[00:00:01]
OKAY, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR QUORUM HAS ASSEMBLED.
UH, WE WANNA OPEN THIS, UH, PUBLIC HEARING.
UH, IT'S WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15TH.
WE'RE IN THE ROSA PARKS BOARDROOM AT 29 10 EAST FIFTH STREET, AND THE TIME IS NOW, UH, 1204.
UH, TODAY'S HEARING WILL BE TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON PROPOSED UPDATES TO CAP METRO'S FAIR POLICY AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS. UM, LET'S SEE.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM STAFF AND THEN WE'LL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[II. Presentation]
STAFF UP FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, SENDING BRANDY MOLER AND SAMANTHA BIAS.ALRIGHT, MAKE SURE WE GET SET UP HERE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR TIAN, BOARD MEMBERS PRESIDENT, CEO DOTTIE WATKINS.
I'M OUR EVP OF EXPERIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT, AND I AM JOINED HERE BY MY COLLEAGUE BRANDI MOELLER, OUR DIRECTOR OF AFFAIRS AND REVENUE.
AND WE ARE BEING, WE ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH OUR FAIR TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM UPDATES PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO THE PRESENTATION, WE ARE GOING TO TALK A LOT ABOUT VALIDATORS.
AND SO WE BROUGHT A LITTLE SHOW AND TELL TO TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING SO THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND I HAVE SOME VERY ENTHUSIASTIC AND WILLING VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE GONNA HELP US DEMONSTRATE THAT NEW TECHNOLOGY.
AND SO TO SET THIS UP FOR Y'ALL, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, THEY'RE YEAR ROUND, THEY'RE EVERY DAY.
WE'RE ALWAYS LISTENING TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE'RE GETTING FEEDBACK ON WHAT COULD MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE BETTER.
WHAT ARE SOME PINCH POINTS? WHAT ARE SOME AREAS WHERE YOU THINK, HEY, THIS WOULD REALLY HELP ME OUT OR HELP THE EXPERIENCE, OR EVEN GET ME MOVING ALONG MY TRIP FASTER IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN.
SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT IS HOW OUR, OUR VALIDATORS OR THE SCANNERS, HOW THEY OPERATE, HOW QUICKLY THEY OPERATE WITH, UM, THE DIFFERENT FAIR MEDIA, WHICH THAT'S WHAT WE CALL OUR ACTUAL PASSES, OR THE QR CODES THAT YOU SCAN, EXCUSE ME, ABOUT HOW QUICKLY THEY WORK.
AND SO WHAT WE WANNA SHOW YOU IS THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY DEPLOYING RIGHT NOW ON OUR VEHICLES.
SO, UM, IF YOU WILL DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION THIS WAY, I AM GOING TO ASK OUR VOLUNTEERS.
SO WE'VE GOT THREE DIFFERENT, UM, SCENARIOS TO SHOW HOW THEY WORK RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THE FIRST ONE, UM, I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO SCAN, LET'S SCAN THE, THE BAD SCAN FIRST, IF YOU WILL.
AND SO WHAT YOU SEE HAPPENS IS IT, I IMMEDIATELY THROWS UP A RED LIGHT AND IT MAKES THAT, UM, AUDIO INDICATOR TOO.
AND FOR OUR OPERATORS, IT'S VERY HELPFUL, UM, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHENEVER SOMEBODY GETS ON THE VEHICLE AND IT MAYBE DOESN'T WORK, IT, IT'S, IT'S SOMEWHAT EVIDENT, NOT AS EVIDENT AS THIS.
UM, YOUR FAIR WORKED OR IT DID NOT WORK.
UM, I'D LIKE YOU TO GO AHEAD AND SCAN THAT AMP CARD.
AND WE KNEW THAT, UM, THIS IS WHY WE'RE SWAPPING OUT THE AMP CARDS.
SO THE AMP TECHNOLOGY DOES NOT MATCH WITH OUR NEW TECHNOLOGY ON OUR VALIDATORS.
SO I WAS GETTING VERY NERVOUS
THAT IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO SWAP THOSE AMP CARDS OUT.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET INTO, UM, OUR NEW RELOADABLE FARE CARDS, BUT IF ANYBODY WERE TO ASK YOU WHY DO I HAVE TO GET A NEW CARD? THIS DEMONSTRATION IS WHY.
AND NOW FOR THE GRAND FINALE, UM, CAN WE PLEASE SCAN THE SUCCESSFUL SCAN? AND IT'S THAT QUICK AND SEAMLESS.
UM, SO IT'LL THROW UP THE BLUE LIGHTS, IT'LL GIVE YOU THAT YOUR FAIR PASS IS GOOD TO GO.
UM, THIS IS THE NEW TECHNOLOGY OUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOING TO BE EXPERIENCING.
