PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE

                                                                                                            January 17, 2002        

SUBJECT:     METRO RAPID EXPANSION PROGRAM

ACTION:       APPROVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE METRO RAPID EXPANSION PROGRAM

RECOMMENDATIONS

A.     Adopt the Metro Rapid Expansion Program report findings and phased countywide implementation plan (Attachment A);

B.     Authorize the Chief Executive Officer to implement the funded portion of Phase IIA of the Metro Rapid Expansion Program (Table A);

C.  Direct staff to develop a five-year expansion plan for the Metro Rapid Program which identifies the operating and capital requirements necessary to complete Phase IIA and the remaining three expansion phases.

ISSUE

The Metro Rapid Demonstration Program has proven successful  Passenger travel times have been reduced by approximately 25%.  Ridership has increased nearly 35%, with one-third of the increase new to public transit.  Operating speeds, service quality, and customer response have all exceeded objectives, with very little or no negative impact on the rest of the system and other travel modes.  Based on this success, staff has developed the Metro Rapid Expansion Program that, when complete, will offer a network of fast, reliable bus service throughout Los Angeles County.  The expansion program includes corridors operated by both the Metro and Municipal Operators.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

The purpose of the Metro Rapid Expansion Program is to introduce a new, high quality mode of transit that will offer faster travel choices for bus riders, especially the transit-dependent.  The Metro Rapid Program is an integral part of the FY 2001 Long Range Transportation Plan.

OPTIONS

Options considered include (1) terminating the Metro Rapid Program and returning to the type of service operated prior to Metro Rapid in the two demonstration corridors, (2) continuing to operate Metro Rapid along the two demonstration corridors but not expanding the Metro Rapid Program beyond the demonstration corridors, and (3) expanding the demonstration program with one or two additional bus lines and evaluating the results of the expanded demonstration prior to recommending a countywide system expansion of the program. Options 1 and 2 are not recommended because of the success of the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program.  Passenger travel times and service quality have been improved to the point that they are now noticed and appreciated by the public.  Ridership has increased as a result.  Option 3 is not recommended because data from the two Demonstration lines was found to be more than adequate to develop reliable and consistent findings and recommendations.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

Operating and capital cost estimates associated with implementing Phase IIA of the expansion program are predicated on the following assumptions. 

Operating costs - The improved operating performance of Metro Rapid service is expected to allow for an increases of 12-15% in corridor service levels with no increase in operating cost.  An additional 10% increase in Metro Rapid service will be made by optimizing both local and Metro Rapid schedules within the same corridor.  However, based on ridership increases experienced on the first two Metro Rapid corridors, it is likely that additional capacity will be needed beyond the above.  In such cases, staff will develop for Board consideration corridor-specific plans to cover the increase in operating costs.

Capital Costs – Capital cost estimates are derived from the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program. Given the same design and quality of station construction, the same bus signal priority technology, additional equipment to maintain and monitor each corridor, and a 25% contingency, one-time capital costs associated with implementing Phase IIA are estimated at $24.6 million.  Table A shows the estimated costs for each of the six Phase IIA corridors. 

 

Approximately $17.2 million is immediately available to fund Phase IIA construction; $12.2 million in previously allocated Bus Signal Priority (BSP) Call for Projects funds and $5.0 million in Regional Improvement Program funds set aside for Metro Rapid station construction.  Since BSP funding is available for all six corridors, and since BSP construction is the longest lead-time project element, staff will immediately start bus signal priority construction.  The South Broadway, Vermont, and Van Nuys corridors are planned to be operational in 12 to 18 months. 

BACKGROUND

Metro developed a conceptual plan for expanding the Metro Rapid Demonstration Program as part of the FY 2001 LRTP.  The plan recommended 22 expansion lines and was based on a limited evaluation process.  Following adoption of the LRTP, a more rigorous selection process

was developed to identify both Metro and Municipal Operator corridors where application of the

Metro Rapid Program goals and objectives would best meet the needs of transit patrons. 

Corridors were evaluated on the basis of existing success (current transit service), potential success (corridor transit potential), and the need for transit (corridor transit dependence).  The selection process involved the following four steps:

  1. Identify candidate Metro Rapid corridors countywide based on the number of unlinked weekday passenger boardings per mile of route.  This process resulted in 36 candidate corridors being considered for Metro Rapid service.
  1. Identify the core segment of each candidate line upon which to evaluate Metro Rapid opportunities based on the following three criteria:

·        Corridor Transit Potential – measures transit potential by a composite index of residential and employment density within walking distance of the candidate Metro Rapid alignment

·        Corridor Transit Dependence – measures transit dependency by a composite index of percentage of households below poverty and percentage of households without vehicles

·        Current Transit Service – measures transit utilization through current transit characteristics (weekday ridership and weekday passengers per mile of route)

  1. Rank each candidate corridor based on a scoring process whereby the top ranked candidate in each of the above criteria received 100%, with all remaining corridors ranked relative to the top score.  The following five performance measurements were added to the Current Transit Service criteria for this step:  operating speed, average passenger trip length, percent of weekday ridership retained on weekends, weekday passengers per revenue hour, and weekday seat utilization. 
  1. Balance individual corridor evaluations with the needs of the network in terms of connectivity and achieving geographic coverage.  Duplication and competition for the same markets were avoided, as was over saturating one part of a service area

As a result of the above process, 23 corridors have been identified for inclusion in the Metro Rapid Expansion Program.  To a great extent, the expansion plan is similar to the conceptual plan first developed in the LRTP, with several corridors modified and several corridors added and deleted from the original LRTP list of lines.  All 23 corridors have been prioritized into four implementation phases.  It is estimated that each phase represents a three-year implementation schedule of 5-6 Metro Rapid lines.  Tables A and B present the phased implementation plan of the Metro Rapid Expansion Program.  Table A presents the recommended construction sequence of the Phase IIA corridors.

It should be noted that full implementation of the Metro Rapid Program was included in the Special Master’s suggested Five Year Expansion Plan.  The Bus Riders Union has expressed strong support for Metro Rapid expansion but has concerns about the reduction in local and limited-stop service in Metro Rapid corridors.  Staff will continue to seek participation of the Joint Working Group in the implementation of future Metro Rapid phases.

NEXT STEPS

With Board approval of the above recommendations, staff will develop construction and operating plans for each Phase IIA Metro Rapid corridor.  The plans will build off the approach taken in the Demonstration, but will be refined based on “lessons learned”.  The plans will include operating plans, schedules, and protocols, station locations, dedicated lane options, vehicle requirements, bus signal requirement interface, and marketing recommendations.  Staff will begin operation of each Metro Rapid corridor immediately following construction.

Prepared by Rex Gephart

Project Manager

Countywide Planning & Development

 

________________________________                    ________________________________

JAMES L. de la LOZA                                             ROGER SNOBLE
Executive Officer                                                       Chief Executive Officer
Countywide Planning & Development

 


Text Box: Table B

[RC1]  Rex – does this tell them that the stations are unnecessary?  I know that I wrote that, but perhaps rephrase:  “and are expected to be even more successful once the station construction is complete with next bus displays.”