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[Capital Metro Board of Directors Public Hearing on April 10, 2023.]
GOOD AFTERNOON.UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT THE, UH, CAP METRO PUBLIC HEARING.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10TH, AND THE TIME IS 1203.
AS I CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
UH, THIS PUBLIC HEARING IS GOING TO HAVE TWO PARTS.
FIRST PART WILL HAVE A PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED AUGUST, 2024 SERVICE CHANGES.
AND THEN THERE'LL BE A SECOND PART, WHICH WILL ALSO HAVE A PRESENTATION, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED CAP METRO TITLE SIX POLICY CHANGES.
SO TODAY'S PUBLIC COMMENTERS WILL BE ALLOWED TO SPEAK ON ONE OR BOTH, UH, OF THESE TOPICS.
I UNDERSTAND THAT MR. DIETER IS HERE, UH, TO GIVE US THE AUG.
UH, THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES, CHANGES PRESENTATION, AND FOLLOWING HIS PRESENTATION WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE TOPIC.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR REBELLION, UH, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UH, PRESIDENT AND, UM, CEO WATKINS.
I AM LAWRENCE DIETER, AND I AM THE MANAGER OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT IN PLANNING THIS AFTERNOON, I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE PROPOSED 2024 SERVICE CHANGE.
SO WE WILL DISCUSS THE CHANGES USING THE FRAMEWORK OF THE RECENTLY APPROVED SERVICE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.
AND BASICALLY THIS FRAMEWORK IS THAT WE START, UM, OUR TEAM STARTS BY IDENTIFYING ISSUES, UH, THEN DEVELOPING PROPOSALS BASED ON THOSE ISSUES, AND THEN EVALUATING THE PROPOSALS, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS THAT ARE, UM, THAT COULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
ONE IMPORTANT PART, UH, WHILE WE'RE EVALUATING PROPOSALS IS THAT WE, WE DETERMINE IF IT'S GOING TO BE A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE PER OUR BOARD ADOPTIVE POLICY.
AND IF IT IS A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE, WE THEN CONDUCT A, UM, SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS AS REQUIRED BY THE FDA.
SO THEN ONCE WE HAVE OUR PROPOSALS READY AND WE'VE DONE ANY REQUIRED ANALYSIS, UH, SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS, WE TAKE IT OUT TO THE PUBLIC TO SEEK THEIR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
IF THEY HAVE FEEDBACK THAT WE NEED TO INCORPORATE, WE BRING IT BACK AND WE, UH, REVISE THE PROPOSAL, CHECK FOR ANY MORE ANALYSIS, AND THEN BRING IT TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO HAVE AT CAP METRO IS RELIABILITY, BUT I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE ARE SEEING RELIABILITY IMPROVE.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING HARD ON OPERATOR AND OPERATOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
UM, I WILL SAY ONE WAY WE ALSO ARE GETTING OUR SERVICE OUT ON THE STREET IS THAT MANY OF OUR OPERATORS ARE WORKING OVERTIME, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FULLY STAFF UP SO WE CAN, UM, NOT HAVE TO BE, UH, CAUSE THAT BURDEN.
UM, ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S HELPED IS, UM, OLIS, OUR NEW SERVICE PROVIDER HAD SOME, UM, RECRUITING TECHNIQUES THAT HAVE REALLY INCREASED, UM, THE, UH, NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE BRINGING ON.
ON THE OTHER THING WE'VE DONE TO HELP WITH RELIABILITY, IT'S LOOKING AT OUR MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES AND LOOKING FOR, UM, UH, TO PRIORITIZE IMMEDIATE OVER RELATABLE, UH, MAINTENANCE.
UM, IMMEDIATE, UH, MAINTENANCE IS OF COURSE ANYTHING THAT'S RELATED TO SAFETY, FUNCTIONALITY OF THE BUS, SOMETHING THAT'S RELATABLE, UM, COULD BE COSMETIC, A TEAR ON A SEAT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN OUR FLEET LOOKING REALLY NICE WHEN IT GOES OUT ON THE STREET.
UM, IT'S BEEN A, FROM DAY ONE THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, SOME OF THE BEST LOOKING BUSES ON THE STREET, BUT WHEN WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH RELIABILITY, WE'VE BEEN LIKE, WELL, MAYBE WE CAN LET THIS WAIT A COUPLE MORE DAYS BEFORE IT GETS, GETS, GETS ADDRESSED.
SOME OF THAT RELIABILITY ISSUE HAS BEEN, UH, TAKING, ITS, UM, UH, HAS BEEN FILLED.
UM, IN OUR ON TIME PERFORMANCE.
WE ARE SEEING CURRENTLY A 79% ON TIME, UH, RATE, UM, THAT IS BELOW OUR STANDARD OF 85%.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING TO, UH, CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON TIME PERFORMANCE, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS OVERALL WE ARE SEEING SERVICE OUT ON THE STREET.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, KINDA THE BOTTOM OF THAT CHART, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE GONE FROM MISSING ANYWHERE FROM AROUND 5% MOST WEEKDAYS TO NOW WE'RE DOWN TO U USUALLY ZERO 1% OF OUR TRIPS ARE MISSED, UH, WITH, UM, SOME DAYS WE SEE, WE SEE IT BUMP UP INTO, UP INTO 2%, BUT THAT, THAT'S THE GOOD THING AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE DARK GREEN LINE THERE ON TOP IS OUR MONTHS OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, AND IT'S CONSISTENTLY ABOVE OUR PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR.
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TOUCH DOWN THERE IN, IN JANUARY, IF ANYONE REMEMBERS, UM, UH, UM, MARTIN LUTHER KING WEEKEND.IT WAS, UH, VERY, VERY CODE AND SO WE SAW A DIP AND RIDERSHIP THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT, BUT WE'VE SEEN A NICE REBOUND SINCE THEN.
SO LET'S GET INTO THE ACTUAL PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGES.
UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE CATEGORIES.
UH, THE BIGGEST ONE IS THAT FIRST ONE UT SHUTTLE ROUTE ADJUSTMENT.
WE ARE PROPOSING TO COMBINE TWO UT SHUTTLES INTO ONE ROUTE.
UM, THE 6 40 40, THE ROUTE 6 40 40 ACRES AND ROUTE 6 41 EAST CAMPUS WILL BE COMBINED INTO AN EXPANDED CAMPUS CIRCULATOR.
WE'LL ALSO TRANSITION FROM SUMMER SERVICE LEVELS ON UT'S CAMPUS UP TO THE FULL, UM, FALL SERVICE LEVELS.
WE'LL BE MAKING SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO SCHOOL TRIPS.
UM, IF YOU REMEMBER, WE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED FOR JUNE TO, UM, ELIMINATE, UM, REDUCE SOME OF OUR SCHOOL TRIPS.
