Travis County Commissioners Court

March 27, 2012 (Agenda)
Item 25

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Item 25, receive annual update from Capital Metro.
we have with the director here and a board member.
let's indicate our intention to call up the consent items next and then the compensation.
good morning.

>> good morning.

>> good morning.
thank you, judge and Commissioners for having you are here for our capital metro update.
I would like to introduce you to -- you don't need any introduction, beverly silas, appointee to the board who would like to say a few words to start off.

>> good morning, Commissioners.

>> good morning.

>> thank you so much.
first of all, for the opportunity of giving you our annual update, and second, thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to represent Travis County to capital metro board of directors.
it truly is a wonderful experience.
I am having a great time, believe it or not, and it is very much a value to me to be of service to the county and also to the greater community in this area.
a couple of things I'd like to highlight with you and then linda is going to give you a more indepth report.
we, as you know, have been working on the sunset review and we have addressed almost every item and we have policies and procedures in plays with the exception of one and that is on our reserves.
we're working on it, but we're not quite there.
we have finished up all of the policies in place for our metro access service.
we have, as I reported to you last time, put all of our financials on line.
our checkbook is open and it's on line also.
we are in the process of looking at policies related to fuel for our buses.
we're looking at cng so we can be more environmentally friendly and also more fiscally responsible.
so we're looking at a policy that will outline what percentage of our bus fleet is going to be cng and what percentage is going to be diesel.
we are also looking at additional sources of revenue such as investigating naming rights.
if you've looked at our metro railcars lately, you'll notice that the chronicle is advertise odd some of them.
so that is a trial for us looking at naming rights opportunities to bring additional revenue into capital metro.
next month we're going to be making a decision on labor.
as you know, that has been a big issue and one of the items highlighted by the sunset review so we'll be making a choice next month on a contractor to look at that.
and also one of the highlights here lately has been our weekend service.
through a partnership with the city of Austin, we are now offering weekend rail service till midnight on Fridays and from 4:00 to midnight on Saturdays.
I'd like to share with you that the last Saturday of south by southwest, which was the 17th of March, our rail ridership was in excess of 7,000.
last year we had overflow buses of three, this year we had overflow buses of seven departing to downtown so it spots to the demand with that service.
with that not to steal too much of president's thunder, I would like to turn it over to her to give you additional updated information on this past year.

