City of Ellensburg. Public Transit Advisory Committee Agenda City Council Conference Room (FIRST FLOOR) City Hall March 20, :30 PM

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1 City of Ellensburg 1.0 Call to Order: 2.0 Agenda, Review and Approve Public Transit Advisory Committee Agenda City Council Conference Room (FIRST FLOOR) City Hall March 20, :30 PM 3.0 New or other items to add or delete. 4.0 Minutes, Review and approve minutes of 02/20/2018 meeting. 5.0 Cabulance 5.1 RFP for Cabulance should be released the week of March Review of proposals scheduled for the week of April Paratransit Services, February 2018 (HopeSource): 6.1 February Statistics included in information packet 6.2 Paratransit Brochure included in information packet. 7.0 Fixed Route 7.1 Ridership for February by Route 7.2 February Statistics included in information packet 7.3 Schedule holders and inserts procurement Holders have been received from the supplier Schedule inserts have been received. 8.0 Marketing Plan 8.1 Nelson\Nygaard was selected to develop marketing plan for Central Transit. 8.2 Approved by the City Council on February 20, Kick-off meeting being held on March 15, First inputs from N\N due just prior to this meeting. 9.0 Boardings per stop, January and February 2018.

2 9.1 Included in information packet 10.0 WSDOT Mobility Grant 10.1 Concept letter for 10 shelters with benches and bike racks submitted on February 28, Should know in May if Central Transit qualifies for the grant Google Transit update Received corrected file from consultant on February 27, Accepted by Google on the same day Currently working in test mode, May be an issue with timing between stops for transfers 12.0 Citizens Comments 13.0 Next Meeting/Meeting Schedule 14.0 Other 15.0 Adjourn April 20, 2018 City Hall, City Council Conference Room 3:30 PM

3 ITEM 4.0 City of Ellensburg Public Transit Advisory Committee Minutes Community Development Conference Room (FIRST FLOOR) City Hall January 16, :30 PM Present: Jack Frost, Bruce Tabb, Jason Berthon-Koch Absent: Fiona Gibson, Giovanni Severino, ASCWU Others: Bruce Sackron COE Transit, Margaret Reich COE, Aaron Blum, HopeSource, Ryan Lyyski, COE Public Works, Thomas Coon, Greyhound, Josh Hackney, CWDR 1.0 Call to Order at 4:20 PM 2.0 Review of Agenda: Accepted as published, motion to approve by Jack Frost, seconded by Jason Berthon-Koch. Agenda approved 3.0 New or other items to add: None 4.0 Minutes Review and approve minutes of 11/21/2017 PTAC meeting. 4.1 Motion to approve, Jack Frost, seconded by Jason Berthon-Koch. Minutes approved. 5.0 Central Transit Bus Photography: 5.1 Need updated bus photographs for use on the web and publications Currently do not have any photos with new CT graphics Photos need to be available in multiple formats

4 5.1.3 CWU Film Studies may be a source to develop videos for training and advertising Motion by Jason Berthon-Koch to hire professional photographer to take CT bus photographs and seconded Bruce Tabb, Motion approved Cost not to exceed $ Minimum of five photographs City of Ellensburg to own the photos 6.0 Cabulance: 6.1 RFP draft will be sent to PTAC members for review and comment after legal review and final scoping. 6.2 Evaluation team for provider responses to the Cabulance RFP currently includes Greg Wright, WSDOT, Jack Frost, PTAC, Rich Elliot, KVFR, and Bruce Sackron, COE. 7.0 Paratransit Services: 7.1 Status of ADARIDE eligibility screening Six applications are currently pending, three have been approved and no one has been declared ineligible Four paratransit trips have been taken to date in January Effective with the next PTAC meeting, paratransit statistics will cover the previous month s service. 7.2 The City may receive Paratransit formula funds in 2018 or Greg Wright to confirm when and if funds will be allocated to Ellensburg. 8.0 Fixed Route 8.1 Ridership for December Month to month ridership for December compared to November showed decreased ridership for both sustaining and expansion routes Historically, ridership has been lower in December than November Year to Year ridership for December showed a decrease for the sustaining routes compared to 2016 (-839 trips). The expansion routes added 1280 trips in December for a total net increase of 441 trips. 8.2 Bus Stop Maps/Schedules New schedule holders on order Schedule and Map insert proof had mostly favorable comments Request for wider route lines, lighter shade of gray for map background and elimination of green colored schedule.