WE DECIDED TO HOLD ON THAT, BRING THEM ALL BACK AND ADJUST THE TRIPS SO THAT WE CAN TRY AND GROW THE RIDERSHIP ON THAT SO THAT, SO WE'RE GONNA SEE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS COME INTO THIS, UM, THIS PROPOSED CHANGE.
AND THEN AS ALWAYS, WE HAVE MINOR, UH, BUS AND RAIL SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS LOOKING TO IMPROVE, UM, ON TIME PERFORMANCE TYPICALLY.
AND, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THAT SLIDE I JUST SHOWED YOU, LET'S DIVE A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO THE, UH, UT UM, SHUTTLE PROPOSAL.
START BY LOOKING AT RIDERSHIP.
UM, WE CAN SEE THAT ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE CHART THAT THE SIX 40 AND 6 41 ARE OUR LOWEST RIDERSHIP, UM, SHUTTLES, UM, OVERALL, AND 6 41 IS ONE OF ONLY TWO SHUTTLES THAT HAVE SEEN RIDERSHIP DIP THIS ACADEMIC YEAR.
SO WE WERE ALREADY STARTING TO THINK ABOUT TRYING TO LOOK AT CHANGES FOR THESE, UM, FOR THESE ROUTES.
AND, UH, WHEN WE STARTED MEETING WITH THE UNIVERSITY, WHAT WE HEARD AND RECEIVED, UM, A LOT OF FEEDBACK ON IS THE NEED TO BETTER CONNECT EAST CAMPUS, UH, TO MAIN CAMPUS.
AND, UM, WE HEARD THIS FROM STAFF, FACULTY AND STUDENTS, UM, THROUGH A COUPLE DIFFERENT MEETINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE WITH THEM.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S DRIVING THE NEED TO CONNECT THE CAMPUSES IS, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS GOING ON IN EAST CAMPUS, INCLUDING A, UH, NEW APARTMENT COMPLEX FOR 700, FOR ABOUT 750 GRADUATE STUDENTS.
SO THE MAP ON THE LEFT IS OUR CURRENT, UM, ROUTINGS OF THE TWO SEPARATE ROUTES.
AND THE MAP ON THE RIGHT IS OUR PROPOSED COMBINED ROUTE.
UH, THE PROPOSED COMBINED ROUTE WOULD CONNECT ALL THE KEY DESTINATIONS, UM, THROUGHOUT CAMPUS, UM, WITH AN EXCEPTION OF THE LAW SCHOOL.
WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THE LAW SCHOOL A COUPLE TIMES, AND SO FAR THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE AN ISSUE.
UM, WE ALSO KNOW THAT THIS COMBINATION WILL, UM, WILL ALSO REDUCE TRANSFERS AS STUDENTS WILL ONLY NEED TO BE ON ONE ROUTE TO, UH, ACCESS SOME OF THE AREAS.
SO LOOKING AT SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF, UH, OF THIS PROPOSAL, WE, IT DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
IT IS RESOURCE NEUTRAL, WHICH AGAIN, IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, IN THIS DAY WHERE WE ARE STILL, UH, RESOURCE CONSTRAINED.
IT ACTUALLY, WHEN WE COMBINE THESE TWO ROUTES TOGETHER, THE FREQUENCY IS GOING TO INCREASE AND, UM, FROM WHAT IT IS TODAY, AND PROBABLY THE SPAN WILL, UH, INCREASE ALSO, MEANING IT MIGHT OPERATE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER OR, OR A LITTLE BIT LATER AT NIGHT.
IT DEFINITELY IMPROVES THAT CONNECTIVITY THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR, REDUCES THOSE, UM, TRANSFERS BY PROVIDING A ONE SEAT RIDE.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, IT WILL, THE DOWNSIDE THERE IS A NEGATIVE TO THIS.
IT DOES HAVE A SLIGHTLY LONGER ROUND TRIP TIME.
HOWEVER, AS WE'VE TALKED TO STUDENTS, UM, THEY SEEM TO BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT LONGER, UM, ROUND TRIP TIME FOR MORE FREQUENT SERVICE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE'VE, UM, OBSERVED IN OTHER AREAS.
ALSO, JUST NOTE THAT UT STUDENTS ARE MORE OF A COMMUTER TYPE STUDENT, UM, OR CUSTOMER WHERE THEY, UH, THEY OFTEN DO HOMEWORK, CHECK SOCIAL MEDIA, WHATEVER IT IS YOUNG KIDS DO THESE DAYS, THEY SIT THERE ON THE BUS AND DO IT ALL.
UM, SO ANYHOW, THIS IS A, UM, MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE BECAUSE WHEN YOU COMBINE TWO ROUTES, WE ARE TECHNICALLY ELIMINATING ONE ROUTE.
UM, THE ELIMINATION OF A ROUTE.
IT DOES QUALIFY AS A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE PER OUR BOARD ADOPTED A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE POLICY.
SO WE CONDUCTED A, UM, SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS, AND WE FOUND, UM, FOR THE COMBINED COMBINATION, WE FOUND NO DISPARATE IMPACT
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ON OUR, UH, FOR MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY OF COLOR, NOR DID WE FIND A DISPARATE IMPACT FOR THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, UM, THAT HAVE LOW INCOMES.WE'VE HAD A ROBUST, UM, OUTREACH FOR THIS, UM, CHANGE.
UM, IT STARTED WITH A BOARD MEMO TO THE, TO, TO, UH, Y'ALL SETTING UP HERE, UH, THEN MOVED INTO AT STOP OUTREACH ON CAMPUS.
UM, SO WE TALKED TO, I BELIEVE, 66, 70 ISH STUDENTS, ALMOST EVERY OPERATOR THAT THAT OPERATES THOSE TWO ROUTES WE WERE, HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO.
UM, WE HAD MEETINGS WITH VARIOUS, UM, UT STAKEHOLDERS, THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE BEING, UH, THE UT SHUTTLE BUS COMMITTEE.
AND THAT'S AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT IS HOUSED OVER AT UT, UH, MADE UP OF STUDENT STAFF AND FACULTY THAT GUIDE THE SHUTTLE BUS.
AND THEY HAVE ENDORSED THIS CHANGE.
UM, THEY DID ALSO ASK FOR IT, SO, YOU KNOW, NOT SURPRISINGLY THAT IT WAS, WAS ALSO ENDORSED.
UM, WE, OUR, OUR WEBSITE WAS UPDATED WITH A COMMENT BOX AND WE'RE REVIEWING THOSE, UH, COMMENTS AS WE, UH, CONTINUE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE HAVE BUS STOP SIGNAGE UP WHAT WE, WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEES.
