Report flia^gt R.g&om.m.eiA.g(fltloiA. SBPTA FY 2015" ANNUAL sei^vice PLAN

Transcription

1 Report flia^gt R.g&om.m.eiA.g(fltloiA. SBPTA FY 2015" ANNUAL sei^vice PLAN

2 CONTENTS Appointment of Hearing Examiner 1 Purpose of Annual Service Plan 1 The Hearings 2 Summary and List of Recommended Changes 3 Public Testimony 8 Route Performance Analysis 10 Hearing Examiner's Recommendations 11

3 Eugene N. Cipriani was appointed as Hearing Examiner by Pasquale T. Deon, Sr., Chairman of the Board of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, on March 19, 2014, to consider whether all parts of the SEPTA FY 2015 Annual Service Plan should be recommended for implementation. This appointment appears as SEPTA Exhibit No. 1. A joint effort by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and the City of Philadelphia in the mid-1990's resulted in a document entitled "City Transit Division Service Standards and Process." This document was adopted as official policy by SEPTA, and it includes the requirement for an Annual Service Plan. The first Annual Service Plan for SEPTA'S City Transit Division was adopted by the SEPTA Board for Fiscal Year Similar Annual Service Plan procedures were approved in 1999 for SEPTA'S Suburban Transit Division and its Regional Rail Division. Four hearings were held for this FY 2015 Annual Service Plan, and they include service modifications for SEPTA'S operating units - City Transit Division and Suburban Transit Division. There are no changes or station abandonments proposed for the Railroad Division this year. The Annual Service Plan is a one-year scenario which identifies all relevant proposals for route and service changes for SEPTA's transit routes for the forthcoming year. It includes suggestions from elected officials, community groups, and passenger advocate groups, the SEPTA Citizens Advisory Committee, the City of Philadelphia's Mayor's Office of Transportation & Utilities, city and county planning commissions, passengers and SEPTA's Service Planning Department. Each submittal for changes to a route or creation of a new route is analyzed by SEPTA staff for its economic viability and passenger demand. The financial impact of each change on the forthcoming annual operating budget is considered. Proposals which meet established service standards and which impact the operating budget are then subject to a Comparative Evaluation Process which includes ridership forecast, cost analysis and a community benefit analysis. The Annual Service Plan seeks to incorporate changes to the SEPTA system which will "achieve specific service goals and objectives, and opportunities for cost-effective service expansion.... All major route and service adjustments which impact SEPTA's operating budget will be planned and implemented according to the Annual Service Plan." The projects which are ultimately selected for the forthcoming Annual Service Plan are formatted into formal tariffs, and a series of public hearings is conducted. Based on the proposals in the document, on testimony at the public hearings and on submitted exhibits, the Hearing Examiner then makes recommendations to the SEPTA Board. The Board makes the final decision on whether or not to implement all or portions of the Annual Service Plan. -1-

4 Four public hearings were conducted for Tuesday, April 22, :00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. SEPTA Board Room Mezzanine Level 1234 Market Street Philadelphia, PA FY 2015 Annual Service Plan, as follows: Wednesday. April :30 p.m. Great Valley Corporate Center 5 Countryview Road, 2"'' Floor Malvern, PA Wednesday. April :00 P.M. Montgomery Conference Room One Montgomery Plaza, 2nd Floor 425 Swede Street Norristown, PA The SEPTA witnesses participating in the hearings included: Steven D'Antonio, Manager of City Service Planning; Brandon Miller, Senior Operations Planner in the City Transit Division of Service Planning; Daniel Nemiroff, Senior Operations Planner in the City Transit Division of Service Planning; John Calnan, Manager of Suburban Service Planning and Schedules; and Mark Cassel, Senior Operations Planner in the Suburban Service Planning and Schedules section. The tariffs filed in connection with these hearings are as follows: > Tariff No. 47, Supplement No. 14 (Route 68); > Tariff No. 119, Supplement No. 9 (Route 43); > TariffNo. 169, Supplement No. 2 (Route 206); > Tariff No. 188, Supplement No. 3 (Route 91); > Tariff No. 196, Supplement No. 5 (Route 108); > Tariff No. 200, Supplement No. 4 (Route 201); > Tariff No. 262, Supplement No. 1 (Route 116); and > Tariff No. 263, Supplement No. 2 (Route 205). A total of eighteen (18) persons attended the four hearings and twelve (12) spoke. The record was kept open through the close of business on April 28, 2014 for anyone who wished to submit additional testimony or letters. A stenographic transcript of the hearings was made and is available for inspection on the 5' floor of the Authority's offices at 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia. Included as part of the record are public exhibits, including three (3) s. -2-