IT IS FASTER AND MORE RELIABLE THAN WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, USING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE ARE DEPLOYING THESE VALIDATORS OUT THERE SIDE BY SIDE, UM, AND SOMETHING THAT'S VERY COOL, I THINK.
UM, CAN WE HOLD UP WHAT OUR, UH, CONDUCTORS ARE GOING TO BE USING? SO IT LOOKS LIKE A PHONE, BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY JONATHAN, DO YOU WANNA GIVE IT THE OFFICIAL, WHAT DO WE CALL IT? THE RUGGED? SO YEAH, IT'S A LIKE A RUGGED, UH, WORK PHONE TYPE SET UP, A VERY DURABLE, RUGGED WORK PHONE SET UP.
AND IT'S, UH, MEANT FOR CONDUCTORS.
SO THEY CAN JUST, UH, EITHER TAP UH, THE SMART CARDS THAT WE'LL CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE OR QUICKLY SCAN AND IT'S JUST LIKE THE VALIDATOR.
SO THAT'S OUR HANDHELD VALIDATOR.
SO OUR CONDUCTORS WILL BE GOING UP AND DOWN THE TRAINS AND THAT'S HOW THEY'LL BE ABLE TO VALIDATE BEARS ON THE TRAIN.
SO IT'S, UM, A MUCH SMALLER DEVICE, MORE MOBILE, UM, AND WORKS AS SEAMLESS AS THE OTHER ONE.
SO NOW LET'S GET INTO THE PRESENTATION.
SO HERE'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA GO OVER TODAY.
WE'RE GONNA GO OVER WHAT IS CHANGING, UM, WHAT ARE THE CUSTOMER IMPACTS, UH, WHAT CHANGES AND IMPACTS WILL HAPPEN TO OUR RETAIL NETWORK,
[00:05:01]
AND THEN OUR TITLE SIX FINDINGS.ANY, ANYTIME, ANYTIME WE TALK ABOUT FARES.
THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO CLARIFY IS THAT OUR FARES ARE NOT CHANGING AS PART OF THIS PROCESS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
THE WAY WE COLLECT FARES IS CHANGING.
UM, FIRST BULLET AT THE TOP IS NEW VALIDATORS.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THESE NEW VALIDATORS.
THEY, UM, START GETTING INSTALLED IN MID-DECEMBER.
THEY HAVE THE IMPROVED SCANNING TECHNOLOGY.
THEY HAVE THE VISUAL AND AUDIO INDICATORS THAT LET CUSTOMERS KNOW IF THEIR FAIR HAS BEEN ACCEPTED OR DENIED.
AND IT'S ALSO, WE'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK FROM OUR OPERATORS AND FRONTLINE STAFF THAT THAT'S VERY HELPFUL.
UM, A NEW AND IMPROVED APP EXPERIENCE.
SO THE CAP METRO APP, THE ONE THAT HAS OUR CAP METRO, UH, BRANDING AND LOGO WILL BE DISCONTINUED AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH.
WHAT WE'LL REPLACE IT IS THE TRANSIT AND THE UO APPS.
SO CUSTOMERS WILL USE THE TRANSIT APP.
THAT ONE WE'VE ALREADY, UM, ROLLED OUT AND WE'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH IT.
THEY WILL USE THE TRANSIT APP TO PLAN THEIR TRIPS.
THEY'LL USE THE YU O APP TO PAY FOR THEIR FARES.
AND SO THIS IS PART OF AN ITERATIVE PROCESS.
THE THING TO KEEP IN MIND, A GOAL WE HAVE IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF APPS THAT OUR CUSTOMERS INTERACT WITH TO USE CAP METRO SERVICES.
UM, AND SO AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, OUR CUSTOMERS, THEY'RE EVENTUALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE THE TRANSIT APP AND ON THE BACKEND, INTEGRATE IT INTO THE TRANSIT APP.
THE YU O APP WILL ALLOW THEM TO PAY FOR FARES WITHIN THE TRANSIT APP AS PART OF THE ITERATIVE PROCESS.
THERE MAY BE A TIME PERIOD WHERE CUSTOMERS WILL NEED TO HAVE BOTH.
WE ARE TRYING TO ELIMINATE THAT TIME PERIOD SO THAT WE CAN INTEGRATE THEM TOGETHER IMMEDIATELY.
WE'RE WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE TWO COMPANIES TO DO THAT, UM, WHO ARE BOTH GAME AND THEY'RE READY TO GO.
IT JUST TAKES A LOT OF BACKEND WORK TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UM, IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY OF THE NEWS COVERAGE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CUSTOMERS ESPECIALLY, UM, PEOPLE WHO USE TRANSIT OUTSIDE OF OUR AREA, OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA, IF THEY'VE EXPERIENCED TAP TO PAY ON OTHER SYSTEMS, THEY HAVE ASKED US FOR YEARS, WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET TAP TO PAY? THIS YEAR WE'RE GETTING TAP TO PAY.
