[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
GONNA ASK FOR A LITTLE FORGIVENESS IN ADVANCE HERE.UH, THE FIRST MEETING THAT I'VE ACTUALLY CHAIRED, UH, I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, SO I'M GONNA DO MY BEST TO GET THROUGH IT.
SO I BELIEVE OUR FIRST ORDER, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER, UM, QUINCE, THANKS FOR JOINING US, BY THE WAY.
PREVIOUSLY, WE WOULD OFTEN HAVE A CHAIR OR VICE CHAIR.
WE FIND OURSELF IN UNUSUAL WATERS FOR THE MOMENT AS BOTH OF THOSE PRIOR POSITIONS OR NOW OFF TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
SO WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOU OFFERING TO FILL IN AS THE MOST SENIOR REMAINING MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE.
SO THANKS SO MUCH FOR DOING, UH, CHAIR DUTIES, UH, FOR THIS MEETING.
GREATLY APPRECIATE AND HELPFUL TO EVERYONE.
BUT TYPICALLY WE WOULD START OFF HERE WITH OUR CALL TO ORDER AND A ROLL CALL FROM THE CLERK.
AND, UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE ROLE ABRAMS? HERE? KOHL ROSS? HERE.
OUR NEXT ITEM WILL BE PUBLIC COMMENT.
DURING GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT, THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO MAKE COMMENTS ON ITEMS OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT ARE WITHIN THE COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION, SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION, AND THAT ARE NOT LISTED ON THE CURRENT AGENDA.
PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON.
DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE.
COMMISSION TIME WILL BE ALLOCATED IN EQUAL SHARES, TOTALING NO MORE THAN 20 MINUTES.
[OATH OF OFFICE]
ACTUALLY HAVE ONE ITEM ON THE AGENDA PRIOR TO THAT.IT'S AN UNUSUAL ITEM, BUT WE DO IT ONCE A YEAR WHERE WE WELCOME IN THE CITY CLERK, WHO IS HERE TO PROVIDE THE OATH OF OFFICE FOR ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND SO WE HAVE, UM, HER WITH US THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, AND I'M GONNA SWEAR IN WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE JOINING THE BOARD TODAY.
SO, UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME HERE.
IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL TO MEET EVERYONE, AND WE SO APPRECIATE PEOPLE WHO ARE SERVE ON OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES.
YOU KEEP THE CITY RUNNING, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'LL HAVE, UM, ERIC AND FRED JOIN ME IN FRONT OF THE DAIS.
I'M GONNA BORROW THIS MICROPHONE.
AND EVERYONE ELSE HERE ON THE COMMITTEE HAS ALREADY DONE THIS OATH.
OF COURSE, PREVIOUSLY, UH, FRED AND ERIC ARE TWO MEMBERS TAKING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALTHOUGH FRED, I'M SURE WILL TALK ABOUT HIMSELF, HAS BEEN WITH US PREVIOUSLY.
SO HE IS, UH, BACK ON TRANS ADVISORY.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME.
I STATE YOUR NAME, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR.
FRED TAR, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR NOTE TOGETHER.
DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND, AND I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PETA, THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PLUMA, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC, AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.
THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE THAT I WILL BEAR TRUTH, FAITH, AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA, CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY, THAT I TAKE THIS OBLIGATION FREELY WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION, WITHOUT ANY MENTAL RESERVATION, FOR PURPOSE OF EVASION, FOR PURPOSE OF EVASION, AND THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY.
THAT I WILL WELL AND FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES, DISCHARGE, DISCHARGE, THE DUTIES UPON WHICH I'M ABOUT TO ENTER UPON, WHICH I'M ABOUT TO ENTER.
YOU NEED THE DESK RIGHT BEHIND YOU.
HAVE A GREAT MEETING, EVERYONE.
SO THAT COMMITTEE MEMBER, QUINT, I BELIEVE, UH, WE'RE COMPLETE WITH THE OATH OF OFFICE AND ARE NOW ON TO GENERAL PUBLIC
[GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT]
COMMENTS.WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER CARD, UH, SHEILA BAKER.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE IN THIS ROOM, SO I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH.
[00:05:01]
YOU'RE WONDERFUL.UM, I'M HERE TO, UM, JUST MENTION THAT, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN EXTRA, OH, THANK YOU,
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN EXTRA ROUTE ADDED, UH, TO THE WEST SIDE, UH, BEYOND PETALUMA MARKET, UM, MAYBE ALL THE WAY UP TO WEBSTER AND, UM, MAYBE B STREET OR SO, SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON ONE SIDE AND WEB, UM, AND BODEGA ON THE OTHER, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I, 20,000 PEOPLE LIVE ON THE WEST SIDE AT LEAST 20,002.
IT'S CREDIT, IT'S BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL CREDIT.
PETALUMA PROVIDES BUS SERVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
WE ARE SUCH AN AWESOME CITY TO DO THAT.
BUT THEY ARE ALSO, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC TOO.
AND BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL, THEY ALSO HAVE JOBS OR, UH, EXTRA, UM, ACTIVITIES.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH SOMETHING THAT, UH, CERTAINLY THE BUS COULD HELP WITH EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO WE HAVE NOT, I REMEMBER ASKING THIS COMMITTEE IN 2014 WITH MERCEDES SHRAM AND, UH, A NEIGHBOR AT THE TIME, UM, ABOUT BUS, UH, A ROUTE.
UH, WE HAD A VISIT FROM A, A PERSON WHO WAS RUNNING FOR CITY COUNCIL, AND SHE PROMISED US THAT SHE WOULD CONSIDER A SHUTTLE OR SOMETHING.
IT DIDN'T QUITE, UH, GO THROUGH.
BUT, UM, I'M GONNA KEEP ASKING BECAUSE I THINK WE REALLY NEED, AND WE DESERVE BUS SERVICE ON THE WEST SIDE.
LITTLE BIT HILLY ON THE WEST SIDE.
WE NEED OUR EXERCISE, BUT SOMETIMES IT'S A LITTLE BIT MUCH WHEN YOU'RE CARRYING GROCERIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONSIDER GIVING US BUS SERVICE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, THE 20,000 PLUS OF US ON THE WEST SIDE AND ON UP THE HILL.
DID WE RECEIVE ANY ADDITIONAL CARDS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
UH, THAT CLOSES, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT AND TAKES US
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.UM, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES SHOWING, UH, SHOWING NO CORRECTIONS? UM, THE MINUTES ARE DEEMED APPROVED AS PRESENTED.
CAN I HAVE A, UH, I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
UH, WE ACTUALLY DON'T NEED A FORMAL MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE.
UM, WE USUALLY SAY IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
OTHERWISE THEY'RE DEEMED APPROVED FOR THE MINUTES.
IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, THE MINUTES WILL BE APPROVED.
SO THE NEXT, THIS BRINGS US TO THE NEXT ITEM
[PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION]
ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE APPOINTMENT OF TRANSIT, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE OFFICERS.UM, I ALSO WANTED MENTION THAT DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT SECTION, WE DID RECEIVE TWO EMAIL COMMENTS, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T READ THOSE, WE ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE WHEN WE DO RECEIVE THEM.
SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT AS WELL.
BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL NEW MEMBERS AND RETURNING MEMBERS.
GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE ON THE COMMITTEE.
LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.
BUT THIS IS AN ITEM THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR AT THE FIRST MEETING AFTER WE GET COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS TO NEW BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THIS ITEM IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TWO, UM, CABINET POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THOSE ARE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
THE CHAIR POSITION GENERALLY PRESIDES OVER THE MEETING, UH, MANAGES THE GENERAL FLOW OF THEM.
AND THEN THE VICE CHAIR GENERALLY SITS IN THE BACKUP POSITION FOR THE CHAIR.
IF THE CHAIR IS NOT HERE, THEY WOULD PRESIDE OVER THE MEETINGS THEMSELVES.
FOR EXAMPLE, EACH OF THESE POSITIONS IS APPOINTED ONE YEAR AT A TIME.
SO IF ANYONE IS APPOINTED TO CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, THEY WOULD BE IN THAT POSITION FOR HOPEFULLY ONE YEAR'S TIME, UNLESS MITIGATING, UH, CIRCUMSTANCES ARISE.
AND SO WE ALSO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, HEAR PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS ON MEETING TIMES AND DAYS FOR THIS COMMITTEE.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE BEEN AT THE SECOND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH FOR QUITE A WHILE AT 4:00 PM BUT ALSO A GREAT TOPIC TO HEAR PEOPLE'S INPUT, THINGS LIKE THAT.
[00:10:03]
AND THAT IS PRETTY MUCH IT.UM, SO OVERALL, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, BEFORE PERHAPS THERE'S ANY, UM, KIND OF ACTIONS REQUESTED OR THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES.
