in the outside compartment.
Improvements continue to be made to the telephone tree and it’s becoming a great system.
May ridership in the Paratransit system was 6,100 rides, with 4371 for DAR and
1,735 for ACCESS. There has been an increase in ridership on the fixed route system.
354,526 rides were logged in the entire system, with 300,000 local: 31,000
Commuter and 14,600 for Rt. 8.
The Freedom Program proposal will be sent to City Council in June and it looks like it will become permanent.
The pilot program for the stops at the VA and Facey had 21 trips in May. There were 130 transfer trips in May.
Lost and found: Items are held 30 days and then they are donated. John Taylor asked why transit bus #4 runs every ˝ hour and the #14 runs every hour. Adrian said it had to do with a system called “inner lining”, where vehicles travel between regular routes and share the same schedule time. Transit bus drivers do have the right to reserve the front seats for the disabled and the elderly. There is a program that goes to all the schools in each district and explains bus policy and conduct to the students. Graffiti is also delt with at the schools and includes the parents.
The new vans coming off the manufacturing lines will be converted to CNG, and then delivery will be at the end of June or early July. ACCESS has 3 cut-away vans which hold 2 wheelchairs and 4 regular vans. A 40’ bus has 42 seats and room for 25-30 Standees, about 114 to 120 people. Articulated buses have 61 seats and 30-40 Standees.
Ten 40’ buses will be delivered in August. There are 12 small vans which hold two wheelchairs and four mini vans which hold one wheelchair.
Broken and difficult seatbelts are an issue on some of the ACCESS vans. The new Vans have cloth seats and the issue of slippery seats will be eliminated.
Friendly Valley continues to be an issue for some of the daycare riders but as drivers use their GPS and become more familiar with the valley, it will get better. Daycare complimented Santa Clarita Transit DAR on its AM arrivals. People are calmer and have a chance to eat breakfast on time.
The DAR Rider’s Guide will be updated and redesigned soon by the City. Also the ACCESS Guide. There will be some minor adjustments to the fixed route scheduling. August and January are the months for schedule changes. Al commented that the senior center bus goes to the Metrolink station but doesn’t make a return trip to the senior center.
Adrian said they are aware of this and it’s a scheduling issue that would affect a lot of Other routes. Too few people need the return trip. Transfer Trip schedules are monitored daily and a few changes have been made. When a fixed route bus driver stops and sits at the bus stop, he’s adjusting his schedule so he won’t be early at the next stop. It’s better to be two minutes late than two minutes early.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion was called by John to end the meeting, seconded by Michael, and approved by all. The meeting adjourned at 10:53.