>> thank you, beverly.
it's a pleasure for me to be here today and provide to you a report on the progress that the agency has made.
it has been a priority of ours to transform the agency, the way we do business, and I'm pleased to say our board has made some very difficult decisions that has helped us get there.
not everything that we've done is really visible to the community, but I can assure you it's been a lot of hard work and it has helped put us on the path to financial sustainability and our progress has been steady.
we're not the same capital metro that we were a couple years ago.
we have strengthened our leadership team, we've raised the bar, we've adopted a strategic plan that has measurable goals and objectives that allows us to be accountable not only to ourselves and to the board but to the community.
I'd like to go over a few of the highlights had this last year.
strengthening our finances has been one of our biggest priorities.
you probably saw in the news our reserves have gotten down to a low $7 billion.
we hired billy hamilton, determine times of drought comptroller for the state, and he has helped us put together the tools that this agency has been needing for some time.
for the first time ever we have a long-term financial plan.
for the first time ever we have a five-year capital improvement program and reserve and other policies that will help us meet the financial challenges not just today but in the future.
our reserves are already up to $20 million and we're on a path to meet the state mandated financial reserves by 2016.
transparency has been a really big issue.
I tell the employees of the organization we are spending the taxpayers' money and they have a right to know how we're spending that money.
so you can go online and see our check register and literally see every dime we spend.
we were the first transit system in the state to win the comptroller's gold circle award for transparency.
we have now won that a second year in a row and we're very pleased about that.
I guess what I'm probably most proud of in terms of getting our finances in order is that we were able to do this without raisings fares or reducing service, which is really critical to this community, as you all know.
I've got great news on the ridership front as well.
capital metro continues to have the highest per capita ridership in the state of Texas.
just this last year we provided a million more trips than we had the previous year.
within the last year, our rail ridership on our commuter rail line has more than doubled.
and there's good news and bad news about the commuter rail line.
the good news is we added the rail service on existing right-of-way so it was very inexpensive to build this commuter rail system.
the bad news is that it was on pre-existing right-of-way so we didn't get to choose the path of it and it doesn't directly serve our major traffic generators, the state capitol complex, u.t.
and downtown.
however, we have prove even that it has been very successful and that people in Austin will ride rail.
we made some adjustments to the schedule last summer.
we added mid-day service.
we did some marketing and educational outreach.
we added some last mile connections using partnerships with car to go and adding connector services.
and I'm pleased to report today that we have standing room only on some of our morning and afternoon peak trips.
in fact, the park and ride lot at the lakeline station is 90% full.
so we're working to address the overcrowding issues that we have during the peak hours.
in June we will be shaving 15% of the service -- of the travel time off the -- from the schedules.
we'll be saving nine minutes and that means we'll have enough time to turn the train around to provide an additional morning trip, an additional afternoon trip to deal with with the overcrowding on the train.
and it's critically think for this community to remember that metro rail is part of a transportation system.
it's the first major piece of a high capacity transit system and that it will continue to develop over time and needs to tie into the rest of the system as we build it.
our next big project at capital metro is called metro rapid.
it's a bus rapid transit system, if you are familiar with that.
it greatly improves bus service as we know it today.
the first line will be from north lamar to south congress.
the second line from burnet to south lamar.
and it operates -- normally it will operate in dedicated right-of-way and although this will not be in dedicated right-of-way, it will have higher frequencies, fewer stops, traffic signal priorities so it moves through the community much faster.
it will also have unique stops, unique branding, and the design, the engineering and design has already been completed.
we should start construction later this summer and the first line will be operational beginning in 2014.
80% of the $48 million project cost has come from the federal government so we're very pleased to be able to offer a higher quality bus service in the future.
beverly mentioned to you our labor contract.
labor work.
we have made great progress on what's been a very difficult, very complicated issue.
if this issue had been easy, it would have been dealt with a long, long time ago, but I'm very proud of our board for making some very difficult decisions that allow us to meet the requirements of not only the sunset act but improve the structure of labor in the organization.
we will be transitioning to a contractor later in the fall --

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but this will be a regional system plan that takes the overall plan and breaks it down into looks at the cost of the plans, how it will be developed and how it will be operated.
and then most importantly, getting community buy-in for this plan and then -- then that will allow us to begin the federal process for attracting federal dollars to pay for -- to help pay for our transportation projects.
in closing, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you today.
we've achieved a lot, but we've only just begun.
there's still a lot more work to do.
but I can tell you that our organization is prepared and has the tools to continue making progress and -- and providing high quality transportation that this community deserves.
so thank you very much for your time.
I do appreciate it.

>> thank you.

>> court members, any questions?

>> yes, judge.
I have a couple of questions.
thank you for your presentation, let me ask this, is there any way that the information that you present here to the court this morning, is there any way that -- that is on a page somewhere so that anyone that's listening today can access a lot of these things that we're talking about and really look at some of the roles that capital metro is actually doing some of the plans, it's a lot of good information here that need to be shared.
I'm just wondering how do you anticipate or are you already doing that before I even ask the question, how will it be shared with the public?

>> we do have a little brochure, we're doing a lot of outreach in the community, public presentations, speaker's bureau, so we are working to get the word out.
but if it's not on the website, I will make sure that it is, that's an excellent suggestion.
so thank you for that.

>> that would be good because -- because if not, if you can do that, please do it because we get a lot of questions asked about capital metro.
in fact, you may have heard testimony this morning during the public hearing in item no.
2, where transportation was -- is a concern, for those outlaying areas in the community.
of course there is a process that needs to happen for those particular communities to be involved with capital metro.
even if it was just to show what that outreach of what you must do to get service from capital metro bus-wise, ridership wise, things like that, it would be good for I think the public to know that, just right off the top.