5 Public Exhibits Including s and Letters Public Exhibit No. 1: Public Exhibit No. 2: Public Exhibit No. 3: Public Exhibit No. 4: Public Exhibit No. 5: Public Exhibit No. 6: Public Exhibit No. 10: Public Exhibit No. 11: Public Exhibit No. 12: Statement of Tri-State Citizens' Council on Transportation, generally in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. Statement of Delaware Valley Citizens' Transportation Committee, generally in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. Statement of SEPTA Youth Advisory Council, generally in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. of Krista Rompolski, Phoenixville, PA, requesting continuance of bus service from Phoenixville. from Jeff Jackson, Upper Darby, PA, requesting one-half hourly service on Route from Naomi Roberson, Philadelphia, PA, requesting additional service on Route #3 to Smith Playground. Statement of Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, Inc., generally in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. Letter of Delaware County Planning Department, in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan Letter of City of Philadelphia in support of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. SULMMAR-Y ANT> US>T OF R-ECOMMeNI^ei^ CHAN The Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Service Plan evaluated a record two hundred thirty-five (235) suggestions. Six (6) projects - as listed below - are recommended for approval. The majority of the non-recommended suggestions consisted of route, service or capital concepts that would have increased SEPTA's operating budget without additional funding or operating resources, or would have violated SEPTA's Service Standards. City Transit RECOMMENDED PROJECTS Route 35 - Scheduled service modifications to improve route financial performance Route 43 - A routing change in Port Richmond, similar to the current detour implemented as part of the 1-95 Reconstruction Project City Transit/Suburban Transit Route 68,108 and Route rationalization project aimed at simplifying service patterns -3-

6 Suburban Transit Route 91 - Making permanent a detour routing near Graterford State Correctional Institution Route Routing change in Fort Washington Routes 205 and Route rationalization project to serve new/ markets at Great Valley and Chesterbrook Corporate Centers Regional Rail Divison No projects recommended City Transit Division Proposals Route 35 Route 35 is a circulator bus route within the Manayunk and Roxborough communities, providing service to shopping and medical services along Ridge Avenue, and making connections to other SEPTA routes at the Wissahickon Transportation Center. While the service is essential for seniors and others without access to an automobile, it is the lowest performing SEPTA City Transit route, with an 8% cost recovery from fares. This is far below the 18% minimum standard for City routes set by the SEPTA Board. To improve operational efficiency, the SEPTA staff is proposing to modify the service schedule for Route 35. Changes being proposed include adjusting weekday frequencies from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, similar to the current weekend service levels. Additionally, the SEPTA staff is proposing to adjust the daily span of service by discontinuing underutilized trips on weekdays and Saturdays. These trips include two weekday trips at 6:30 PM and 7:15 PM, and three Saturday trips at 7:15 AM, 6:30 PM and 7:15PM. The newly proposed Route 35 schedule would operate weekdays between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM and weekends between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The SEPTA staff is proposing these schedule changes to bring Route 35 closer to the minimum acceptable operating ratio, so that it may be retained. Average weekday ridership today is approximately 320 passengers. Because of the available overlapping routes in the area, most customers on the trips being eliminated have options for alternate service. Approximately four passengers will be left with no alternate by the proposed weekday and Saturday modifications. The SEPTA staff anticipates that the proposed service changes will increase the operating ratio of Route 35 from 8% to 13%. Route 43 The SEPTA staff is recommending a change to 43, which operates from Richmond and Cumberland Streets to 50th Street and Parkside Avenue. The change involves the westbound routing, and was requested by several SEPTA customers. Service along Richmond and Beach Streets would move to Aramingo and Delaware Avenues, similar to the eastbound routing. Specifically, the westbound routing would leave its recovery point near Richmond and Cumberland Streets, turn west onto -4-