UM, WE HAVE, OBVIOUSLY RIGHT NOW THIS PUBLIC HEARING.
UH, THEN WE'LL HAVE, UM, ASK THE BOARD TO APPROVE IT ON APRIL 22ND.
AND IF APPROVED BY THE BOARD, THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON AUGUST 18TH.
WE ALSO CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS AND MEMBER CITIES TO ACHIEVE, UM, OUR VISION OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE REGION.
UH, A LOT OF THIS COLLABORATION IS BEING WORKED ON BY OUR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND OUR REGIONAL PLANNERS, UH, LOOKING TO UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE, UH, REGION AND, AND, UM, AND HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING ONES THAT'S COMING UP, OR EXCITING TO ME AT LEAST, IS OUR, UH, TRANSIT, UM, SERVICE PLAN THAT'S JUST KICKING OFF.
Y'ALL WILL BE HEARING A LOT MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, LITERALLY IT KICKED OFF LIKE LAST WEEK, SO IT'S, IT'S STILL REALLY NEW.
UM, PICKUP SERVICE, UM, IS OUR NEXT TOPIC.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A MOMENT AND ALLOW PUBLIC COMMENT.
OH, WELL, THIS IS STERILE SERVICE CHANGES.
THE INSIDE WAS ACCIDENTALLY IN THERE.
UM, SO YEAH, WE DO WANNA QUICKLY GO OVER HOW OUR PICKUP ZONES ARE PERFORMING.
UM, WE HAVE OUR BOARD APPROVED, UH, PICKUP SERVICE GUIDELINES THAT HAS A SCORING, UH, METHOD FOR US.
AND WE LOOK AT THIS TO GUIDE WHAT WE DO WITH OUR PICKUP ZONES.
THERE'S THREE CATEGORIES, COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS, SERVICE QUALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY.
THERE'S A TOTAL OF 30 POINTS IN EACH CATEGORY FOR, UM, A TOTAL OF 90 POINTS.
I GUESS I WOULD MEAN THE PERFECT PICKUP ZONE WOULD HAVE, WOULD SCORE 90.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PERFECT ONES, BUT WE HAVE SOME REALLY, REALLY CLOSE ONES.
UM, WE WE'RE SEEING SOME SCORES INCREASE FROM OUR JUNE TO DECEMBER SCORING.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TWO, UM, THREE THAT ARE OPERATING REALLY WELL AND SEVERAL THAT ARE, ARE, ARE DOING VERY, VERY WELL.
AND THEN ONE THAT WE'LL KIND OF LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE AT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WANNA POINT OUT, THE LAST TIME I PRESENT THESE SCORES TO THIS BOARD, WE TALKED ABOUT EXPOSITION THAT IT WASN'T, WAS NOT MEETING, UH, THE, UM, EXPECTATIONS.
UM, FOLKS DID AN AWESOME JOB ABOUT GOING OUT THERE WITH A RIDERSHIP, UM, CAMPAIGN, OUR PICKUP TEAM.
AND EVERYBODY WORKED REALLY HARD, AND YOU CAN SEE NOW TO EXPOSITION WENT UP 14 POINTS AND IT IS NO LONGER IN THE, DOES NOT MEET EXPECT EXPECTATIONS.
THE ONE ROUTE THAT NOW IS DOWN IN, UH, DOES NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS IS NORTH OAK HILL.
UM, IT HAS SOME SEASONAL RIDERSHIP, THAT'S WHY IT DID SO MUCH BETTER IN JUNE.
STUDENTS AND, UM, STUDENTS AND INTERNS OUT THERE RIDE THE SERVICE.
UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A PROPOSED CHANGE THAT WE THINK WILL GET THAT MUCH MORE, UH, SOLID TO BE PERFORMING YEAR ROUND.
SO AFTER AN INTERNAL REVIEW OF OUR PICKUP SERVICE, UM, WE ARE PROPOSING CHANGES TO FOUR PICKUP ZONES.
UM, THESE REQUIRE MINIMAL, UH, IMPACT ON RESOURCES AND STAFFING.
AGAIN, PICKUP, JUST LIKE FIXED DRAW IS EXPERIENCING, UH, RESOURCE, UM, RE RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS.
AND MOST OF THESE CHANGES ARE, ARE FOCUSED ON CLOSING, UM, DONUT HOUSE.
SO IT'S JUST DIVE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, FOR THE EAST A TX, WHICH SERVES RIGHT OUT IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, WE'RE LOOKING TO CLOSE THE ZONE NORTH OF BOGGY CREEK.
UM, UH, BETWEEN SPRING, UH, SPRINGDALE AND, UM, BASICALLY THE PLEASANT VALLEY AREA.
UH, THIS WILL PROVIDE SERVICE TO A PHARMACY, A BANK, AND SOME OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
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SO HOPE THAT WILL CONTINUE TO GROW TO RIDERSHIP THERE.FOR, UH, THE DESAL, UH, ZONE, WE GOT TWO AREAS WE'RE TRYING TO CLOSE DOWN WHOLE SOUTH OF HOWARD LANE, AND THEN ONE, UM, EAST OF 35.
THE, THE ONE EAST OF 35, UH, INCLUDES AN APARTMENT COMPLEX COMPLEX THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.
UM, SEVERAL REQUESTS TO SERVE.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY THAT'LL RAISE, UH, THIS ZONES, UH, SCORE UP.
ALSO WALNUT CREEK, WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, UM, UH, A PORTION TO IT ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER.
AND THEN FINALLY FOR OAK HILL, WE ARE LOOKING TO, THIS IS THE ONE THAT'S A LITTLE UNIQUE.
WE ARE LOOKING TO ACTUALLY TRIM PART OF THE, UH, WESTERN PART OF, WE HAVE FOUND THAT THAT SEGMENT GENERATES VERY LITTLE RIDERSHIP.
UM, AND INSTEAD WE WANNA PUT IN SOME RIDERSHIP, UM, OR AS PART OF ADD TO ZONE IN TWO AREAS SOUTH OF, UM, 71.
AND WE BELIEVE WITH THESE CHANGES, WE WILL HAVE THIS, UM, ZONE CONSISTENTLY, UM, CONSISTENTLY PERFORMING, UM, IN THE MEETS EXPECTATIONS.
WITH THAT, I AM, UH, DONE WITH MY, UH, PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR TURN IT OVER TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
BOARD, BOARD MEMBERS, UM, BOARD MEMBER OF VELA AND THEN, UH, THEN HIS COLLEAGUE NEXT DOOR.
MS. ELLIS, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
THE RIDERSHIP REFERS, IS THAT A MONTHLY RIDERSHIP ON THE, UH, PICKUP ZONE? UM, THAT IS, YES, THAT IS MA.