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR JARED ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NO QUESTIONS.
SO TYPICALLY AT THIS POINT, SOMEONE WOULD OFTEN MAKE A NOMINATION, WHETHER NOMINATING SOMEONE ELSE OR EVEN SELF NOMINATING FOR THE TWO DIFFERENT POSITIONS.
SO TYPICALLY THAT WOULD HAPPEN AT THIS POINT, OR OTHER COMMENTS, MAYBE EVEN ABOUT THE PREFERRED MEETING DAYS AND TIMES.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE YOURSELF FOR THE POSITION OF CHAIR FOR THE NEXT, NOT SURE HOW LONG YOU WILL BE WITH US, BUT YOU ARE, YOU HAVE YOUR ELECTION COMING UP.
SO I'M, I'M NOMINATING, UH, MR. QUINN.
SO WE HAVE A NOMINATION AND A SECOND.
UM, ARE THERE, WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO NOMINATE ANY OTHER MEMBERS FOR CHAIR POSITION? OKAY.
SO AT THIS POINT, WOULD WE TAKE A VOTE ON THIS NOMINATION? YES, I WOULD SAY SO.
UNLESS YOU HAD ANY COMMENTS YOU WANNA PROVIDE.
UM, AND IF SO, THIS WOULD BE A GREAT TIME, THEN WE WOULD VOTE.
I WOULD BE MORE THAN THE ONLY COMMENTS THAT I WOULD PROVIDE IS I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SERVE AS CHAIR AND THANK YOU, FRED.
CAN WE HAVE A VOTE? SORRY, VASQUEZ.
UH, AND THAT WOULD TAKE US TO THE VICE CHAIR.
SO WE NEED TO FILL THE POSITION OF VICE CHAIR.
WOULD ANYONE FROM THE COMMITTEE LIKE TO NOMINATE ANY OTHER MEMBER FOR THE VICE CHAIR? OR IS THERE ANY ME, ANY MEMBER HAVE ANY INTEREST IN SERVING AS VICE CHAIR? MR. UH, POSADE, COUNCIL MEMBER POSADE? UM, I WAS GONNA, UH, IF, UH, IF GAIL'S WILLING, I WAS GONNA NOMINATE HER FOR VICE CHAIR.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT SERVING AS VICE CHAIR? I HOPE YOU COME TO ALL THE MEETINGS.
COMMITTEE MEMBER ABRAMS. IT'S A BIT LOUD IN HERE.
I THINK WITH THESE, UM, MOBILE AC UNITS, UM, I DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT.
I WAS JUST SAYING THAT I HOPED THAT FRANK WAS ABLE TO ATTEND ALL THE MEETINGS,
DO WE HAVE A SECOND FOR, TO NOMINATE GAIL ABRAMS FOR VICE CHAIR? I'LL SECOND.
UH, WE HAVE A SECOND AND WE'LL TAKE A VOTE.
SO, UH, I WAS GONNA SAY, MR. CHAIR, SINCE WE'VE APPOINTED THOSE TWO POSITIONS, PERHAPS A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON THE MEETING TIME AND DAYS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY CONSENSUS.
UM, SO FROM THE COMMISSION, I GUESS, UH, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, SO, SO AT THIS POINT, THE, THE MEETING IS TYPICALLY HELD ON THE, UH, SECOND THURSDAY, IF I HAVE THAT RIGHT AT FOUR 4:00 PM THAT'S SORT OF BEEN THE STANDARD.
AND I KNOW ON THIS TIME, MY RECOLLECTION IS THERE'S TYPICALLY A MEETING ON THURSDAYS AT 6:00 PM SO PART OF THE REASON WHY THIS WAS CHOSEN AT FOUR IS BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING MEETING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S CHANGED OR IF THAT'S STILL THE CASE.
YES, THAT IS THE CLIMATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND THAT MEETS SECOND THURSDAY AT SIX 30.
GENERALLY BETWEEN MEETINGS, THEY PREFER TO HAVE A 30 MINUTE BUFFER.
WE, AT ONE POINT, WERE THE FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, BUT WHEN OUR MEETING WAS RUNNING FOR SAY, THE FULL TWO HOURS UP TO SIX, WE DIRECTLY BUTTED.
THAT LED TO CONFLICTS WITH CHANGEOVER FOR THE CHAMBERS.
SO WE CHANGE THAT MAYBE TWO TO THREE YEARS AGO TO BE THE SECOND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, FOUR
[00:15:01]
TO 6:00 PM WITH THAT OTHER MEETING BEING AT SIX 30 WAS GENERALLY THE APPROACH TAKEN AT THAT TIME.DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE ON THE CURRENT DATE AND TIME? SURE.
IT'S REALLY A QUESTION OF ARE THERE ANY OTHER AVAILABLE SLOTS THAT WE WOULD WANNA DISCUSS? BECAUSE IF THIS IS THE ONLY SLOT, THEN, UNLESS IT'S NOT WORKING FOR A MAJORITY, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE HERE.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.
THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE, WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK.
OF COURSE, CHAMBERS ARE USED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE WEEK.
UM, I BELIEVE PRETTY MUCH EVERY COMMITTEE OR BOARD IS MEETING IN CHAMBERS, SO WE WOULD WOULD'VE TO LOOK, I, UM, CAN'T SAY DEFINITIVELY WHAT EXACT DAYS AND SLOTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTHLY CALENDAR OPEN.
I KNOW THERE WILL BE SOME, I JUST CAN'T SAY SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY ARE AT THIS TIME.
SO IF THIS TIME DIDN'T WORK, FOR EXAMPLE, WE COULD TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT IT, REVISIT IT PERHAPS AT A FUTURE MEETING, THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES AND SEE WHAT THOSE OTHER BLOCKS OF TIMES WOULD BE.
ESPECIALLY IF THERE WAS ANY, UM, INPUT ON WHAT DAYS AND TIMES PEOPLE DO PREFER, WE CAN ESPECIALLY HONE IN ON THOSE TYPES OF, UM, TIMES.
SO THEN DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO ASK IF PEOPLE WOULD PREFER ANOTHER DATE AND TIME, AND THEN WE CAN LOOK INTO IT INSTEAD OF MAKING A DECISION TODAY? UM, I'M WONDERING ABOUT STAFF, UH, SUPPORT STAFF.
UM, UH, AND THIS MAKES A A LONG DAY.
I KNOW YOU'RE NOT, I MEAN, YOU GET THOSE SOMETIMES.
UM, BUT I WONDERED IF IT'S, IF, IF, UH, IT'S, IT'S MORE EFFICIENT FOR STAFF, UH, TO JUST DO, TO RUN MEETINGS ONE AFTER ANOTHER.
UM, IF IT DOESN'T MATTER TO US, IT DOESN'T MATTER TO THEM, WHATEVER.
BUT I JUST WONDER ABOUT, UH, SUPPORT STAFF BEING AVAILABLE AND, UM, ON CALL, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE HOURS IN A RUN, THOSE MEETINGS.
JUST KIND OF SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY STAFF.
I WOULD SAY THIS TIME HAS WORKED GENERALLY WELL FOR US.
BUT OF COURSE WE SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF KIND OF THE COMMITTEE AND THE PUBLIC OVERALL.
SO WHATEVER PREFERRED DAYS AND TIMES OR THE CONSENSUS, WE OF COURSE WILL, YOU KNOW, MAKE WORK.
IT'S REALLY UP TO ALL OF YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, WHATEVER IS THE MOST NEEDED TIME.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO MAKE THAT WORK ON OUR END AS WELL AS WE CAN.
YEAH, PATTY? UM, JUST AS I MENTIONED WHEN I CAME ONTO THE COMMITTEE, UH, I WORK IN SAN RAFAEL.
UH, I TEACH AT DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY, AND I DO TEACH ON THURSDAYS.
I EXPECT THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO BE HERE AT FOUR.
UH, I'VE TRIED TO ARRANGE MY CLASS SCHEDULE SO THAT I CAN LEAVE CAMPUS AND GET HERE BY FOUR O'CLOCK.
UH, I JUST, THERE MAY BE SOME DAYS, UH, WHEN THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
I, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THIS AT, AT THE MOMENT, BUT, UH, I JUST FEEL LIKE I NEED TO SAY.
SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER SORT OF QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, OR COMMENTS ABOUT THE CURRENT, THE CURRENT TIME? ANY CONCERNS? SO, I, SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, UM, SO I WORK FULL-TIME DURING THE DAY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, ON MOST DAYS, I, YOU KNOW, WORK BEYOND FOUR O'CLOCK.
UH, SO FAR I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THIS TIME WORK.
