Tripper Standard Operating Procedure Transit Rider Advisory

PINELLAS SUNCOAST TRANSIT AUTHORITY
3201 SCHERER DRIVE, ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33716
WWW.PSTA.NET 727.540.1800 FAX 727.540.1913
TRANSIT RIDERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
AGENDA – MAY 20, 2014; 4:00 PM
PSTA AUDITORIUM
TIME
1.
CALL TO ORDER
4:00
2.
PUBLIC COMMENT
4:00
3.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
4.
ACTION ITEMS
5 min BRAD MILLER
5 min
B. Video Surveillance Upgrades for PSTA
Transit Centers
6.
4:05
4:10
A. April 15, 2014 Meeting Minutes
5.
PAGE
2
6
10 min
WALT LENZ
INFORMATION ITEMS
4:25
A. Greenlight Pinellas Bus Rapid
Transit Plans
14
10 min
BRAD MILLER
B. Tripper Standard Operating Procedure
10 min
JEFF THOMPSON
31
C. PSTA Regional Services Funding
10 min
BRAD MILLER
42
FUTURE MEETING SUBJECTS

Passenger Courtesy Guidelines

Safety and Training

Result of Survey Topics

Fare Policy
4:55
7.
OTHER BUSINESS
5:00
8.
ADJOURNMENT
5:05
THE NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 17, 2014 AT 4:00 PM
1
ACTION ITEM
4A:
April 15, 2014 Meeting Minutes
Action:
Approve Meeting Minutes
Staff Resource:
Terri Rick, Administrative Assistant

The minutes from the April 15, 2014 TRAC meeting are attached for the Committee’s
review and approval.

The TRAC is being provided with the minutes for approval.
Attachments:
1. Minutes
2
Page |1
PINELLAS SUNCOAST TRANSIT AUTHORITY
3201 SCHERER DRIVE, ST. PETERSBURG, FL 33716
WWW.PSTA.NET 727.540.1800 FAX 727.540.1913
TRANSIT RIDERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
MINUTES – APRIL 15, 2014
The Transit Riders Advisory Committee (TRAC) of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit
Authority (PSTA) held a meeting in the Auditorium at PSTA Headquarters at 4:00 PM on
this date. The following members were present:
Lugene Blancher, Mid County
Brian Chandler, North County
Susan Dargusch, Beaches
Stephanie Leishman, South County
Lee Ann McIlravey, Mid County
Elaine Mann, North County
Abraham Olivares, Mid County
Vivan Peters, Alternate Mid County
Kimberly Rankine, Dart
Gregory Rolle, South County
Demetrius Sullivan, Student
Lori Thomas, South County
Absent:
Jaksa Petrovic – Professional
Megan O’Brien, Alternate South County
Also Present:
PSTA Staff Members
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 4:05 PM.
3
Page |2
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Chief Operating Officer, James Bradford introduced himself and gave a brief overview of
the activities he oversees in transportation, maintenance and facilities at PSTA.
Raj Singh, the Flex Mobility Analyst for Dart, Sangita Land, Chief Compliance Officer, and
Debbie Leous, Chief Financial Officer all introduced themselves.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No public comment.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes of the April 14, 2014 meeting was made by Susan
Dargusch, seconded by Lori Thomas and passed unanimously.
ACTION ITEMS
There were no action items.
INFORMATION ITEMS
Review of By-Laws – John Villeneuve, Planning Projects Director briefly reviewed the
compliance laws as discussed at the previous meeting and invited members who had
questions to contact Ms. Land.
Greenlight Presentation – John Villeneuve, Planning Projects Director conducted a
Power Point presentation on the Greenlight Plan to educate the committee about
PSTA’s efforts to enhance the transportation system. The committee asked many
questions and much discussion took place about the Greenlight Plan. Senior Planner,
Chris Cochran was on hand to answer technical questions that arose.
TRAC Topic Survey Discussion - The Committee was asked to rank the survey topics
given to them at the last meeting. Staff will tabulate these rankings and a report will be
made to the Committee at the next meeting.
4
Page |3
FUTURE MEETING SUBJECTS