AND THEN WITH REGARD TO THE UT SHUTTLE, UH, WHAT WAS THE, UH, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS GROUP THAT REVIEWED AND SUPPORTED, AND I'M SORRY IF I, UH, I MAY HAVE MISHEARD, BUT DID THEY REQUEST THE YES.
COMBINATION? SO YES, IT IS THE UT SHUTTLE BUS, UH, COMMITTEE.
IT, IT, IT IS, UM, THE, THE PART OF UT THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS SHUTTLE BUS IS PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.
SO THEY, UH, ASSEMBLE THIS, UM, GROUP OF STAFF, FACULTY AND STUDENTS THAT, UH, PROVIDE US GUIDANCE.
AND THEN A, WE MEET WITH THEM TO USUALLY TWO TIMES A SEMESTER.
AND WHEN WE MET WITH THEM EARLY IN, UM, THE FALL SEMESTER, THEY, UH, RAISED THIS SUGGESTION FOR US.
AND THEN THEY'RE, THEY'VE, THEY'RE AWARE OF IT AND, AND SUPPORT IT.
UM, BOARD MEMBER ELLIS, I, I ALWAYS GET STUCK ON PAGE.
SO I CAN JUST BE COUNCIL MEMBER PAGE.
UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE NORTH OAK HILL AREA.
UM, THIS IS IN MY DISTRICT IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.
AND, UM, JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL KIND OF KNEW SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
UM, COUNCIL IS SET TO VOTE ON, UM, A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT AMENDMENT ON THE 18TH THAT INVOLVES, UH, APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT WOULD BE 50 OVER 50% AFFORDABLE UNITS.
UM, I CAN'T SAY WHERE THAT VOTE WILL END UP ON COUNCIL, 'CAUSE I'M, I, YOU KNOW, SUB QUORUM ISSUES.
BUT, UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HAVE MORE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY IN THE AREA.
UM, A CC DID RECENTLY WRAP IN PINNACLE CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS TO REINVIGORATE THEIR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING IN THAT PART OF THE DISTRICT.
UM, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE KIND OF LOOKING AT WHERE PEOPLE ARE GETTING ON AND OFF THE PICKUP SERVICE AND, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO PARTNER SOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND DOLLARS WITH A CC IF, IF IT WORKS OUT WITH THEIR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
AND THAT SEEMS TO BE THE RIGHT WAY TO MOVE FORWARD FOR THIS PART OF TOWN.
UM, SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT SOME POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS IF IT HELPS WITH RIDERSHIP AND THERE'S PLACES WE THINK PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THE SERVICE MORE OFTEN, ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW HEB OPENING ON 1826, ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO AGO.
UM, SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE HOW THIS MOVES FORWARD AND HOW WE CAN HELP MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS IN SOUTHWEST AUSTIN HAVE ACCESS TO A GREAT SERVICE.
THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS THAT SAY MAYBE THE BUS IS A FLYER ROUTE OR ONLY COMES EVERY 35 MINUTES OR SO, BUT HAVING A PICKUP SERVICE THAT FUNCTIONS WITHIN THAT AREA AND CAN GET PEOPLE, UH, WHERE THEY NEED TO BE JUST WITHIN NORTH OAK HILL, I THINK, UM, WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS.
SO I'LL TAKE A LOOK A FURTHER LOOK AT THIS AND APPRECIATE Y'ALL LOOKING INTO IT.
ALRIGHT, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? OKAY.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? THIRD TIME HERE.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, I WILL OPEN THE MEETING UP TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, THE, UH, FIRST PERSON THAT WE HAVE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS MS. ZIA JOSEPH.
UM, SHE WILL JOIN US REMOTELY.
IS SHE AVAILABLE? UM, MR. EASTON.
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MS. JOSEPH, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.MY COMMENTS ARE SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE REQUEST FOR THE UT 6 41 SEAT RIDE.
I AM REALLY AT A LOSS FOR WORDS.
WE HAVE BEEN ASKING TO HAVE OUR SERVICE RESTORED ON 3 92 TO THE ARBORETUM AND IT'S FALLEN ON DEAF EARS.
AND SO I'M ASKING FOR THE FALL 2024 SERVICE CHANGES FOR YOU TO SIMPLY RESTORE OUR SERVICE BACK TO WHAT IT WAS BEFORE JUNE 3RD, 2018.
ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, THERE IS A 25 MINUTE RECOVERY PERIOD AT KRAMER STATION.
THE BUS GOES TWO STOPS FROM BREAKER AND BURNETT AND THEN ROBERTO GONZALEZ UNILATERALLY MAKES MINORITY PEOPLE WAIT 25 MINUTES.
THAT'S A WHOLE ROUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
I JUST WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT WHILE YOU MAY NOT HAVE A DISPAR DISPARATE IMPACT HERE, I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER THAT THE TWO 40 WAS UNILATERALLY ELIMINATED AND YOU DID NOT COMPLY WITH THE TITLE SIX POLICY TO HAVE A HEARING.
DAVID'S HOSPITAL WAS INCLUDED IN THE NOVEMBER 1ST, 2020, 2017 HEARING.
AND SO WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT, YOU COMPLY WITH THE POLICY.
AND AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO OAK HILL, I JUST WANT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS TO REMEMBER IT WAS LAWRENCE DIETER, WHO WAS QUOTED IN THE OAK HILL GAZETTE WAY BACK ON NOVEMBER, UH, 2016, NOVEMBER 21ST.
AND HE SAID, QUOTE, HE TOLD THE GROUP, SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DOES NOT MEET THE TRANSIT AGENCIES DENSITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE.
AND THEN THE SERVICE IMPROVED AND IT ACTUALLY ROUTE 3, 3 3 LAPS EVERY OTHER TRIP OFF OF WILLIAM CANNON TE CONVIC HILL FOR 2.9 BOARDINGS AN HOUR IN THE WATERSHED RESTRICTED AREA.
I WANT YOU TO RESTORE OUR SERVICE ON ROUTE 3 92 AND RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE OVER 2000 UNITS ON JAEGER AND RIDGE BOULEVARD.
THERE ARE ABOUT SIX COMPLEXES AND THERE'S ONE BEING BUILT TODAY.
AND THAT PARTICULAR DEVELOPER SAID THE ROUTE WAS FREQUENT, WHICH WAS A LIE, BUT THEY CHECKED THE BOX ANYWAY TO GIVE THE DEVELOPER SOME ENTITLEMENTS.
AND SO I WANT YOU TO TREAT US EQUITABLY AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR EAST WEST CONNECTIVITY ON PALMER LANE.
