SERVICE SECTOR AD HOC COMMITTEE

AUGUST 7, 2002

 

 

SUBJECT:         SECTOR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR METRO BUS SERVICE

 

ACTION:            RECEIVE AND FILE

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Receive and file report on service sector’s role in managing the operation of the Metro bus system.

 

 

ISSUE

 

With the creation of service sectors, the management of the Metro bus system is being decentralized.  Many of the agency’s responsibilities for operating Metro bus service are being transferred to the sectors. This report discusses the Metro and sector roles and responsibilities in the areas of operating, planning and scheduling Metro bus service.

 

 

DISCUSSION

 

In July of this year, the Metro began decentralizing the management of the Metro bus system through the creation of five service sectors: San Fernando Valley, Westside/Central; San Gabriel Valley; South Bay, and Gateway Cities. Two sectors, the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley, were implemented in July of this year and the remaining three will be in place by September 1, 2002.

 

The goal of decentralization is to improve service to the customer by providing local communities with greater input into operations. Key governance principles in the establishment of the sectors are to maximize local oversight over the management of Metro bus operations and to maintain a streamlined decision making process.

 

The service sectors are envisioned to operate as semi-independent units of the Metro. Sector Governance Councils are being established to oversee bus service within their area and each sector has been assigned a General Manager. The Sector General Manager implements the decisions of the Governance Council and reports to the Metro Deputy CEO. The General Manager position is responsible for day-to-day operations of bus service within the sector. Responsibilities of this position include: developing sector operating plans and budgets; hiring and firing sector staff, ensuring that sector and agency goals and objectives are met; serving as primary representative for Metro bus operations within the sector; keeping the Deputy CEO and the Sector Governance Council informed on service issues within the sector; establishing agendas for the Governance Council meetings, and recommending, implementing and monitoring programs to improve service and customer satisfaction.

 

Under the sector concept, the Metro Board of Directors retain many of their primary responsibilities including: approval of the agency budget and capital plan; negotiation of labor contracts; setting fare and service policies; hiring executive staff; determining and monitoring agency programs; calling and conducting public hearings for fare changes and service changes to corporate bus lines, Rapid Bus and rail service; conducting major procurements; managing construction projects, and having ultimate responsibility for resolving disputes regarding agency matters that cannot be managed at the staff or sector level.

 

The Sector Governance Councils oversee the planning and implementation of service within their area. Their responsibilities include: approval of the sector budget within designated funding levels; calling and conducting public hearings for sector bus lines; approval and evaluation of sector programs; implement service changes; review and develop policy recommendations to the Metro Board; ensure compliance with Metro policies procedures and legal agreements (e.g. labor agreements and the Consent Decree); provide input into the Sector General Manager’s performance review; and participate in annual meetings with the Metro CEO, Deputy CEO and the other Sector Governance Councils and General Managers.

 

Sector Roles and Responsibilities

 

In terms of service, the sectors have full responsibility for the Tier 2 (intercommunity) and Tier 3 (community based) in their area, as well as the Tier 1 (core regional) bus service that operates predominantly within their area. Line assignments by tier and sector are shown in Attachment 1. Each sector is responsible for scheduling and operating corporate lines assigned to their divisions, as the corporate group is no longer staffed for these functions. The sectors will also be responsible for implementing corporate initiatives within their sector, such as the implementation of new Rapid Bus lines or service improvements related to the Consent Decree. Additionally, the sectors, as indicated in the Sector Partner column of Attachment 1, will have authority to make minor changes to corporate lines. These are changes that are consistent with the Authority’s policy for minor route and schedule changes. This policy generally covers minor reroutes and trip time adjustments.

 

Tier 1, or core regional service, includes bus lines that generally carry over 10,000 passengers a day, provide peak hour service frequencies of less than 10 minutes and offer a span of 18 hours a day. Tier 2 or intercommunity bus lines generally carry between 2,000 and 10,000 passengers a day, serve major arterials or freeways, and are operated with a standard transit vehicle. Tier 3 or community-based services generally carry less than 2,000 passengers per day, operate on secondary streets and may be provided with a variety of vehicles ranging from vans to standard 40-foot buses.

 

As summarized in Attachment 2, sector planning, operating and scheduling responsibilities include: managing the cost of the service; ensuring compliance with agency performance targets and service standards; monitoring and managing service quality for things like on-time performance, productivity, passenger loading, and subsidy per passenger; responding to community requests for service and customer complaints; calling and conducting public hearings; and coordinating planning efforts and operations with the other Metro sectors and local transit operators.