7 Cumberland and then south at Aramingo Avenue, then re-connect to the current route at Penn Treaty Park. In the last few years. Route 43 has been on a detour similar to the recommended routing due to 1-95 reconstruction. The detour has proven popular, with increasing ridership on this segment. After reviewing the customer requests, staff agreed that the detour routing, or a variation of it, should be made permanent. Prior to the detour, ridership along Beach and Richmond Streets was almost nonexistent. In fact, service was routed this way to provide access to an employer who is no longer in this location. The new routing will provide two-way service along the Aramingo Avenue commercial area and improved service to people living in the neighborhood and traveling to points west. Route 27 In 2013, the SEPTA staff evaluated several route restructuring and scheduling concepts to improve on-time performance and operational efficiency. After much analysis, it was determined that a modified schedule and not a route change was needed to improve service and better focus resources on the various customer markets along the route. The schedule proposal was presented at the Service Planning Open House Meeting in December 2013 and was well received by attendees. So while there are no route tariffs associated with Route 27 at this hearing, SEPTA does intend to proceed with implementing a revised service schedule in June of this year to improve both on time performance and overcrowding within the City of Philadelphia. Routes and 116 City Transit Division/Suburban Transit Division As part of the FY 1999 Annual Service Plan, the SEPTA Service Planning staff examined several bus routes as part of the Airport Area Transit Study. Two routes in particular, Routes 68 and 108, had several routing and service pattern changes to address employer needs surrounding and including Philadelphia International Airport and UPS. In 2013, SEPTA staff had undertaken a comprehensive route and service planning analysis as needs and travel patterns changed over the past 15 years on Routes 68, 108 and 116. Presently, Route 68 operates from Broad & Oregon Subway Station to UPS. Route 108 operates from the 69th Street Transportation Center (TC) to various destinations in southwest Philadelphia, including Philadelphia International Airport, UPS and the Airport Business Center. Route 116 operates limited service between the 69th Street TC and the United States Postal Facility at Lindbergh Boulevard and 74th Street. The following changes are proposed to increase ridership, allow for faster travel time, alleviate overcrowding, simplify schedule patterns, and to discontinue unproductive and duplicative service. Extend Route 68 weekday service to 69th Street TC replacing most Route 108 service to UPS. Route 108 would continue to operate supplementing Route 68 service during lateevening and "owl" periods. Route 68 would provide faster service on all local trips to UPS as the majority of riders are destined to this key employer The Route 68 extension to 69th Street TC would replace portions of Route 116, which would be discontinued under this proposal. New trip opportunities would be possible -5-

