Presentation on Transit Reform Civic Academy Series February 2012

The East Baton Rouge Parish transit system is in crisis  Chronic budget crises and under-funding have plagued the system for years  The transit system faces a $2.1 million deficit and is set to run out of funding and shut down in July

Transit Reform Process & Dates February 2011: Together Baton Rouge & Baton Rouge Area Chamber formed Blue Ribbon Commission on Transit June 2011: Blue Ribbon Commission submits final recommendations for comprehensive transit reform. Mayor, Metro Council & CATS endorse its findings. January 2012: CATS calls for transit election and legislative strategy to implement Blue Ribbon Commission proposal. April 21 st, 2012: Election Date for Transit Reform

Traffic Congestion Avg. delay per year 22 hours Baton Rouge rank for congestion among mid-size U.S. cities (2010)? U. S. Avg for Mid-size Cities Baton Rouge 37 hours 33rd # of mid-size cities studied?33 The System Today

Projected Traffic Congestion FuturEBR projects traffic congestion will increase to over 70 hours per year in 20 years

FuturEBR prediction of congested routes in 20 years Projected Traffic Congestion

What does mass transit have to do with traffic?

Average wait time between buses? 75 minutes The System Today Average total trip time?2 hours, 20 minutes (Time it takes to drive to Biloxi, MS.) Outdated “spoke” route structure built for cities of 40 years ago. Essen to Bluebonnet: 5 – 10 minutes by car, over 2 hours by bus High-demand areas not covered by transit system. O’Neal Lane, Coursey Blvd, Essen & Siegan Lane

Poor Signage and Stops  Shelters are in poor condition or do not exist.  Poor and uninformative signage at bus stops: no route information; no time information. The System Today

How did it get this bad?

Includes local taxes, fares and federal funding Source: National Transit Database, 2009 Baton Rouge transit funding vs. other southern cities Peer Cities (2009) Per capita funding Atlanta New Orleans Austin Houston Charlotte Knoxville Little Rock Raleigh Memphis Peer City Average Baton Rouge (2009) Baton Rouge (2012) $134 $32 $84 $70 $133 $27 $59 $253 $215 $162 $138

Is efficiency the problem?

Why not just raise revenue from the riders? B.R. already has a very high dependence on rider fares for funding Percent of Peer Cities (2009) funding from fares Peer City Average Baton Rouge (2011) 25% 14%

Akron, OH Alameda, CA Albuquerque, NM Ames, IA Ann Arbor, MI Antioch, CA Arlington, VA Asheville, NC Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Bakersfield, CA Batavia, OH Bay City, MI Bellingham, WA Benton Harbor, MI Billings, MT Birmingham, AL Bismarck, ND Bloomington, IN Bradenton, FL Bremerton, WA Brunswick, OH Buffalo, NY Burlington, WA Canton, OH Cedar Rapids, IA Chapel Hill, NC Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Charlotte, NC Charlottesville, VA Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Colorado Springs, CO Columbus, GA Columbus, OH Commerce, CA Concord, CA Corpus Christi, TX Corvallis, OR Culver City, CA Cumberland, MD Dallas, TX Davenport, IA Davis, CA Dayton, OH Denver, CO Detroit, MI Duluth, MN El Paso, TX Elk Grove, CA Everett, WA Fairfield, CA Flagstaff, AZ Flint, MI Fond du Lac, WI Fort Collins, CO Fort Myers, FL Fort Smith, AR Fort Wayne, IN Fort Worth, TX Fredericksburg, VA Gardena, CA Gary, IN Glendale, AZ Grand Forks, ND Grand Rapids, MI Grand River, OH Granite City, IL Other cities with dedicated revenue for transit …

Great Falls, MT Greensboro, NC Gretna, LA Hanford, CA Hesperia, CA Highland Falls, NY Holland, MI Houston, TX Huntington, WV Indianapolis, IN Iowa City, IA Jackson, MI Jacksonville, FL Jefferson City, MO Kalamazoo, MI Kansas City, MO Kent, OH La Mirada, CA LaCrosse, WI Lafayette, IN Lakeland, FL Lancaster, CA Lansing, MI Laredo, TX Largo, MD Las Cruces, NM Lawrence, KS Lewisville, TX Lexington, KY Livermore, CA Logan, UT Lompoc, CA Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA Medford, OR Miami, FL Minneapolis, MN Missoula, MT Moline, IL Montebello, CA Monterey, CA Murfreesboro, TN Napa, CA New Orleans, LA New York, NY Norwalk, CA Oakland, CA Oceanside, CA Olympia, WA Omaha, NE Orange, CA Oxnard, CA Peoria, IL Petaluma, CA Phoenix, AZ Pinole, CA Pittsburgh, PA Pompano Beach, FL Port Huron, MI Port Washington, WI Porterville, CA Portland, OR Providence, RI Redondo Beach, CA Richland, WA Riverside, CA Rockville, MD MORE cities with dedicated revenue for transit …