MY JOB HAS ENOUGH FLEXIBILITY THAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT WORK.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I PERSONALLY DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THIS CURRENT TIME, BUT IT MIGHT, UH, JARED, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I MAY DO IS REACH OUT TO YOU INDEPENDENT AND SEE WHAT OTHER TIMES ARE AVAILABLE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS, YOU KNOW, UH, A COUPLE OF OC A COUPLE OF OPTIONS THAT WE THINK MAY BE, UM, UH, ADVANTAGEOUS, WE CAN CERTAINLY BRING THAT BACK TO THE COMMITTEE AT THAT TIME.
WHAT WE CAN DO IS, UM, I THINK MAYBE FOR THE NEXT MEETING THEN MAYBE HOLD THE SAME TIME.
BUT WHAT I CAN DO IN THE MEANTIME IS LOOK AT OTHER DAYS AND TIMES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, BRING IT BACK AND WE CAN HAVE A FURTHER DISCUSSION AT THAT POINT AND SEE WHAT THE CONSENSUS IS ONCE WE KNOW THE OTHER DAYS AND TIME SLOTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, FOR EXAMPLE.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD APPROACH.
SO I BELIEVE WITH THAT, MR. CHAIR, UM, THANK YOU, UH, THANKS
[00:20:01]
TO YOU AND TO VICE CHAIR ABRAMS FOR SERVING IN THOSE POSITIONS.UM, AND I CAN OFFICIALLY SAY WE ARE DONE WITH THAT PARTICULAR ITEM, MR. CHAIR.
THAT IS THE, UM, ONLY ITEM OF BUSINESS FOR TONIGHT.
SO THAT WOULD TAKE US TO STAFF, OR SORRY, UH, WOULD IT BE STAFF COMMENT? I BELIEVE COMMITTEE COMMENTS FIRST AND, UM, OFTEN WHAT WE DO WHEN IT'S A COMMITTEE COMMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE ARE JOINING THIS COMMITTEE, WE'VE OFTEN FOUND IT ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO MAYBE GIVE A BIT MORE BACKGROUND ON THEMSELVES, THEIR INTERESTS IN THE COMMITTEE, WHY THEY WOULD LIKE TO SERVE, THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES.
BUT IT'S ULTIMATELY UP TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TALK ABOUT WHATEVER BUSINESS THEY LIKE.
UH, I WOULD, UM, SO, UH, TYPICALLY
[COMMITTEE COMMENT]
WITH COMMITTEE COMMENT, WE WOULD START AT ONE END AND KIND OF WORK OUR WAY DOWN.UH, I'D LIKE TO, UH, EXTEND THE INVITATION TODAY TO START WITH THE NEW MEMBERS.
AND, UH, UH, YOU CAN, UH, SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, INTRODUCE YOURSELF, UH, AND THEN WE WILL KIND OF TAKE IT FROM THERE.
UM, I, I HOPE THIS DOESN'T TAKE TOO LONG.
I WAS, UH, I AM, UM, VERY MUCH A SUPPORTER OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS, HAVING GROWN UP IN THE BAY AREA ON THE EAST BAY AREA.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HERE REMEMBERS KEY SYSTEM, I'M SURE.
NO, THAT'S, BUT THERE USED TO BE A KEY SYSTEM TRAIN THAT RAN ACROSS THE BAY BRIDGE ON THE LOWER DECK.
YOU HAD THE KEY, THIS KEY SYSTEM TAKING HALF OF THE, AND YOU HAD TRUCKS AND BUSES ON THE OTHER HALF.
AND ON THE UPPER, IT WAS TWO-WAY VEHICLES.
ANYWAY, SO MY LIFE IN THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE BAY AREA IS BORN IN PRIOR TO LITTLE AFTER KEY SYSTEM ACTUALLY CAME INTO BEING.
AND IT LASTED UNTIL 58, I'M PRETTY SURE.
'CAUSE I REMEMBER TAKING THAT TRAIN OVER TO SEE ONE OF THE GIANTS EARLY GAMES, BUT IT WAS ONLY FOR A YEAR.
AND THEN WE HAD TO GO BY BUS AFTER THAT.
I, I HAD GRANDPARENTS DOWN TO PALO ALTO.
SO WE GOT ONE, THE KEY SYSTEM OVER TO SAN FRANCISCO, A BUS TO THE SB DEPOT AND DOWN TO PALO ALTO.
AC TRANSIT DID COME FOR QUITE SOME TIME, BUT THERE WAS BUS SYSTEM ON THESE, ON THE EAST BAY TOO.
SO I'M JUST A SUPPORTER OF, UH, ANY TYPE OF, UH, PUBLIC TRANSIT, BE IT, UH, LOCAL, BE IT FOREIGN, BE IT ON THE EAST COAST.
AND I TRY TO TALK PEOPLE INTO DOING THE SAME THING WHEREVER I AM.
I WAS VOLUNTEERING AT THE VISITOR CENTER HERE FOR ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, AND WHENEVER SOMEBODY INDICATED THEY WANTED TO GO TO THE CITY, I SAID, LISTEN, IF YOU WANNA SEE THE CITY AS YOU WOULDN'T EVER SEE IT, GET ON THE FERRY AND YOU'LL SEE IT.
I CONVINCED A FEW PEOPLE, AND I THINK THEY MADE, YOU KNOW, HAD A GREAT BETTER, A MUCH BETTER TIME IN THE BAY AREA.
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S MY SUPPORT IN MY, UM, EMPLOYMENT OVER THE YEARS I'VE WORKED FOR CALTRANS.
WHEN I WAS WITH CALTRANS, I WAS DOING STUDIES, WHICH LED TO, UM, THE, UM, VEHICLE OCCUPATION, OR PARDON ME, THE, UH, THE TRAVEL AND OH, AND THE, UM, RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT.
I'M THINKING, I'M BIDEN HERE, PLEASE EXCUSE ME.
IT'S NOT FUNNY, BUT IT DOES HAPPEN.
UM, AND SO I'VE WORKED IN TRANSPORTATION.
I WORKED FOR THE CITY OF PETALUMA, AND I BELIEVE WHEN I WAS WORKING HERE, I HAD ANOTHER FELLOW THAT WE WORKED WITH IN THEIR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND WE WERE ACTUALLY VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN GETTING THE BUS SYSTEM UNDERWAY BACK IN 19, WELL, 70 SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, AND, UH, THEN I WORKED IN, UH, BEFORE THAT I WORKED AT SAN MATEO COUNTY PLANNING.
THERE I WAS KIND OF THE, THE, UH, PLANNER IN CHARGE OF THE AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSION.
AND SAN MATEO COUNTY IS ACTUALLY THE ONE THAT OVERSEES LAND USE AT SFO.
SO IT WAS QUITE, SO THAT'S JUST MORE TRANSPORTATION FOR ME ANYWAY.
BEYOND THAT, I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMITTEE ONCE OR TWICE, JUST ONCE BEFORE, BUT IT WAS FOR THE FULL TERM TERMED OUT LAST YEAR, AND I'M BACK AGAIN.
I APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO SERVE AGAIN, AND I HOPE THAT, UH, WE GET A LOT DONE.
WE APPRECIATE YOU AND, UM, UM, YOUR, UM, WILLINGNESS TO SERVE AND, AND YOUR WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE.
UH, I APOLOGIZE, YOUR, OUR, OUR NEXT, OUR, OUR NEXT NEWEST COMMITTEE MEMBER.
I DIDN'T CATCH YOUR FIRST NAME, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
UM, SO FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T KNOW WHO I AM, MY NAME IS ERIC VAZQUEZ.
I'VE BEEN A LIFELONG RESIDENT HERE IN PETALUMA FOR 25 YEARS.
AND PRIMARILY THE MAIN FOCUS THAT I'VE HAD WITH, UM, WANTING TO BE ON THE TRANSIT COMMITTEE HAS
[00:25:01]
BEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF MY GRANDMOTHER.SHE LIVES IN SAN RAFAEL, BUT SHE HAS ALWAYS RELIED ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION A LITTLE CLOSER, HARDER.
SO, UM, PRIMARILY FOR ME IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF MY GRANDMOTHER.
SHE LIVES IN SAN RAFAEL AND HAS ALWAYS RELIED ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET AROUND WHEN SHE VISITS, WHEN SHE NEEDS TO GO BACK.
AND IT'S, THERE WAS A LOT OF TIMES WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND I'D, YOU KNOW, I GO AROUND WITH HER, WE'D TRAVEL PLACES THROUGH THE GOLDEN GATE TRANSIT LINES, THE PETALUMA LINES, OR IN MARIN.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S A PERSPECTIVE THAT I HOLD THAT COMES FROM COMMUNITIES THAT OFTENTIMES ALWAYS RELY ON THESE SERVICES.
AND I THINK THAT WITH THE, WITH THE COMBINED EXPERIENCE THAT I HAVE LIVING ON THE EAST SIDE, I THINK OFTENTIMES WE LOOK AT COMMUNITIES THAT NEED THAT LEG UP AND NEED THAT SUPPORT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
AND, UM, I'M JUST VERY HAPPY TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT CAPACITY IN, UM, MY WORK ENDEAVORS.