8 between Delaware County and Philadelphia residential neighborhoods and employment destinations Route 68 would offer additional weekday service through Upper Darby and Yeadon helping to relieve overcrowding on Route 108 A routing change to Routes 68 and 108 would provide more direct service to the Airport Interplex complex of hotels and businesses Additional Route 108 service would serve Philadelphia International Airport on weekdays and weekends Route 108 weekday peak hour service to the Airport Business Center would be improved Route 108 mid-day service to Airport Business Center would be discontinued due to low ridership. Route 37 offers a viable option as frequent service is scheduled and transfers can be made at Philadelphia International Airport There are four other Suburban route changes under consideration. Route 91 Suburban Transit Division Bus Route 91 operates Saturday-only service between Norristown Transportation Center and the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Graterford. Due to changes in access to SCI-Graterford created by a weight restricted bridge on Graterford Road and the subsequent closing of an alternate access from the village of Creamery, SEPTA is operating under Temporary Order authority on a long-term detour via PA Routes 113 and 73. This detour also provides closer access to the new prison currently under construction at the site. This is the property access that would be used once the new facility is opened. SEPTA is proposing to change the tariffed routing for Bus Route 91 to serve portions of PA Route 363 (Park Avenue and Valley Forge Road) from Ridge Pike to PA Route 73, including the village of Skippack. This reduces overlap with existing Bus Route 93 service along Ridge Pike between Trooper and Collegeville and reduces trip mileage. The village of Skippack also hosts periodic Saturday events that could attract additional riders. Route 201 This bus route serves the Fort Washington Industrial Park, connecting to weekday Lansdale/Doylestown Regional Rail trains at Fort Washington Station. Based on a request from a developer, a minor routing adjustment is proposed to connect to a planned commercial development on Susquehanna Road. The proposed new routing also provides closer access to an assisted living center, while providing access to all the same locations on Office Center Drive as the current routing. -6-

9 Routes 205 and 206 Bus Routes 205 and 206 serve various points in Great Valley from the Paoli Regional Rail Station, connecting with weekday peak period Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail trains. Route 205 also currently makes selected trips to Phoenixville. Route 205, a contracted service, has been funded through PennDOT's U.S. Route 202, Section 300 reconstruction project. The proposal includes taking portions of Route 205 service and adding them to Route 206, while discontinuing Route 205 service to Phoenixville, due to very low ridership. Route 205 service would instead be extended to new service areas within the Great Valley and Chesterbrook corporate centers, providing a direct connection from Paoli Regional Rail Station to the Chesterbrook employment center. SEPTA has previously received requests from a major property owner in the Chesterbrook Corporate Center to provide service from Paoli Station, opening up transit access from the Main Line and points west in Chester County, which it was not able to provide at that time. Service presently provided on Route 205 to Uptown Worthington and the Commons at Great Valley would become part of Route 206. Meanwhile, service presently provided on Route 206 to Unisys would become part of Route 205, providing a quicker trip to and from Paoli Station. Route 205 would also initiate service to Chesterfield Parkway, which recently was opened up to improved access by a new roadway connection to Swedesford Road. The SEPTA Service Planning staff has examined loads on the two routes and believes that the passenger shifts can occur without negative impacts to ridership. The change would also make Route 205 a more fiscally viable service upon the termination of PennDOT funding with the end of the U.S. Route 202 reconstruction project in the year On Time Performance Proposed Amendments to SEPTA's Service Standards & Process Document The SEPTA staff is recommending that the On Time Performance Standard for all modes be defined as 5 minutes 59 seconds, similar to our current standard for Regional Rail, which is widely used by many Commuter Rail operators. The present standard for transit is 5 minutes. Running ahead of schedule is NOT considered acceptable schedule adherence. SEPTA Standards The SEPTA staff is also recommending the adoption of On Time Performance Goals that are consistent throughout the entire service day and service week, rather than the current goals which vary by time of day and day of the week. In actuality, on time performance is almost never calculated in this manner, and it is more common to use daily, weekly, and monthly averages by route or by mode. The goals being recommended are 80% on time for surface transit, 90% for Regional Rail lines, and 95% for the Market Frankford, Broad Street, and Norristown High Speed Lines. The exceptions are Regional Rail trains marked with the letter "D" at a particular station stop in the public timetable may depart the station ahead of schedule. Also, express transit trips or route with limited stops may arrive ahead of schedule at the final destination. -7-

