Purpose:        

At the April 6, 2004 Traffic and Transportation Study Session, the Council directed staff to develop a general circulator transit service as a means of reducing traffic congestion and improving community service.   The new service should link work centers, residential neighborhoods, community facilities, shopping venues, and other local destinations that are currently underserved by Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus service.  The fixed routes and schedules of the service will be designed so as to achieve the maximum benefit for the funding available.  This report recommends that a Transit Services Task Force be formed of two (2) Council Members, two (2) Park Recreation and Community Services Board Members, and two (2) Transportation Commission Members, to oversee planning and budgeting. 

Background:

The City currently operates the Burbank Transportation Service (BTS), Got Wheels!, and Burbank Local Transit (BLT) programs.  BTS is a �door-to-door� paratransit service that is provided upon request to senior and disabled Burbank residents.  Got Wheels! Youth Transportation provides free bus transportation after school and during the summer for Burbank kids ages 10-18.  The BLT program includes a fixed-route service between the Downtown Burbank Station and the Media District, and �on-demand� service between the Station and the Downtown, and Golden State service areas.  The Media District service connects to all Metrolink trains during the morning and afternoon commute periods, using City-owned compressed natural gas shuttles (currently being phased in) operating on fixed routes.  The City contracts with Super Shuttle to provide on- demand connections for Downtown and Golden State Metrolink commuters.

The MTA currently provides bus service within Burbank along eight (8) different routes, connecting points within the city and to the surrounding region.  While the buses are relied upon by many residents and employees along the existing service corridors, prior studies have found that transit ridership within the city would be much higher if the frequencies of transit service (headways) and route coverages were more consistent with identified needs and demand. 

A recent study of transit services within the Arroyo Verdugo Cities Subregion recommended that the Burbank Local Transit service be modified and expanded within the city to supplement existing MTA services.  The study proposes four new fixed-route services; two of which are modifications of the current Media District Shuttle routes along Olive Avenue and Alameda Avenue, a third would operate between Downtown and the Airport area, and the fourth would provide service along Verdugo Avenue, Buena Vista Street, and Kenneth Road prior to ending in the Downtown area.  All four lines would connect to facilitate transfers between them, and to MTA lines.  These services, and other transit improvements that were recommended in the City�s 2000 Short Range Transit Study, represent potential starting points for expanding local transit services.

Proposed Transit Services Task Force:

Staff recommends that a task force be formed to assist in developing an expanded local transit service that addresses community transportation needs and helps relieve traffic congestion.  In accordance with the current sharing of transit responsibilities between the Park, Recreation, and Community Services (PR&CS) and Community Development Departments (CDD), the task force should include two (2) members of the PR&CS Board and two (2) members of the Transportation Commission.  Additionally, the inclusion of two (2) City Council Members on the task force would help maintain a productive study schedule and convey the importance of developing a workable recommendation.       

Staff proposes to retain the services of a transit planning consultant to study existing services, determine additional service needs, assist with the development of potential routes, and prepare cost projections and a funding plan for the recommended service expansions.  CDD and PR&CS staff will facilitate the meetings, manage the consultant�s work, and provide general support for the task force.  While meeting schedules and times will ultimately be decided by the task force members, staff recommends that a monthly meeting schedule be adopted to provide sufficient preparation time between meetings, and at the same time complete the necessary work in six (6) months.    

Fiscal Impact:

The initiation and implementation of the study will require staff time and resources, and the expenditure of approximately $50,000 to retain a transit planning consultant.  Sufficient funds are available in Fund 104 (Proposition A) and/or Fund 105 (Proposition C) to pay for this expense.  A Professional Services Agreement for the selected consultant would be subsequently presented to the City Council for approval and funding from these sources.  Staff expenses would be funded from budgeted accounts.

Recommendation:      

Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the formation of the Transit Services Task Force as outlined in this report, and that two (2) Council Members be selected to participate as Task Force Members.              

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