1. Presentation on Emergency Response for Butte Regional Transit
Ivan Garcia
Programming Manager Butte County Association of Governments (BCAG)
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

2. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010
Who is BCAG?
BCAG is a joint powers agency of the cities & county – a separate government entity.
BCAG is Governed by a 10 member Board of Directors that includes each of the Butte County Supervisors and five city council representatives, one from each incorporated city/town.
BCAG is designated as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA), and Council of Governments (COG).
BCAG is also the owner and operator for Butte Regional Transit or the B-Line.
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

3. Organizational Structure
BCAG BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BCAG
STAFF
CALTRANS
Veolia Transportation
Transportation Advisory Committee
Federal Highway Administration
Social Services Transportation Advisory Council
Federal Transit Administration
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

4. BCAG’s Responsibilities
Prepare federal & state transportation planning & programming
documents
Allocate transportation funding to cities & county
Manage delivery of transportation projects
Manage the Butte Regional Transit System – The B-Line
Maintain Geographic Information System (GIS) & Census Data
Prepare the Regional Housing Needs Plan
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

5. Butte Regional Transit
B-Line provides fixed route and paratransit service to the cities and county
B-Line provides approximately 1.4 million rides per year with a fleet of 72 buses
Fixed Route Passenger Fares range from .70 for Seniors to $1.80
Paratransit Fares are $2.50
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

6. Fixed Route Ridership Profile
53% of B-Line passengers are students
Over 50% of the B-Line passengers are 25 years-old or older
Most riders are low income - make under $20 thousand per year
79% of B-Line Riders use the Chico Routes
20% use the Regional Routes
1% use the Oroville Routes
Overall, riders are satisfied with the B-Line system
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

7. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010
Fires of 2008
60,000 acres burned
200 homes lost or heavily damaged
One fire related death reported
Injuries to fire personnel
Three of four major evacuation routes were closed
Pentz Rd was only route open…..took 3 hours to get out of region for a distance of about 3 miles
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

8. Butte County Humboldt Fire - 2008
4 months of fires
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

9. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

10. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

11. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

12. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

13. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010
B-Line Response
Responded to Office of Emergency Services (OES) request to evacuate people….and pets over 4 month period
Maintained regular fixed route and paratransit responsibilities and OES
requests
Operated transit services
from CSUC parking lot, due to
a new fire near transit facility
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

14. Issues / Lessons Learned
Dealt with various emergency personnel instead of a single point of contact, need to have transit personnel present at command center
Need to have an improved remote operating location or plan for dispatch / command center
Difficult to know where exactly fleet was ….issues with communication reception
Need improved process for better FTA detailed record keeping during emergency response
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

15. How Do You Thank Them – With BBQ!
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

16. By Providing Improved Tools
Automatic Vehicle Location by Global Positioning Satellite (AVL / GPS) currently being installed - $1 million
Working with OES for improved communications (BCAG / Veolia)
Identifying backup dispatch location in case facility is evacuated…again (Veolia)
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010

17. Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010
Questions & Answers Thank you Ivan Garcia BCAG Programming Manager
Cal Act Conference – Fall 2010