10 Public Testlm.piA.ij Twelve (12) members of the public spoke at the hearings and had questions which were answered by SEPTA representatives. Douglas Diehl, President and Founder of the Tri-State Transit Center, Transit Historical and Transit Advocacy Group for the Philadelphia Metropolitan area, spoke first. He thanked SEPTA for giving his group a copy of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. He has no objections to the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan and he supports the changes. When he asked about the proposed night owl service for the Broad Street Subway Line and Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated Line on Friday and Saturday evenings, he was pleased to learn that the headways would be twenty (20) minutes. Charles Bode, Chairman of the Tri-State Citizens' Council on Transportation, supports the changes for Bus Routes 35, 43, 68, 91,108, 116, 201, 205 and 206. He also asked that the headways for the Broad Street Subway Line and Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated Line Friday night and Saturday night Owl Service be created so that people will not have to rush to meet connecting trains. Bernice Hall, a senior citizen and daily SEPTA rider, spoke next. She commended the maintenance personnel at the Frankford Transportation Center ("FTC") as well as the SEPTA transit police for the good job they do at the FTC. She asked about the up-coming smart cards and was informed by the SEPTA Chief Financial Officer, Richard Burnfield, that SEPTA will be doing a very significant amount of public outreach to provide the information the public needs to enable them to use the new smart cards. Lorraine Brill from the Delaware Valley Citizens' Transportation Committee commented favorably on SEPTA's proposed changes to Bus Routes 35, 43, 68, 91, 108, 201, 205 and 206 and to the discontinuance of Bus Route 116. She asked that SEPTA's staff continue to listen to the SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee, SEPTA transit riders, other transit groups, SEPTA workers who know what has to be corrected, and local community groups that know what transit is needed in their neighborhoods. Jonathan Rinda, from Royersford, PA, questioned why SEPTA had the Route 205 bus going to Chesterbrook when the Route 92 bus goes in almost the same direction. John Calnan, Manager of the Suburban Planning and Schedules section for SEPTA's Service Planning Department, responded that the Route 205 bus is timed to operate with the arrival of trains on the Regional Rail Line, whereas the Route 92 bus has to serve numerous locations such as West Chester, Exton and King of Prussia and therefore is intended to accomplish a different transportation travel task. Dennis N. Lanham, from Norwood, PA, questioned the proposed changes on Bus Routes 108 and 68 and asked for the changes not to be adopted. Mr. Lanham expressed concerns that he would not be able to make a convenient transfer between the proposed Route 68 and Route 37. Mr. Lanham was informed that the Route 68 would replace the Route 108 trips to UPS and at the same times. In addition, Mr. Lanham was promised that the connection between Bus Routes 68 and 37 would be maintained at PNC. Peter Clelland, from BET Investments, the developer in Fort Washington, PA, supports the changes in Bus Route