AND YOU CAN USE THE PICKUP VEHICLES EXPANDING THE ZONE ON
AND I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL THAT THE RELIABILITY ON 3 92 AS WELL AS 2 37 AND 3 39, WHICH BY THE WAY, COUNCIL MEMBER ALICE IS 60 MINUTES WHEN THE BUS GOES DOWN, THAT MEANS THE PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS, WALKER AND CANES ARE WAITING TWO HOURS AT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE.
AND THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN WHO TOLD ME ABOUT HIS PROBLEMS TRYING TO GET TO THE DOLLAR TREE ON BURNETT ROAD.
HE LIVES AT COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE AND HAS A DISABILITY TOO.
AND SO YOU'RE NOT BEING EQUITABLE, YOU'RE NOT BEING FAIR, AND YOU'RE NOT COMPLIANT WITH TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN.
YOU SAY YOU IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES.
JOSEPH, YOU'VE HAD THREE MINUTES.
AND I WOULD JUST ASK YOU TO REVISIT THE AREA THAT'S NORTH OF US, 180 3 AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS.
I JUST CAN'T HEAR THE BEEP FROM HERE, BUT THANK YOU.
IS, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE, IN THE ROOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT ON THAT TOPIC? ON THIS TOPIC? ANYONE ELSE? OKAY.
IF WE, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM, THEN WE WILL MOVE, UH, TO OUR SECOND PRESENTATION.
AND I THINK, UM, MR. DIETER WILL ALSO MAKE THAT PRESENTATION OF, OH NO, THAT WOULD BE, UM, MS. MARTINEZ.
UH, YES, THE PROPOSED CAP METRO TITLE SIX POLICY CHANGES.
UH, PLEASE PROCEED IF I HAD LOOKED UP.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR TRILLIAN, UH, PRESIDENT AND CEO DOTTIE WATKINS, BOARD MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
I'M A PLANNER HERE AT CAP METRO.
UM, TODAY I'M ALSO JOINED BY OUR CONSULTANT FROM CAMBRIDGE SYSTEM SYSTEMATICS.
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ARMSTRONG IS HERE WITH US VIRTUALLY AND HE WILL BE HERE AS A RESOURCE FOR YOU ALL AFTER THE PRESENTATION AS WELL.UM, SO CAP METRO IS UPDATING, UM, OUR TITLE SIX POLICY.
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TODAY IS, UH, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF TITLE SIX, OUR EXISTING TITLE SIX POLICIES, WHAT EXACTLY WE ARE PROPOSING TO CHANGE, UM, AND THEN AN UPDATE ON OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
UM, SO FIRST OFF, TITLE SIX REFERS TO TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN, UM, IN PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
AND SO THAT INCLUDES CAP METRO.
UM, THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES US WITH SOME GUIDANCE FOR HOW TRANSIT AGENCIES CAN COMPLY WITH, UM, TITLE VI.
AND THAT GUIDANCE COMES FROM THE FDA CIRCULAR 47 0 2 0.1 B.
UM, SO JUST THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE GUIDANCE THAT WE'LL BE REFERENCING, UM, TODAY.
AND AS A NOTE, THE CIRCULAR USES THE PHRASE, UH, MINORITY POPULATION TO DEFINE A NON-WHITE POPULATION.
SO THAT'S THE TERMINOLOGY I'LL BE USING THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, SO ONE OF THE WAYS THAT CAB METRO IS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH TITLE SIX IS THROUGH EVALUATING OUR MAJOR SERVICE CHANGES AND THE TITLE VI IMPACTS, UH, FROM THOSE, FROM THOSE SERVICE CHANGES ON MINORITY AND LOW INCOME GROUPS.
UM, THIS EVALUATION IS CALLED A SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS, AND IT HELPS US TO DETERMINE IF THE IMPACT OF A SERVICE CHANGE IS DISCRIMINATORY.
SO WHEN A CHANGE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS MINORITY POPULATIONS, WE CALL IT A DISPARATE IMPACT.
UH, WHEN A CHANGE DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS LOW INCOME POPULATIONS, THAT IS CALLED A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN.
AND THEN COLLECTIVELY, WE REFER TO EITHER OF THOSE THINGS AS AN ADVERSE IMPACT CAP.
METRO'S TITLE SIX GOAL IS FOR MINORITY AND LOW INCOME POPULATIONS TO RECEIVE AT LEAST THEIR SHARE OF THE BENEFITS IN THE CASE OF A NET SERVICE INCREASE, UM, AND NO MORE THAN THEIR SHARE OF THE ADVERSE EFFECTS IN THE CASE OF NET SERVICE REDUCTIONS.
TWO OF THE POLICIES THAT DETAIL THE SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS PROCESS ARE OUR MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE POLICY AND OUR DISPARATE IMPACT AND DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN POLICY.
YOU MIGHT HEAR THAT REFERRED TO AS OUR DIDB POLICY FOR SHORT.
BOTH OF THESE ARE REQUIRED BY THE FDA TO BE APPROVED BY THE CAT METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
THE MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE POLICY TELLS US WHEN, UM, A REQUIRED SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS IS TRIGGERED.
AND CAP METRO POLICY STATES THAT, UH, IF A SERVICE CHANGE AFFECTS MORE THAN 25% OF THE ROUTES ANNUAL MILES OR HOURS, THEN A TITLE SIX ANALYSIS WOULD BE REQUIRED.
THE DIDB POLICY, UH, THAT TELLS US HOW TO IDENTIFY A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON MINORITY OR LOW INCOME GROUPS.
AND CAT METRO POLICY STATES THAT MINORITY OR LOW INCOME POPULATIONS ARE BEING DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY A SERVICE CHANGE WHEN THEY RECEIVE EITHER MORE THAN 2% OF THEIR SHARE OF THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF A SERVICE CHANGE OR LESS THAN 2% OF THE BENEFITS OF A SERVICE CHANGE.
UM, AND WE JUST WANNA NOTE THOSE THRESHOLDS, THE 25% AND THE 2% WENT THROUGH A REALLY ROBUST, UH, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IN 2021, WHICH WAS THE LAST POLICY UPDATE.
SO WE DON'T ANTICIPATE, ANTICIPATE ANY CHANGES, UH, TO THOSE THRESHOLDS.
WITH THIS POLICY UPDATE EVERY THREE YEARS, CAP METRO REVIEWS OUR TITLE SIX POLICIES TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE FULLY COMPLIANT.
AND SO FOR THIS CURRENT REVIEW, WE HIRED A CONSULTING TEAM, CAMBRIDGE SYSTEMATICS, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT CAP METRO'S CURRENT METHODOLOGY IS FULLY COMPLIANT WITH TITLE SIX REGULATIONS, UM, AND IN LINE WITH INDUSTRY PRACTICES.