Review of Member Binder
OTHER BUSINESS
Ms. Dargusch proposed changing the TRAC meeting date to any day other than Tuesday,
which is the current meeting date. Mr. Villeneuve explained the purpose of the meeting
date being on Tuesday. Decisions made by the TRAC Committee are to be presented to
the Board of Directors on the following Wednesday. Committee members were asked to
write down their conflict dates on a sheet of paper. Staff will evaluate the results and
report them at the next meeting. A decision will be made at that time whether to change
the TRAC meeting date.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.
The next meeting of the TRAC Committee will take place on May 20, 2014.
5
ACTION ITEM
4B:
Video Surveillance Upgrades for PSTA Transit Centers
Action:
Recommend TRAC Approve Camera Upgrades to the Board
Staff Resource:
Walt Lenz, Senior Project Director-Training
Background:

PSTA has been providing surveillance at Park Street, Grand Central, and Williams
Park terminals for many years. Currently the equipment is past its useful life, and is
experiencing high failure rates. In addition, the new Pinellas Park Transit Center,
which is currently under construction, will be equipped with a surveillance system.

In 2013, PSTA upgraded its Scherer Drive facility with upgraded cameras funded
under a Home Land Security Grant. In addition, all of PSTA buses are outfitted with
cameras designed to offer our passengers/customers a safe and secure environment
and;
a. to assist in monitoring our facility with the ability to view video at our
terminals in real time
b. is used as an investigative tool to assist PSTA staff and if necessary, law
enforcement
c. assist in complaint resolutions
Attachments:
1. Power Point Presentation
6
Video Surveillance Upgrade
for PSTA Terminals
Transit Rider Advisory Committee Meeting
May 20, 2014
7
Current Surveillance Systems
•
•
•
•
•
Mix of three different systems
System ranges from 8 to 15 years in age
Low quality video
Outdated technology
Video cannot be viewed remotely
8
1
Multiple Systems and Technologies
9
2
Low Quality and Access
Low Quality Analog Video
Terminal Agent Live View
Williams Park Monitoring & Download System
10
3
Upgraded
Current
• Analog system produces
low quality video
• Inadequate number of
cameras leads to
insufficient coverage
• Labor intensive – staff
must go to the location to
view/download
• 3 terminals, 3 systems
• Digital system provides
high quality video
• More cameras increases
the viewing coverage
areas
• Productivity will increase
due to remote viewing
and downloads
• 4 terminals, 1 system
11
4
Upgraded System Examples
High Quality Digital Video
Monitor Live View
Remote Access Desktop Workstation
12
5
New Upgraded System
• Increases safety and security at our terminal
locations.
• Allows for remote monitoring.
• Can be used as an investigative tool to assist PSTA
with complaint resolution.
• Can assist law enforcement when necessary.
Recommended Action: Recommend to PSTA Board
that they approve the proposal to move forward with
the grant funded upgrade to the terminal surveillance
systems.
13
6
INFORMATION ITEM
5A:
Greenlight Pinellas Bus Rapid Transit Plans
Action:
Information Item
Staff Resource:
Brad Miller, CEO
Background:

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Pinellas County has been studied for many years and
incorporated into numerous plans. Such studies and plans include the Pinellas
Mobility Initiative, the Countywide BRT Plan, Central Avenue BRT Plan, the
downtown Clearwater to Clearwater Beach Transit Corridor Evaluation, the Pinellas
Alternatives Analysis (AA) and the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).

Across the country, Rapid Bus/BRT services are being used as part of transit
networks to provide faster service by increasing frequencies, limiting stops, and
incorporating various Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies.
Summary:

The Greenlight Pinellas Plan includes Rapid Bus/BRT services on the “Core”
Network, consisting of six routes covering eight corridors. The goal of this BRT
network is to achieve travel time savings and capacity expansion on the highest
demand corridors in the short term, and to encourage transit supportive
development in the longer term.

Each of the Rapid Bus/BRT corridors will be its own separate project including
environmental and engineering work, capital procurement and installation, service
development, and public involvement.

Staff will provide a presentation the Rapid Bus Network component of the
Greenlight Pinellas Plan.
Attachments:
1. Power Point Presentation
14
Greenlight Pinellas Rapid
Bus Services
May 12, 2014
15
1. Greenlight BRT – What is Our Plan?
2. How we will implement?
3. BRT Is Confusing/Can Be Many
Different Things
4. Greenlight Pinellas is a Network
n Committee
16
Rapid
Frequent
Network
 6 BRT Lines (8
Corridors)
 Service
operating at 15minute
headways or
better during
peak periods
 BRT/Rapid
Corridors (Core)
3
17
1. St Pete to Beach BRT – Central Ave
Corridor.
2. Seminole Blvd BRT
3. Clearwater Gulf to Bay BRT
4. US 19 BRT
5. 49th St. & East Bay BRT
6. 4th Street & Ulmerton BRT
18
Each Rapid Bus/BRT
Corridor Will Have
• Environmental Analysis
and Engineering
• Capital Procurement and
Installation
• Service Development
• Public Involvement
19
5
1. St Pete to Beach BRT – Central Ave
Corridor.