5 8.3 Need to develop a process for adding new stops and eliminating existing stops To include public input in the process which will likely be included as part of the outreach/marketing plan Outreach/Marketing Plan 9.1 Awaiting one additional proposal to make a decision on who will be the chosen marketing firm 9.2 Bruce Tabb, Ryan Lyyski, Margaret Reich and Bruce Sackron will meet to determine direction for Central Transit marketing Citizen s Comments: 10.1 Thomas Coon presented new Greyhound Ellensburg bus schedules May want to consider for the July service change, adding trips on the orange route to match up with new Greyhound schedule 11.0 Next Meeting/Meeting Schedule February 20, 2018 City Hall, City Council Conference Room 3:30 PM 12.0 Adjourn, Motion made by Bruce Tabb, seconded by Jack Frost 12.1 Motion approved, meeting adjourned at 4:40 PM. ITEM 6.0

6 Para Transit Data Total pending Applicants 14 Total approved applicants 8 January Para Transit rides 14 ITEM 7.1 Central Transit Ridership: October 2016 October 2017 #1 Red Route, Clockwise #2 Green Route, Counterclockwise #3 Blue Route, North - East 904 #5 Orange Route, West Interchange 846 October Totals November 2016 November 2017 #1 Red Route, Clockwise #2 Green Route, Counterclockwise #3 Blue Route, North - East 936 #5 Orange Route, West Interchange 837 November Totals December 2016 December 2017 #1 Red Route, Clockwise #2 Green Route, Counterclockwise #3 Blue Route, North - East 606

7 #5 Orange Route, West Interchange 674 December Totals Q2 Totals January 2017 January 2018 #1 Red Route, Clockwise #2 Green Route, Counterclockwise #3 Blue Route, North - East 954 #5 Orange Route, West Interchange 1104 January Totals ITEM 10 SCOPE OF WORK 1 Review Existing Public Information Tools, Resources, and Distribution Channels We will start by preparing a summary and assessment, as well as a balanced critique based on any current marketing goals, of existing marketing and information tools, including the following: Logo Website and website links ( as well as ease of access Route Shout Printed materials/brochures including the route maps and schedules, Central Transit Dial-A-Ride and Paratransit information, and other information tools Social media presence and activity, followers, and content Readability and ease of use of the system map and individual route maps Press releases, advertisements, and other printed communication Radio and television advertisements, if applicable Amenities: the look, appeal, and utility of bus stop information, benches, and shelters The redesigned transit vehicles Consistency of messages, formats, and logo use To prepare this assessment, we will meet with you and your staff to review how staff perceive the informational tools provided by Central Transit. We will share informational tools provided by peer agencies to allow staff to compare and discuss their preferences and to identify priorities for Central Transit. We will then conduct a consultant s assessment of public transit marketing that provides a qualitative review of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for Central Transit. The analysis will also look at any established marketing processes, costs, and partnerships. We will also review the previous surveys conducted on Central Transit (and summarized in the Transit Development Plan).