I ACTUALLY WORK IN SAN RAFAEL.
I WORK AT A LOCAL NONPROFIT CALLED EAH HOUSING.
WE'RE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOUSING DEVELOPERS ACROSS CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII.
BUT THAT ALSO COMES WITH UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH CIVIL SERVICE AND HOW YOU RELY ON THAT, OR TRANSIT LINES OR THROUGH THE COMMISSIONS, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH TRANSIT OR THE PLANNING COMMISSIONS.
AND IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED FOR ME.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO SEE, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO TO REALLY SUPPORT THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT ALSO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL.
IF I CAN JUMP IN REALLY QUICK, I JUST WANNA APOLOGIZE TO, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER VASQUEZ FOR THE NAME TAG.
UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT TODAY, BUT WE WILL HAVE THAT I CAN PROMISE BY THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, CONTINUING ON WITH COMMITTEE COMMENT.
WE, WE CAN SAY AT THAT END, UH, DENNIS, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING? UM, UH, NO.
I, I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TONIGHT AND I THINK, UH, EVERYONE KNOWS ME.
I JUST WANTED TO CONGRATULATE PETALUMA AND PETALUMA TRANSIT ON THE FREE FAIR WONDERFULNESS.
AND, UH, IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT ON THE TOP OF THE, THE BUS GOING BY.
UM, AND I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE DID GET AN MAIL FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS PRAISING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FREE FARE.
UM, BUT SIMILAR TO OUR PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, DID INQUIRE ABOUT, UM, DIFFERENT ROOTS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT COULD WE DO OR COULD WE CHANGE THE DIRECTION? AND SO MY, MY COMMENT WOULD BE TO, UH, I'M INTERESTED IN PUTTING THAT ON AN AGENDA FOR A FUTURE MEETING TO UNDERSTAND HOW IN THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF, OF ROUTE CHANGES.
THAT, THAT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE RIDE, THAT'LL BE A HAPPY PRESSURE ON THE SYSTEM.
UM, SO, UH, SINCE WE'RE GOING THIS DIRECTION, I'LL, I'LL, UH, I'LL GO NEXT.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ECHO, UM, YOU KNOW, MY GRATITUDE TO THE, THE PETALUMA STAFF FOR THE EXCELLENT WORK WITH, UH, LEADING US DOWN THE PATH OF, YOU KNOW, UM, FREE FARES.
AND A BIG CELEBRATION AND, UH, UH, LOTS OF POSITIVE COMMENT.
AND I WOULD ALSO ECHO, UH, GAIL'S SENTIMENT TO, UH, MAYBE AT SOME POINT ON A NEAR FUTURE AGENDA, UH, WE COULD HAVE A, SOME KIND OF PRESENTATION ON HOW OUR ROUTES DEVELOPED, WHAT GOES INTO THAT AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT CONSIDERATIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO, YOU KNOW, MODIFY THEM IF WHEN NEEDED.
UM, I, I SHARE A GOAL, THE EXCITEMENT, UH, MY APOLOGIES, COMMITTEE MEMBER HEEL, I BELIEVE YOUR MICROPHONE'S OFF THE EXCITEMENT WITH FREE FARES.
AND I KNOW IT'S VERY CHALLENGING TO ACTUALLY, ACTUALLY PUT THAT IN PLACE.
UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK THAT HAD TO BE DONE WITH OTHER AGENCIES AND, UM, SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S VERY EXCITING.
I'M WONDERING, UM, WHAT, UM, I'VE SEEN, UH, NOTICE OF MICRO OF THE MICRO TRANSIT PILOT BEGINNING AUGUST 1ST,
[00:30:03]
UM, IS THAT, IT WON'T BE AUGUST 1ST, BUT I CAN SAY, WE'LL GIVE AN UPDATE ON THAT.MARIA'S GOT SOME GREAT EXCITING NEWS THAT WE'LL GIVE IN JUST A BIT DURING THE CENTRAL REPORT.
SO I ALSO REALIZE, UM, UM, THAT, UM, THERE'S CONCERN ABOUT THE BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS AND, UM, SO I, I I'M JUST CURIOUS.
I KNOW, UM, I'VE ASKED JARED BEFORE, UM, HOW MANY, UM, FUNDING SOURCES YOU HAVE.
AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE, THE OVERALL FUNDING COMES FROM, UM, FARES.
AND I WONDERED IF WE COULD, UH, BRING THAT UP AT SOME POINT.
I THINK WHEN I ASKED YOU IT WAS UP IN THE MULTIPLES OF LIKE 39 OR SOMETHING, BUT I MEAN, IT'S A LOT, IT'S A LOT OF FUNDING SOURCES.
UM, SO I JUST, UM, HAVE BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND I ALSO WONDERED IF THERE, UH, WAS A RESPONSE AND WHAT YOUR RESPONSE WAS TO MR. COX, GORDON COX, I THINK HIS NAME WAS, WHO SENT AN EMAIL, WAS THAT HIS NAME? I JUST WONDERED.
UM, SO WE DID RECEIVE THAT IF YOU'D LIKE, UH, PERHAPS MARIA, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THAT? UM, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WHENEVER WE GET COMMENTS, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TRY TO, IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR THE FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
WE ALWAYS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TRY TO REPLY TO THOSE IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING.
HOPEFULLY THEY CAN GIVE UPDATES PRIOR TO IT, BUT WE ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE INCLUDE THOSE KIND OF COMMENTS IN THE PACKETS.
BUT I'LL, UM, PASS IT OVER TO MARIA MM-HMM.
IF SHE HAS ANY UPDATES FOR US.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I HEARD, CORRECT.
UH, THIS WAS REGARDING THE COMMENT FROM, I SEE THE ONE FROM SUSAN BONO.
IS THAT CORRECT? UH, IT WAS FROM MR. COX, I THINK.
CORRECT? IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS, IT WAS THE EMAIL CONCERNING, UH, WAIT TIMES AT THE, UM, THE TRANSFER STATION BY NEAR THE SAFEWAY? UH, I THINK IT WAS ONE ABOUT ROUTES 11, TWO AND THREE.
AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT, UM, WITH A FEW OTHER THINGS, IT'S NOT GOING ON.
YOU HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO DO THAT, BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS.
I LIVE NEAR THAT TRANSFER STATION, AND SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, CURIOUS.
I MEAN, IT WOULD BE TO CHANGE ROUTE TIMES IS A, A REAL CHALLENGE, BUT, BUT THE WAIT TIMES THERE, UM, ARE, UM, UM, SO I DID, THERE IS ONE COMMENT IN THE PA JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY.
SO THERE IS ONE COMMENT IN THE PACKET, UM, FROM, UH, SUSAN BON BONO.
THIS PARTICULAR COMMENT, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS FROM PREVIOUS OR IS IT IN THIS ONE? THE ONE I HAD WAS FROM GAIL MCGOVERN, BUT IT WAS MAILED BY, YEAH, IT WAS, YEAH, THAT'S THAT.
ANYWAY, THAT'S THE NAME AT THE TIME.
SO MAYBE WHAT WE CAN DO IS, UM, WE CAN LOOP BACK DURING STAFF COMMENTS AND UH, MAYBE TRY TO LOCATE THAT AND MAYBE PROVIDE A BIT OF AN UPDATE DURING THAT TIME.
I THINK IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT, UM, UH, GAIL ABRAMS WAS MENTIONING ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WITH ROUTES, SOME OF WHICH ARE, UH, PRETTY DEEP CHALLENGES.
UM, I ALSO WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON LAUNCHING FREE FAIR.
MY SISTER WORKS FOR SAN FRANCISCO MTA, AND I WAS, UH, PROUD TO BE ABLE TO TELL HER THAT PETALUMA HAS FREE FAIR
UH, AS FOR ME, UM, I, AS I SAID, I, I WORK AT DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY, I TEACH PUBLIC HEALTH THERE.
AND, UM, IN PUBLIC HEALTH, COMMUNITY HEALTH, IT'S A BIG CONCERN OF OURS AND SOMETHING THAT WE TALK ABOUT A LOT.
AND WITHIN THAT WE ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED AND WANT TO HAVE COMMUNITIES HAVE EQUITABLE AND EASY ACCESS TO WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY NEED TO DO.
AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS OFTEN A LARGE PART OF THAT FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT OR DO NOT OWN ANY OTHER MEANS OF TRANSPORT.
SO, UM, HERE IN PETALUMA, UH, I WAS, UH, FOR ONE THING, UM, A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED THAT A, A CITY THIS SIZE HAD ITS OWN TRANSPORTATION.
AND, UH, I FOUND THAT VERY, VERY, UH, INTRIGUING AND IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS INTERESTED IN, IN THIS.
