[NLC] LTD follow up to questions of NLC

[KINNISON Michael J]

Hello NLCers.  A number of questions were asked of Andy Vobora, LTD Director of Service Planning, Accessibility, and Marketing at the February NLC meeting.  Please see his responses below.  If you have additional questions you can contact Andy directly at andy.vobora at ltd.org<mailto:andy.vobora at ltd.org>.



Michael Kinnison, Program Manager
City of Eugene - City Manager's Office
Neighborhood Services Program
99 West 10th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401
phone (541) 682-5009
fax (541) 682-8335
http://www.eugene-or.gov/neighborhoods
Working to build community at the neighborhood level and improve the livability of the City's neighborhoods.

Messages to and from this e-mail address may be available to the public under Oregon Public Records Law.

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Questions -- What is the cost per passenger mile for fixed route service (including EmX)?

Attached is a schedule of key performance indicators for the last 5 years from the National Transportation Dept.  Our fixed route service (including EmX) is reported under the MB/DO section (motor bus, directly operated).  For 2009, cost per passenger mile was $.78.

Question - What's the percentage of RideSource covered by State funding?  What are others around the state experiencing in paratransit costs?
1.

We did not receive information from the State regarding other districts or small city providers, but we understand they are in the same boat as LTD.  A coordinated effort has been made at the legislature to find an additional funding source that will help all providers in Oregon.
2.      LTD transferred $1.9 million this year and the State tobacco tax provided just under $400,000.  Other grants helped filled some gaps or the impact on the general fund would have been more significant.
To boil it down - % of STF revenue within RideSource services budget (available on the LTD website):
3.

The Accessible Services Fund budget for FY2009-10 is $4,819,000. (That does not include contingency, transfer to capital, or RideSource Call Center but does include rural services and Lane Co. Coordination.)
4.      The amount of Special Transportation Fund (STF) budgeted (not including new STO grants) is $405,700.
5.      The percentage of the Accessible Services budget that comes for the STF revenue is 8.42%.
6.      If you also include the new STO money (State General Fund allocation - not expected to continue) that we will be receiving (was not in the budget because we just got the grant) then the percentage of STF in the Accessible Services budget is 17.64%.
Question - Why develop EmX versus Light-Rail?

For Streetcar and Light Rail questions, we have two documents on our website: http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=48a1e4e34943b1523faf146a6792cade
1.      "Characteristics of Streetcars and Light Rail Systems in the USA"
2.      "Applicability of Rail in the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area"

The "Urban Rail Feasibility Study" and "Major Investment Study (MIS)" are also available on our website:
http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=e81da5d8aa4eea591770c4269a2bb1b2


Question - What is a TSUB number?

The transportation system user benefit (TSUB) number is a calculation used by the Federal Transit Administration.  It's basically a cost-benefit analysis and was a key criteria used by FTA to determine if transit projects would be funded.  The FTA has since changed the analysis criteria and no longer relies as heavily on the TSUB number, but provides a greater opportunity for projects to be deemed fundable based on criteria such as economic development, land-use, etc.    The following article discusses this shift and provides several links to the FTA site:  http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/transit-funding-takes-a-new-look-at-livability/

The following links to the FTA site provide more information on the benefits/cost effectiveness process:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/planning/newstarts/planning_environment_9063.html#IIB_Cost_Effectiveness<http://www.fta.dot.gov/planning/newstarts/planning_environment_9063.html>

www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Discussion_1_CE_Allowances.doc<http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Discussion_1_CE_Allowances.doc>





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