11 Patricia Ellis, Transit Advisor in the City of Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Transportation & Utilities, supports the changes being made to Bus Routes 35, 43 and 68. She also reported favorably that the City's Annual Service Plan request to establish a planning and development subcommittee of the City/SEPTA Transit First Committee, where important information on development activity is shared among the Mayor's Office of Transportation & Utilities, SEPTA's Service Planning and Long-Range Planning Departments, the Philadelphia County Planning Commission and the Departments of Commerce and Water Department of the City of Philadelphia, is being realized. The City is currently working to create a process to identify and monitor developments which will impact transit. The committee has been successful in regards to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission district plan process to give SEPTA and other area agencies early input into its plan. Finally, she encouraged the SEPTA staff to consider more frequent service on Saturdays during the day on the Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated Line to alleviate overcrowding. Michael Lall asked when the new fares were going to take place and when tokens could continue to be used. He was informed that no additional fare changes are proposed for the current year; that new payment technology will be gradually phased in sometime in Fiscal Year 2016; and that, over time, tokens will be phased out. Alex John from the Delaware County Planning Department stated that the county would send a letter supporting the change changes to the Routes 108, 68 and 116. The letter was received and is noted as Public Exhibit 11. Jeff Kessler from the SEPTA Youth Advisory Council, SEPTA's primary advocacy and outreach group for riders between the ages of 14 and 22 within the SEPTA service area, spoke at the hearing on Tuesday evening, April 22nd. He endorsed the proposed changes to Bus Routes 43, 68, 108, 116, 91, 201, 205 and 206. For the Route 35, he suggested SEPTA partner with the Manayunk Development Corporation to help offset the cost of operating the service. He asked SEPTA to consider the following rejected projects: bus service from Temple University to Fishtown and bus service from Fairmount and the Art Museum to 30"" Street and University City. He appreciates SEPTA keeping open service to Delaware Valley College, even though the station fell below the ridership threshold, and urged SEPTA to look at partnering with Delaware Valley College through some incentive program to help increase usage by students at that station. Alfred Achtert, Jr., a citizen from Upper Darby, PA, spoke last at the hearing in Norristown during the evening of April 23''^. He approves of the change on Route 43. He commented on the Route 27 headways on Saturday and was told the Saturday 35-minute headway would be regular and for the full length of the route. He approves of the Route 91 changes. He commented on the Route 150 having the lowest performance of suburban routes. John Calnan reported that with the Route 150 being a limited service route, it is not ranked as high as other routes or full service routes. Mr. Achtert approves of the changes to Route 108 and 116, with the Route 116 disappearing. He was told that the 84"" and Crane trips were being extended to the Airport to standardize service to the Airport every 30 minutes. In addition, there will be trips to 67'^ Street and Elmwood Avenue every 30 minutes. Currently four buses serve the Stonehurst Hills community; under SEPTA's proposal, Mr. Achtert was told, there will now be five buses an hour. Mr. Achtert was also advised that the Route 37 bus will also operate through Tinicum Boulevard giving riders even more service. Mr. Achtert also commented on the Route 42 bus service and suggested changes to make the route more effective. Mr. Achtert also commented that the routing on Bus Route 91 is the temporary route, as shown on Public Exhibit

12 As a part of the Annual Service Plan, a detailed analysis of all routes is performed to determine various operating characteristics. The following routes fall below the acceptable operating ratio levels and will be considered for future modifications in an attempt to raise their operating ratios. For this FY 2015 Annual Service Plan, action was taken on Routes 27, 35 and 68. City Transit Division (Routes below 19%) Route Operating Ratio 38 18% (Routes with suburban characteristics below 16%) Route Operating Ratio 27 15% 77 14% 68 11% 35 8% Suburban Transit Division (Routes below 15%) Route Operating Ratio 95 13% % % 92 10% 150 8% 133 8% Regional Rail Routes (Routes below 28%) None -10-

13 The proposed FY 2015 Annual Service Plan does not include any major reductions in the service levels or significant diminishment of transit service. There was significant support for the plan from elected officials, transit advocate groups and the public. Only two members of the public expressed reservations about some of the proposed changes. The SEPTA staff provided the necessary information to support its position on the issues raised. It is important to note that the two public entities that participated in the hearings, the City of Philadelphia Office of Transportation & Utilities and the Delaware County Planning Department, approved of the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan. The Hearing Examiner therefore recommends that the FY 2015 Annual Service Plan be adopted. Respectfully submitted. Eugene N. Cipriani Hearing Examiner May 6, 2014 cc: Pasquale T. Deon, Sr., Chairman Thomas E. Babcock, Vice Chairman Beverly Coleman Rina Cutler Thomas Jay Ellis, Esquire Christopher H. Franklin Honorable Stewart J. Greenleaf Kevin L. Johnson, P.E. John I. Kane Daniel J. Kubik Kenneth Lawrence, Jr. Honorable Charles H. Martin Honorable Leslie S. Richards James C. Schwartzman, Esquire Cuyler H. Walker, Esquire Joseph M. Casey -11-