[00:35:01]
ALSO, I'M HOPING TO BE ABLE TO GROW OLD IN PETALUMA, AND AT SOME POINT I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE.SO I DO HAVE A BIT OF AN INVESTMENT IN, UH, SORT OF MAKING SURE THAT PERHAPS WE HAVE, UH, A, A, A WORKABLE AND, UH, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
UM, SO THAT, UH, CLOSES COMMITTEE COMMENT AND TAKES US TO
[STAFF COMMENT]
STAFF COMMENT.UH, SO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TRANSIT, UH, MANAGER'S REPORT THIS TIME OUR ELECTRIC BUS PURCHASE AND BUILD IS COMING ALONG NICELY.
STILL ANTICIPATE RECEIVING THOSE IN FEBRUARY, 2025.
THE SAME TIMELINE WHEN WE EXPECT OUR YARD IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE COMPLETED.
AND, UM, HOPEFULLY ALL ROADS CONVERGE.
THE IMPROVEMENTS ARE DONE, THE BUSES ARRIVE IN FEBRUARY, 2025, AND WE CAN GET THEM IN SERVICE SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT VERY MUCH.
UM, WE OF COURSE HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF GREAT WORK ON A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS. WE WANT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, FAIR FREEZE A BITS.
HAPPY TO PASS IT OVER TO MARIA IF SHE'D LIKE TO TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
SORRY,
UM, I DID WANNA GIVE AN UPDATE ON FAIR FREE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW ME.
I AM THE TRANSIT SPECIALIST MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
UM, TO THAT POINT, I PUT SOME SWAG ON YOUR DESK, LITTLE HAND SANITIZER AS WELL AS A SCHEDULE.
'CAUSE THAT'S ALWAYS A GREAT PLACE TO START FOR OUR NEW, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
SO, ALWAYS, ALWAYS FUN TO GIVE OUT A LITTLE FEW ITEMS. THESE ARE ITEMS WE GIVE AT TABLING EVENTS.
UM, SOMETIMES I'LL BE ON THE BUS AND TRY TO GET PEOPLE'S COMMENTS.
SO I SAY, OH, HERE'S A LITTLE TISSUE.
SO SOME FUN LITTLE GOODIES FOR EACH OF YOU.
UM, I WANTED TO TAKE JUST A MINUTE TO UPDATE YOU ON FAIR FREE BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A WHIRLWIND SINCE JULY 1ST.
FEELS LIKE IT'S BEEN A MILLION DAYS, BUT I KNOW IT'S ONLY BEEN 11.
UM, SO I PUT TOGETHER A VERY, VERY MINIMAL SLIDE DECK.
UM, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT FAIR FREE, BUT I WANNA JUST UPDATE YOU.
CAN I JUST CLICK FORWARD? IS THAT OH, YEAH.
SO WE'LL TALK REALLY BRIEFLY, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF A PROGRAM OVERVIEW, THE LAUNCH, HOW THAT WENT IN THE LAST, UH, 11 DAYS, AND THEN KIND OF WHAT STILL HAS TO BE DONE WITH FAIR FREE.
SO I SPOKE IN, AT OUR JANUARY TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
THAT WAS THE POINT WHERE I GAVE YOU A, A REAL LIKE, DETAILED REPORT ON WHY WE WERE CONSIDERING GOING TO FAIR FREE.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN KIND OF THE BACKGROUND TO GO BACK TO LOOK AT THAT PARTICULAR RECORDING.
UM, BUT THE, THE SHORT VERSION OR ABBREVIATED VERSION IS THIS.
THE CITY OF PETALUMA HAS VERY EXTENSIVE, RIGHT? VERY AGGRESSIVE CLIMATE GOALS.
75% OF OUR TRAVEL TRIPS NEED TO SWITCH MODES TO, UM, OUT OF SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.
SO TRANSIT NEEDS TO DO WHAT IT CAN TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, RIGHT? SO PART OF THAT WAS CONSIDERING HOW WE CAN GET MORE FOLKS ON TRANSIT.
WE'VE DONE SOME, AND THIS JUST KIND OF GOES OVER, WE ALSO HAVE TACK GOALS, UH, CITY COUNCIL GOALS, CARBON NEUTRALITY GOALS, ALL LINKED TO GETTING FOLKS OUT OF SINGLE O OCCUPANCY VEHICLES.
WE'VE DONE A LOT OF FAIR FREE INITIATIVES IN THE PAST.
UM, USUALLY, OR TYPICALLY THEY'LL DEAL WITH ONLY SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION.
SO LIKE YOUTH RIDE FREE, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN OPERATING THAT.
WE HAVE SRJC STUDENTS RIDE FREE.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE DATE BASED, UM, FAIR FREE PROGRAMS. THEN THERE'S ALSO MEANS BASED FAIR FREE PROGRAMS OR FAIR DISCOUNTS SUCH AS CLIPPER START.
THESE ARE ALL WONDERFUL PROGRAMS AND WE'VE SEEN GREAT, UM, ADOPTION OF TRANSIT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE DID OUR BUTTER AND EGGS DAY, I THINK IT WAS 300% INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP.
UM, WE'VE SEEN A HUGE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP.
UM, I LIKE HOW I HAVE TO LOOK AT CARLY FOR YOUTH.
I THINK, UH, YEAH, UM, 34% FOR THE PAST YEAR.
SO WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF ADOPTION WHEN IT COMES TO FAIR FREE.
SO IT MADE SENSE TO CONSIDER, OKAY, LET'S GO FULL, FAIR, FREE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN I SPOKE IN JANUARY, THIS WAS A LARGE PROCESS BECAUSE WE ARE THE FIRST IN THE BAY AREA TO DO THIS.
AND I KEEP HITTING THAT REALLY HARD BECAUSE I WANT IT TO BE VERY CLEAR, NO ONE HAS DONE THIS IN THE BAY AREA, AND ONLY ONE CITY IN COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA HAS DONE THIS.
AND WHAT MAKES OUR PROGRAM VERY UNIQUE IS ITS PARATRANSIT SERVICE AS WELL.
PARATRANSIT SERVICE IS TYPICALLY, UM, EXCLUDED FROM FAIR FREE PROGRAMS, OFTENTIMES BECAUSE OF THE COST OF A PARATRANSIT
[00:40:01]
TRIP.AND SO WITH THIS GOING A HUNDRED PERCENT FAIR FREE, IT MEANS ALL OF OUR SERVICES ARE FAIR FREE.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN JANUARY, WE TALKED ABOUT HAVING A POTENTIAL FAIR MEDIUM, LIKE A CARD, AN APPLICATION, SOME FORM OF IDENTIFICATION SO THAT WE COULD KEEP TRACK OF WHO IS RIDING THE BUS, GET THE DATA WE NEED.
BUT AFTER A LOT OF INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS, WE REALIZE THAT'S A BARRIER WE HAVE, AND THAT'S NOT A BARRIER WE WANNA PUT ONTO THE PASSENGER.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE REALLY CALLING IT A ONE YEAR PILOT, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH REMOVING ALL BARRIERS VERSUS STARTING WITH BARRIERS.
UM, AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT PEOPLE REALLY JUST SHOW UP AND GO.
UM, AND SO AGAIN, FIRST OF ITS KIND TO DO NO APPLICATION, NO CARD, JUST SHOW UP AND GET ON THE BUS.
WE'VE TRIED TO MAKE IT AS ACCESSIBLE AS POSSIBLE.
SO JULY 1ST, UM, WE SENT OUT OUR PRESS RELEASE.
WE COVERED OUR FAIR BOXES WITH A LITTLE PIECE OF PLEXIGLASS.
WE PUT SIGNAGE ON THE BUS, UM, ON THE INTERIOR.
NOT ALL OUR SIGNAGE WAS OUT IN TIME.
THAT'S OKAY, I'LL, I'LL GET TO THAT AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY, UM, A LOT OF WORK TO JUST GET TO THAT POINT.
SO WE SUBMITTED, UM, A PRESS RELEASE.
UH, SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UM, THIS WENT OUT TO OVER 150 CONTACTS.
UM, WE HAD ENGLISH AND SPANISH PRESS RELEASE AS WELL AS FAQS THAT WENT WAY INTO THE WEEDS, I FEEL LIKE, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY ABOUT OUR THOUGHT PROCESS.
SO THOSE FAQS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
THEY'RE AVAILABLE ON A HANDOUT.
UM, I THINK I'M KIND OF INUNDATING PEOPLE WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION, BUT I'D RATHER DO THAT THAN, UM, HAVE A, A TON OF QUESTIONS THAT WE ARE, WE'RE NOT ANSWERING.
SO THIS WAS GREAT BECAUSE THE PRESS RELEASE WENT NOT ONLY TO PRESS, BUT COMMUNITY PARTNERS, SCHOOLS AND OTHER TRANSIT RELATED AGENCIES.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, CITY STAFF.