Sacramento, CA Saginaw, MI Salem, OR San Antonio, TX San Bernardino, CA San Carlos, CA San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA San Juan, PR Santa Barbara, CA Santa Clarita, CA Santa Cruz, CA Santa Fe, NM Santa Maria, CA Santa Monica, CA Santa Rosa, CA Savannah, GA Scottsdale, AZ Seattle, WA Sioux City, IA South Bend, IN Spokane, WA Springfield, IL St. Cloud, MN St. Johns, MI St. Joseph, MO St. Paul, MN St. Petersburg, FL Stockton, CA Sugar Land, TX Tampa, FL Tempe, AZ Thousand Oaks, CA Thousand Palms, CA Toledo, OH Topeka, KS Tucson, AZ Union City, CA Urbana, IL Vallejo, CA Valparaiso, IN Vancouver, WA Ventura, CA Visalia, CA Washington, DC Waterloo, IA Wenatchee, WA West Covina, CA West Palm Beach, FL Wheeling, WV Winston-Salem, NC Woodland, CA Yakima, WA Youngstown, OH STILL MORE cities with dedicated revenue for transit … No dedicated funding means losing millions in federal match- funding & grants.

How does LSU Tiger Trails do it?  When LSU left the CATS system, it created a dedicated revenue source through a fee on student tuitions.  Funding for LSU tiger trails = $132 per capita for its service area. (compared to Southern Metro average of $133 and CATS funding of $32)

People who … 1) want less traffic congestion. 2) need reliable transportation to get to work, appointments, school, entertainment. 3) need their employees to have reliable transportation to work. 4) would like to reduce overall transportation costs: car insurance, gas, road repair, vehicle repair. 5) want economic development. Who benefits from transit reform?

Election to create dedicated revenue source for transit Election Date: April 21 st, 2012 Municipalities included: Baton Rouge, Baker and Zachary  Only voters in city limits are eligible to vote on or pay the proposed tax.  Each election is held separately. Success or failure in any municipality does not affect other elections. Dedicated Revenue Amount Property Tax rate (mills) Avg cost per household per month Average house value by area Baton Rouge$16,663, $14$157,100 Baker$636, $10$110,074 Zachary$1,144, $16$180,518 TOTAL$18,444,000 Rates, Revenue and Cost per Household Value of Home Cost per month $50,000$4.42 $75,000$6.63 $100,000$8.83 $125,000$11.04 $150,000$13.25 $200,000$17.67 $300,000$26.50 Cost depends upon home value

Other EBR-area millage rates Parish Library11.1 mills BREC14.46 mills Average for fire districts18.65 mills Downtown Dev District10 mills Baker Schools43.2 mills EBR Schools43.45 mills Zachary Schools79.2 mills Proposed rate for transit: 10.6 mills How does the proposed rate for transit compare to other dedicated revenue sources in our City-Parish?

3 Components of Comprehensive Transit Reform 1) Service Improvements 2) Governance Reform 3) Accountability

 Decrease wait times between buses from the current average of 75 minutes to 15 minutes (at peak hours)  Build 3 new transfer centers to replace “spoke” system with “grid” system  Overhaul bus stops, with new shelters and benches  Overhaul all signage for transit stops, providing detailed route and time information  Add GPS tracking to fleet, with exact arrival times accessible on cell phones  Increase service from 19 to 37 routes, including high-demand areas that currently are not served (eg. O’Neal Lane, Coursey Blvd., Essen and Siegen Lane)  Increase peak-hour buses from 32 to 57.  Create eight new express and limited stop lines: Express Routes Southern University to Downtown, Airport to Downtown, O’Neal Lane to Downtown, Mall of Louisiana to Downtown, Highland / I-110 to Downtown Limited Stop Routes Baker/Zachary through Southern University to Cats Terminal, Florida Blvd to Downtown, LSU to Downtown  Lay foundation for Bus Rapid Transit system I. Service Improvements

New route map & city boundaries

II. Governance Reform Strengthen board member criteria for CATS board (following recommendations of Blue Ribbon Commission) Remove Metro Council from operational decisions such as routes and fares, in line with best practices nationally. Legislation will be introduced in 2012 legislative session.

III. Accountability Adhere to and publicize concrete benchmarks and timeline of deliverables for service improvement.