8 Nelson\Nygaard will summarize the outcomes of the review in a concise memo that provides a set of findings and alternatives. The summary will include the following: Findings from the assessment, including any opportunities for enhancements to shelters and service improvements. Opportunities for transit marketing: Nelson\Nygaard will identify public relations, distribution and marketing identity problems and opportunities based on existing services and best practices. Marketing goals: It is important to have goals and objectives for public information, identity, distribution, and customer service improvements, as well as to ensure that public outreach tools are accessible and meet requirements of Title VI. Nelson\Nygaard will review existing goals and objectives, if available, and will propose updated marketing goals and objectives, based on input from staff. Based on evaluation and assessment of existing tools and resources, we will identify the target markets, which will be prioritized and likely include (1) commuters, (2) older adults, (3) college students, and (4) children/ youth. For each of these groups, we will identify opportunities that would motivate them to use transit. 2 Conduct Focus Groups with Transit and Non-Transit Riders Based on the findings from the initial assessment, we believe it would be valuable to seek specific detailed marketing input from outside of the organization. We propose to meet with a representative group of non-transit and transit riders in two focus groups to review their perception of Central Transit, reactions to information and marketing tools and capital equipment (logo, vehicles, bus stops, schedules, etc.), understand their opinions of the agency and how they have formed their opinions, understand Dial-A-Ride s impact on use of the fixed routes, and share marketing tools from peer agencies (Wi-Fi, travel trainers, ambassador programs, etc.) to gauge their reactions to potential alternatives for Central Transit. One of Central Transit s concerns is what advertising approaches work well in Ellensburg (Daily Record? Facebook? TV or radio?). While we will gather some of this information in task 2, the focus group provides an opportunity for us to dig deeper for riders and non-riders. To save budget, we have assumed transit agency staff would recruit participants, but could adjust the budget for Nelson\Nygaard staff to do so. Nelson\Nygaard would facilitate both 90-minute discussions, offer incentives to participants and summarize the findings, integrating them into a memo covering Tasks 1 and 2. 3 Develop Draft and Final Marketing Action Plan The outcome of Tasks 1 through 3 is a marketing roadmap that can be used by Central Transit to evaluate and make decisions about where marketing resources should be allocated based on practices and impacts at peer agencies, innovative and low-cost strategies, and input from staff and members of the community. The Marketing Action Plan provides a set of specific actions to be undertaken to address Central Transit s marketing goals and objectives. The Plan will identify how each of these marketing actions will serve the priority target markets. Nelson\Nygaard will detail the marketing activities recommended to meet the objectives. For the activities, we will provide estimated costs, if any, and opportunities for low and no-cost alternatives. Specific actions will be identified for specific target markets. 4 Marketing Implementation Design, Development, and Technical Assistance We understand that the priority for Central Transit is to complete the Marketing Action Plan. If useful to Central Transit, Nelson\Nygaard can also develop a full Marketing Program and prepare select collateral materials to support the Marketing Action Plan. This optional task allows for our staff to provide support up to a to-be-determined budget to help fully develop and implement recommendations. Potential elements of this effort may include the following: 1. Development of information tools/concepts. Nelson\Nygaard will work with staff to define and develop communication tools, informational materials, expansion of social media activity (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and other tools), map design, bus stop design, website, advertisements, etc. A potential component of this effort is to deliver products to Central Transit that can be maintained and updated by staff. All information tools developed will become the property of Central Transit and all source documents created in relation to this task, including graphics, maps, web sites, etc. would be transmitted to the City of Ellensburg as part of this task. 2. Organization and Responsibility. We will work with staff to confirm assignments of marketing and public information responsibilities within the organization

9 3. Information Distribution. An information distribution network is an essential tool for a small transit operation to ensure that Central Transit is providing useful information throughout the service area and to make certain that information is restocked and updated. We will develop a list of local and regional allies who can provide assistance in this effort. We will provide estimated costs, if any. 4. Media Contacts and Allies. In addition to an information distribution network, we will prepare a media contact list. 5. Timeline. Nelson\Nygaard will design an implementation timeline for each of the marketing actions. The timeline will account for time and budget priorities, staff resources, and implementation goals. 6. Evaluation. How will Central Transit know if its efforts are a success? Nelson\Nygaard will provide recommendations and tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing effort, including providing recommendations for the development of a marketing-oriented survey.

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