IN ADDITION, WE POSTED, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I WISH THIS WAS THE BIGGEST, BEST, UH, POWERPOINT EVER, BUT I THINK I ALWAYS WANNA GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT WE DID.
UM, SOCIAL MEDIA WAS A BIG PART OF THE CAMPAIGN, JUST GETTING THE WORD OUT THAT WAY WITH JUST THE FIRST POST.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE GOT OVER 2000, UM, 500, UM, PLAYS AND ENGAGEMENT.
AND THAT'S JUST ON THE FIRST POST, UM, TO THE RIGHT.
WHAT YOU SEE IS TRANSIT APP, AS YOU MAY KNOW, OR OR NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE, MAY NOT BE AWARE OF.
UH, SONOMA COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY, RCPA, UM, IN COLLABORATION WITH TRANSIT AGENCIES, CITY BUS, AND, UH, SONOMA COUNTY TRANSIT.
AND PETALUMA TRANSIT CHOSE TRANSIT APP AS THE ONE APP FOR TRIP PLANNING.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP, WE PUT A, A BIG BANNER THERE TOO.
SO ANYTIME SOMEBODY OPENED THIS APP, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE, HEY, IT'S FREE, YOU CLICK IT AND IT'LL TAKE YOU TO OUR FAQS.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY UPDATED THE WEBSITE.
WE HAD AUTOMATED MESSAGING, SO FOR OUR PARATRANSIT WRITERS, THEY GET WHAT'S A, LIKE AN AUTOMATED CALL LETTING THEM KNOW ABOUT THEIR NEXT TRIP.
SO ON WE SEND OUT ONE OF THOSE.
SO THEY KNEW IT WAS FREE, UH, TEXT MESSAGE AS WELL AS A VOICEMAIL MESSAGE CHANGED OUR HOLD MESSAGING.
SO WHEN THEY'RE WAITING FOR US, THEY KNOW IT'S FREE.
UM, GMV, WHICH IS OUR, UM, CA VL SYSTEM, THIS IS KIND OF WHERE APPLE AND GOOGLE AND ANYWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU DO KIND OF TRIP PLANNING GETS THEIR INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSIT.
IF YOU LOOK UP A TRANSIT TRIP, YOU'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE ALERT.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, IT'S NOW FREE.
SO THIS IS MY, UH, TECHNOLOGY VERSION OF SCREAMING FROM THE ROOFTOPS AS BEST AS WE CAN
UM, LET'S SEE, WHAT ELSE DID WE DO HERE? UH, THIS IS JUST A LITTLE CLIP OF THE WEBSITE.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO CHECK IT OUT.
IT HAS A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, BUT IT'S KIND OF LIKE AN ACCORDION STYLE DROPDOWN MENU FOR QUESTIONS PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THE SERVICE.
IF YOU DIDN'T SEE IT, THEN I'M WORRIED.
UM, SO WE WERE
UH, I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A FEW INTERVIEWS.
UM, I HAVE A LISTING, BUT YOU CAN KIND OF SEE A SENSE THERE.
UM, ONCE, UH, FOX, UH, LET'S SEE, PICKED IT UP, I THINK, UH, KATE VIEW FOX TWO.
A LOT OF PEOPLE REPOSTED THAT.
SO OTHER NEWS AGENCIES SUCH AS YAHOO NEWS, REPOSTED.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE ARE MORE SPECIFIC, UM, ARTICLES THAT WERE DONE ON US VERSUS A REPOSTED ARTICLE.
UM, SFGATE IS OUR MOST RECENT ONE.
I THINK IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES BECAUSE IT SHOWS REALLY HOW THIS IS A HOLISTIC APPROACH.
THIS IS LIKE PART OF A LARGER PROCESS.
THIS IS NOT JUST US DOING THIS ONE THING, BUT IT'S THE CITY OF PETALUMA MAKING CHANGE WHERE WE CAN, UM, FOR THE BETTER OF OUR COMMUNITY AND THE CLIMATE.
SO WE GOT A LOT OF COVERAGE, WHICH WAS AWESOME.
AND MASS TRANSIT MAGAZINE, WHICH I WAS EXCITED ABOUT 'CAUSE IT'S TRANSIT RELATED,
UM, NOW NEXT STEPS, THINGS THAT DIDN'T GET DONE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, FINALIZING THE BRANDING.
SO, UH, WE'LL BE, YOU'LL BE SEEING MORE BRANDING AT BUS SHELTERS ON THE SIDE OF THE BUS, UM, FLYERS
[00:45:01]
ALL OVER THE PLACE, WORKING MORE WITH THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS.UM, SO THESE LITTLE HOT ITEMS, THESE ARE OUR FLYERS.
UH, I GAVE EACH OF EACH OF YOU A COPY THIS I'M HOPING EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY WILL HAVE.
IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, RIGHT? YOU JUST SHOW UP AND GO.
BUT THERE'S A QR CODE SO PEOPLE CAN GO GET MORE INFORMATION, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND THEN, YEAH, MY NEXT STEP, OH, I SHOULD, NAH, THAT'S NOT A GREAT SLIDE.
BUT BASICALLY THOSE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE I HAVE TO REACH OUT TO AGAIN, TO SAY, HEY, IF I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU, YOU KNOW, DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT FAIR FREE? LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SIDE OF THE BUS.
SO, UM, THIS IS WHAT WILL BE ON THE SIDE OF THE BUS PRETTY SHORTLY.
THERE'S GONNA BE SOME GRAPHICS ON THE SIDE SO EVERYONE KNOWS, UM, THIS BUS, THESE ARE SOME OF OUR OLDER BUSES THAT HAVE THESE SMALLER WINDOWS, BUT ON THE LARGER BUSES, I WANNA GO A LITTLE MORE SPLASHY.
SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL BE SEEING.
UM, AND I THINK IT SAYS IT PRETTY LOUD AND CLEAR.
SO OUR BUS DRIVERS ARE ALREADY REPORTING, UM, AN ACCELERATED BOARDING TIME, RIGHT? BECAUSE NO ONE HAS TO PAY ANYMORE.
SO IT'S JUST, THEY'RE LIKE, JUST GET ON, GET ON, GET ON, GET ON.
UM, PARATRANSIT DRIVERS, YOU KNOW, HAVE REPORTED THAT THEIR PASSENGERS ARE REALLY ECSTATIC, RIGHT? UM, ALREADY SEEING AN INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP, UM, ALTHOUGH IT'S EARLY TO REPORT ON NUMBERS BEING ONLY ON DAY 11 HERE, BUT IT'S BEEN NICE FOR THE DRIVERS TO BE ABLE TO LIKE, HEY, NO, IT'S ON US.
THEY'VE, THEY'VE COME UP WITH REALLY FUNNY THINGS TO SAY LIKE, IT'S ON ME TODAY, OR SPEND THAT MONEY IN THE COMMUNITY OR GET YOURSELF A CUP OF COFFEE.
AND PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO REALIZE, OH, THIS IS FOREVER AND IT'S PRETTY AWESOME.
SO IT'S BEEN VERY POSITIVE ALL AROUND.
UM, BUT I AM GONNA BE RELYING REALLY HEAVILY ON COMMUNITY PARTNERS ON, ON ALL OF YOU TO HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD, UM, AND GET THE WORD OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
THIS HAS REALLY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WHEN I DO, WHEN WE DO THE MICRO TRANSIT LAUNCH, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE A YEAR, SO I DON'T HAVE ALL THE CONTACTS I TYPICALLY WOULD HAVE, BUT NOW AS I'VE TALKED TO ALL OF THESE PRESS, THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT'S THE NEXT THING? AND I GIVE 'EM A LITTLE AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, YOU NEED TO CALL ME WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
SO I THINK A LOT OF THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND TYPE OF OUTREACH THAT WE WILL BE DOING WILL PROBABLY BE MORE CONJOINED WITH MICRO TRANSIT BECAUSE MICROT TRANSIT'S RIGHT ON THE HEELS.
SO RATHER THAN KIND OF GO OUT AND POUND THE PAVEMENT RIGHT NOW WITH FAIR FREE, I'LL WILL BE POUNDING THE PAVE WITH MICRO TRANSIT AND FAIR FREE.
UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY FUN SLIDES FOR MICRO RIGHT NOW, SO I, BUT I CAN PROVIDE AN UPDATE, BUT I WANNA FIRST CLOSE THE DOOR ON, OR NOT CLOSE THE DOOR, BUT, UM, ASK ANY IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CLARITY, ANYTHING ABOUT, UM, FAIR FREE.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE STAFF REGARDING THE COMMENTS? YES, PATTY, SO I WAS READING ABOUT THIS IN THE ARGUS COURIER, THE PAPER OF RECORD, AND, UM, I'M KIDDING,
AND YOU KNOW, THE COMMENTS ARE ABOUT, OH, WHO'S PAYING FOR THIS? I'M SURE YOU SAW THAT.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET OUT THE MESSAGE, UM, PARTICULARLY AS THE COST OF COLLECTING FAIRS VERSUS GOING FAIR FREE BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, TO TRY TO, TO TRY TO EMPHASIZE AS MUCH AS PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR IT.
