Berkshire Flyer Working Group January 30, 2018 1
Agenda Report Outline Report Schedule Tourism Market Last-Mile Travel Options Existing Fare Comparison 2
Report Outline Introduction and Background- Study goals; Overview Alternatives- Potential routes -description of route from Pittsfield to NYC and service options Capital Cost Estimates- Assessing capital needs for each option Operating Cost Estimates- Information from Amtrak Fare Analysis- Examined fare structure Market Analysis- Tourist market, Second home owners, etc.; Peer comparisons on ridership; Travel demand; Regional benefits (material provided by Working Group) Next Steps- Recommendations: State, Regional, and Local actions *Final report contents will be dependent on what Amtrak can get us 3
Report Schedule February 13* - Working Group meeting scheduled. Present Draft Sections of Report in PowerPoint form to Working Group February 15/16 Cost information expected from Amtrak February 20 Working Group comments on February 13 th presentation and to extent possible- on information from Amtrak. Comments received after February 20 will be incorporated to extent time allows. March 1 Report due to Legislature *Final report contents will depend on Amtrak information. 4
Tourism Market Data limited, but suggestive. Seasonality Geography Regional appeal 5
Tourism Economy Tourism Peaks in July and August *county lodging data Occupancy Rates - Berkshire County Lodging 100% 80% 60% 40% 36.6% 44.8% 35.9% 47.3% 40.2% 36.9% 44.9% 51.7% 44.0% 46.0% 58.3% 57.3% 68.8% 73.6% 68.2% 68.8% 59.9% 58.5% 66.9% 62.6% 45.0% 41.1% 42.1% 40.1% 20% 0% January February March April May June July August September October November December 2017 2016 *Excludes small establishments, including inns, B&Bs, and those with under 10 rooms Average Daily Room Rate ($) in Berkshire County Lodging Establishments January February March April May June July August Sep October Nov Dec $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 2017 136.40 155.60 134.63 $138.40 135.98 167.50 204.81 195.76 166.64 190.39 181.11 192.11 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 2016 143.59 162.02 131.16 $139.87 138.29 159.76 199.32 214.71 188.46 189.41 168.94 189.89 Source: Smith Travel Research 6
Berkshire County Travel Origin-Destination Information Hospitality 7,250 Airbnb Guests 2.5 Average Airbnb Rental Days Cultural Tourism 63 Cultural Attractions Visitors Second Home Owners* 27.6% Incomes > $100,000 1,631 Second Home Owners in NY Core* 2,509 Second Home Owners in NY Metro* 8
Last Mile Options The challenge of auto-dependency Examples of other markets Existing and potential Berkshire options Geography Last mile + 9
Berkshire County Auto-Dependency Limited Walkable Destinations NORTH ADAMS ADAMS PITTSFIELD 10
Example Tourist Rail Services Walkable Destinations CapeFLYER to Hyannis/Islands Ethan Allen to Vermont/Saratoga Springs Downeaster to Freeport Denver to Winter Park Ski Resort Washington, DC to Williamsburg, VA 11
CapeFLYER Last Mile Connections Connections in Hyannis to ferries, local buses, car rental services, local trolley, Uber, and Cape Air (Flight to Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket) Ferries to Martha s Vineyard Cape Cod RTA TNCs Car Rental Service Ferries to Nantucket Hyannis Trolley May 26 to Labor Day 12
Example Interline Route 13 Vermont Shires Connector: Vermont contracted with an intercity bus company to provide twice-daily connections from Bennington and Manchester to Albany. Amtrak sells Thruway etickets. There is no charge under PRIIA for interline ticketing.
Concepts for Moving Forward Tourism working group to investigate last-mile options Reach out to similar groups to identify successful methods for other tourist rail services Investigate possible partnerships with New York tourism stakeholders 14
Last-Mile Solutions: Cost-Effective Options in a Rural Area Tourist Travel Packages Hotels/Businesses need to partner Convenience Address mobility during stay, not just arrival/departure Some ability to leverage BRTA resources Shuttles to Major Attractions Not significantly less expensive than Uber/ Taxi, unless partnerships are created Address mobility during stay, not just arrival/departure Some ability to leverage BRTA resources and/or TMA structure 15
Last-Mile Solutions: TNCs/Taxi UBER (Cost Estimate) Pittsfield < - > North Adams $25 33 / trip Pittsfield < - > Great Barrington $24 33 / trip TAXI (Cost Estimate) Pittsfield < - > North Adams $55 70 / trip Pittsfield < - > Great Barrington $25 70 / trip
Last-Mile Solutions: Car Rental/Car Share Downtown Pittsfield location would be central. Pittsfield Amtrak 17
Last-Mile Solutions: Coordinated BRTA Coverage BRTA and Transit Coverage Accessibility Adams NEED TO ADDRESS Last Mile Transit Gaps Through Travel Options Lenox
Fare Structures What is market rate? Discretionary income travelers Amtrak, plus last mile Options Pros/cons of different travel choices (time, price, comfort, schedule, connections, etc.) Packages 19
Existing Travel Option Comparisons Fridays Operator Amtrak Greyhound Fox Bus/ Bonanza Peter Pan Transfer @ ALB None @ ALB @ SPG One-Way Cost $54 $53 $41 $47 Bonanza None $47 Sundays Operator Amtrak Greyhound Fox Bus/ Greyhound Peter Pan Transfer @ ALB @ NJ @ ALB None One-Way Cost $72 $51 $32 $50 Bonanza/ Adirondack @ NY $51 Roundtrip Price Range: $73 - $126 20