UM, BUT THE TEAM USED THIS REVIEW PERIOD ALSO AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES ABOUT HOW THEY DO TITLE SIX AND SPECIFICALLY HOW THEY, UM, DO THEIR SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS.
AND SO THROUGH THAT REVIEW, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE EXISTING METHODOLOGY THAT WE USE.
UM, AND THE FOLLOWING UPDATES ARE INTENDED TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS OF TITLE SIX, UM, OF THE TITLE SIX ANALYSIS, AND THEN PROVIDE GREATER EFFICIENCY FOR STAFF TO IDENTIFY SITUATIONS WHERE THERE MIGHT BE A DISPARATE IMPACT OR A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN.
SO AS RECOMMENDED, UM, BY OUR CONSULTING TEAM AFTER A PEER REVIEW CAP, METRO IS PROPOSING TO UPDATE OUR SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS PROCESS IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.
FIRST, WE WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT WHERE FEASIBLE, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS SHOULD BE BASED ON CURRENT ONBOARD SURVEY DATA RATHER THAN CENSUS DATA.
AND SECONDLY, WE WOULD LIKE TO UPDATE THE ANALYSIS TO INCLUDE THE SERVICE AREA AVERAGE AS THE BASELINE FOR DETERMINING POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS.
BY UPDATING AND CLARIFYING CAP METRO'S METHODOLOGY, WE CAN MORE CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON MINORITY AND LOW INCOME POPULATIONS.
AND IN SO DOING, WE CAN MAKE BETTER AND MORE INFORMED DECISIONS IN HOW WE PROVIDE SERVICE.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND LOOK AT EACH OF THESE PROPOSED UPDATES INDIVIDUALLY.
[00:30:03]
UH, FIRST AS I SAID, WE WOULD LIKE TO USE THE ONBOARD SURVEY DATA FOR OUR TITLE SIX ANALYSIS.AND IN THE PAST, CAP METRO HAS RELIED, UH, ON GENERAL DEMO DEMOGRAPHICS FROM THE US CENSUS BUREAU TO ASSESS POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF OUR SERVICE CHANGES.
HOWEVER, AS REQUIRED EVERY FIVE YEARS BY THE FDA, WE HAVE RECENTLY CONCLUDED AN EXTENSIVE ONBOARD SURVEY THAT PROVIDES STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT CAP METRO WRITERS.
UM, SO CAP METRO STAFF STAFF PLAN TO UTILIZE THIS MOST CURRENT ONBOARD SURVEY DATA AS A PILLAR OF OUR TITLE SIX SERVICE EQUITY ANALYSIS ONBOARD SURVEY DATA REALLY PROVIDES THE MOST ACCURATE PICTURE OF OUR RIDER AND THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS, UM, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT SUCH A PRIME CHOICE FOR ANALYZING SERVICE CHANGES THAT AFFECT, UH, EXISTING USERS OF OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM AS A WHOLE AND BY SERVICE TYPES.
TO GIVE YOU SOME MORE CONTEXT, UM, THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SURVEY THAT I'M REFERRING TO INCLUDED MORE THAN 23,000 SURVEYS THAT WERE COMPLETED.
UM, SO IT WAS A VERY, UM, MASSIVE EFFORT AND THAT'S WHY THE DATA IS SO RICH AS A NOTE.
UM, THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE NEVER USING CENSUS DATA AGAIN.
DECENNIAL CENSUS OR AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY DATA CAN STILL CONTINUE TO SERVE AS THE BEST DATA SOURCE FOR ROUTE ALIGNMENT CHANGES OR NEW ROUTES, UM, SINCE CENSUS DATA ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY BASED AND THEY PRIMARILY TELL US ABOUT THE RESIDENTS NEARBY A PROPOSED TRANSIT ROUTE.
SECOND, WE ARE PROPOSING AN UPDATE TO THE ANALYSIS THAT WOULD USE THE SERVICE AREA AVERAGE AS THE BASELINE FOR DETERMINING POTENTIAL IMPACTS.
UM, IN THE PAST WE'VE COMPARED NON-MINORITY TO MINORITY POPULATIONS AT THE ROUTE LEVEL.
AND THE UPDATED POLICY WOULD MEAN COMPARING A ROUTE TO MINORITY POPULATION TO THE SERVICE AREAS MINORITY POPULATION.
UM, THE FOLLOWING TABLES THAT I'LL WALK THROUGH SHOW SOME HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW CAP METRO WOULD USE ONBOARD SURVEY DATA, UM, AND THE SERVICE AREA AVERAGE TO IDENTIFY A DISPARATE IMPACT OR DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN IN THE CASE OF A MAJOR SERVICE CHANGE.
AND IN ALL OF THESE HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A REDUCTION IN SERVICE.
SO IN THIS FIRST EXAMPLE THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN, 72% OF THE PEOPLE WHO RIDE ROUTE A ARE RACIAL MINORITIES.
ON AVERAGE MINORITY RIDER MAKE UP JUST 69% OF CAT METRO'S RIDERSHIP, MEANING THAT ROUTE A IS MINORITY POPULATION IS THREE PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER THAN CAP METRO'S SERVICE AREA AVERAGE.
AND SINCE THAT DIFFERENCE IS MORE THAN 2%, WHICH IS CAP METRO'S THRESHOLD, THERE WOULD BE A DISPARATE IMPACT FINDING IN THAT FIRST EXAMPLE.
SO LET'S DO ANOTHER ONE AS ANOTHER EXAMPLE FOR ROUTE B, 80% OF THE WRITERS HAVE LOW INCOME.
THIS WOULD BE MUCH HIGHER THAN THE SERVICE AREA AVERAGE OF 49% LOW INCOME WRITERS, SINCE THAT DIFFERENCE IS MORE THAN 2%, IT'S 31 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER, WE WOULD IDENTIFY A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN IN THAT HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO.
UH, SO LET'S DO ONE MORE EXAMPLE IN THIS TIME WHERE THERE IS NOT A TITLE SIX FINDING FOR ROUTE C, UH, SAY 30% OF THE WRITERS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
THIS IS LOWER THAN THE SERVICE AREA AVERAGE OF 69% MINORITY WRITERS.
AND SINCE THAT DIFFERENCE IS LESS THAN 2%, THE DIFFERENCE HERE IS NEGATIVE 39%, THERE WOULD BE NO DISPARATE IMPACT FINDING.
UM, SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT'S COME UP IN OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DO FIND A DISPARATE IMPACT OR A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN? AND THERE ARE A FEW OPTIONS.
SO FIRST, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT A PARTICULAR SERVICE CHANGE AND WE DO THE ANALYSIS AND WE FIND THAT MINORITY OR LOW INCOME POPULATIONS ARE BEING NEGATIVELY IMPACTED, WE HAVE THE OPTION TO GO BACK AND REVISIT THAT CHANGE.