I, I COULD SPEAK TO THAT OR DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT AT ALL? OKAY, GO.
UH, I'LL JUST START A LITTLE BIT.
IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S TRICKY WITH COMMENTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL LIKE SOMETIMES THOSE COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, THAT NOTHING'S FREE OR LOCKED AND LOADED AND THEY'RE JUST POPPING IT EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? UM, TYPICALLY MY PROCESS IS NOT TO ENGAGE BECAUSE IT ENDS UP BEING THIS.
UM, HOWEVER, ON OUR WEBSITE, WE DO HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE, THE FUNDING BODY AND THE FUNDING SOURCES, SO FOLKS CAN LOOK AT THAT.
UM, SO I'M HOPING THOSE WHO ARE TRULY INTERESTED
I, I'M HAPPY TO ADD A LITTLE MORE DETAIL IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUNDING SOURCES.
UM, JARED, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING ON THAT.
YEAH, I WOULD JUST SAY, I MEAN THAT IS A COMMENT WE HEAR OFTEN WHEN WE TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT.
FIRST COMMENT IS GRADE IS AWESOME.
SECOND PIECE IS A QUESTION OF WHAT'S IT COST AND HOW'S IT PAID FOR? AND IT'S REALLY A GOOD QUESTION 'CAUSE IT GIVES US OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT TRENDS AND HOW IT IS FUNDED.
IN THE CASE WITH FAIRES, WE GOT IN THE LAST FISCAL YEAR, 8% OF OUR OPERATING COSTS COMES IN THE FORM OF FAIR REVENUE.
SO IT'S A PRETTY SMALL SLICE THAT WILL CHANGE AGENCY TO AGENCY GENERALLY WITH MOST LOCAL, UM, TRANSIT AGENCIES AROUND THIS REGION.
UM, MOST OF THEM ARE AROUND 10, 10 TO 12% LIKE US, SANTA ROSA, SONOMA COUNTY RECENTLY.
AND SO THAT MEANS A MAJORITY OF THE FUNDING TO OPERATE THE SERVICE IS NOT COMING FROM FAIR REVENUE.
IT'S COMING FROM WHAT WE CALL ENTERPRISE FUNDING SOURCES, T-D-A-S-T-A, TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT ACT, STATE TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE.
THOSE ARE DERIVED FROM SALES TAX AND THE SALES OF DIESEL TAX AT THE STATE LEVEL.
[00:50:01]
SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF THAT.IT'S OTHER LOCAL FUNDS WE GET LIKE THE QUARTER CENT MEASURE M GO SONOMA ITEM, WE GET SOME OF THE MONEY FROM, UM, SONOMA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FROM THAT.
SO THAT MAKES UP THE LIONS SHARE.
SO THE MAJORITY OF THE COST TO PROVIDE FREE SERVICE BEYOND WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY PROVIDING, THAT OTHER 92% OF THE COST, IT'S A REALLY SMALL SLICE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ROUGHLY THE EQUIVALENT OF ADDING ONE MORE ADDITIONAL ROUND TRIP THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR ON ONE OF THE BUSES.
AND REALLY IT'S A LOT OF BANG FOR THE BUCK WITH WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT VERSUS THE RIDERSHIP BENEFIT THAT YOU GET.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS EVEN BEYOND THE RIDERSHIP.
PEOPLE OFTEN GO TO THE RIDERSHIP, BUT GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION, ALL THOSE ARE GOALS, BUT THERE'S ALSO HUGE ELEMENTS WITH EQUITY ACCESS TO JOBS, ABILITY TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT'S, AS WE KNOW, BECOMING INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE, MORE PEOPLE PRICED OUT.
IT REALLY HELPS TO MOVE THAT NEEDLE A LOT.
WHEREAS IT'S HARDER TO MOVE OTHER ONES LIKE THE HOUSING NEEDLE ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE.
WE CAN PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH A GREAT SERVICE THERE.
SO IT'S A BIT MORE COMPLEX, UH, ANSWER WHEN PEOPLE DO ASK THAT QUESTION.
BUT WE LIKE IT BECAUSE IT KIND OF SPURS THAT CONVERSATION A BIT TO TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE FUNDED OVERALL BEYOND JUST THAT PROGRAM.
THE FIRST ONE DEALS WITH HOW DO, HOW DO YOU TRACK THE RIDERSHIP OR HOW IS THAT DONE? IS IT BY CLICKER OR IS IT CLIPPER? WELL, YOU DON'T HAVE THE CLIPPER CARD ANYMORE, SO HOW IS THAT TAKEN CARE OF? UH, I'LL LET CARLY OUR EXPERT, MAYBE TAKE THAT ONE.
UH, MAYBE TALK A BIT ABOUT THE A PC SIDE LEADING UP TO KIND OF THE REPORTS AND THE TRACKING, ET CETERA.
YEAH, SO WE HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS WE DO IT.
ONE, LIKE JARED SAID, IS OUR A PC, WHICH IS OUR AUTOMATIC PASSENGER COUNTER.
AND THAT'S BASICALLY LIKE A LITTLE, LIKE WHEN YOU WALK ON THE BUS, IT WILL SCAN YOU AND COUNT YOU AND SAME THING WHEN YOU GET OFF.
AND THEN I CAN PULL THOSE REPORTS FOR EVERY ROUTE, EVERY BUS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO THAT'S BEEN THE WAY IT'S WORKED WELL.
WE ALSO USE WHAT WE'RE CALLING RUN SHEETS AND THIS IS KIND OF INFORMATION FOR THE DRIVER AND THEN HE, THE DRIVER CAN LIKE FILL OUT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE BOARDING THE BUS.
UM, AND THEN I LIKE COMPILE THAT INTO EXCEL SHEETS AND THAT'S HOW I GET A LOT OF MY DATA TOO.
AND THEN I CAN COMPARE THAT DATA TO THE A PC DATA TO MAKE SURE LIKE EVERYTHING'S MATCHING UP AND EVERYTHING'S GOOD.
SO IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT AN ISSUE THEN
HOW ABOUT THIS ONE? UM, NOW THAT CLIPPER CARD IS NOT BEING USED TO GET ON YOUR BUS, IS THERE A REFUND FROM CLIPPER? I MEAN, I KNOW THEY CHARGE FOR EVERY, ALMOST EVERY EVENT.
YEAH, SO WITH CLIPPER, WHAT WE, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE HAD TO WAIT TILL JULY 1ST WAS BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE NEW RULES CAME ON.
BECAUSE MY CONCERN WOULD BE IF SOMEBODY TAPS ON, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE'RE JUST HABITUAL PEOPLE AND THEY'RE GONNA GET CHARGED.
SO THERE WILL NOT BE A CHARGE IF SOMEBODY HAPPENS TO TAP ON THE BUS, IT WILL JUST CHARGE THEM ZERO.
UM, AGAIN, WE HAD CONSIDERED USING CLEAR CLIPPER AS A FAIR MEDIUM, BUT AGAIN, IT, IT SEEMS TO CREATE MORE OF A BARRIER OBSTACLE RATHER THAN ACTUALLY ASSISTING.
SO FOR, WE HAD DONE SOME, UM, CLOSING DOWN OF THE CLIPPER STORE PORTION, UM, PREVIOUS.
SO, UM, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO PUT MESSAGING ON THERE.
I DID MY BEST TO SPEAK WITH CLIPPER MTC ABOUT IT, BUT WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO IS JUST NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO BUY IT.
SO WE GOT A FEW COMPLAINTS, HEY, WHY CAN'T I BUY, UM, MY MONTHLY PASS FOR NEXT MONTH? AND WE'RE LIKE, 'CAUSE IT'S FREE.
SO WE'RE GOOD THERE, THERE IS, THERE HAVE BEEN NO ISSUES.
WE WERE SLIGHTLY CONCERNED WITH PARATRANSIT SERVICE BECAUSE PARATRANSIT PASSENGERS HAVE A PUNCH CARD WITH REALLY NO EXPIRATION DATE.
SO EARLY, EARLY ON WE, WE CEASED THE SALES OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN WENT TO EACH LIKE, UM, OUTLET BASICALLY TO GIVE THEM SIGNAGE, LET OUR PARATRANSIT BUS DRIVERS MAKE SURE THEY'RE COMMUNICATING IT SO PEOPLE WEREN'T LEFT WITH A LOT OF, UM, VALUE ON THOSE CARDS SINCE THERE IS NO REFUND FOR THOSE.
