Public/Private Partnerships in Transit Case Studies and Analysis Moira Blodgett

What is a transit public/private partnership? General model: Public agency provides subsidy to Transportation Network Company (TNC) trips for a defined Customer base Service area Type of ride What is a transit public/private partnership?

General Categories of p3 First/Last Mile Trips to and from existing transit infrastructure to encourage use of existing infrastructure and reduce parking Centennial, CO Paratransit Trips for people with disabilities MBTA (paratransit), Gainesville, Fl (elder transit) General Transit Trips for everyone within a defined service area Dublin, Ca (suburban), Liberty Mobility Now, inc (rural)

Other Opportunities Pinellas Park San Diego: covering high demand Replacing one specific bus route Late Night, for low income riders between 9 pm and 6 am San Diego: covering high demand Coupons during San Diego Comic Con and MLB All Star Game Washington DC: non-emergency 911 Directing Ubers to take 911 callers to providers, instead of ambulances to emergency rooms Ultimately not pursued

Payment Structures City pays all With no cap Centennial, CO With cap Pinellas Park, FL: $5 cap City pays a fixed fraction Altamonte, FL: 20% off, 25% if participating in first/last mile With a cap SEPTA: 40% off, $10 cap LAVTA: 50% off, $5 cap Customer pays fixed amount City covers the rest Summit, NJ: $2/ride Miami-Dade Co, FL: $3/ride City covers some, with cap Massachusetts Bay: $2, city pays up to the next $13 Tailored to customer Gainesville, FL: Up to $5 income based copay

Private Entity Functions Standard TNC (Uber, Lyft) Carpooling TNC (UberPool, Lyft Line) TNC car may pick up another rider on the way to your destination Modified carpool (Bridj) Larger, dedicated carpooling minibuses May have to walk to stop Transit coordination Bring together existing transit services to identify gaps and enhance cooperation

Perceived Issues with p3s Private entities Lack paratransit compliance Require a smartphone Require a credit or debit card

Themes: High responsiveness Low cost Technology barriers Case Studies

First/Last Mile: Centennial, Co Main Public Partner: Centennial Main Private Partners: Lyft Mobility Services (for paratransit) Payment System: Centennial covers entire cost Area: Suburban Cost: Original Program: $21/ride Pilot: $4.75/ride First/Last Mile: Centennial, Co Motivation: exploring alternatives to existing first/last mile system Current Status: 6 month pilot concluded on Feb 17th Key takeaways: Low ridership (11/day vs. 50/day for the original system) in spite of customers indicating interest Positive response, confusion over using the app Difficulty in administering surveys

*Graphics taken from Centennial’s February GoCentennial Report

Paratransit: Massachusetts Bay Main Public Partner: MBTA Main Private Partners: Uber Lyft Payment System: User pays first $2 MBTA pays next $13 Area: Urban Cost: Original Program: $31/ride Pilot: $9/ride Paratransit: Massachusetts Bay Motivation: Exploring alternatives to existing paratransit system Current Status: 6 month pilot concluded in Feb, 2017 P3 has since been expanded Key takeaways: MBTA system trips: avg. 59 min Pilot trips: avg. 25 min* Saving scheduling time Use of Net Promoter Score 79- score of p3 pilot system 12- industry avg Balancing “saving the MBTA money” with “Offering as many rides as possible” can be challenging

*Graphics taken from the MBTA’s 10k trip event presentation

Elder Transit: Gainesville, Fl Main Public Partner: ElderCare of Alachua County Main Private Partners: Uber Payment System: Income-based copay (most users pay $0-1) Area: Suburban Cost: $10/ride Elder Transit: Gainesville, Fl Motivation: Implementing a new system for elderly people to get around Current Status: Initial 6 month pilot began September 2016, was renewed and expanded as of Jan 2017 Key Takeaways: Users may need to be trained into the technology Increased mobility can greatly affects seniors’ lives

General Transit: Dublin, Ca Main Public Partner: LAVTA Main Private Partners: Uber Lyft DeSoto Cab Payment System: LAVTA covers 50% of trip cost up to $5 Area: Suburban Cost: unclear General Transit: Dublin, Ca Motivation: Replacing inefficient bus routes Current Status: 6 month pilot began in Jan, 2017 Key Takeaways: Lack of customer enrollment in a GoDublin program has made soliciting feedback difficult Having three different private partners can get complicated Uber: technologically advanced, uncommunicative Lyft: less sophisticated, more willing to work with LAVTA DeSoto Cab: least tech sophisticated

Rural Transit: Liberty Mobility Now (Van Wert County, Ohio) Main Public Partner: Varies Main Private Partners: Liberty Payment System: $1/mile + booking fee to the customer Area: Rural Cost: $16.72/ride Rural Transit: Liberty Mobility Now (Van Wert County, Ohio) Motivation: Implementing a transit system in rural areas Current Status: First pilot begun March, 2017 Pilots planned in 6 additional states and 2 additional countries Key Takeaways: Transit can be improved by facilitating discussion between existing groups Rural areas have a demonstrated need, but not enough density to justify a traditional transit system

Case Study Summary

Key Takeaways Usually low or no ridership situations Barrier: lack of information Experimentation works well Key Takeaways

Progress on Perceived Issues Lack paratransit compliance Now: Uber and Lyft have paratransit vehicles Require a smartphone Now: Workarounds exist, and sometimes native call-in options are provided by TNCs Require a credit or debit card Still the case (unless working with a cab company)

Implementation Opportunity: Twin Cities Paratransit: current system similar to MBTA Could provide opportunity for p3 pilot Senior Mobility: no independently existing service Could pair with a paratransit p3 First/Last Mile Possible for Northstar Commuter Line Possibly unnecessary, as park and ride options are underused General Transit Current transit system is fairly comprehensive

Implementation Opportunity: Healthcare Delivery Quick, routine procedures Vaccination clinics, blood drives Bring providers to a single local area and provide discounts on TNC rides to/from the clinic location Preserves responsiveness Accommodates pre-planned appointments and walk-ins Alternative: shuttle providers to patient homes Provider time lost to travel and setup More potential for long waits

Building a larger body of research would allow: More firm conclusions about best practices Identification of trends within p3 subtypes Quantitative analysis Next Steps Transit p3s are rapidly evolving and do not currently have a large amount of research behind them

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