UM, WE CAN DO FURTHER ANALYSIS TO SEE IF WE CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME OUTCOMES THROUGH A DIFFERENT CHANGE OR IF WE SHOULD JUST NOT DO THAT CHANGE AT ALL.
THE SECOND OPTION IS TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF A SERVICE CHANGE AND THE TYPE OF MITIGATION, UM, WOULD DEPEND ON THE CHANGE.
AND PLANNERS WOULD NEED TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF ACTIONS WOULD, UH, BEST MINIMIZE THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS.
AND FINALLY, IF THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION, A TRANSIT AGENCY MAY CHOOSE TO IMPLEMENT A SERVICE CHANGE WHEN THERE IS WHAT THE FDA CALLS A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION.
WHILE WE DON'T WANT TO USE, UM, THAT JUSTIFICATION, THERE MAY BE TIMES SUCH AS AN EMERGENCY LIKE COVID, UH, WHERE SERVICE REDUCTIONS, EVEN THOSE IMPACTING MINORITY OR LOW INCOME RIDER HAVE TO HAPPEN FOR THE HOLISTIC BENEFIT OF THE SYSTEM.
HOWEVER, OUR AIM AS PLANNERS IS ALWAYS TO DEVELOP PROPOSALS THAT EITHER AVOID A FINDING ALTOGETHER OR PROVIDE MEANINGFUL MITIGATIONS WHEN THERE IS NO AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVE.
IN ADDITION, WE RECOGNIZE THAT ANY UPDATE TO THE TITLE SIX POLICY NEEDS A ROBUST AND INCLUSIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EFFORT.
[00:35:01]
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT MATTERS A LOT TO OUR COMMUNITY.UM, CAP METRO'S PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT EFFORTS FOR THE PROPOSED TITLE SIX POLICY UPDATE INCLUDED A TWO PHASE PLAN TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS THAT BEGAN IN LATE FEBRUARY.
AND THAT FIRST PHASE INCLUDED BROAD OUTREACH TO INFORM AND COLLECT PUBLIC FEEDBACK.
THROUGH MARCH, WE DID OUTREACH AT HIGH RIDERSHIP BUS STOPS THAT WERE SCORED IN THE 85TH PERCENTILE OR ABOVE FOR MINORITY OR LOW INCOME POPULATIONS, AND WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH 162 OF OUR WRITERS THERE.
UM, WE ALSO HELD A VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE.
WE PROVIDED A RECORDED ONLINE WEBINAR PRESENTED TO OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND WE SENT OUT EMAIL AND TEXT MESSAGES TO ASK MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOR FEEDBACK.
UM, ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT METHODS INCLUDED A DEDICATED WEBPAGE, PRINTED FLYERS AND AT STOP SIGNAGE.
AND THE SECOND PHASE INVOLVED AN OUTREACH CAMPAIGN THAT ENGAGED STAKEHOLDERS INTEGRATED THE PUBLIC FEEDBACK THAT, UM, WE DID RECEIVE AND CULMINATED WITH TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING.
THE PROJECT TEAM WILL SEEK FINAL BOARD APPROVAL ON MAY 20TH, AND THAT WILL OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME AS APPROVAL OF THE TITLE SIX PROGRAM UPDATE.
UM, IN ADDITION, I WANNA NOTE TO ENSURE INCLUSIVITY, WE FOLLOWED OUR LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PLAN FOR ALL MATERIALS AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.
AND AS ALWAYS, OUR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, UM, CAN BE TAILORED AND EXPANDED TO MEET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND COMMUNITY NEEDS.
UH, THIS CAN INCLUDE ADDITIONAL PRESENTATIONS, ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS, EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS AND MARKETING MATERIALS.
UM, AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE CONTENT OF MY PRESENTATION.
I WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
AND AS A REMINDER, UM, OUR CONSULTANT PRICE ARMSTRONG IS HERE AS A RESOURCE FOR YOU AS WELL.
BOARD MEMBERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING BOARD MEMBER HARRIS? JUST ONE.
MS. MARTINEZ, UH, FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE, BUT WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU DEFINE A, HOW DO YOU DEFINE A SERVICE AREA ON A PARTICULAR ROUTE? IS IT A DISTANCE FACTOR FROM WHERE THAT ROUTE DRIVE, WHERE THAT ROUTE DRIVES FROM? OR IN OTHER WORDS, HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE SERVICE AREA? YEAH, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON, UM, THE SERVICE CHANGE.
SO LIKE IN THE PAST WE'VE TRIED TO GROUP ROUTES TOGETHER THAT ARE AFFECTING THE SAME COMMUNITY.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THE UPDATE IS TO USE DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES BASED ON THE, ON THE CHANGE.
SO, UM, IN THE CASE OF, YOU KNOW, A ROUTE THAT IS AFFECTING PRIMARILY EXISTING TRANSIT USERS, WE WOULD LOOK AT THE RIDER BEING AFFECTED, UM, BASED ON THE ONBOARD SURVEY DATA.
IN THE CASE OF A ROUTE ALIGNMENT CHANGE, THE STUDY AREA WOULD BE DETERMINED MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY.
SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A QUARTER MILE AROUND THE AFFECTED AREA.
THAT'S, I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT.
IS IT, IS IT JUST A, IS A, IS A QUARTER MILE SORT OF LIKE THE, THE NORMAL STANDARD THAT ARE USED BY TRANSIT AGENCIES IN TERMS OF OFF OF A, OFF OF A PARTICULAR LINE? YEAH, A QUARTER MILE I WOULD SAY IS GENERALLY PRETTY STANDARD.
AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF THE CHANGE.
SO HIGH CAPACITY YOU MAY HAVE A, A LARGER SERVICE AREA VERSUS UM, A LOCAL ROUTE.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS GOOD WHEN WHAT YOU SAY IT LINES UP WITH THE CEO
UH, ANY ADDITIONAL BOARD QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? ALRIGHT, UM, YES, I HAVE ONE.
YEAH, JUST HAVE ONE, UH, BOARD MEMBER BANK.
I JUST MAKING SURE I GET MY HEAD AROUND THE CHANGE IN WHAT WE'RE REPLACING THE DATA.
SO IN YOUR EXAMPLE ONE WHERE IT'S WITH A SHADED COLUMN, MINORITY WRITERS IN THE SERVICE AREA ONBOARD SURVEY THAT REPLACES THE CENSUS POPULATION DATA POINT.
UM, LET ME MAKE SURE I'M REFERRING TO THE CORRECT EXAMPLE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
SO WHICH PAGE ARE YOU ON BOARD MEMBER? UH, THE EXAMPLE ONE HYPOTHETICAL ROUTE A AND YOUR QUESTION IS IF THE ON ONBOARD SURVEY DATA IS REPLACING THE CENSUS DATA YES.