SO, UM, THIS SPRING, WHENEVER WE MAKE THESE CHANGES, WE WILL HAVE TAP TO PAY, WE HAVE TO USE A CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD, APPLE WALLET, AND GOOGLE PAY TO USE OUR SERVICES.
UM, THE NEW RELOADABLE FARE CARD, THE AMP CARD WILL ALSO BE RETIRED.
WE WILL HAVE A NEW RELOADABLE FARE CARD WHEN YOU SEE IT.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO BRANDED DIFFERENTLY AND THAT GIVES EVERYBODY A VISUAL INDICATOR IF YOU HAVE THE OLD CARD OR THE NEW CARD.
UM, AND IT ACTUALLY SAYS ON IT RELOADABLE FARE CARD, WHAT WE LEARNED IS THE AMP CARD.
UH, SOMETIMES CUSTOMERS WERE WONDERING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WAS TIED TO, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO ON IT? SO WE MADE IT JUST CLEARER WITH THE LANGUAGE ON THE CARD.
THE DIGITAL 31 AND SEVEN DAY PASSES WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE THROUGH OUR APP.
AND THIS IS WHAT, UH, PART OF THE REASON WHY WE DID THE TITLE SIX STUDY, WHICH MY COLLEAGUE RANDY IS GONNA GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT.
UM, AND THAT WE ALSO WANNA BE CLEAR THAT THE HMIS FAIR PROGRAM IS STILL GOING TO BE CONTINUED.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS ABOUT HOW TO EVEN IMPROVE UPON THAT, UPON THAT PROGRAM AND MAKE IT MORE SUSTAINABLE.
SO ALL OF OUR HIMS CUSTOMERS WILL BE ISSUED A NEW ONE YEAR FARE CARD.
UM, AND THAT'S A PROCESS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DOING, UM, PRIOR TO THIS LAUNCH IN MARCH AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO MY COLLEAGUE, BRANDY.
I'M BRANDY MUELLER, DIRECTOR OF REVENUE AFFAIRS AND I'M EXCITED TO TELL YOU WHAT WE HAVE FOR YOU.
SAM HAS DONE A REALLY GREAT JOB OF SHOWING YOU WHAT UM, THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS GONNA BE.
I'M GONNA GET INTO THE LITTLE NITTY GRITTY, EXCUSE ME, I GET PASSIONATE A LOT, SO, UM, FEEL FREE, UH, TO LAUGH OR GIGGLE AS I DO.
UM, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE VALIDATORS.
YOU'VE GOT TO SEE WE ALSO HAVE A HANDHELD VALIDATOR.
WE ARE SUPER EXCITED TO DEPLOY.
THE ONES CURRENTLY IN THE HANDS OF OUR RAIL RIDERS OR OUR RAIL CONDUCTORS ARE LARGE, THEY'RE BULKY.
UM, YOU CAN'T DO TAP TO PAY CURRENTLY.
SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO BUILD IT TO TO, TO BRING THAT TO THEM.
UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ME SAY TAP TO PAY ABOUT EIGHT TIMES AND YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, JUST REALLY TIRED OF HEARING ME SAY THAT.
BUT IT IS SUPER EXCITING THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA GET THIS.
UM, IT IS NOT ONLY GOING TO BE ON THAT VALIDATOR, BUT ALSO THE HANDHELD VALIDATORS ON THE TRAIN, WHICH IS HUGE.
UM, WE'RE GONNA CHANGE OUR FAIR PAYMENT.
SHE TALKED ABOUT THE RELOADABLE FARE CARD.
WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE TAP TO PAY, UM, VALIDATIONS OVER THERE, UH, SHE DID TALK ABOUT THAT.
THE CURRENT ONE WILL BE RETIRING, RIGHT? I KIND OF A KEN IT TO A HOUSE.
WHEN YOU MOVE FROM A HOUSE, YOU MOVE FROM ONE HOUSE TO ANOTHER, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THAT ADDRESS.
SO THE TECHNOLOGY FROM THE OLD HOUSE DOESN'T EXACTLY WORK WITH THE NEW HOUSE.
SO WE'RE GONNA GET THE NEW TECHNOLOGY AND ADD IT INTO THAT TRANSIT APP PASSES AND CARDS.
UM, SAM ALSO TALKED ABOUT HOW WE'RE RETIRING THE SEVEN AND 31 DAY PASSES.
THIS IS IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE AND MAKE EVERYTHING EASIER TO WHERE YOU'RE PAYING CASH, RELOADABLE CARD AND EVENTUALLY
[00:10:01]
JUST THE DIGITAL WALLETS.WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE IT EASY TO PAY, RIGHT? RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT 98 DIFFERENT PASSES THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE BETWEEN PAPER, PLASTIC AMP, AND IN THE DIGITAL WALLET.