 

Corporate Roles and Responsibilities

 

Under this concept, a corporate planning function would be retained. It would be focused on agency-wide initiatives, policy development and sector coordination. The Metro would retain responsibility for: Metro Rail, future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, Rapid Bus planning, the Consent Decree, and designated Tier 1 bus routes.

 

To facilitate coordination, the Metro Board of Directors will adopt a uniform set of service policies. A draft of the recommended policies is being completed and will be available for review in the immediate future. Additionally, the Metro CEO, Sector General Managers and Metro corporate staff will be conducting monthly Service Development Team (SDT) Meetings. As mentioned previously, there will be semi-annual coordination meetings between all of the Sector Councils and Metro executive staff.

 

The purpose of the SDT meetings is to keep open lines of communication between the sectors and corporate headquarters. It serves as a forum for involving the sector teams in the planning of major agency initiatives and development of service policies, clarifying issues regarding roles and responsibilities and discussing major action items that will be taken to the Sector Governance Councils, or Metro Board Committee.

 

 

 

The Service Change Process and Responsibilities

 

Service change responsibilities will vary with the nature of the program. In each case, the individual governing boards will review and approve the program objectives and preliminary thoughts; call and conduct the public hearing or schedule some other form of public outreach to elicit community input on the changes within their area; review comments from the public review process, and approve final recommendations.

 

Service Development Team meetings will be used to coordinate the service change process at the system level, as discussed below:

Selecting a Project Lead – The project lead will be the General Manager of the sector that is most impacted by the changes. If a program focuses on corporate lines, the Deputy Executive Officer of Service Development would be the lead. The selection of the project lead would occur at a Service Development Team Meeting. The project lead would be responsible for coordinating the SDT meetings on the service change and preparing project information reports to update the sector councils and the Metro Board of Directors on system wide changes.

Developing the Project Schedule, Objectives and Program Targets – The corporate planning unit will develop the initial service change schedule, program targets, and report templates. Program objectives will be developed by the project lead with input from the other Sector General Managers and the Deputy Executive Officer of Service Development.

Preparing a Preliminary List of Recommendations for Public Comment - A list of preliminary recommendations for changing service in each of the sectors will be developed by the Sector General Mangers, as well as a preliminary estimate of impacts to customers and service hours. This list of recommendations will include changes in support of corporate initiatives (e.g. bus rail interface changes, increases in capacity to reduce overloads etc) as well as changes to meet local needs. This information will be discussed at a Service Development Team meeting. As part of this step, a public information packet needs to be developed and available prior to implementing public outreach. This packet typically includes, ridership and service hour impacts, as well as maps of all the proposals. The project leader will also prepare an information report for the Metro Board and each of the Sector Governance Councils informing them of all the changes under consideration.

Public Outreach - Each sector and the corporate unit will be responsible for previewing their proposals with the community. This includes scheduling and conducting community meetings and public hearings. Major changes will require a formal public hearing (Attachment 3). This will require 30 days advance published notification, arrangements for a court reporter and other services. Additionally, special interest groups and elected officials should receive written notification during this process. Communications with the Bus Riders Union will be coordinated through the Service Development Section. Sectors may wish to conduct public outreach on bus lines that serve portions of their area, but are not their responsibility. In such instances, the results of their outreach would be forwarded to the responsible sector and included with other public input being collected on the bus line, or read into the minutes of a public hearing.

Approving Final Recommendations For Implementation – At the conclusion of the public outreach process, each General Manager will prepare a report to their Governance Council highlighting feedback received during the outreach process and recommending final proposals for implementation. When major changes are being made to corporate lines, the Deputy Executive Officer of Service Development will prepare a report to the Metro Board of Directors summarizing public input and recommending final recommendations. The project leader will prepare an information report for the Metro Board and each of the Sector Governance Councils informing them of the final system wide recommendations.

Modifying the Service Schedules and Conducting the Driver Bid – Each sector will modify the schedules and work assignments for bus lines assigned to divisions within their sector. Similarly each sector will be responsible for the posting of work assignments and conducting the driver bid at the divisions within their area. Each sector will send copies of the new schedule information to the Schedule Planner assigned to the Service Development section and they will coordinate the preparation of all system wide reports.

 

 

NEXT STEPS

 

Feedback from the ad-hoc committee will be used to refine these guidelines. Once updated, they will go to the Metro Board for approval and implementation.

ATTACHMENTS

1.      Metro Bus Lines by Tier and Sector

2.      Sector Responsibilities for Managing the Metro Bus System

3.      Metro Public Hearing Guide Lines

 

Prepared by:    Roderick Goldman, Deputy Executive Officer of Service Development

    Ed Clifford, Transit Planner

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

John B. Catoe, Jr.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

__________________________________

Roger Snoble

Chief Executive Officer