>> okay.

>> I just think that because really we get the calls.

>> [laughter] so -- so number 2, you may not have mentioned, but there -- the efforts that -- that -- that as far as looking at elgin, to manor, and then to Austin, some of the things anticipated things happening in that particular commuter rail situation of course with that upper -- with that upper airport boulevard initiative.
something that we are also looking at, involving the Commissioner, right here, Commissioner Huber and I appreciate you folks, those are a lot of things that are moving all at the same time while you are making your presentation.
of course, I know there's been an increase in ridership.
is there -- is there a process, let me ask this question: is there a fee increase that may be assessed with increased ridership?
in other words, because there is an increase in ridership, is there a talk of increasing a fee?

>> we don't associate raising fathers with the increase in ridership.
one of the things that we are doing right now is -- is we'll be releasing an rfp fairly soon to hire someone to do a fair -- to hire someone to do a fair study unless for us so we can put the appropriate policies and process in place to have a sustainable fare system over time that will look at the fare sensitivity and a lot of other issues, so we'll be probably adopting a fare policy in conjunction with this fall, which will lay out a plan for our board to follow in years to come for fares, fare increases and things like that.

>> now, if there's someone in the viewing public that says listen, there's a lot of good information here, I know that I don't have access to it, how can I get this information, is there a telephone number where someone can call, maybe within one of the subject matters that's been discussed today, they need a little more information on it, how do they get that information?

>> they can certainly call us at capital metro and go on to our website.
I would like to mention that -- that we are redesigning our website, we will roll-out the new one on earth day later in April.
and -- and it -- it already has the strategic plan on it that lists all of the -- all of the items and many more that I've mentioned here today.
and all of the plans that -- you can get a lot of information about capital metro on the -- on the website.
it's a very transparent site.
so I would encourage people to do that and they can also call us.

>> what is the telephone number?

>> that's a good question.

>> it is area code (512)474-1200.

>> okay.
thank you all very much for your input, really appreciate you.
thank you.

>> mr. Reeferseed.

>> thank you, sir, I want to 7 a applaud metro rapid bus service expanding routes for -- for -- that serve more people and do more good for more people.
but on the other hand, this metro rail is a huge boone boondoggle, money from the federal government by the way is not free.
it comes from all of us, everybody else, also, the one so-called difficult decision that you could have made is to stop hiring ultra expensive consultants.
look, population density here negates any potential real benefit to citizens.
we don't have the population density.
we have one little strip for the train, that's idiotic.
the potential rail benefit to citizens just doesn't exist.
the community buy-in, it's just a -- just a code word for propaganda victory.
if you can get the hopes to get more people to go along with this boondoggle, if you would lay it down, it costs like a thousand dollars per user, I mean, it's just idiotic.
and the -- the rfc, that's yet another costly study, about -- about fare sensitivity.
come on, that's another plan to gouge citizens, users, especially non-user taxpayers.
I object to it.
we're throwing money down the rat hole.
I know it's romantic, trains, people are bigoted against riding buses but look bus service works, it's flexible, things change, our population as we all know goes up and down, schools change, factories close, things change.
to have anything in some -- in some expensive dugout train, it's just a huge waste of money and as a citizen, I object.

>> thank you very much, mr. Reeferseed.

>> you have 20 million in reserve.

>> yes, sir.

>> what amount is required?

>> the legislature is requiring us to -- to have a total of three months in reserves by 2016, which is about $30 million.
however, there's stipulations on that funding which require us to only use that money in case of emergencies, which is not a true definition of an operating reserve if it's an operating reserve you have to use it for payroll and accounts payable and things like that.
so in order to meet the reserve requirement we have to have an additional $15 million, which is $45 million by 2016.

>> so the 30 is really an emergency reserve?

>> 30 is emergency and then we need another 15 million for -- for the actual operating reserve.
although in the -- in the law it is referred to as an operating reserve.

>> okay.

>> well, thank you very much, we appreciate your presentation.

>> thank you, sir.

>> appreciate it.

>> thank you for coming down.

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