Earlier Studies to Provide Framework
St. Pete Art In Transit Program
Left or Right Side Boarding?
St Pete Beach End of Line
20
2. Seminole Blvd. BRT
 How to Serve St. Pete
College Seminole
Campus?
 Must service VA Hospital
Effectively
3. Clearwater
 Terminus at the Beach?
 How is Beach Circulation
accomplished?
 Terminus at New Tampa
Airport
21
All Lines will Have
 Highest Frequency &
Service Span
 Off-Board Ticketing/All
Door Boarding
 Uniquely Branded
“Rail-Like” Vehicles
 Limited Stop Enhanced
Stations
22
Short Term
 Travel Time Savings
on Highest Demand
Corridors
 Capacity Expansion
on Highest Demand
Corridors
Longer Term
 Transit Supportive
Development
23
 St Petersburg & MPO
Studies Approved in
2001, 2003, 2006,
2007
 Pinellas Alternatives
Analysis Final 2
Modes – BRT vs. LRT
 Discussion Now:


“You need to look at
BRT” or “Why can’t
we get rail instead?”
Dedicated Lanes or
Mixed Traffic?
24
Curitiba, Brazil- 1974
Kansas City - 2005
Eugene, OR - 2007
Cleveland
- 2008
Tampa
- 2013
41 Additional Underway, 10 Opening
in 2014
 Los Angeles - 2002-Present






25
 1998 First Federal
Funding for BRTSpecific Projects
 Curitiba Rail
Construction
Awarded 2012 –
BRT Line made
into Ped Walkway
26
 Eugene Max BRT -Serves University of
Oregon Students
– High Capacity
 Kansas City Max –
KC’s first “premium
transit”
- Rail construction on
1st BRT line following
2008 citizen vote.
27
 $300M “Rail-Like”
 Heavily Focused on Development
 BRT Corridor Developers now Developing Old Rail
Corridors
28
 MetroRapid Lines
+ LRT Lines
 BRT components
specific to
corridor.
 Designed to work
as “Network”
 New Ballot
Initiatives
support more Rail
& BRT Lines
29
 Nine Corridors All
Will Be Specifically
Designed for their
Service.
 Communities will
define BRT
Components.
30
INFORMATION ITEM
5B:
Tripper Standard Operating Procedure
Action:
Information Item
Staff Resource:
Jeff Thompson, Director of Transportation
Background:

“Trippers” (or Plug Buses) are unscheduled bus trips which are deployed from the
garage by dispatch to aid or fill-in areas of service which are in need of support due
to factors such as: overloads, detours, bus mechanical failures of scheduled buses on
route, or issues of late running bus service due to extraneous factors.

“Trippers” serve to provide relief for both waiting passengers and other buses along
a route line to help restore the scheduled service’s on-time performance.

For reasons such as mechanical failures, bus incidents, unusually high traffic delays,
heavy passenger loads, etc., PSTA runs “Tripper” service in an attempt to aid
recovery in service areas which are in danger of missing trips.

PSTA schedules 10 standby operators on a weekday; eight on Saturdays and five on
Sundays. Standby Operators – are used for filling-in or covering unexpected
operator absences and running “Trippers” when necessary.

