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

2. 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?

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

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

8. Themes:
High responsiveness
Low cost
Technology barriers
Case Studies

9. 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

10. *Graphics taken from Centennial’s February GoCentennial Report

11. 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, 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

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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, 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

16. Case Study Summary

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

18. 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)

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. Do you have any questions?