BUT SO FAR WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.
SO I THINK, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.
ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, UH, OF STAFF ON THIS SECTION? ARE THERE ANY MORE STAFF COMMENTS? YEAH, WAS THERE ANYTHING, UH, WITH MICRO TRANSIT YOU WOULD LIKE TO MENTION BEYOND WHAT WAS COVERED
SO, UM, THAT'S NEXT, RIGHT? UM, SO MICRO IS NEXT.
I, UM, WE ARE, WE'VE STILL BEEN WORKING ON IT.
I I WANNA BE VERY CLEAR, WE, SO STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING THROUGH WHAT WE CALL WORKSHOPS WITH THE, UM, SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE PROVIDER.
SO EACH WORKSHOP KIND OF FOCUSES ON ONE ASPECT OF MICRO TRANSIT IN TERMS OF WHAT'S THE RIDER EXPERIENCE, WHAT'S THE DRIVER EXPERIENCE, UM, WHAT'S THE APP LOOK LIKE.
IT'S WHAT WE WOULD CALL A WHITE LABEL APP, WHICH MEANS IT'S GOING TO BE BRANDED FOR US.
I'M SO CLOSE TO HAVING ALL THE UPDATES FOR YOU AND I'M BUSTING UP THE SEAMS TO GIVE IT TO YOU, BUT I WANNA BE ABLE TO GIVE IT TO YOU IN A NICE PRETTY PACKAGE.
UM, I'LL, WE'LL BE MEETING WITH THE AD HOC WHO THANK, I'M JUST SO THANKFUL FOR THE TIME THE AD HOC HAS
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GIVEN, UM, TO GIVE US GUIDANCE ON THIS.WE'LL BE MEETING WITH THEM JULY 29TH AND GO OVER BRANDING, UM, MARKETING, UM, THE ZONE.
AND THEN I HOPE TO BRING THEN THE NEXT MONTH AN UPDATE ON ALL OF THOSE ITEMS TO YOU.
IN TERMS OF THE LAUNCH, IT'S LOOKING LIKE LAST ONE, EITHER THE LAST WEEK IN AUGUST OR THE SECOND TO LAST WEEK IN AUGUST.
THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS WITH THIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO WRAP THE VEHICLE, DO THE BRANDING, TRAIN THE DRIVERS, UM, THE PUBLIC PORTION.
IT'S KIND OF NICE TO TRAIN THEM AFTER IT'S LAUNCHED.
IT DOESN'T REALLY, IT'S HARD TO TRAIN PEOPLE OR EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO PEOPLE WHEN IT DOESN'T EXIST.
SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A LOT OF FRONT LOADING ON THE, UM, MARKETING SIDE EXCEPT THERE'S A LOT OF BEHIND THE SCENES COMPONENTS.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS I'M WORKING WITH A QUITE A FEW COMMUNITY PARTNERS BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GET THE WORD OUT THE BEST.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, BLUE ZONES WILL BE SPEAK, I'M SPEAKING WITH THEM NEXT WEEK, LAUNCHING KIND OF A DUI CAMPAIGN WITH THEM WITH MICRO TRANSIT COMBINED, UM, PETALUMA WOMEN'S CLUB.
UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED THEY'RE GONNA DO A PHOTO SHOOT WITH MICRO TRANSITS BUS AND SHOW THAT HEY, THEY CAN USE IT, YOU CAN TOO.
UM, UH, THE, THERE'S UH, THE LEAD SENIOR APARTMENTS.
I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FROM PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, TO TALK TO SUSAN BONO AND SHE'S HELPING ME TO BRING IT THERE AS WELL.
SO WE'RE GONNA DO A LITTLE OUTREACH THERE.
SO BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS REALLY COMBINE OUR EFFORTS SO THAT, ALTHOUGH I'LL BE SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT MICRO TRANSIT, IT'S GONNA BE THESE COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT'LL REALLY BOOST THE SIGNAL.
YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY BEFORE, NO ONE'S REALLY THAT EXCITED TO WHAT TRANSIT HAS TO SAY, BUT THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT COOL PETALUMA HAS TO SAY.
THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT PETALUMA WOMEN'S CLUB HAS TO SAY.
SO I'M REALLY, REALLY THANKFUL FOR THESE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT ARE HELPING US TO SPREAD THE WORD.
SO REALLY EXCITING STUFF COMING SOON.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT.
UM, ONE ITEM I DID WANNA LOOP BACK TO THAT I THINK CAME UP BEFORE WAS A EMAIL FROM UH, GAIL MCGOVERN AND I WAS ABLE TO FIND THAT.
UM, SO THIS EMAIL, THEY WERE SAYING FREE TRANSIT IS GREAT.
THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT TIMINGS ON ROUTES 3 30, 3 11 AND TWO, AND SAYING THAT SOME OF THE TIME WHEN THEY'RE ARRIVING AT THE END OF THE LINE TRYING TO TRANSFER TO OTHER ROUTES, THEIR ROUTE THEY'RE GETTING OFF OF CAN BE RUNNING LATE, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO TRANSFER.
UM, A COUPLE THOUGHTS WITH THAT ONE.
OF COURSE, ANY TIME TIME ANYONE'S RIDING OUR BUS, WE PROVIDE A THREE MINUTE COMPLIMENTARY HOLD FOR TRANSFER.
SO OF COURSE ANYONE CAN ASK A DRIVER SAY, HEY, I'M ON ROUTE 11 NOW I'M TRANSFERRING TO ROUTE TWO, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL AHEAD? ALL OF OUR BUSES HAVE RADIOS AND THE ABILITY TO CALL AHEAD TO ASK THE DRIVER THE NEXT ROUTE TO HOLD FOR UP TO THOSE THREE MINUTES.
SO A GOOD REMINDER OF THAT, IN THIS CASE, WE ALWAYS TRACK ON TIME PERFORMANCE AS ONE OF THE MANY METRICS OF OUR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE GOALS AND THRESHOLDS WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO HIT AT LEAST 80% ON TIME PERFORMANCE WITH OUR ROUTES AND WHAT WE CALL TIME POINTS.
EACH ROUTE WILL GENERALLY HAVE ABOUT A HALF DOZEN TIME POINTS THROUGHOUT.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND CARLY'S ACTUALLY DOING SOME GREAT WORK RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT HOW ACCURATE THE TIME POINTS ARE SO THAT WE KNOW IF THOSE MAKE SENSE.
AND THEN THE BUSES CAN KEEP UP WITH THE TIME POINTS AND ADJUST 'EM.
SO I WOULD SAY IT'S KIND OF AN ONGOING PROCESS.
IT'S MONITORING THE ON TIME PERFORMANCE AND THEN WHERE NEEDED ADJUSTING IT.
IN THIS CASE, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE FAIR FREE IS GONNA, UM, IMPACT THAT.
WE ANTICIPATE IT'LL HELP ON TIME PERFORMANCE BECAUSE A GOOD AMOUNT OF YOUR TIME THAT YOU HAVE ON THE BUS IS FAIR RELATED.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ASKING WHAT THE FAIR IS, PULLING THEIR PASS OUT OF THEIR WALLET, DIGGING THROUGH THEIR POCKET FOR THE EXACT AMOUNT OF CHANGE.
WELL IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THAT ALL GOES OUT THE WINDOW.
THERE'S MAYBE A FEW QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING ABOUT OG IT'S FAIR FREE, THIS IS GREAT, HOW DOES IT WORK? BUT OVERALL, WE ANTICIPATE THAT IT'LL SPEED UP THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD SAY WE'RE GONNA BE KEEPING AN EYE ON IS SEE WHAT IMPACT THAT DOES ON ON TIME PERFORMANCE.
AND AS WE SEE THAT THINGS ARE, UM, FALLING BELOW THAT THRESHOLD, THEN ESPECIALLY WE LOOK AT MODIFYING THE ROUTES YOU KNOW, SEEING IF WE CAN CHANGE THE STOPS, THE ALIGNMENTS, EVEN HOW ONE ROUTE LEADS INTO ANOTHER WITH, UM, MAXIMIZING THAT ON-TIME PERFORMANCE.
SO JUST SO PEOPLE KNOW A BIT MORE OF THE PROCESS, HOW THAT GOES, HOW WE MONITOR AND HOW WE ADJUST IT.
SO I HOPE THAT'S HELPFUL WITH THAT ITEM.
UM, SO I BELIEVE WITH THAT, UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, UH, NO, I BELIEVE THAT IS EVERYTHING FOR STAFF COMMENT, MR. CHAIR.
UH, SO THAT BRINGS OUR STAFF COMMENTS TO A CLOSE AND IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, I BELIEVE THAT BRINGS US TO ADJOURNMENT.
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SO WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 5 0 4.