The TRAC is being made aware of this policy and staff is seeking input on the
practice to be provided to the Planning Committee and PSTA Board of Directors.
Attachments:
1. Standard Operating Procedure
2. Power Point Presentation
31
“Tripper” Standard Operating Procedure
1. PSTA’s dispatch department first determines the need for trippers by being
informed that service interruption is occurring.
a) Again this could be due to any number of extraneous events such as
detours, street closures, vehicle crashes causing traffic-back-up, bus
mechanical failures or accidents, and heavier than normal passenger loads
due to crowd-gathering events like spring break, concerts, sporting
events, etc).
2. Information regarding service disruption is received several different ways –
a) Outside authorities such as FDOT highway, police, public works, etc.
informs PSTA dispatch of potential issues to bus service.
b) Bus operator calls dispatch directly to report unexpected activity or
incidents.
c) PSTA Road Supervisors making the determinations of impacted service
and radios in to Dispatch to discuss options.
d) Customer service receives complaints/comments from the riding public
informing of delayed service or buses not arriving and in turn informs
Dispatch.
e) Flags from the real-time system indicating potential service issues as
directly observed by PSTA’s RCC (Radio Control Center) department.
3. Radio Control Supervisors (along with road supervisors) then make the
determination of whether to send a Tripper bus out to “plug” trips.
4. Determination for WHERE to send “Trippers“ is made so as to have the optimal
impact on the route. This includes determining factors such as:
a) Whether to plug a full or partial route;
b) Determining deadhead distance and time as well as service entry point to
optimally plug a route’s trip;
c) Whether to plug ahead or behind a scheduled bus;
d) Whether to pick-up passengers missed before the next scheduled bus, or
to pick-up passengers yet to be picked up by a late-running bus.
32
5. Dispatch will then send the aforementioned “Standby” operators out to run
tripper service on the interrupted service line.
6. In the event that a Standby operator is not available, the dispatcher may look to
use buses and operators who have completed their work assignment and are
returning to the garage. In this event, the dispatcher will reroute the bus operator
to aid/plug another route.
7. Trippers may be used as often as the availability of bus equipment and operators
shall allow.
Going Forward:

PSTA shall continue to utilize “Tripper” service as necessary to increase service
efficiency and preserve the structural integrity of the scheduled service for
PSTA’s customers.
33
Tripper
Standard Operating Procedure
Transit Rider Advisory Committee Meeting
May 20, 2014
34
What is a Tripper?
• Unscheduled bus trips that fill-in areas that
temporarily need extra vehicles and/or service
• Trippers provide relief for waiting passengers
and other buses along a route to help restore
the scheduled service on-time performance
35
1
When do we need trippers?
• Pre-planned events
– Large events
– Seasonal ridership increases
– Planned road closures/construction
• Unexpected events
– Traffic accidents
– Vehicle breakdown
– On board medical emergency
36
2
What the public sees
• Bus bunching
• Back-to-back empty buses
• Tripper buses going into service and passing
waiting passengers
37
3
Steps to Deploy a Tripper
• Dispatch learns of a service interruption
–
–
–
–
–
Bus Operators
Outside entities (FDOT, police, etc.)
Road Supervisors
Customer Service Reps
Real Time monitoring
• Staff determines if a
Tripper is needed
38
4
Steps to Deploy a Tripper cont.
• Staff decides where to start the Tripper
–
–
–
–
Full or partial route
Deadhead distance and time
Start ahead or behind a scheduled bus
At what point to start picking up riders
• Dispatch deploys the Standby Operator
– Operators who have completed their work
assignment and are returning to base can be
rerouted
39
5
Improving Tipper Effectiveness
•
•
•
•
Determining patterns
Awareness/retraining
Re-route buses workshop (May)
Strategic redesign and increase of stand-bys
throughout the afternoon
• Staged buses in remote
locations
40
6
Questions?
41
7
INFORMATION ITEM
5C:
PSTA Regional Service Funding
Action:
Information Item
Staff Resource:
Brad Miller, CEO
Background:

Cross County Regional services are being provided by PSTA for the 100X
originating from Gateway Mall and serving downtown Tampa via the Gandy Bridge
(since 1991). In addition, services are being provided for the 300X which originates
from the Ulmerton Park and Ride serving downtown Tampa along the Howard
Frankland Bridge (since 2004).

HART provides service from the Drew Street Park and Ride lot in Pinellas to
downtown Tampa (since 1995).

These services have been funding through the Florida Department of Transportation
(FDOT) Urban Corridor Program; however, the ridership has been below the PSTA
system average of 20 passengers per hour.
Future Service:

Since the approval of the Greenlight Pinellas Program, PSTA has evaluated its
current Cross County Regional Service and would like to modify the 100X to
originate in downtown St. Petersburg and serve Westshore and the Tampa
International Airport.

In addition, HART is planning to modify the 200X to serve Pasco County in lieu of
Pinellas County.

These modifications are being considered in light of the FDOT sponsored Regional
Transportation Interagency Exchange (RTIES) which intends to develop and
promote regional services that will be able to leverage more statewide transit funds
for FDOT District 7.

The group is in the process of determining criteria for funding these services in the
future and may replace the existing Urban Corridor.
Attachments:
1. Power Point Presentation to follow
42