UM, WE WANNA MAKE IT EASY, RIGHT? THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
UM, AGAIN, WE'RE MOVING A HOUSE FROM ONE SPACE TO ANOTHER.
WE'RE GONNA NEED OUR CUSTOMERS HELP TO GET THEIR, THEIR BALANCES TRANSFERRED OVER FROM THE OLD HOUSE TO THE NEW HOUSE.
UM, THERE'S PLASTIC CARDS THAT WE HAVE.
WE ARE RETIRING THOSE, INCLUDING THE AMP CARDS, UM, AND SOME OF THE OTHER SMART CARDS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO AGAIN, STREAMLINE DOWN WHAT IS STAYING.
CASH WILL STILL BE ON THE CASH BOXES PAPER YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO USE ON THE CASH BOXES.
SO WE'RE DOING THAT AS YOU KNOW, TO, TO KEEP THAT ONE DAY PASS.
AND THOSE PAPER PASSES 'CAUSE WE HAVE A LOT IN THE BACK.
WE WANNA ROLL THROUGH THOSE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE UTILIZING, UM, THOSE RESOURCES APPROPRIATELY.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY? I MEAN, I'M GONNA SAY IT AGAIN.
I'M SUPER EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO USE MY APPLE WALLET, MY GOOGLE PAY, MY CREDIT, AND MY DEBIT.
THAT'S GONNA BE THE, THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY.
UM, YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE AND THIS IS, THIS IS LIKE SUPER EXCITING TOO WITH THE TAP TO PAY COMES FAIR CAPPING.
YOU NO LONGER JUST HAVE TO USE THAT RELOADABLE FAIR CARD OR YOUR DIGITAL WALLET.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY TAP TO PAY AND GET FAIR CAPPING DAILY ON THIS.
SO THAT'S AN EXCITING FEATURE THAT COMES WITH THESE UPGRADED VALIDATORS ARE SUPER FAST.
SO THAT MEANS FASTER ONBOARDING.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I KIND OF NEED TO EXPLAIN IS ON OUR CURRENT VALIDATORS, WHEN YOU GET UP THERE AND YOU'RE TRYING TO USE YOUR MOBILE APP, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN IT, IT'S KIND OF CUMBERSOME.
YOU'RE LIKE, WHICH WAY DO I DO MY PHONE? UM, WHERE THIS IS JUST SORT OF LIKE THE AIRPORT WHEN YOU GO DING AND IT WORKS RIGHT? SUPER EASY, SUPER FAST, QUICKER ONBOARDING, UM, YOU KNOW, GREAT FOR CUSTOMERS AND OUR OPERATORS.
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING, AS I TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE 98.
WE WILL BE SLIMMING THAT DOWN.
UM, GETTING RID OF THOSE SINGLE USE PASSES.
SO YOU'RE NOT JUST COMING TO, TO GET THIS SINGLE USE PASS, YOU'LL CONTINUE TO USE THAT RELOADABLE FARE CARD.
UM, MAKING IT MORE ECOLOGICALLY FRIENDLY, UM, AND THEN HOPING TO USE MORE USE OF THE APP FOR THE TAP TO PAY.
UM, AND REDUCING THOSE PAPER PASSES WE NEED PRINTED LONGER TERM VISION.
UM, IF YOU'RE A BIG LORD OF THE RINGS FAN, I LIKE TO SAY THE ONE APP TO RULE THEM ALL.
AND I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID ONE APP TO RULE THEM ALL, BUT I'M TOTALLY FEELING THAT IN MY SOUL RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO WHAT UO IS DOING IS GIVING US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO STEP TOWARDS THAT BECAUSE WE CAN VALIDATE, WE CAN PAY FOR, WE CAN USE THOSE RELOADABLE FARE CARDS AND WE CAN HAVE IT INTEGRATE INTO UMO AND TO TRANSIT APP TO HELP US GET THAT.
UM, OVERVIEW OF THE, OF OF THE IMPACTS.
IF YOU'RE ON DIGITAL, WE NEED YOU TO SWITCH OVER.
WE NEED YOU TO SWITCH THAT APP.
WE NEED YOU TO MOVE OVER TO THE NEW YU O APP.
UH, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT TODAY.
DON'T, DON'T, DON'T GET ALL, UH, YOU KNOW, THINKING WE CAN USE IT RIGHT NOW.
TAKE A LOOK AROUND, LOOK AT IT, UH, YOU KNOW, TRY AND USE IT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
BUT EVENTUALLY WE WILL NEED TO GET THOSE PASSES, THAT TRANSFER BALANCE OVER FROM ONE HOUSE TO THE OTHER.