SO, UM, IT IS NOT THAT WE'RE NEVER GOING TO USE CENSUS DATA FOR SERVICE CHANGE ANALYSIS.
THE HOPE OF THIS UPDATE IS THAT WE HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO USE ONBOARD SURVEY DATA WHEN THE SERVICE CHANGE WARRANTS IT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE CASE IS THAT IT'S NOT A ROUTE ALIGNMENT CHANGE OR SOMETHING THAT IS MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY BASED, WE'RE PROPOSING THAT ONBOARD SURVEY DATA IS THE BEST, UH, CHOICE FOR THAT TYPE OF SERVICE CHANGE BECAUSE IT TELLS US ABOUT THE WRITERS OF THE EXISTING TRANSIT SYSTEM.
RIGHT? SO BEFORE, IF YOU DIDN'T LOOK AT IT THAT WAY MM-HMM,
SO WE'RE REPLACING WITH ACTUAL RIDERSHIP? THAT'S CORRECT, YES.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S THE COLUMN I'M LOOKING AT CHANGING.
ALRIGHT, WITH, WITH NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, UH, WE WILL OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED, UH, CAP METRO TITLE SIX POLICY CHANGES AT THIS TIME.
UH, WE HAVE ONE PERSON SIGNED UP, MS.
[00:40:01]
ZIA JOSEPH, WHO IS JOINING US REMOTELY.UH, MS. JOSEPH, IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I'M OPIA JOSEPH, LET ME JUST PREFACE BY SAYING ON APRIL 7TH, 2024, I SENT MY COMMENTS TO CHIEF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OF THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, JAIME ESPARZA, U-S-A-T-X-W DO CIVIL RIGHTS@USDOJ.GOV.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE CIRCUMVENTING TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR TRIENNIAL REVIEW FROM 2021.
ON PAGE 1 0 3 OF 2 66, YOU ACTUALLY USE THE 2010 CENSUS DATA.
AND AS IT RELATED TO THE MINORITY AREAS, SPECIFICALLY BLACK ASIAN, IT LISTS SOME OTHER, UH, NATIONALITIES AS WELL AS WELL AS HISPANICS.
IT SAYS THAT, UH, CAPITAL METRO, SPECIFICALLY EAST OF I 35, THE EAST CENTRAL AREA, NORTH AND SOUTHEAST PART QUOTE, THESE AREAS HAVE RELATIVELY GOOD ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSIT OFFERINGS, UNQUOTE.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS OLD DATA.
SO IF YOU PASS TODAY THAT YOU'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE POLICY, THAT MEANS YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ANY ANALYSIS THAT RELATES TO GENTRIFICATION BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T USE THE 2020 CENSUS DATA.
AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO LEAVE THE POLICY AS IS AND RECOGNIZE THAT IF YOU CHANGE THE POLICY TO ONLY USE PEOPLE WHO ARE RIDING THE BUS, THE TAXPAYERS ON PARER LANE, PIONEER CROSSING AND OTHER PLACES IN THE SERVICE AREA WHO HAVE NO TRANSIT AND CAN'T GET ON THE BUSES, WILL NEVER HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD.
AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO YOUR NOTICES, I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE NOTICE WAS NOT ROBUST.
IT WAS NOT ON ALL THE BUSES LIKE THE SOCCER STADIUM FLYERS ARE.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT DEAN KEON SPECIFICALLY IT'S WAY AT THE TOP OF THE POLE.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THERE'S ONE FLYER, ONE NOTICE AT REPUBLIC SQUARE ON THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE, NOT THE NORTHBOUND SIDE, AND AT NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER, IT'S IN THE DARK ON THE ACCESS ROAD HIGH UP WHERE THE ACTUAL 8 0 1 1 SIGN IS.
AND THERE ARE TWO OTHERS THERE.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THIS WAS NOT ROBUST AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU LISTENED TO ME OR NOT, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT I ACTUALLY AM ON THE SYSTEM AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THERE WERE NOT VERY MANY FLYERS I SAW ABOUT A HALF A DOZEN AS IT RELATES TO THE RIDERSHIP.
I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT YOUR LAST MEETING ON THE 25TH OF, UH, MARCH ACTUALLY TOLD YOU ABOUT HOW THE RIDERSHIP IS COUNTED.
WE HAVE MORE TRANSFERS NORTH OF US, 180 3.
THAT WAS AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON EVERY SINGLE ROUTE.
AND SO YOU THEN COUNT US DOUBLE AND TRIPLE AS WE TRANSFER ON EVERY BUS.
AND SO THAT IS GAMING THE SYSTEM AND THAT IS NOT AN EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESOURCES.
AND I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS ARE INFLATED.
NOVEMBER 3RD, 2017, MR. DIETER SAID, QUOTE, SUPPORTERS OF THE PLAN, INCLUDING CAP METRO ITSELF, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT EVERY POLICY HAS CERTAIN CASUALTIES.
IT GOES ON TO SAY THAT NORTH AND NORTHEAST WOULD LOSE SERVICE.
AND SO I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY SINGLE ROUTE NORTH OF US, 180 3 HAD A REDUCTION IN SERVICE INCLUDING 2 75, WHICH HAD NO, UH, ANALYSIS AT ALL AND THE ROUTE WAS ACTUALLY ELIMINATED.
FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION CIRCULAR 4 7 0 2 0.1 B DATED OCTOBER 1ST, 2012, ACTUALLY REQUIRES THAT YOU IMPLEMENT THE LEAST DISCRIMINATORY ALTERNATIVE CHAPTER FOUR DASH 16.
MS. JOSEPH, UH, MS. JOSEPH, IF YOU WOULD WRAP, YOU'RE AT THREE MINUTES AND I, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS, BUT RESPECTFULLY WOULD ASK YOU TO CONTINUE TO JUST LEAVE THE PROCESS IN PLACE, USE THE 2020 CENSUS DATA AND TO COMPARE, UH, THE, THE MINORITIES ACCORDING TO THE ROUTE LEVEL AND NOT THE GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.
ANY QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEAR ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UH, IS THERE ANYONE YOU'RE WELCOME.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE IN THE BOARD ROOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, MAKE COMMENTS? ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE COMMENTS? THIRD TIME FOR POSTERITY? ANYBODY ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE COMMENTS? UH, HEARING NONE.
I WANT TO, UH, THANK EVERYBODY FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
THIS CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC HEARING.
UH, THE TIME IS 1248 AND OUR OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, UH, WILL BEGIN IN THIS ROOM AT 1:00 PM TODAY.