Public Hearing for April 2018 Major Service Changes January 4, 2018
Agenda Circulator System Overview 2017 Transit Development Plan Major Service Changes Explanation of Public Hearing Process 2
What is the DC Circulator? Six easy to understand routes: Woodley Park Adams Morgan McPherson Square Georgetown Union Station Georgetown Dupont Circle - Rosslyn Union Station Navy Yard Metro Potomac Avenue Metro Skyland via Barracks Row National Mall High-Frequency Service (all day, 10- minute service) Simple, affordable fare structure ($1 fares on all routes) Distinctive, comfortable buses 3
DC Circulator System Goals Provide a high-quality transit service. Maximize financial and operational return on investment. Promote economic activity in existing and developing activity centers and support a transit oriented lifestyle. Strengthen the surface transportation network in the District for all users. 4
TDP 2017 Overview Began developing the TDP in fall 2016 Conducted extensive service analysis to determine key areas for improvement Prioritized recommendations for routes based on need and available resources Revised recommendations based on feedback Conducted Phase I public outreach in June 2017. Received input from 2,674 respondents Obtained stakeholder input Released the DRAFT 2017 TDP on September 14, 2017. Received feedback from 824 respondents Revised recommendations based on feedback Released the FINAL 2017 TDP on December 14, 2017 5
Existing Conditions Over 5 million system wide trips in 2016. System is having issues with on-time performance due to maintenance issues affecting fleet availability. DDOT operations and maintenance contract solicitation is focused on improving safety, training, and performance to address system s current shortfalls. Potomac Avenue Metro Skyland via Barracks Row Low ridership. Poor on-time performance. Serves trip generators that do not demand high-frequency, all-day service. Overlaps with frequent Metrobus routes. Subject to frequent delays on Good Hope Road during peak period. Union Station Navy Yard Metro Low ridership, especially midday and on weekends. Serves trip generators that do not demand high-frequency, all-day service. Bus stops per mile is higher than system target. 6
Major Service Changes Potomac Avenue Metro Skyland (PS) Route Union Station Navy Yard Metro (US-NY) Route Georgetown Union Station (GT-US) Route Elimination of unlimited-use paper passes that are valid only on DC Circulator. 7
Potomac Avenue Skyland Why are we changing Potomac Avenue - Skyland? Increase ridership on route by adding two major activity centers (Union Station, Congress Heights). Provide new one-seat ride from east of the river to Union Station. Faster connection between Union Station and Navy Yard for commuters. Reduce overlap with existing Metrobus service. Majority of respondents in both phases of TDP Outreach prefer proposed alignment. What are we changing about Potomac Avenue Skyland? Would serve Union Station and Congress Heights Metro via Barracks Row and Downtown Anacostia. Would replace WMATA Metrobus 94. Would operate on weekends year-round: Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 AM 9:00 PM. No longer serves Good Hope Rd or Potomac Avenue Metrorail Station. 8
Union Station Navy Yard What are we changing about Union Station Navy Yard? Would serve Eastern Market Metro to L Enfant Plaza Metro via Barracks Row, Navy Yard Metro, M Street SE/SW, and Waterfront Metro Would operate on weekends year-round: Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 AM 9:00 PM Why are we changing Union Station Navy Yard? Create new transit connections between three Metrorail stations, existing destinations, and new developments including The Wharf, The Museum of the Bible, and the planned Spy Museum. Connection to L Enfant Plaza transit hub. Provides new one seat connection between Navy Yard and L Enfant Plaza (VRE service). Reestablish DC Circulator service to the Waterfront Metrorail station and surrounding neighborhoods. Increased weekend service from existing route schedule. 9
Potomac Avenue Skyland & Union Station Navy Yard Will continue to provide connections between Union Station and Navy Yard Facility. 10
Georgetown Union Station What are we changing about Georgetown Union Station? Regular late-night service between McPherson Square and Union Station from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday Why are we changing Georgetown Union Station? Change was implemented in response to SafeTrack in October 2016. Remainder of route operates until 3:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. This change will create a consistent span for the entire route, making service simpler. 11
Fare Media Change What are we changing about our Fare Media? Elimination of unlimited-use paper passes that are valid only on DC Circulator. Why are we changing our Fare Media? Less than 2 percent of riders use paper passes. DC Circulator will continue to accept the unlimited Regional Bus Pass available on SmarTrip cards. No change is proposed to the base fare of $1 per trip. 12
Service Equity Analysis What is a Service Equity Analysis? A Service Equity Analysis looks at the positive and negative impacts of proposed major service changes. A Service Equity Analysis reviews the impacts of proposed major service changes on minority and low-income populations, compared to the impacts on nonminority and non-low-income populations. Service Equity Analysis Results DDOT reviewed this package of proposed major service changes for the cumulative impacts of the following on minority, low-income, non-minority, and non-low-income populations. Positive Changes: New service areas and increased service hours on PS and US- NY, increased service hours on GT-US Negative Changes: Discontinued service areas on PS and US-NY This package of proposed major service changes has no disparate impact on minority populations and no disproportionate burden on low-income populations. 13
Public Hearing Process Speakers will be called to the microphones in the order they signed up. When you are called to speak, please walk up to the microphones in the front. Everything you say will be recorded and entered into the public record. Each speaker will have an allocated amount of time: 3 minutes for members of the public 5 minutes for elected officials Staff will give you a 1 minute warning. A buzzer will sound when your time is up. In an effort to respect all attendees time, please comply with your time limit. If you exceed your allocated time, the buzzer will continue sounding. All comments will be reviewed equally. If you would rather write your comments, please ask a staff member for a comment form or fill it out online at the front desk. 14