UM, THE PHYSICAL PASSES, AS SAM SAID, THOSE AMP CARDS WILL NO LONGER WORK.
WE'RE ALSO RETIRING THE PLASTIC PASSES SO THAT WE DO NEED TO SWITCH THOSE OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT CUSTOMERS HAVE AND CAN RIDE THE WAY THEY WANT TO RIDE, EITHER WITH THE FAIR CARD, RELATABLE FAIR CARD OR THAT DIGITAL WALLET.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE HERE TELLING YOU THAT IT'S COMING.
WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO EXCHANGE CARDS AND TRANSFER BALANCES.
WE WILL BEGIN DOING THAT NEXT MONTH AND THEN ON MARCH 1ST, OUR OLD VALIDATORS ARE GONNA STOP WORKING, RIGHT? WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS WITH DIGITAL TRANSFERRED OVER.
THEN UM, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF PLAY WITH THE PLASTIC PASSES, UM, BUT THE PLASTIC PASSES WILL ALSO NEED TO BE, UH, SWITCHED OUT BY APRIL 1ST.
IMPACTS TO OUR REDUCED FARE ID AND METRO ACCESS INDIVIDUAL CARD HOLDERS, WE DO HAVE ONE OF THOSE PLASTIC PASSES FOR THE REDUCED FARE ID CURRENTLY, IF YOU ARE PAYING CASH AND YOU HAVE A REDUCED FARE ID, YOU WILL GET ON THE BUS, YOU WILL TAP IT ON OUR CASH BOX AND YOU WILL PAY YOUR CASH.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, WHERE IF YOU HAVE AN RFID ACCOUNT THAT YOU CAN GO INTO OUR CURRENT APP, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR, UH, ACCOUNT MARKED AS RFID.
AND WHEN YOU SIMPLY TAP, YOU ONLY PAY THE AMOUNT FOR AN R FOR A REDUCED FARE.
YOU GET ON THE BUS, YOU PAY YOUR FARE WITH ON THE FA ON THE CASH BOX, YOU WILL USE THAT CARD IF YOU WANT TO USE DIGITAL.
WE WILL JUST NEED THEM TO MOVE TO THE YU O APP, BUT IT WILL BE THE SAME PROCESS.
[00:15:01]
ACCESS WRITERS AGAIN, UM, WE WILL NOT BE CHANGING FROM THE SPARE APP.WE CURRENTLY HAVE THE SPARE APP THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE USED.
THEY MAY PAY OVER THE PHONE, THEY MAY PAY BY THE SPARE APP.
UM, HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE A SELECT SECTION OF PEOPLE WHO ENJOY RIDE RIDING MULTIMODAL.
SO FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS, AGAIN, THEY WILL MOVE THE HOUSE.
WE WILL MOVE FROM THIS APP TO THIS NEW YU O APP AND THEY CAN CONTINUE TO RIDE PICK UP RIDERS MUCH THAT THIS THE SAME EXCEPT THEY'RE USING THE VIA APP CURRENTLY SO THEY CAN SCHEDULE THEIR, UM, RIDES TO THE VIA APP, BUT IF THEY WANT TO PAY THROUGH THE NEW SYSTEM, THEY WILL JUST SIMPLY DOWNLOAD THE YU O APP AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO PAY THAT WAY AS WELL.
RAIL RIDERS, I KNOW WE GET REALLY EXCITED AND WE SHOWED YOU WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.
THE, THERE'S NOT A HUGE IMPACT TO THEM OTHER THAN THEY NOW GET TO DO TAP TO PAY, WHICH IS SUPER EXCITING AS WELL.
IF THEY FORGOT TO PAY THEIR FARE ON THE TICKET VENDING MACHINES ON THE BOARDING OR THEY FORGOT TO BUY THEIR RELE RELOADABLE FARE CARD OR THEY JUST SIMPLY DON'T WANT TO TO HAVE THE APP THEY CAN TAP TO PAY MAKING IT EASIER FOR THEM TO, TO GET ON AND RIDE AMP CARD USERS AS WE TALKED ABOUT NO LONGER, UM, IN BUSINESS WITH THE NEW BUSINESS.
SO WE WILL GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF SWITCHING OUT ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE THOSE AMP CARDS, UM, FOR THAT NEW RELOADABLE FARE CARD.
ADDITIONALLY, UH, EQU FAR USERS CURRENTLY THEY ONLY HAVE DIGITAL, UH, DIGITAL ACCOUNTS.
SO WE WILL BE HELPING THEM SWITCH OVER AND GET INTO THE NEW APP AND GET THEIR EQU FAR, UH, DESIGNATION ON THEIR ACCOUNT.
CLIENTS, UH, OF SERVICE PROVIDERS CURRENTLY, IF YOU RECEIVED, IF THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEIR PASS THROUGH A A SERVICE PROVIDER, THEY WILL RETURN TO THEIR SERVICE PROVIDER IN ORDER TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS A STREAM, A STREAMLINED AND EFFICIENT PROCESS FOR THEM.
UM, ADDITIONALLY THESE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS SUCH AS THE HMIS, WE'RE GOING DOWN TO ONE ONE YEAR.
SO WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDERS AND TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
TICKET VENDING MACHINES, I AM LOW KEY.
SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THESE TICKET VENDING MACHINES.
WE HAVE HAD THEM FOR YEARS AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO USE THEM.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ON OUR CURRENT AMP CARD TOP OFF RIGHT, I CAN GO TO A TICKET VENDING MACHINE, I CAN PUT MY CASH IN THAT MACHINE AND IT WILL LOAD, UH, MONEY ONTO MY FAIR CARD.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THIS, THIS FEATURE.
SO NOW WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING HOUSES, BUT WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE THE SAME FUNCTIONALITY ON THE RELOADABLE FARE CARDS.
UM, YOU CAN USE CREDIT OR DEBIT TO UPLOAD, UH, TO RELOAD THOSE CARDS.
THE RETAIL NETWORK, UM, AGAIN, WE'RE MOVING HOUSES BUT IT'S JUST LIKE SWITCHING, YOU KNOW, UH, ELECTRICITY PROVIDERS, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN THAT UM, THE RETAIL NETWORK WILL CHANGE SLIGHTLY.
HOWEVER, IT STILL PROVIDES A VERY LARGE NETWORK FOR INDIVIDUALS TO TAKE EITHER THEIR APP OR THE RELOADABLE FARE CARD AND TOP THAT OFF AND PAY CASH OR CREDIT HOWEVER THEY WANT TO PAY.
SORRY, I TOLD YOU I WAS PASSIONATE.
AS SAM MENTIONED THAT THE ROOT, WE ARE GOING THROUGH A TITLE ANALYSIS, UM, A FAIR AND EQUITY ANALYSIS FOR THE RETIREMENT OF THE SEVEN AND 31 DAY PASS.
BEFORE I MOVE ON FOR THIS ONE, I THINK I WOULD BE REMISS NOT TO SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ARE RETIRING THE SEVEN AND 31 DAY PASSES, WE STILL HAVE THE ABILITY AS WE DO CURRENTLY, UM, YOU CAN FAIR CAP DAILY AND MONTHLY WITH AN ACCOUNT THAT WILL NOT CHANGE.
UM, SO THAT BEING SAID, YOU CAN STILL HAVE FAIR CAPPED ON THE RELOADABLE CARD OR ON YOUR DIGITAL WALLET, UH, RECEIVING THE BENEFITS OF WHAT THESE SEVEN AND 31 DAY PASSES ARE FOR.
UM, BUT COMING BACK TO THE TITLE SIX ANALYSIS, BECAUSE WE ARE RETIRING THESE IN ORDER TO STREAMLINE DOWN TO THAT CASH RELOADABLE CARD AND UM, DIGITAL WALLET ABILITY TO PAY, JUST MAKING IT EASIER FOR EVERYBODY.
HOWEVER, WE ARE JUST REQUIRED TO DO IT FOR THE SEVEN AND 30 DAY PASS, 31 DAY PASS.
WE'RE ALSO EXCITED FOR TRANSPARENCY REASONS TO LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE CHANGE THAT WE ARE MAKING THIS VALIDATOR.
IS IT AN ISSUE? IS IT CAUSING AN ISSUE? UM, IS THE TAP TO PAY CAUSING AN ISSUE, RIGHT? SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED THAT IN AN EFFORT TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND TO ENSURE WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING, WE HAD IT LOOKED AT AS WELL.
WHAT DOES TITLE VI DO? TITLE VI PROHIBITS THE DISCRIMINATION ON, UH, ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN AND PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
FOR THAT REASON, WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS SEVEN AND 31 DAY PAST TITLE SIX ANALYSIS.
[00:20:01]
UM, AND WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR IN THE PROCESS? WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE DO THE CHANGES THAT WE ARE MAKING CAUSE A DISPARATE IMPACT ON MINORITY POPULATIONS OR DOES IT CAUSE A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN ON OUR LOW INCOME POPULATIONS? OUR PRELIMINARY TITLE SIX REPORT, WE HAVE THE FINAL TITLE SIX REPORT THAT WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE BOARD ON THE JANUARY BOARD ON JANUARY 27TH.UM, AS OF TODAY, THERE ARE NO DISPARATE IMPACT OR DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS FOR THAT.
UH, THE REPORT WILL SAY THAT IT IS UNDER THE THRESHOLD FOR BOTH MINORITY VERSUS NON-MINORITY WRITERS AND FOR LOW INCOME VERSUS NON LOW INCOME WRITERS.
SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED TO, TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU GUYS.
WITH THAT, I'M GONNA SAY THANKS FOR TOLERATING MY SUPER EXCITEDNESS.
UM, DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS? ANY QUESTIONS? UH, BOARD MEMBER EVA? UH, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN PRETTY CLEAR ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANT TO BE EXTRA CLEAR, ESPECIALLY WITH THE, THE PUBLIC.
I DON'T HAVE AN APP, I DON'T HAVE A FAIR CARD.
I HAVE A TAP TO PAY CREDIT CARD.
I CAN USE THAT TAP TO PAY, PAY CREDIT CARD TO JUMP ON A BUS.
YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN AND IF YOU DO IT MORE THAN TWICE PER DAY, YOU GET FAIR KEPT.
SO IS IT KEEPING, SO IT'S BASICALLY THE CREDIT CARD IS KIND OF YOUR ID AND IT WILL FAIR CAP YOU ON A DAILY AND MONTHLY BASIS? JUST A DAILY BASIS.
UM, WE, WE DECIDED TO GO WITH JUST THE DAILY BASIS BECAUSE KEEPING YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION FOR A MONTH LONG KIND OF, KIND OF GAVE ME THE TWITCHES CREATES PROBLEMS. ABSOLUTELY.
NO, AND, AND THAT'S PROBABLY A, A WISE DECISION.
UM, AND THEN WITH REGARD TO WHO'S USING WHAT KIND OF FORM OF PAYMENT RIGHT NOW, WHAT DOES THE BREAKDOWN LOOK LIKE FOR CAPITAL METRO CUSTOMER? YOU KNOW, HOW MANY FOLKS ARE STILL PAYING CASH? HOW MANY FOLKS ARE ARE USING THE, THE APP? WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING QUESTION.
THAT IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE QUESTION.
UM, WE ARE 50 50 ON CASH AND DIGITAL.
SO THAT IS HOW THAT BREAKS DOWN.
I CAN GET YOU A FURTHER BREAKDOWN OF WHO'S USING THE AMP CARDS.
I BELIEVE WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 1300 PEOPLE USING THAT AMP CARD AND THE REST OF THEM ARE, UM, DIGITAL AMP.
SO AND SO 1300, THAT'S GONNA BE A SMALL, UH, PERCENTAGE? CORRECT.
SO ABOUT 50% CASH, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, 45% OR SO APP AND THEN A, A SLIM, UH, GROUP OF FOLKS THAT ARE STILL USING THE AMP CARD.
LET'S NOT FORGET THAT PORTION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE STILL USING THAT, THAT PLASTIC PASS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
SO THOSE WERE GONNA FIGURE INTO IT, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO GET THEM ON THE RELOADABLE FARE CARD AS WELL SO THEY'RE NOT HAVING TO GO TO THE RETAILERS AND PURCHASE THAT EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? BOARD MEMBERS? ALRIGHT, SEEING, UH, SEEING NONE, I GUESS WE ARE READY FOR THE, UH, THE TITLE SIX REPORT.
THAT ACTUALLY DOES CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING.
THE FULL FINALIZED REPORT WILL BE SENT TO THE BOARD AS PART OF THE JANUARY BOARD MEETING.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, NOW WE'RE, UH, NOW WE ARE
[III. Public Comment]
MOVING INTO PUBLIC COMMENT.WE'VE GOT TWO SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP IN ADVANCE AND UH, IF THERE IS ANYONE IN THE BUILDING THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK NOW IS THE TIME TO SIGN UP, UH, WITH ED.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE OUR FIRST COMMENTARY IS GONNA BE JACOB EMERSON.
UH, MR. EMERSON, ARE YOU WITH US TODAY, MR. CHAIR? I HAVE NOT SEEN MR. EMERSON JOIN US EITHER REMOTELY OR IN PERSON TODAY.
ALRIGHT, WELL, UH, WE, WE WILL HOLD OUT HOPE UH, WHILE WE CALL.
UM, LET'S SEE, UH, THE SECOND PERSON SIGNED UP IS MS. ZIA JOSEPH AND I UNDERSTAND SHE IS REMOTE.
UH, MS. JOSEPH, ARE YOU WITH US? SHE IS.
OKAY, THANK YOU MR. CHAIR MEMBERS.
MY COMMENTS AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO TITLE SIX OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, WHICH PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR AND NATIONAL ORIGIN, IS TO ASK THAT BEFORE YOUR JANUARY 27TH MEETING OR FOR THAT MEETING, THAT STAFF PROVIDE YOU WITH A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS TO TELL THE PUBLIC HOW MUCH THE SYSTEM WOULD COST IF THE WHOLE SYSTEM WAS FREE FOR EVERYONE.
WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS ENGAGING US IN A MERE EXERCISE AND FUTILITY.
THEY ALREADY HAVE UH, FAIR BOXES ON
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BUSES TODAY AND YOU HAVE SOME PRETTY EXCITED SALESMEN STAFF MEMBERS TRYING TO SELL THIS SYSTEM TO US.YOU HAVE NO SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE RIDING THE BUS FOR FREE TODAY.
SO IT IS THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS THAT ARE PINCHING PENNIES ARE SENIOR CITIZENS AND THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO WORK PAYING THE FAIR.
SO WHILE YOU CERTAINLY ARE NOT FINDING ANY DISPARATE IMPACT OR DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN WITH TITLE VI, I WOULD ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S THE MINORITY POPULATION THAT IS ACTUALLY BEING BURDENED BY PAYING FAIRES WHILE 20 SOMETHING YEAR OLDS ARE STILL GETTING ON THE BUS SAYING STUDENTS.
WITH THAT IN MIND, I WOULD ASK YOU TO MAKE THE SYSTEM FREE.
I WOULD JUST REMIND YOU THAT UH, THERE WAS AN AUSTIN MONITOR ARTICLE JANUARY 10TH, 2025, WHICH SAID THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF FUNDING IS A 1% SALES TAX, WHICH MAKES UP THE AGENCY'S $871 MILLION BUDGET LAST YEAR.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE CHASING RIDERSHIP AND BACK ON JULY 25TH, 2016, JARED WALKER TOLD YOU THAT WHEN YOU'RE CHASING RIDERSHIP, YOU'RE THINKING LIKE A BUSINESS AND A BUSINESS CHOOSES WHICH MARKET IT WILL ENTER BASED ON WHERE IT THINKS IT WILL SUCCEED.
AND COVERAGE IS WHEN YOU'RE PROVIDING A LITTLE BIT OF SERVICE TO EVERYONE.
THIS SYSTEM HAS BEEN AN EQUITABLE SINCE CONNECTIONS 2025 WHEN IT WAS REBRANDED CAP REMAP.
SO I'M TRYING TO ASK YOU TO MAKE THE SYSTEM EQUITABLE.
AND LASTLY, I WILL SAY SINCE COUNCIL MEMBER VELA IS THERE, IT IS LESS THAN $250,000 TO IMPROVE THE AREA IN NORTH LAMAR AT NORTH LAMAR AND BREAKER, THAT'S MARCH 6TH, 2024.
THE LETTER, THE MEMO TO THE BOARD FROM ER.
BUT I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE MR. CHAIR, UH, PEOPLE ARE DYING ON NAR LAMAR, THE THING THAT IS MISSING FROM THE BACKUP MATERIAL IS THE $6.4 MILLION THAT YOU ARE PAYING TO ACTUALLY CHANGE THIS SYSTEM TO THIS CUBIC TRANSPORTATION, UH, CONTRACT.
AND SO I WOULD ASK THE STAFF TO PUT THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IN THE BACKUP MATERIALS AND TO RECOGNIZE LASTLY MR. CHAIR, THAT ON JANUARY 9TH, 2025 WHEN THIS ITEM WENT BEFORE THE PROJECT CONNECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING, THERE WAS NOTHING IN BACKUP.
AND TO DATE IT IS STILL VACANT, IT'S JUST THE AGENDA POSTED.
SO THE PUBLIC REALLY DOESN'T KNOW UNLESS THEY'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS PUBLIC HEARING TODAY, WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY VOTING ON AND WHAT THE CHANGES ARE.
AND WITH THAT IN MIND, I JUST WOULD ASK YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE BLACK MARKET THAT GOES ON WITH THESE PASSES.
AND WHILE I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE TWO YEAR PASS AND THAT IT'S GOING DOWN TO ONE, IT IS STILL AN INEQUITABLE SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING AND TRYING TO PAY.
AND SO I'M IN OPPOSITION TO USING $6.4 MILLION ON THIS NEW SYSTEM WHEN IN FACT PEOPLE ARE DYING AND YOU'VE NOT ADDRESSED MAKING IT SAFE ON NORTH LAMAR AND CLOSING THESE MIDBLOCK STOPS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME AND APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS.
ALRIGHT, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? HEARING NONE, UH, THANK YOU MS. JOSEPH.
UH, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO, UM, TO PRESENT TO THE BOARD.
ALRIGHT, YOU'RE WELCOME MR. CHAIR.
ALRIGHT, UH, ANYONE ELSE IN THE ROOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD? ANYONE ELSE? I'LL ASK THREE TIMES.
UH, ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ADDRESS THE BOARD? OKAY, HEARING NONE, UH, WE WILL CLOSE TODAY'S PUBLIC HEARING AND STAND ADJOURNED AT 1232.
WE ARE A TXN, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL.