* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. YOU READY TO GET STARTED? I THINK I KNOW WE'RE WAITING ON, UM, ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT LET'S GET STARTED. WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA. YOU READY, MA'AM? OKAY. GOOD MORNING. WELCOME. TODAY IS MONDAY, AUGUST 29TH. THIS IS OUR AUGUST MEETING OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY COMMITTEE. UH, CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER BRA BRAVO. COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER SANDOVAL IS HERE VIRTUALLY. COUNCIL MEMBER PERRY HERE. CHAIR CAB HDA HERE, MA'AM, WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU, MA'AM. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK THIS MORNING. I'M EXCITED ABOUT HEARING, UM, VISIONS AND CONNECTING AND, AND CATCHING UP. SO WE'LL GET STARTED. FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA'S [Approval of Minutes  ] APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM, UH, THE MEETING OF JUNE 21ST, 2022. I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY MOTIONS. SO MOVED ALL THOSE IN WITH A MOTION IN A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FOR THE JUNE 21ST MEETING, SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS TO BE HEARD THIS [Public Comment  ] MORNING? WE HAVE ONE CITIZEN AND THAT HE IS SPEAKING ON ITEM FOUR AND THAT HIS NAME IS SOMEWHERE. UH, JAVIER, TRISTAN. OKAY, MR. TRISTAN. HI. COME ON UP, SIR. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. GOOD MORNING. I WANT TO THANK YOU FIRST FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK THIS MOMENT. MY NAME IS JAVIER TRISTAN. I DO REPRESENT THE INDUSTRY, PARTICULARLY, UH, COMPANIES CALLED EGO TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS AN ELECTRIC, UH, MICRO TRANSPORTATION FOR URBAN MOBILITY. AND I WOULD LIKE TO BRIEFLY SPEAK IN SUPPORT ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 33 OF THE CITY CODE. IT PERTAINS TO MAKE A CHANGE FOR ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU KINDLY TO, UM, CONSIDER AND REVIEW THESE POSSIBLE AMENDMENT OF THE CODE. THIS WILL ALLOW MANY COMPANIES AS WELL AS MINE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE LEGALLY AND FULLY AND REGULATED BY THE CITY, WHICH IS OUR INTENTION. AND I'M JUST BASICALLY HERE TO SUPPORT THE, THE POSSIBLE AMENDMENT. AND I DO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TODAY FOR WHAT THE, UM, TRANSPORTATION BOARD, UM, ALSO RECOMMENDED FOR THESE AMENDMENT AND VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THESE PROJECT OF MINE AS WELL. SO THAT'S, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT FOR THIS MORNING. THANK YOU, MR. . THANK YOU. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM TWO. UH, MADAM CLERK, PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION. ITEM TWO IS A BRIEFING AND [Briefing and Possible Action on  ] POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE PROPOSED ALAMO AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, ACOG AND CAPITAL AREA, RURAL TRANSIT SYSTEM, CARTS INNER URBAN BUS, I U B SERVICE BETWEEN AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. WE'LL INVITE, UM, OUR SECRETARY CISNEROS TO PLEASE, UH, COME UP AND TALK TO US ABOUT THIS. GOOD MORNING, SIR. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, AND THIS COMMITTEE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE STAFF AND, UH, EVERYONE WHO CARESS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION. UH, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE IN THIS ROOM. YOU MAY KNOW THIS WAS FORMERLY THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER. THE, UH, THIS, THE, THE, THE DIOCESE WAS UP HERE AND THIS WAS SOMETIMES FULL OF THREE OR 400 PEOPLE. I'M SURPRISED THERE ARE NOT. WELL, THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF COVERING UP ALL THE SCARS AND, AND THE BLOODIED WALLS FROM THAT ERA. THAT WAS A, THAT WAS A TOUGH ERA. THAT WAS THE TIME OF REDISTRICTING. AND OF COURSE, EVEN BEFORE THAT HEMISPHERE AND MANY, MANY OTHER THINGS WERE DECIDED IN THIS ROOM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO TRANSPORTATION. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A CRITICAL ISSUE BEFORE A GROWING COMMUNITY. IN FACT, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY IT'S ONE OF THE ABSOLUTELY MOST IMPORTANT DIMENSIONS OF HOW OUR CITY IS GOING TO GROW WITH A QUALITY OF LIFE. UH, THERE'S NO QUESTION WE'RE GONNA GROW IN POPULATION AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS WRIT LARGE. I, I ACTUALLY LEARNED DURING THE PERIOD THAT THE MAYOR AND THE COUNTY JUDGE ASKED ME TO CO-CHAIR THE CONNECT SA INITIATIVE. THAT THE REAL CONCEPT WE SHOULD BE DISCUSSING IS MOBILITY, NOT TRANSPORTATION PER SE. 'CAUSE MOBILITY HAS SO MANY DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS FROM SIDEWALKS AND, AND, AND ARTERIAL STREETS AND BICYCLE LANES TO THE MORE, UH, HEAVYWEIGHT TRANSIT SYSTEMS, INCLUDING, [00:05:02] UH, THE POSSIBILITY OF THINGS LIKE, UH, ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT OR BUS RAPID TRANSIT AND MANY OTHER THINGS, OUR FREEWAY SYSTEM, ET CETERA. DURING THAT PROCESS, I, UM, BECAME AWARE, UM, MORE, UH, ACUTELY OF THE POTENTIAL TO BYPASS WHAT IN OTHER CITIES HAS BEEN A RAIL OPTION AND USE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT. AND AS A RESULT OF THOSE DELIBERATIONS AND THE VOTE OF THE PEOPLE IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, WE NOW ARE MOVING ALONG THE ROAD OF A NORTH SOUTH CONNECTOR USING ADVANCED, UH, RAPID TRANSIT, WHICH IS UNDERWAY. THE MONEY IS IN HAND AT VIA AND THEY'RE WORKING ON IT. AND AN EAST WEST CONNECTOR THAT GOES ROUGHLY FROM PORT SAN ANTONIO ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE AT AND T CENTER, THAT THOSE WILL BE GREAT ADDITIONS TO OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM. AND I'VE BECOME CONVINCED THEY'RE A BETTER OPTION THAN RAIL. 'CAUSE THEY GIVE US MORE FLEXIBILITY, THEY'RE LESS EXPENSIVE, AND WE CAN ADD MORE OVER TIME. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THAT, THAT REALLY DAWNED ON ME DURING THAT TIME WAS THE UNACCEPTABLE OF THE TRAFFIC SITUATION THAT EXISTS TODAY ON IH 35 TO AUSTIN. AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT RAIL FOREVER, USING THAT FREIGHT LINE AND USING THE LONE STAR RAIL, THOSE ARE LIKELY NOT TO HAPPEN FOR REASONS OF NOT BEING ABLE TO SHARE RIGHT OF WAY WITH THE FREIGHT LINE, AS WELL AS JUST THE COST AND THE LACK OF, OF SUPPORT FOR IT. BUT USING THIS NEW VEHICLE OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT, THE CONNECTED BUSES ON DEDICATED LANE, UM, MOVING VERY EFFICIENTLY, UM, FEELING ALMOST LIKE RAIL IN THE SENSE OF HOW YOU ENTER THEM, HOW YOU PAY, YOU CAN PAY IN ADVANCE, ET CETERA. UH, THAT THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD OPTION TO SETTLE A, AN ISSUE THAT WAS NOT IN OUR MANDATE BACK THEN, BUT WHICH, UH, I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT. THERE'S NO QUESTION IN MY MIND, AND I'VE BELIEVED IT SINCE THE TIME THAT I WAS MAYOR, THAT AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO ARE NOT ONLY TWO OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND FAST GROWING CITIES IN THE COUNTRY, BUT ARE GROWING TOGETHER. AND OVER THE YEARS SINCE THEN, WE'VE SEEN KAMAL COUNTY BECOME ONE OF THE, WELL, THE FASTEST GROWING COUNTY IN THE COUNTRY, EXCEPT FOR THE TIMES THAT IT SHARES THAT TITLE WITH HAYES COUNTY, JUST NORTH OF THAT SAN MARCOS. SO VERY LITTLE OF THE REAL ESTATE BETWEEN AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO IS NOW NOT BEGINNING TO BE DEVELOPED. AND WE HAVE GREAT IDEAS GOING FORWARD. THINGS LIKE THE GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT AND OTHERS THAT WILL RESULT, I BELIEVE, IN A LARGE CENTRAL TEXAS METROPOLITAN REGION THAT IS AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO, THEIR METRO IS NOW ABOUT 2 MILLION PEOPLE. OUR METRO IS ABOUT 2 MILLION PEOPLE. THAT'S 4 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING ON THIS REAL ESTATE. AND WE HAVE NOT REALLY THOUGHT THROUGH THE CONNECTIVITY QUESTIONS, THE MOBILITY QUESTIONS. IT IS FRANKLY DANGEROUS. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE, DANGEROUS TO RIDE ON I 35 IN A AUTO, IN A, IN A STANDARD AUTOMOBILE AMIDST THE 18 WHEELERS ON THE HIGHWAY THAT CONNECTS THE, THE TRAFFIC OUT OF MEXICO INTO, INTO THE HEARTLAND OF THE UNITED STATES. AND WE'VE NOT REALLY SERIOUSLY TAKEN OUR RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY TO BUILD SOME KIND OF MASS TRANSIT, SOME KIND OF CONNECTION. SO THANKFULLY THERE IS ON THE SCENE DIANE WRATH, WHO'S DISTINGUISHED HERSELF AT THE STATE LEVEL AS THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR STATE EMPLOYMENT ISSUES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONS. AND SHE'S NOW THE HEAD OF ACOG AND SHE IS A BELIEVER. WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE WORK SESSIONS, UH, IN MY ROLE AS CONNECT SA, HER ROLE AT ACOG. SHE'S BROUGHT IN THE PEOPLE FROM THE AUSTIN, UH, UH, TRANSIT SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE AUSTIN COG. AND WE NOW HAVE A VERY COMMITTED WORK GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO'VE COME UP WITH AN IDEA. THE STAFFING BETWEEN OUR SYSTEM VIA AND AUSTIN'S CAPITAL METRO. AND THEN WORKING WITH THE RURAL AREAS IN BETWEEN WITH ACOG AND THE, AND, AND CART HAS RESULTED IN A VIABLE IDEA TO PUT IN PLACE FIVE DAYS A WEEK, MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY, A BACK AND FORTH SYSTEM OF ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT ALONG I H 35. NOW, THERE IS NO DEDICATED LANE AT THIS TIME, BUT THERE CAN BE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE DISCUSSION ABOUT DOUBLE DECKING IN PARTS OF THE FREEWAY AND SO FORTH. AND THE, AND THE, AND THE OPTION IS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE. IT'S ABOUT $700,000 A YEAR. AND [00:10:01] WE WANT TO ADVOCATE FOR A PILOT PROJECT THAT CAN BE FUNDED EITHER BY THE MPOS IN BOTH PLACES OR OUT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY THAT'S COMING FORWARD FOR, FOR, FOR, UH, EMISSIONS CONTROL AS WELL AS AS CONGESTION. WE THINK THIS, THIS IDEA OUGHT TO BE ON THE TABLE. SO WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR, AGAIN, IS A PROPOSAL FOR A ROUTE THAT GOES SEVERAL TIMES A DAY, IS RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE FOR THE USERS, UH, HAS JUST A FEW STOPS, JUST NEW BRAUNFELS AND SAN MARCOS OTHERWISE CONNECTS, UH, THE NOR NORTHEASTERN PART OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, A BUS, A NEW BUS TRANSIT CENTER THERE THAT'S ALREADY BEING BUILT BY VIA WITH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, UH, AND HOOKS INTO THEIR WHOLE, UH, RAIL AND TRANSIT SYSTEM IN AUSTIN. SO I COMMEND THE IDEA TO YOU. I I I, I THINK WE, IT'S TIME. WE, WE WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY BEING IRRESPONSIBLE IF WE DON'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO RELIEVE THE CONGESTION BETWEEN THESE TWO METROS. AND THIS IS NOT THE END OF IT. THERE WILL HAVE TO BE OTHER ROUTES AND THERE WILL HAVE TO BE RAIL EVENTUALLY. BUT WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE WHERE WE, WE DO NOT HAVE CLEAR OPTIONS ON THE TABLE. AND THIS IS ONE, LET ME PRESENT DIANE WRATH FROM ACOG, WHO WILL ACTUALLY GO THROUGH A PRESENTATION FOR YOU THAT TAKES JUST A FEW MINUTES, BUT HITS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS IDEA. DI DIANE WRATH. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE TO BE PRESENT. THANK YOU, MR. SECRETARY AND MADAM CHAIRWOMAN MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. THIS IS A FIRST STEP. WE KNOW IT'S A VERY ELEMENTARY ONE, A VERY RUDIMENTARY ONE, BUT IT IS A START. UH, AND I REALLY HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION OF BOTH AMPO AND CAMPO OF VIA AND CAPITAL METRO OF OUR ALAMO REGIONAL TRANSIT AND THE CAPITAL AREA REGIONAL TRANSIT. AND THAT REALLY DOES SET THE STAGE ON WHAT THE DIFFICULTY IS BECAUSE IN THIS REGION, AND IT'S GONNA BY 2040, IT'S ESTIMATED THAT IF YOU TAKE THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES FROM OUR END AND THE NORTHERN COUNTIES FROM THE CAPITAL AREA, THAT'S GONNA BE 7 MILLION PEOPLE. AND YET WE HAVE NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CONNECTING THESE TWO THRIVING METROPOLISES. WE'RE THE SEVENTH LARGEST. AUSTIN IS JUST BARELY MISSES BEING THE 10TH LARGEST. SO IT'S THE 11TH LARGEST CONNECTING THOSE TWO THRIVING DYNAMIC COMMUNITIES. AND YET WE ARE DON'T HAVE ONE ENTITY. IT'S NOT LIKE, UH, HOUSTON GALVESTON. IT'S NOT LIKE THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH WHERE YOU HAVE NORTH CENTRAL. SO WE HAVE TWO RURAL TRANSITS. WE HAVE TWO URBAN TRANSITS, AND WE HAVE TWO, UH, METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS. SO THAT'S A LOT OF COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION, AND I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF HOW ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES HAVE REALLY COLLABORATED, COME TOGETHER AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PLAN THAT YOU WILL SEE TODAY. WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL STUDIES THROUGH THE YEARS ABOUT THE NEED FOR A CONNECTION. TDOT HAS DONE IT. THE NPOS HAVE DONE IT. PRIVATE INDUSTRY. T T I HAS DONE IT. SO THAT'S A VERY WELL DOCUMENTED, UH, FACT OF HOW BADLY WE NEED CONNECTIVITY. UH, UNITING THESE TWO CITIES AS A SECRETARY SAID IT IS A VERY DANGEROUS ROAD. UH, IT WAS RANKED AS THE FIFTH MOST DANGEROUS IN THE HIGHWAY. WE HAVE 40% OF ALL US MEXICO TRADE AS SOMEONE WHO COMMUTED DAILY FOR ALMOST 12 YEARS ON 35. AND SUBSEQUENTLY WAS, UH, ON THE LONE STAR RAIL BOARD. I KNOW THE CHALLENGES AND THE DANGERS OF THAT ROAD. AND SO WE'RE BRINGING TO YOU A VERY, UH, ELEMENTARY START. UH, THAT DOES CONNECT, UH, AUSTIN. IT'LL GO THROUGH SAN MARCO, GO TO SAN NEW BRAUNFELS, AND THEN TO THE RANDOLPH PARK AND RIDE THE CURRENT ENVISION. AND THIS IS NOT SET IN STONE, IT'S JUST A PRELIMINARY, VERY SUBJECT TO INPUT AND, UH, FINALIZATION. IT WOULD START ABOUT THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER, MAKE A SWING BY NOT BOTH ENDS OF AUSTIN, EITHER THE EAST SIDE BUS PLAZA OR, UH, THE CA, SOUTH MEADOWS ONE. IT'D BE ONE OF THOSE TWO. IT WOULD GO TO SAN MARCO. THERE ALREADY IS A ROUTE RUNNING FROM AUSTIN TO SAN MARCO FOR THE COLLEGE. SO IT WOULD STOP IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AND STOP AT THE UNIVERSITY AND THEN MAKE A STOP IN NEW BRAUNFELS. NEW BRAUNFELS HAS SAID THEY REALLY WANT IT ON THE EAST, I MEAN ON THE WEST SIDE OF 35. THEY THINK THAT WOULD BETTER SERVE THEIR INDIVIDUALS, BUT IT MIGHT BE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A STOP ON THE WEST SIDE IN THAT, UH, SHOPPING CONGESTION. AND THEN ALSO THE WEST, THE WEST SIDE, THAT'S UP FOR DISCUSSION. AND THEN IT WOULD GO TO THE RANDOLPH PARK ANDRO. UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT, IT WOULD BE BI-DIRECTIONAL. SO WE'LL HAVE BUSES LEAVING AUSTIN AND BUSES LEAVING SAN ANTONIO MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. IT STARTS AT 6 45 IN THE MORNING. IT ENDS RIGHT BEFORE 10, AT 9 45 THAT EVENING. IT WOULD RUN EVERY 90 MINUTES IN THIS PRELIMINARY PLAN. AGAIN, THAT'S [00:15:01] SUBJECT TO DISCUSSION FINALIZATION. SO YOU WOULD HAVE 21 WAY TRIPS PER DAY. UM, UH, AND THEN OUR TOTAL MILES, IF YOU SUMMED IT ALL THAT UP FOR THOSE TRIPS, IT'S JUST UNDER 1500. UH, BUT I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU CAN SEE THE VALUE OF THAT. UH, I DON'T, I GAVE A PRINTED HANDOUT, SO YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO READ IT BETTER. UH, IT REALLY, THIS DOES DEMONSTRATE THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT'S GONE INTO IT. WE USE THE KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT TXDOT USES TO REALLY LOOK AT THE COST PER HOUR, TO LOOK AT THE REVENUE HOURS TO REALLY, UH, CALCULATE THE COST. AND, UH, I THINK THAT IT, IT DOES SHOW THE LEVEL OF DETAIL AND PLANNING THAT'S GONE INTO IT. IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE LOOKING AT A PILOT TO RUN TWO YEARS. MOST PILOTS, WHEN YOU HAVE A NEW ROUTE, NEEDS TO RUN FOR A MINIMUM OF 16 MONTHS TO GET ESTABLISHED. SO WE'RE PROPOSING A PILOT FOR TWO YEARS. WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING THAT AN INITIAL START, IT WOULD BE A $10 DAY PASS THAT YOU CAN WRITE ALL YOU WANT FOR $10 TO ESTABLISH THE ROUTE, TO HAVE PEOPLE GAIN CONFIDENCE IN IT, TO PROVE ITS PERFORMANCE, UH, AND THEN BE ABLE TO MOVE TO WHERE IT WAS MORE SELF-SUSTAINING. THE TOTAL FUNDING FOR THE, UH, PILOT WOULD BE 1.5 MILLION. UH, WITH THE WAY GAS HAS BEEN GOING, THAT'S SUBJECT TO CHANGE, BUT ABOUT 1.5, 1.7 MILLION, UH, FOR THE TWO YEAR PILOT. UH, TO FOCUS ON THOSE ROUTES, I HAVE TO REALLY THANK THE RURAL, UH, CAPITAL RURAL TRANSIT 'CAUSE THEY HAVE THE ROLLING STOCK AVAILABLE. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S A TWO TO THREE YEAR WEIGHT. IF YOU ORDER BUSES, THEY HAVE THE, UH, FULL-SIZE BUSES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. THEY ARE HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE. IT'S LIKE YOU'RE RIDING A VERY NICE COACH. I THINK ANYONE WOULD BE VERY COMFORTABLE RIDING ON IT. THEY USE SIMILAR BUSES. SO THIS IS AVAILABLE. WE HAVE TO HAVE OUR NAME AND WE COULD DO THE WRAP. AND IT IS SET TO ROLL AS SOON AS FUNDING IS AVAILABLE. ONCE FUNDING'S AVAILABLE, WE ANTICIPATE THAT IT COULD PROBABLY ROLL IN ABOUT TWO MONTHS NOTICE. I HAVE TO REALLY THANK BOTH OF THE URBAN TRANSITS 'CAUSE THEY HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO DO ADDITIONAL MODELING. THEY HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO REALLY ASSIST WITH THE ADVERTISING. WE WOULD USE BOTH OF THOSE FACILITIES FOR TICKET SALES AND, UH, TO ASSIST IN THAT ENDEAVOR. SO I CAN'T EMPHASIZE HOW THIS IS COLLABORATIVE WITH, AND I DON'T THINK VERY OFTEN IN THIS REGION, YOU SEE THE TWO RURAL AND THE TWO URBAN AREAS ALL COMING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP ONE COHESIVE PLAN. UH, THE REASON WE HAVE PICKED THOSE, UH, TWO POINTS AT RANDOLPH IS BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT CONNECTIONS IT MAKES TO ALL THE DIFFERENT VIA ROUTES, UH, YOU REALLY CAN GET ANY PLACE IN THE CITY. FROM THAT, WE LOOKED AND WE CONSIDERED GOING TO, UH, OUT 2 81. UH, WE LOOKED AND WE CONSIDERED GOING OVER TO U T S A. UH, BUT THE INTEREST OF TIME, IT, IT, UH, REALLY WOUND UP BEING MUCH BETTER JUST TO CONNECT FOR A ROUTE TO GO TO THOSE TWO OR DOWNTOWN OR THE AIRPORT OR, UH, TO THE SOUTH PART, EITHER TEXAS A AND M OR BROOKS OR PORT SAN ANTONIO. WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT, UH, INITIATIVES THAT ARE GOING ON AT THIS TIME. UH, THE IMPORTANT THING THAT RANDOLPH IS CURRENTLY BEING, UH, REVITALIZED OR RENOVATED, IT'S THAT PARKING PLACE HAS BATHROOMS. UH, IT IS A LOVELY FACILITY AND IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AUSTIN CONNECTION, BOTH AT THE CONVENTION CENTER, THE EAST SIDE BEST PLAZA, BOTH OF THEM ALSO HAVE SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS, UH, TO WITHIN THE REGION AND WITHIN AUSTIN. SO WITH THAT, WHAT YOU BEST WITH THAT, I'M CERTAINLY AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU, DIANE. THANKS AGAIN TO SECRETARY CISNEROS FOR BEING HERE. UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE ENTHUSIASM AND THE AMBITION. UH, UH, AND I DON'T THINK WE CAN UNDERESTIMATE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF AMBITION IT TAKES TO START TALKING ABOUT THIS. I'M A VICTIM OF HIS ENTHUSIASM AND INITIATIVE. YES. BELIEF. THIS WAS NOT ON MY LIST OF THINGS TO DO, BUT HE IS SO VERY COMPELLING. I APPRE I, I I AGREE. UM, I KNOW A LOT. UM, THERE'S BEEN ALREADY A LOT OF HARD WORK AND, UH, VERY THOUGHTFULNESS, UM, A LOT OF THOUGHTFULNESS ABOUT THIS PLAN. UM, I ALSO KNOW THAT WE'RE AT THE FIRST PHASE, UH, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE ONE OF YOUR OPENING COMMENTS WAS THIS IS THE BEGINNING AND I THINK SECRETARY CDOS MENTIONED ALSO. UH, HOPEFULLY THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A MUCH LONGER PLAN. THIS IN, UH, I KNOW IT'S A COMMITMENT OF MANY DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS AND, AND FUNDING SOURCES. UM, MY, AS OUR ROLE, SOME OF US HERE ON THE M P O, I THINK THAT'S, UH, INTERESTING TO SEE THE TWO CONNECT. UM, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WAS BEARING, WELL, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE FINANCE SLIDE OF IT? I'D LIKE TO FOR YOU TO GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL. WAS THERE YEAH. THIS ONE THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE US, UH, ENOUGH DETAIL FOR YOU OKAY. AT THIS TIME. I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. NO, BUT IT'S ABOUT, [00:20:01] UH, ABOUT 1.5 MILLION FOR A TWO YEAR PILOT. AND THAT INCLUDES THE PURCHASE OF THE, OF THE VEHICLE, THE BUS. WE DON'T HAVE TO PURCHASE 'EM. OH, THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID. BECAUSE CART HAS 'EM, THAT'S WHAT'S SAVING US BOTH TIME AND SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES. WONDERFUL. BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT 350, 400,000 EACH. SO IT'S A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION. WOW. THE CART IS ABLE TO MAKE. AND THAT'S, THEY'RE DONATING ONE BUS? UH, TWO BUSES. TWO BUSES. OKAY. YES, MA'AM. SORRY, I MISSED THAT. AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT WE HAVE, WE ARE APPLYING FOR GRANTS. I NEGLECTED TO MENTION THAT WE APPLIED FOR ONE WHEN TDOT HAD THEIR CALL FOR PROJECTS OUT AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING ALLOCATED TO THAT, UH, PARTICULAR CATEGORY. UH, THERE ARE IS A GRANT, ONE GRANT OUT THAT WE'RE GONNA START APPLYING FOR RIGHT NOW, THAT IS A FEDERAL GRANT. SO WE'RE BEING VERY AGGRESSIVE IN THAT. I HAVE TO THANK DAVE MARSH WITH CART BECAUSE HE BECAME AWARE OF A GRANT THAT CAMPOS TECHNICAL COMMITTEE DISCUSSED. AND WE, AND OUR AMPO IS CURRENT STAFF IS CURRENTLY EVALUATING THAT TO SEE, GET THEIR INPUT AND THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT IT. AND THEN WHEN THERE'S A CALL FOR PROJECTS, WE ANTICIPATE THE ART AND CART SUBMITTING ONE PROPOSAL TO BOTH NPOS. 'CAUSE BOTH NPOS HAVE BEEN VERY ENCOURAGING AND VERY SUPPORTIVE. AND HOPEFULLY IF WE CAN APPLY TO BOTH OF THEM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COBBLE TOGETHER THE SUFFICIENT FUNDING. OKAY. UM, SO MY, MY, FROM THE CITY'S PERSPECTIVE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE WOULD THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO BE, UM, ALLOCATING TOWARDS THE, THE MILLION AND A HALF? IF YOU LOOK AT THE MILLION AND A HALF, AND I DID A VERY ROUGH PRELIMINARY, I'M A PHYSICAL THERAPIST. I'M NOT AN ACCOUNTANT . SO WHEN I LOOKED AT THE 1.5 MILLION, I PROPORTIONATELY DIVIDED IT BY POPULATION. OKAY. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT BEAR COUNTY, AND THEY'RE, UH, IF YOU TAKE OUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THEY'RE LEFT WITH ABOUT 575,000 PEOPLE. AND SAN ANTONIO'S ONE POINT JUST UNDER 1.5. SO IF YOU HAVE, UH, TWO, UH, 23, UH, THOUSAND FROM BEXAR COUNTY AND 581 FROM SAN ANTONIO, OF COURSE THE PROPORTIONATELY THE LARGER. IF WE GO TO THE OTHER END OF THE BARBELL, UH, WE HAVE TRAVIS COUNTY WITH, UM, ABOUT 13,000 AND, UH, AUSTIN WITH ABOUT 389,000. SO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WOULD BE ABOUT 581,000. AUSTIN WOULD BE ABOUT 389,000. UH, COMAL COUNTY WOULD BE ABOUT 29,000. NO NEW BRAUNFELS, ABOUT 37,000. AND THEN HAYES, ABOUT 70,000 AND SAN MARCOS, ABOUT 27,000. AND HOW MUCH WAS BEX COUNTY? UH, BEXAR COUNTY WAS ABOUT 23,000. SO I HAVE A A, THIS IS SOMETHING, I THINK THERE'S A PUSH AND PULL, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTY. AND I UNDERSTAND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE E T J FOR THE COUNTY, BUT THE COUNTY IS ALSO THE CITY. IT DOES OVERLAP. YES. SO I WOULD, I WOULD ASK TO RECONSIDER, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THE CITY AND THE COUNTY CAN WORK OUT, IS A DIFFERENT PERCENTAGE, UM, PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE THE CITY, I THINK IS TAKING THE BULK OF IT, NOT, I THINK IT IS TAKING THE BULK OF THE, OF THE, UM, THE FUNDING. UM, SO I, I'D LIKE TO, TO WORK THAT OUT MAYBE BETTER WITH THE COUNTY. YES, MA'AM. AND IF WE HAVE A GRANT, THEN IT'S IRRELEVANT, SO, SO LET'S HOPE. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING. THAT'S WHAT I'M REALLY HOPING. ABSOLUTELY. UH, I'M HOPING WE CAN HAVE A GRANT TO FUND THE WHOLE THING, BUT THOSE DOLLARS ARE JUST BALLPARK FIGURES, VERY MUCH SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATION AND, UH, AND WORKING OUT. UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU. AND, AND WE HAVE, UH, THE PARTICIPATION OF THOSE COUNTIES THAT YOU MENTIONED AND THE, OF COURSE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, PRELIMINARY PARTICIPATION. I GUESS WE'RE ALL STILL TALKING ABOUT IT IN VERY BEGINNING. EXACTLY. I HAVE TO SAY, WE HAVE DONE PRESENTATIONS BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON. UH, I THINK THEY'RE ALL VERY, VERY INTERESTED. UM, SAN MARCOS IS UNIQUE IN THAT THEY ALREADY CONNECT TO, UH, AUSTIN BECAUSE OF THE UNIVERSITY, AND THAT'S AN ESTABLISHED ROUTE, BUT THEY'RE VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN EXTENDING ONTO NEW BRAUNFELS, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS HAVING WITH SOUTH BEXAR COUNTY AND THE NEW BUSINESSES COMING TO NEW BRAUNFELS AND TO SAN MARCO, AND THEN OF COURSE, TESLA. AND SO YOU REALLY HAVE A TREMENDOUS CONTINUUM WITH THAT INDUSTRY ALONE. UH, WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE STUDENTS, UH, MANY PEOPLE FEEL THAT THE PROJECTED RIDERSHIP BETWEEN NEW BRAUNFELS AND SAN MARCUS MIGHT BE THE HIGHEST. BUT THE, EVEN, GOSH, 20 YEARS AGO WHEN I STARTED COMMUTING, THERE ARE CARPOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN RUNNING SINCE THE EIGHTIES CONNECTING SAN ANTONIO TO AUSTIN. I KNOW WHEN I USED TO DRIVE AND WHEN I'D HAVE TO CATCH A RIDE, THERE WAS ONE THAT WAS RIDING HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE SINCE THE VERY EARLY EIGHTIES HERE. SO THOSE INFORMAL NETWORKS ARE ALREADY EXISTING AND BECOMING MUCH MORE DIFFICULT WITH THE CONGESTION AND WITH THE EXPENSE THESE DAYS. I HAVE NO DOUBT YOU'D HAVE A, A, A GOOD AMOUNT OF RIDERSHIP FROM DAY ONE. UM, I THINK YOU'RE, TO YOUR POINT, AS FAR BACK AS THE EIGHTIES, YOU KNOW, , WE'VE HAD, UH, PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE THAT, THAT DRIVE A LITTLE EASIER. I, I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, STARTING IN [00:25:01] SAN ANTONIO AT RANDOLPH, I WORRY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FOLK ON THE, UH, SOUTH AND AND WEST SIDES OF TOWN. UM, AND I, I, I UNDERSTAND WE'RE IN THE PRELIMINARY STAGES OF THIS, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE A PLAN TO EXTEND TO, TO THOSE SIDES OF TOWN. AND I DID SEE, I UNDERSTAND TODAY THAT THERE ARE VIA ROUTES, UM, FROM PROBABLY ALL OVER THE CITY GOING TO IT. UM, BUT THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO SAVE US TIME AND MONEY. SO, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO SEE US. UM, AND JUST A THOUGHT, I THINK IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE, UH, MAYBE AN EXTENSION TO THE PORT OR TO BROOKS MM-HMM. THAT WOULD TAKE OVER. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WOULD COVER OUR CITY PRETTY WELL. YES, MA'AM. MM-HMM. AND WITH AS VIA HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THEIR ROUTE GOING, UH, FROM STONE OAK TO THE AIRPORT AND THEN GOING THAT NORTH, SOUTH ROUTE GIVES AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH THAT OR EXTEND TO THAT. SO I THINK THERE'S ALL SORTS OF OPTIONS THAT CAN BE, UH, DEVELOPED AND MAKE IT MUCH MORE VIABLE. THAT'S A GOOD POINT. AND THERE IS A LONG-TERM PLAN, UH, TO DEVELOP A WEST EAST. YES. UM, A R T AS WELL. UH, SO JUST BRIEFLY BEFORE I MOVE ON TO COUNCIL COMMENT, I, I, UH, I'M REMINDED WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS OF THAT, THAT THAT PHRASE, UM, THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE WAS 20 YEARS AGO, THE SECOND BEST TIME IS TODAY. SO I FEEL LIKE THAT'S WHAT THIS IS. WE, WE, I WISH WE COULD HAVE DONE THIS, YOU KNOW MM-HMM. A LONG TIME AGO. IT WOULD BE A LOT EASIER NOW FOR US TO COMMUTE TO AUSTIN AND WE WOULD'VE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF THE GROWTH, BUT, UH, NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT RIGHT. TO START A PLAN LIKE THIS. AND I DO APPRECIATE THAT IT IS A, UM, PRELIMINARY, UH, PLAN AND A PILOT. SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE HOW IT WORKS OUT. UH, I, I HOPE I CAN BE ON ONE OF THE INAUGURAL BUS RIDES BECAUSE, UM, I, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO GO TO AUSTIN ALL THE TIME. THERE ARE, THERE ARE COUSINS UP THE ROAD AND IT'S, UH, I THINK THIS WOULD BE REALLY CONVENIENT AND TIME SAVING. AND, UM, AND ALSO I THINK IT COULD BE A LOT MORE PRODUCTIVE ON MY RIDE TO AUSTIN IF I'M ON A BUS . SO, SO THANK YOU. UH, ANY COUNCIL COMMENTS OR COMMITTEE COMMENTS? COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU SECRETARY CISNEROS AND DIANA FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. I, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ALL EXPLORED POTENTIALLY 2 81 OR U T S A, BUT WAS THERE ANY CONSIDERATION TO INCLUDE, UH, THE MALDA TRANSIT CENTER OFF OF SRA AND I 35 AND THE SOUTH SIDE? WE LOOKED AT THAT AND THE MODELING, UM, MIGHT INDICATE THAT'S A BETTER OPTION, BUT AGAIN, BY HAVING IT GO TO RANDOLPH, IT KEEPS THAT CORE ROUTE REASONABLE, A REASONABLE LENGTH AND, UH, WITH MINIMAL STOPS AND THE ABILITY TO CONNECT FROM RANDOLPH TO ESTABLISHED ROUTES IN THERE. BUT CLEARLY WE, IT CAN BE CONSIDERED AND IT CAN BE LOOKED AT. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND I HOPE SO BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE CITY'S EQUITY ATLAS, UH, RELYING ON RANDOLPH WOULD EXCLUDE THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, SOUTHEAST SIDE AND WEST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO. AND, UH, A WAY TO GET TO RANDOLPH WOULD BE EVERYONE ON THE SOUTH AND EAST SOUTHEAST SIDE TAKING A BUS TO CENTRO. AND AGAIN, RIGHT, THIS IS TO SAVE TIME AND REDUCE TRAVEL TIME. AND IT WOULD ADD ADDITIONAL ROUTES THAT FOLKS IN THE SOUTH SIDE, UH, DISTRICTS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE, UH, IN ORDER TO GET TO RANDOLPH. SO I THINK IT WOULD ADD ADDITIONAL TIME. UM, SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN POTENTIALLY EXPLORE LOOKING AT THE MAAH TRANSIT CENTER AND THE, I BELIEVE IT'S IN DISTRICT FOUR, UM, TO ENSURE THAT FOLKS ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND EAST SIDE, UH, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOUTHEAST SIDE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THIS, UH, MODE OF TRANSPORTATION AS WELL. I UNDERSTAND IT'S STILL IN THE EARLY CONVERSATIONS, BUT UM, I KNOW FOLKS IN DISTRICT THREE, FOUR AND FIVE WANNA GO TO THE CAPITOL AND VISIT UT AUSTIN AS WELL. SO ENSURING THAT IT'S ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE IN SAN ANTONIO, OF COURSE IS IDEAL AND THE GOAL. UM, SO WITH THE, THE BUSES THAT YOU ARE, UH, POTENTIALLY GOING TO PURCHASE, WILL THEY HAVE WIFI AND RESTROOMS? AND I ASK BECAUSE CURRENTLY AMTRAK AND MEGA BUSS HAVE OFFER WIFI AND RESTROOMS TO COMMUTE FROM SAN ANTONIO TO AUSTIN. SO WILL, WILL IT INCLUDE THOSE AMENITIES AS WELL OF OF COURSE. WE ALREADY HAVE THE BUSES, SO WE'RE NOT PURCHASING THE BUSES. OKAY. BUT THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE BUSES DO NOT HAVE RESTROOMS. AND THAT'S WHY EVERY STOP ALONG THE WAY, IT'S CRITICAL. THEY DO HAVE RESTROOM FACILITIES, UH, THEY CAN BE EQUIPPED WITH WIFI. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND, UM, DID Y'ALL LOOK AT THE COST OF AMTRAK? AND I KNOW AMTRAK ONLY FUNCTIONS AT 8:00 AM IN THE MORNING, ONE ROUTE THERE AND BACK, SO OF COURSE THAT'S NOT ACCESSIBLE TIME-WISE. UM, BUT MEGA BUSS IS PRETTY FREQUENT. HAS RESTROOMS AND WIFI, UM, DID Y'ALL EXAMINE HOW THEY FUNCTION AND WHAT IN COMPARISON TO, UH, AMTRAK? ONE REASON IS BECAUSE ITS REPUTATION IS SO POOR AND, UH, THAT SINCE IT DOES NOT HAVE EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE RAIL, IT SOMETIMES IS A VERY DELAYED TRACK. I MEAN, SOMETIMES IT'S EIGHT HOURS FROM HERE TO DALLAS-FORT WORTH. SO WE DID NOT DO THAT COMPARISON. LOOKING AT THE PRIVATE VEHICLES, OUR FOCUS WAS REALLY ON [00:30:01] ENSURING THAT WE HAD A PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM AVAILABLE, NOT JUST THE PRIVATE ONES. SO WE DID NOT DO THAT COMPARISON, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE MODELING. MM-HMM. ONCE WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH VIA AND PRODUCING THE MODELING TO SEE WHAT WOULD BE BEST. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND YEAH, DALLAS, I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT EIGHT HOURS, SO THAT MAKES SENSE WHY IT WOULD TAKE THAT LONG FROM HERE TO THERE. BUT I, I WAS THINKING OF AUSTIN, RIGHT? YEAH. IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SAME ROUTE FROM SAN ANTONIO TO AUSTIN. UH, BUT THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. AND AGAIN, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY EXPLORE, UM, LOOKING AT , THE TRANSIT CENTER AND DISTRICT. I BELIEVE IT'S DISTRICT FOUR, UM, TO POTENTIALLY EXPAND AND GET SOME FOLKS TO AUSTIN AS WELL. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. UH, JUST REAL QUICK, THE, UH, THE VIA ROUTES THAT WOULD EXTEND TO THE, TO RANDOLPH, IS THAT INCLUDED IN THE, ARE THEY INCLUDED IN THE FEE TO RIDE THE YES MA'AM. IT WOULD BE IN THAT 10 DATE PASS WOULD GET YOU THERE. OKAY. OKAY. UM, COUNCIL FOR OUR PILOT. FOR OUR PILOT. FOR THE PILOT. OKAY. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN, UH, PERRY. AND, AND I WOULD SAY I ANTICIPATE EVENTUALLY BEING LIKE, BECAUSE I DID IN A FORMER LIFE, I WAS UP IN THE NORTHEAST A LOT WHERE YOU CAN BUY YOUR WEEK PASS OR YOUR MONTH PASS AND JUST BE OPEN-ENDED. I ANTICIPATE THAT WOULD BE THE NEXT STEP AFTER THE PILOT. OH, THANK YOU MR. SECRETARY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND DIANE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS, UH, PRESENTATION. I'D LIKE TO ROLL IT BACK A LITTLE BIT FOR OUR VIEWING PUBLIC. YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION HAS ALWAYS BEEN WHY CAN'T WE GET RAIL BETWEEN AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YES, THIS, THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, BUT YOU'RE STILL DEALING WITH THE ROADS AND WHICH GET CONGESTED VERY QUICKLY AND LAST FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. SO COULD YOU GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THIS, UH, RAIL? WHY, WHY WE CAN'T GET THAT? I'D VERY HAPPY BE TOO. UH, 'CAUSE I DID SERVE ON THE LONE STAR BOARD FOR A WHILE. UH, YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT THE CURRENT RAIL LINES ARE OWNED BY UP, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THE TRAFFIC AND THE TRADE COMING FROM MEXICO, GOING UP THAT ROUTE, UH, THEY, THEY TAKE PRECEDENT. AND SO WE WOULD BE ON THE SIDE EVERY TIME A TRAIN CAME, COMES BY. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES Y'ALL HAVE BEEN STOPPED AT THE RAIL CROSSINGS IN SAN ANTONIO NOW, BUT I COUNTED 107 CARS LAST WEEK. UH, AND SO YOU WOULD BE BYPASSED ON THAT RAIL QUITE A BIT AND UP HAS NOT YET GRANTED OPINION. I KNOW WHEN TOYOTA LOCATED HERE IN 2003, WHEN WE WERE WORKING ON THAT ENDEAVOR AT THE, AT THAT TIME, THE COST OF RAIL WAS A MILLION DOLLARS A MILE. SO THAT'S OVER 20 YEARS AGO. SO IT'S ONLY GONE UP SINCE THEN. UH, THERE ARE MANY, MANY, UH, IN THE B I L GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR RAIL. AND I KNOW THERE ARE GROUPS LOOKING AT WORKING WITH AMTRAK, PERHAPS ENCOURAGING TDOT TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR THAT. 'CAUSE IT'S REALLY TXDOT THAT NEEDS TO TAKE THAT FIRST STEP FOR THOSE FUNDINGS. SO I KNOW THERE'S DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY, BUT THIS COULD START RIGHT AWAY WITHOUT HAVING TO BUILD THE RAIL LINE. SO IT WAS A DESIRE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE OPTIONS AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY. WHEREAS THE RAIL, AND BELIEVE ME, I'M AN ADVOCATE. I I, MY PRIMARY BUSINESS WAS ON THE EAST COAST FOR SEVEN YEARS, SO I WAS ON AMTRAK ALL THE TIME. I AM A HUGE FAN OF AMTRAK AS IT EXISTS IN THE NORTHEAST, BUT AS IT EXISTS HERE IS A DIFFERENT STORY. SO I THINK, UH, BEING ABLE TO HAVE AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION, IMPERFECT, THOUGH IT MAY BE, UH, TO PROVIDE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WHILE THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF HAVING RAIL, 'CAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS NECESSARY AND I THINK IT HAS TO HAPPEN. UH, BUT THAT WILL BE A MUCH LONGER TERM PROJECT, BOTH IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION AND THE AVAILABLE FUNDING. GREAT. GREAT. THANKS FOR THAT EXPLANATION. JUST TO SET THE STAGE FOR THIS, UM, THE, UM, I TOO AM INTERESTED IN THE, THE COST AND WHAT THE BROAD SCOPE THAT YOU HAVE AND THE COST AGAINST THAT. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN WHAT IS GOING TO THE, THE, UM, THE COST TO THE DIFFERENT CENTERS OR CITIES AND COUNTIES VERSUS THE REVENUE THAT WOULD COME INTO THIS? SO WHAT IS THAT DIFFERENTIAL? UH, AND I'M NOT CERTAIN I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION. THE WAY WE ESTABLISHED A BALLPARK TARGET FOR FUNDING WAS BASED ON POPULATION AND JUST A PROPORTIONAL POPULATION. WE'RE REALLY NOT LOOKING AT THE REVENUE BECAUSE WE ARE HOPING THE FIRST TWO YEARS TO HAVE THE FUNDING PROVIDED FOR THE PILOT, AND THEN YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE YOUR MODELING AVAILABLE. YOU'D HAVE REAL FACTS TO DEVELOP AND THE REAL COST TO DEVELOP THE LONG-TERM, UH, COST OF IT. SO THE, THE COST OF IT IS NOT EVEN ENVISIONED THAT THIS WOULD COME CLOSE TO BEING SUSTAINABLE. IT IS TO BE, HAVE THE PILOT HAVE FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THE [00:35:01] PILOT AND THEN HAVE A, AS WE PROPOSED A $10 PASS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE BUY-IN, TO HAVE PEOPLE TRY IT TO, UH, DEVELOP A RIDERSHIP. OKAY. SO, UH, SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS GETTING AT. THE $10 THAT YOU'RE SAYING RIGHT NOW REALLY DOESN'T FOR HELP FOR THIS, BUT HE'S EVEN BEGINNING TO REPRESENT THAT. IT IS, UH, I KNOW WHEN ART STARTED OUR FIXED ROUTE IN ATASCOSA, WE DID IT FREE FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS. I THINK EVERY ROUTE WHEN IT STARTED LAUNCHES WITH EITHER A REDUCED PRICE, A FREE ROUTE OR SOMETHING IN ORDER TO, UH, ESTABLISH YOUR RIDERSHIP. SO NO $10 DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO TOUCH IT. AND WE HAVE NOT EVEN DONE THE ESTIMATES OF WHAT THE REAL COST WOULD, WOULD DO. I THINK YOU CAN LOOK AT THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS NOW AND AT LEAST GET A BALLPARK FIGURE. AND I DON'T HAVE THOSE DOLLARS AVAILABLE FOR YOU. OKAY. YEAH, I, I WAS JUST, THAT WAS THE NEXT QUESTION. MM-HMM. , WELL, HOW MUCH ARE THE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES CHARGING FOR THAT BUS TRIP? AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY, WHERE THEIR STOPS ARE. I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE AND HOW SUCCESSFUL THEY'VE BEEN MM-HMM. , UH, COMPARED TO WHAT THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WOULD BE. UM, JUST, JUST TO GET A FEEL FOR THAT. SO WE'D REALLY LIKE TO GET THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. AND I, AND YOU KNOW, WE, I GUESS TEXAS TRIED TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THIS CONGESTION ON 35, ESPECIALLY THE TRUCK TRAFFIC WITH THAT. WHICH TOLLWAY WAS IT THAT THEY ESTABLISHED THAT 1 31 THAT WAS PUSHED A LITTLE BIT WEST, ALTHOUGH THEIR, UH, TRAFFIC IS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING NOW. IN FACT, THE LAST I HEARD AT A MEETING A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THEY'RE ALMOST AT, AT, AT PEAK TIMES APPROACHING CAPACITY. UH, SO IT'S TAKEN A VERY LONG TIME. UH, BUT THEY REALLY ARE, IT IS CATCHING ON AND I THINK WE'LL BE MUCH MORE IN DEMAND AS THE CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES ON 35, PARTICULARLY WITH AUSTIN'S DOWNTOWN CONSTRUCTION. YEAH. OKAY. AND THEN WHAT WERE THE COMMUTE TIMES? I KNOW YOU HAVE, UH, THE LINES WHERE THEY WOULD, THE BUS WOULD BE RUNNING EVERY 90 MINUTES AND WE ESTIMATE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE OF AUSTIN, UH, TO, UH, RANDOLPH WOULD BE ABOUT 90 MINUTES, 90 MINUTES, INCLUDING THE STOPS IN NEW BRAUNFELS SAN SAN MARCOS. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT, GREAT. WELL, UM, GOOD LUCK WITH THIS AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE ABOUT THIS IN THE FUTURE AND, AND, UM, SEEING WHAT WE CAN, WE CAN OFFER FOR THAT. UM, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE MORE QUESTIONS AS, AS TIME GOES ON WITH THIS AS WELL. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN KERRY, I HAVE ANOTHER QUICK QUESTION. YOU REMINDED ME WHEN YOU MENTIONED TOYOTA, DIDN'T THE LEGISLATURE BACK THEN CREATE A RAIL DISTRICT? UM, I'M CURIOUS IF THAT WELL, THE LEGISLATURE IN THE NINETIES CREATED THE LONE STAR RAIL DISTRICT, AND THAT WAS WHAT WAS CREATED. THERE WAS NO RAIL DISTRICT, AS I RECALL, SUPPORTING TOYOTA. UM, THERE WAS REALLY WORKING WITH, WITH, UH, PORT SAN ANTONIO A GREAT DEAL IN THE EXISTING RAIL. 'CAUSE WE HAD TO CONNECT THE EXACT, UH, THE EXISTING RAIL TO THE TOYOTA PLANT. OKAY. I THOUGHT THERE WAS A, A A, AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE A RAIL DISTRICT. AND, UM, SO, BUT THEN WE ENDED UP BEING ABLE TO USE THE EXISTING RAIL. I'M JUST CURIOUS. I'M GETTING, I'M NOT THAT I RECALL, BUT I DON'T, I WASN'T INVOLVED IN THAT PART. I FUNDED THE TRAINING FOR TOYOTA. SO THE TRAINING PART I CAN ADDRESS AT LEAST THE REAL PIECE. I, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE DETAIL ON THAT. WAIT, WE CAN LOOK INTO IT. I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED IN THE BEGINNING OF YOUR PRESENT PRESENTATION, THIS IS A FIRST STEP, HOPEFULLY. UM, YOU KNOW, TO COUNCILMAN'S POINT, THIS IS GONNA LEAD US TO A, A RAIL, A LIGHT RAIL. UH, I THOUGHT THERE WAS ALREADY A, A MECHANISM IN PLACE BETWEEN SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN, BUT, UM, I THINK SECRETARY MAYBE WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING. UM, THE RAIL DISTRICT FOR TOYOTA, AS I RECALL, WAS TO, TO CREATE COMPETITION BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, ONLY ONE OF THE RAILROADS, BURLINGTON NORTHERN, THE UNION PACIFIC, SERVED TOYOTA AND THEIR RATES WERE VERY, VERY HIGH. AND TOYOTA DIDN'T WANT TO PAY THOSE RATES. SO THE COUNTY TOOK THE LEAD IN CREATING A RAIL DISTRICT TO ALLOW THE OTHER RAIL ER, UH, UH, RAILROAD TO SERVE TOYOTA. AND WHEN THEY DID THAT, UH, THE RAILROAD THAT WAS SERVING DROPPED THEIR RATES. THEY DIDN'T WANT THE COMPETITION, THEY DROPPED THEIR RATES. SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF A RAIL DISTRICT RELATED TO TOYOTA. OKAY. YEAH. UM, JUST, I'M HOPING WE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT, THOSE FIRST STEPS FROM, FROM THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS. IT DOESN'T APPLY IN THIS CASE, IT'S, IT WAS PRETTY WELL RESTRICTED TO OH, OKAY. THE CONNECTIONS THAT WOULD GET IT TO THE TOYOTA SITE. GOT IT. OKAY. UNDERSTOOD. AND IT WAS ALL FREIGHT. THANK YOU. THAT'S WHY I PACED TO HAVE SECRETARIES CISNEROS IN THE ROOM SOMETIMES . AND, AND I WILL SAY THE LONE STAR RAIL DISTRICT STILL EXISTS. IT'S JUST NOT FUNCTIONING. OKAY. THE RAIL DISTRICT WAS CREATED. SO THERE IS SOMETHING TO ACTIVATE WAS CREATED DOWN THE LINE THEN MAYBE. OKAY. [00:40:01] UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL RIGHT? YES, MA'AM. WE SHOULD HEAR. GREAT. THANK YOU. UM, WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU, DIANE. UH, SECRETARY CTOS. I KNOW YOU'RE THERE SOMEWHERE. UH, YOU'RE NOT IN MY FIELD OF VIEW, BUT, UH, GOOD, GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US. UM, DIANE, I'M ABSOLUTELY THRILLED ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL. UM, I THINK IT IS NEEDED, I THINK, UH, FOR SAFETY PURPOSES, FOR CONVENIENCE PURPOSES. AND IT'S NEEDED SOONER THAN LATER. OF COURSE, IT WAS NEEDED, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WERE ON THE LONE STAR, UH, BOARD. UH, AND I WANT IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL. SO, UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW, HOW WE CAN MAKE IT, UH, SUCCEED. UM, I MEAN, IT'S LESS THAN A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR FOR OPERATIONAL SERVICES, UH, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, ENTIRELY REASONABLE. AND, UH, I THINK IN WHEN YOU, WELL, I'LL, I'LL HOLD THAT COMMENT FOR LATER, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAYBE DO, LIKE YOU SAID, A PILOT TWO YEARS AND DURING THAT TIME, FIND A WAY TO SUSTAIN IT, UH, PERMANENTLY OR ON A LONGER TERM BASIS. UM, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO RECOVER THE FULL COST FROM FAIR, AND THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PUBLIC TRANSIT IS. UM, SO I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. FIRST. ARE THERE ANY FUNDING COMMITMENTS AT THIS POINT? I'M SORRY? ARE THERE ANY FUNDING? I COULDN'T COMMITMENT COMMITMENTS. OH, COMMITMENTS. UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NO, WE HAVE A LOT OF INTEREST. UH, CAMPO IS VERY INTERESTED AND THE MAYOR OF SAN MARCOS IS VERY COMMITTED TO IT. AND HER POSITION ON CAMPO AND, UH, COUNCIL WOMAN'S KITCHENS PO IT ALSO SERVES ON CAMPO, AND THEY'RE BOTH VERY, VERY INTERESTED AND VERY COMMITTED TO IT. UH, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN CONVERSATIONS WITH MAYOR ADLER, UH, AND THE MAYOR, UH, RIGHT NOW SAN MARCOS IS ALREADY PAYING SIGNIFICANT FUNDS FOR THAT SAN MARCOS TO AUSTIN, SO IT WOULD REALLY BE IN THEIR INTEREST TO DO IT. NEW BRAUNFELS. WE HAVE MET WITH BOTH THE COUNTY AND WITH THE CITY, AND AS THE MAYOR SAID, HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE THE ONE KEEPING IT FROM HAPPENING, BUT HE ALSO DOESN'T WANT TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO PUT THE MONEY UP. SO I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE JUST HOLDING AND REALLY WAITING TO SEE WHAT MIGHT BECOME AVAILABLE FROM, UH, THE DIFFERENT INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS. OKAY. UM, GREAT. WE CAN GO AHEAD UP. UM, WE HAVE NOT, DON'T HAVE COMMITMENTS AT THIS POINT, BUT WE'RE BEFORE A NUMBER OF BODIES, AND FRANKLY, WE'RE HERE TODAY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT IT EXISTS SO YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT IT IN SOME OTHER WAY, BUT ALSO SO THAT YOU CAN KEEP AN EYE ON POSSIBILITIES. THE, THERE THERE'S MORE, UH, CAPITAL FUNDING COMING INTO THE CITY THAN I CAN EVER REMEMBER BECAUSE OF THE $550 MILLION OR BILLION DOLLAR, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE BILL. AND SO WE'RE BASICALLY WANTING THIS COMMITTEE THAT HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRANSPORTATION TO BE AWARE, BUT ALSO TO BE, UH, ON ALERT THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, WE WANNA GET THIS FUNDED. LET ME JUST SAY, I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE, AND ONE OF MY PRINCIPLE REASONS FOR BEING INVOLVED IN THIS IS THAT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR SAN ANTONIO AND ITS ECONOMY. UH, AUSTIN IS THE FASTEST GROWING CITY IN AMERICA ECONOMICALLY. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED IN RECENT MONTHS OR YEARS BETWEEN TESLA AND ORACLE AND AMAZON AND A BOOMING DOWNTOWN AND A THRIVING INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WE'RE GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND IF WE DON'T FIGURE OUT A WAY TO RELATE TO ALL OF THOSE POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE AUSTIN'S ECONOMY. SO, UH, I THINK THE ERA WHERE WE THINK OF THEM AS THE LITTLE BROTHER UP THERE THAT DOESN'T QUITE REACH OUR, I'VE SEEN PROJECTIONS WHERE AUSTIN'S METRO IS LARGER THAN SAN ANTONIO. THE CITY WON'T CATCH UP, BUT THE METRO WILL. AND, AND, UH, IT, IT'S A NATIONAL, IT'S A NATIONAL PHENOMENON, RIGHT? IT'S IN OUR INTEREST. WE HAVE OUR OWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN THE PORT AND TOYOTA AND CYBERSECURITY AND THE BACK OFFICE OPERATIONS, ET CETERA. BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE NEED TO BE DOING, UH, UH, TO, TO, TO MAKE THIS REALLY A REGION THAT HAS THAT KIND OF ECONOMIC POWER. AND WE DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION LINKAGES RIGHT NOW. I MEAN, CAN YOU IMAGINE A METRO THAT SCALE WITH NO TRANSPORTATION LINKAGES OTHER THAN YOUR OWN, YOUR OWN TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY? THAT WOULD BE A, THAT WOULD BE A SERIOUS OVERSIGHT. AND FRANKLY, IT'S, [00:45:01] IT WOULD BE A TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT. SO I WOULD SAY, UM, IF I MAY BE SO PRESUMPTUOUS, THIS COMMITTEE NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND PUSHING FOR WAYS TO FIND THE FUNDING WE NEED HELP. TERRY, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU THAT, UH, TRANSIT CONNECTING US TO AUSTIN SHOULD BE PART OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY. AND THAT IT'S A KEY PIECE THAT'S, THAT'S MISSING. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, COUPLE, YOU CAN'T NAME ANOTHER PLACE IN AMERICA WHERE THERE'S A CITY THAT'S RANKED NUMBER SEVEN AND A CITY THAT'S RANKED EFFECTIVELY 10TH THIS CLOSE. NOT WASHINGTON BALTIMORE, NOT LOS ANGELES, SAN DIEGO. WHEN YOU PUT ALL THE FACTORS TOGETHER, THE SIZING OF THOSE TWO PLACES, THE RATE OF GROWTH OF THOSE TWO PLACES AND THE PROXIMITY OF THOSE TWO PLACES, OTHER PLACES MAY EXIST THAT ARE CLOSE, LIKE THE ONES THAT I MENTIONED, BUT THEY, UM, DEALT WITH SOME TRANSPORTATION LINKAGES A LONG TIME AGO. AND IF THEY DIDN'T, THEY'RE PAYING THE PRICE FOR IT. PEOPLE WHEN THEY DRIVE FROM LOS ANGELES TO SAN DIEGO HAVE TO DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO ALLOCATE TWO HOURS OR FOUR HOURS. I MEAN, IT LITERALLY IS A FACTOR. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW. AND WE'RE ABOUT TO GET TO THAT POINT ON 30, BUT RELYING ON 35 ALONE BY ITSELF. SO WE GOTTA START THE BALL ROLLING. HMM. I SAID, I THINK WE'RE ALREADY THERE. YEAH. A BALL ROLLING. AND THIS IS JUST A SMALL STEP, BUT NOBODY ELSE IS DOING ANYTHING, SO YOU CAN'T KNOCK A SMALL STEP WHEN NOBODY'S TAKING ANY, ANY, ANY SIGNIFICANT STEP. SO, SO I, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO GET STARTED DOWN THE ROAD. WE'VE GOT ONE 30 TO THE EAST. WE'VE GOT 35 GOING UP THE CENTER. WE'VE GOT 2 81 THE OTHER WAY. NO RAIL INSIGHT NOW. OKAY. BUT IT'LL HAVE TO HAPPEN AT SOME POINT. WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF A SOLUTION, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, SOME KIND OF PUBLIC OPTION. WHEN I WAS, UH, CHAIRING CONNECT SA, WE DID LIKE 75 PRESENTATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY NOW. AND, AND, AND COUNCILMAN PERRY, YOU, YOU SPONSORED ONE UP IN THE NORTHEAST. UM, NEVER DID WE HAVE ONE THAT THE QUESTION DIDN'T COME UP. WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT CONNECTING AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE TIME? YEAH. UM, THANK YOU, UH, SECRETARY. UM, SO YOU BRING UP A GREAT POINT ABOUT RELIABILITY OF TRAVEL TIME. UM, DIANE, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ANY, I I KNOW YOU SAID EVENTUALLY WE COULD HAVE A DEDICATED LANE, UH, BUT DO YOU KNOW IF THERE'S ANY INTEREST FROM TDOT IN, UH, PROVIDING THAT OR PROVIDING SOME LEVEL OF DEDICATED LANE DURING THE PILOT OR DURING A PILOT PERIOD? UH, NOT FROM TDOT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT SENATOR MENENDEZ IS VERY INTERESTED IN ATTEMPTING TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT PASSED A COUPLE OF SESSIONS AGO, UH, THAT WOULD ALLOW EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND PUBLIC TRANSIT TO USE THE SHOULDER OF 35. UH, AND HE MENTIONED THAT HE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN DOING THAT BECAUSE THE SAME WAY 35 BACKS UP FOR CARS, IT BACKS UP FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES. AND, UH, WHERE THERE'S HOPE, UH, UNDER GOVERNOR PERRY, APPARENTLY, AND THAT WAS BEFORE I DID TRANSPORTATION, HE VETOED THAT BILL. BUT HOPEFULLY IN WORKING WITH TXDOT AND, UH, EXPRESSING THE LIMITED MEANS FOR EMERGENCY AND PUBLIC TRANSIT, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GAIN SUPPORT, UH, FOR THIS LEGISLATION. GREAT. UM, WITHOUT THAT, THE SUCCESS OF THIS APPROACH WILL BE LIMITED, RIGHT? BECAUSE, UM, IT WILL ONLY GO AS FAST AS, AS A CAR AND BE AS RELIABLE AS A CAR ON THAT. UM, THERE WILL BE SOME ADVANTAGES, BUT IT WILL BE LIMITED. UH, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS, UM, YOU SAID YOU BASE THE COST, UM, ON POPULATION PROPORTIONALLY. CAN YOU TELL ME, UM, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY YET TO STUDY, UH, POTENTIAL ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS FOR, FOR THE TRAVELERS? WE HAVE NOT DONE THE MODELING THAT THAT WOULD REQUIRE. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REACHING OUT TO T T I TO SEE IF THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT OR IF THEY HAVE ANY BENCHMARKING THAT THEY COULD EXPAND UPON. OKAY. UM, I WOULD, UM, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT, WHAT THEY COME UP WITH. UM, ONE THING THAT GIVES ME PAUSE ABOUT THE CURRENT PROPOSAL IS, UM, YOU'VE GOT A GREAT LOCATION IN AUSTIN. UM, YOU'RE GOING TO BE, WHERE IS THAT? BY THE CONVENTION CENTER? IT'S, UH, AN EXTREMELY WALKABLE PLACE THERE AND THERE ARE OTHER, UM, I GUESS JOB CENTERS AROUND IT. SAN ANTONIO IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM AUSTIN IN THAT OUR JOB CENTERS ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE, THE HUGE METRO AREA. AND WE'VE GOT 13 RANDOLPH IS ONE OF THEM. UM, SO I THINK IT WOULD [00:50:01] BE PRUDENT TO CONSIDER ADDING AT LEAST ONE OR MORE TWO STOPS. UM, BECAUSE LET'S, LET'S, UH, IF YOU DON'T WORK AT RANDOLPH, IT MIGHT NOT BE WORTH YOUR TIME TO DO THE TRANSFER ON, ON VIA, IN ADDITION, IT'S NOT A WALKABLE AREA, VERY WALKABLE AREA, RIGHT. UM, SO, UH, I THINK, UM, WHAT WE FIND, WELL, YOU KNOW, I WORKED IN TRANSIT IS THAT, UH, WHY AM I GONNA DRIVE TO THE STONE OAK PARKING LOT IF, UM, AND THEN GET OFF ON A BUS? AND IT'S GONNA TAKE ME ALL THIS TIME. IF I'M ALREADY IN MY CAR GOING TO THE STONE OAK PARKING LOT, UM, I MIGHT AS WELL JUST DRIVE ALL THE WAY IN TO, TO WHEREVER I'M GOING. SO FOR THE SAKE OF CON OF CONVENIENCE, I WOULD, UM, I WOULD CONSIDER, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL SPOTS AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, AT SOME OF THE OTHER JOB CENTERS IN SAN ANTONIO THAT ARE ALSO MORE WALKABLE. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I APPRECIATE THAT INSIGHT AND WE'LL CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT. UH, DIANE, LET ME JUST SAY A WORD COUNCILWOMAN. I I, I GET IT. AND, UH, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO RAISED A SIMILAR POINT. UM, BUT I THINK FOR SOMETHING THIS LIMITED, JUST TWO BUSES, IF YOU WANT TO, IF YOU WANT TO GET HOLD TO SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT, THAT REASONABLE 90 MINUTE TIMEFRAME, THEN YOU GOTTA GET TO, YOU GOTTA GET IT TO AND FROM PLACES THAT YOU CAN REACH IN 90 MINUTES WITH ONLY TWO BUSES TO THEN ADD A DOWNTOWN OR A PORT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU JUST, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK. YOU END UP WITH A TWO AND A HALF HOUR RIDE, YOU KNOW? SO IT'S JUST THE MATHEMATICS OF IT. I THINK AS A FIRST STEP, JUST TO PROVE THE CONCEPT, WE SHOULD TRY TO HOLD IT TO A DIRECT ROUTE. NOW IF THIS WORKS, THEN THE NEXT STEP IS WE'LL ADD MORE THAT HA THAT HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION. IT BYPASSES RANDOLPH AND IT GOES TO BROOK CITY BASE, OR IT BYPASSES RANDOLPH AND IT GOES TO THE PORT OR SOMETHING. BUT, AND I BELIEVE THE TIME WILL COME AND WE WILL HAVE THAT, WE WILL NEED THAT. RIGHT. UH, BUT I THINK IN THIS FIRST, THIS IS SUCH A PIMPLE, THIS IS SUCH A TINY, TINY, YOU KNOW, STEP, UH, IN WHERE WE NEED TO BE GOING, THAT WE NEED TO, TO PROVE THE CONCEPT IN, IN THE MOST DIRECT MANNER POSSIBLE. AND, AND THE BEAUTY OF RANDOLPH IS THAT IT DOES CONNECT, UH, AND, AND WE CAN MAKE IT CONNECT. I MEAN, WE COULD WORK WITH VIA TO MAKE SURE THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION FROM THE SASA MOTA SITE DIRECTLY TO THE RANDOLPH SITE. IF THE, IF THE, IF THE USAGE PROVES THAT THAT'S, UH, VALID. UM, THERE'S NO QUESTION. BUT THAT PEOPLE ARE NOW LOOKING MORE AND MORE SAN ANTONIANS ARE WORKING IN AUSTIN, TOYOTA, EVERYTHING SENSE TOYOTA LOVES. I'M GOING, I'M GOING TO COUNTER THAT, TERRY, IF I, IF I MAY. YEAH. SO IF I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO, MAYBE IT TAKES ME 90 MINUTES TO GET TO RANDOLPH, BUT HOW MUCH MORE TIME IS IT GOING TO TAKE ME ON THE BUS TO GET THERE? A BUS THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAVE LIMITED STOPS, RIGHT? IT'S A REGULAR VIA ROUTE THAT'S GONNA HAVE MANY, MANY STOPS. NO, NO, NO. SO WE WOULD BUILD DIRECT ROUTES THAT WE WOULD ADD AS AN APPENDAGE TO THIS CONCEPT. A DIRECT DOWNTOWN TO RANDOLPH, NO STOPS, GET ON THE, GET ON THE FREEWAY RIGHT HERE AT, AT AT, AT, UM, AT HEMISPHERE. AND THEN RIGHT OUT, UH, RIGHT OUT, THAT KIND OF THING. UM, THERE ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF COURSE. RIGHT. AND, AND THE COMMITMENT FROM, THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I SAID I THINK THAT'S A, A FUTURE STEP, RIGHT? I WOULD JUST SAY THAT IF WE WANT TO SEE SUCCESS IN THE PILOT PERIOD, WE ARE GOING TO BE LIMITING OURSELF TO THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AT RANDOLPH OR WHO WORK RIGHT AROUND RANDOLPH. THAT'S GONNA BE OUR, OUR UNIVERSE FOR, FOR SUCCESS. IT'S NOT, WE'RE NOT REALLY, UM, OPENING IT UP TO PEOPLE WHO WORK OR ARE GOING TO OTHER LOCATIONS VERY MUCH MAYBE. BUT I MEAN, I THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CORE CITY THAT WOULD DRIVE THEMSELVES TO RANDOLPH, LEAVE THEIR CAR THERE IN A PARK AND RIDE THE WAY PEOPLE DO IN THE EAST WHEN THEY TAKE THE TRAIN. THAT THAT'S THE, THAT WOULD BE THE CONCEPT. NO, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. THAT'S A GOOD POINT FOR SAN ANTONIANS. YES. UM, FOR OTHERS COMING TO SAN ANTONIO, I'M, UM, IT MIGHT NOT, IT MIGHT NOT BE AS EASY. YEAH. SO, UM, THANK YOU. WELL, UH, THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS. I THINK THIS IS REALLY EXCITING. UM, DIANE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED A, A MARKETING BUDGET. I WOULD ADD THAT TO YOUR, TO YOUR OPERATIONAL ESTIMATE TOO. UM, BUT LET'S TALK, I WANNA SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE THIS, UH, SUCCESSFUL. THANKS VERY MUCH. AND AGAIN, I HAVE TO REALLY THANK VIA, 'CAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER AND MARKETING. WE WOULD USE THEIR RESOURCES FOR THE MARKETING [00:55:01] 'CAUSE THEY HAVE SUCH EXPERTISE IN THAT ARRAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL. UM, IN MY, IN MY REMARKS I MENTIONED, UM, MAYBE JUST LIKE, UH, AND I THINK WE, A NUMBER OF US WOULD LIKE TO SEE AN ASSURANCE THAT THIS PILOT GOES WELL, THAT WE WILL EXTEND. I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE SECRETARY WAS SAYING, BUT I, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO, UM, JUST KEEP THAT KIND OF TOP OF MIND AS HIS PILOT IS GOING ON, I THINK. YES, MA'AM. THAT'S, AND WE'LL GET WITH VIA, YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND, UH, COUNCILMAN PERRY? YEAH, THANK YOU MA'AM. JUST A COUPLE OF FOLLOW UP COMMENTS, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE COMMENTS ABOUT TDOT. THERE ARE A MAJOR PLAYER IN THIS THING. MM-HMM. , IN FACT, OUR, OUR, UM, UM, I 35 PROJECT, THE ELEVATED LANES DO INCLUDE AN H O V LANE GOING IN EACH DIRECTION AS WELL. SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THIS TYPE OF, UH, OF OPPORTUNITY. UM, AS WELL AS, UH, MR. SECRETARY, I APPRECIATE THAT. I, I THINK WE, YEAH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON RIGHT NOW AND THEN IN THE FUTURE SEE ABOUT EXPANDING IT TO THOSE DIFFERENT NODES AROUND SAN ANTONIO THAT, UH, WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, INCREASED RIDERSHIP ON THIS, ON THIS, UH, OPPORTUNITY. AND SPEAKING OF WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, JEFF ON THE TXDOT AND THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION ON, UM, UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT SHOULDER EXPANSION. NOW THAT SOUNDS VERY INTER, IS THAT ON OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THROUGH THE I G R? WE PRESENT OUR DRAFT AGENDA TO YOU AT THE NEXT I G R MEETING IN ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF. BUT AS I HEARD THAT BROUGHT UP, I TEXTED THE TEAM AND ASKED THEM TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE SENATOR AND, AND CONNECT AND GET SOME INFORMATION ON THAT. GREAT. YEAH, LET'S ADD, LET'S ADD THAT TO THE LIST IF IT'S NOT ON THE LIST ALREADY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT. APPRECIATE THAT. UM, AND THAT'S IT. THANK YOU MA'AM. THANK YOU MA'AM. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN PERRY. COUNCILWOMAN M CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, NO DOUBT I DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL. UH, MY QUESTION IS, DID, WAS CENTRO CONSIDERED RIGHT? GIVEN THAT FROM EVERY PIECE OF THE CITY YOU CAN TAKE TYPICALLY ONE BUS TO GET TO CENTRO. UM, WHY NOT CENTRO TO PICK UP FOLKS AND THEN GO STRAIGHT TO SAN MARCO AND BROS? IT WAS STRICTLY THE INTEREST OF TIME TRYING TO KEEP IT AS DIRECT AS POSSIBLE THAT HAD ADEQUATE PARKING. 'CAUSE LOOKING AT THE PEOPLE FROM STONE OAK PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO DOWNTOWN TO THEN GO BACK OUT. SO IT WAS STRICTLY A FIRST DRAFT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME LOOKING AT WHERE WE COULD HAVE THE BEST CONNECTIVITY THAT WAS TRUE AT THE AUSTIN END. AND THAT WAS THE PHILOSOPHY THAT WAS, UH, RESPONSIBLE FOR RANDOLPH. THANK YOU. AND, AND, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE RIGHT, WE'RE KEEPING IN MIND, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE SEEN, UH, DIP THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION CONVERSATIONS, IS IT'S THE CHOICE WRITER, RIGHT? AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INCLUDE THOSE WHERE IT'S NOT A CHOICE, RIGHT? TO TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. UM, SO MY HOPE IS THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY CONSIDER CENTRO, RIGHT? SO THAT WAY, UM, THOSE WHO RELY ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ALSO HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO THESE GREAT RESOURCES. AND, UH, ANOTHER COMMENT WOULD BE, UH, AND OF COURSE, RIGHT, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A PILOT AND OPPORTUNITY TO TEASE OUT ALL THOSE KINKS AND SEE WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE. UM, BUT MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO EXPLORE POTENTIALLY FOUR BUSES. UM, I RELIED ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR ROUGHLY, I JUST GOT MY DRIVER'S LICENSE LAST YEAR, RIGHT? SO I KNOW THE INS AND OUTS OF VIA AND HOW TO GET TO AND FROM ANYWHERE ON THE CITY USING ALL TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO FROM DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, TO 1604 WITH THE 93 OR THE 97, IT'S STANDING ROOM ONLY ON THOSE BUSES, RIGHT? SO I GUESS ONE OF MY CONCERNS AND WE'LL LEARN THROUGHOUT THE PILOT PROCESS IS, UM, IF WE'RE GOING FROM SAN ANTONIO TO AUSTIN, AND OF COURSE PEOPLE ARE BE GOING TO BE GETTING ON AND OFF, WILL THERE BE ENOUGH CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE THE RIDERSHIP? RIGHT? I ANTICIPATE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO, UM, RIDE THIS ROUTE. UM, SHOULD YOU SO LUCKY CAPACITY ISSUE. 'CAUSE I THINK MOST PEOPLE ANTICIPATE IT'S GONNA BE A HEAVY SAN ANTONIO NEW BRAUNFELS. MM-HMM. , NEW BRAUNFELS OR SAN MARCOS. AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE A SEGMENT THAT WILL DO THE ENTIRE ROUTE. OKAY? AND THE REASON WE DIDN'T DO FOUR IS BECAUSE, AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S A THREE YEAR WAIT MM-HMM. . AND IN ORDER TO KEEP THE COST DOWN, WE HAVE TWO BUSES THAT ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE AND WE CAN PUT ON THIS, THE ROAD RIGHT AWAY. SO WE HAVE TWO BUSES AVAILABLE LONG TERM. WE WOULD CERTAINLY NEED TO EXPAND THAT AND TO ADD THAT IN ORDER TO HAVE ALTERNATIVES. DIFFERENT START AND STOP AND, AND CONNECTING POINTS. YES, MA'AM. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT. AND A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE FOR THIS PILOT IS, UM, THERE'S NO ROOM, EVEN STANDING ROOM, RIGHT? SO THE NEXT PERSON WOULD HAVE TO WAIT 90 MINUTES IN NEW BRAUNFELS FOR THE NEXT BUS. AND WHAT IF IT'S AT CAPACITY, RIGHT? UH, HOW DO WE ACCOMMODATE THE RIDERSHIP? WHO'S WAITING TO GET ON A ROUTE? BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S APAC BUS. WE HAVE NOT ANTICIPATED THAT AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE NORMALLY IT TAKES 16 [01:00:01] MONTHS TO ESTABLISH THE ROUTE. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE VEHICLES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, I DO NOT BELIEVE ANYONE HAS ANTICIPATED IT BEING SO SUCCESSFUL THAT WE WOULD BE AT FULL CAPACITY. SO YOU RAISE SUCH A VERY GOOD POINT, AND WE WILL BE SURE AND TAKE THAT INTO OUR PLANNING ABILITY. YEAH. THANK YOU. AND I, I THINK WITH RANDOLPH, RIGHT, IT MAY MAY NOT BE AS PACKED, BUT IF IT WERE CENTRAL OR THE SOUTH SIDE, I THINK IT, IT WOULD, UM, UM, PROVIDE GREAT NUMBERS FOR THIS. AND IF I CAN ADD COUNCILWOMAN, I THINK OUR, OUR INITIAL TARGET AUDIENCE WAS TRYING TO GET PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENTLY DRIVING. 'CAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE IS IN YOUR AUTOMOBILE. SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THEIR AUTOMOBILE OUT OF THEIR CAR ONTO A BUS. AND THEN THE NEXT PHASE WOULD BE EXPANDING IT AS YOU SO ELOQUENTLY ELABORATED. YES. AND IT WOULD BE THE ONLY PUBLIC OPTION. 'CAUSE THERE IS MEGABUS, GREYHOUND, AND AMTRAK THAT CAN TAKE YOU TO FROM THERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MC CASTILLO, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIANE. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND ANSWERING SOME, UH, SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS. I KNOW WE'RE IN THE BEGINNING STAGES, BUT I DO APPRECIATE THE, YOUR, THE COMPLETENESS OF YOUR ANSWERS. AND, UM, AND SECRETARY CIS, OF COURSE. THANK YOU. THAT WAS, UM, AN ITEM FOR BRIEFING. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO, TO ITEM THREE, MADAME CLERK. ITEM ITEM THREE IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES PILOT PROGRAM AND THE RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION GRANT PROGRAM. MORNING CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBER, I AM REZI JOSE, E DIRECTOR, CITY ENGINEER FOR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. I AM HERE THIS MORNING TO PROVIDE YOU UPDATE ON TWO BIPARTISAN AND INFRASTRUCTURE LAW GRANT PROGRAMS, RECONNECTING COMMUNITY PILOT PROGRAM. AND THE OTHER ONE IS RAILROAD CRUSHING ELIMINATION GRANT PROGRAM. SINCE THE PASSAGE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, MANY CITY DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL PROJECT FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY RELEVANT TO THEIR PROGRAM THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE COORDINATION WITH OTHER PARTNER AGENCY. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, WE HAVE A DOZEN OR SO DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING WITH EACH OTHER TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD PROJECT SELECTED TO SUBMIT FOR THIS GRANT. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE BEEN ALSO WORKING WITH OTHER AGENCY, MAKE SURE OUR PROJECT IS NOT GOING TO COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER. WE HAVE WORKED WITH BAYER COUNTY. WE ARE METROPOLITANS SOUTH C P S, ENERGY, TECHSTAR, M P O, AND MANY OTHER AGENCY TO MAKING SURE WE HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROJECT TO SUBMIT FOR THE GRANT. WORKING TOGETHER, WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR PROJECT THAT FARTHER ADVANCED THE CITY EXISTING INITIATIVES SUCH AS S A TOMORROW, DIGITAL EQUITY, CLIMATE ACTION ADAPTATION PLAN AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT. FEDERAL LAW REQUIREMENT IS A INVEST PUBLIC DOLLAR EFFICIENCY BY AMERICA, AMERICAN CREATE GOOD PAYING OPPORTUNITY, BUILD RES RESILIENCE, INFRASTRUCTURE EQUITY, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY AND OTHER FACTOR MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY, AND MANY OTHER FACTOR. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CONNECTING COMMUNITY IS A BIPARTISAN AND INFRASTRUCTURE LAW. THE CONNECTING COMMUNITY PILOT PROGRAM IS FOR FIVE YEAR $1 BILLION PROGRAM. IN 2020 2, 190 5 MILLION IS AVAILABLE TO FUND PROJECT THAT RECONNECT COMMUNITY PREVIOUSLY CUT OFF FROM ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY BY HIGHWAYS AND OR RAIL LINE FUNDING MAY BE USED FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PLANNING AND CAPITAL PROJECT. TYPE OF THE PROJECT IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS FUNDING IS INCLUDE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE REMOVAL, PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AND OVERPASSES, LINEAR PARKS AND TRAILS, ROADWAY REDESIGN AND COMPLETE STREET CONVER CONVERSION. GRANT ALSO HAS SOME ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT, EQUITY, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, MOBILITY AND, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIVITY, COMMUNITY-BASED STEWARDSHIP MANAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIP AND SOME OTHER REQUIREMENT. AS PART OF THE INITIAL DISCUSSION WITH OUR PARTNER AGENCY, WE ARE, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL PROJECT THAT INCLUDE BENEFIT FOR CITY, AND THEY ARE SUCH AS PORT SAN ANTONIO, 36TH STREET, EXTENSION, STREET ESCAPE [01:05:01] PROJECT, AND HEMISPHERE MULTIUSE STREETS REOPENING THE PROJECT. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PORTES PROJECT. PORTES STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IS $30 MILLION, PARTIALLY FUNDED BY 2022 BOND PROGRAM. PORT A PLANNING TO APPLY FOR THE REMAINING FUNDING TO INCLUDE POTENTIAL INCLUSION OF THE TWO ADDITIONAL ELIMINATE NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF 2022 BOND PROGRAM. THEY ARE COMPREHENSIVE STREET IMPROVEMENT ON GENERAL MCMULLIN DRIVE FROM PORTES A TO HIGHWAY 90, AND ALSO ADDITIONAL PORTLY CONNECTOR TO LEON CREEK. GREENWAY RECONNECTING A COMMUNITY IN DOWNTOWN HEMISPHERE, MULTI-USE STREET REOPENING PROJECT TOTALING $45 MILLION, PARTIALLY FUNDED WITH 2022 BOND PROGRAM. THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMPREHENSIVE STREET IMPROVEMENT TO OPEN STREET SURROUNDING, AND WITHIN HEMISPHERE AREA. STREET IMPROVEMENT WILL INCLUDE COMPLETE GREEN STREET DESIGN TO IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN CYCLIST AND OTHER MICRO MOBILITY OPTION AND ENHANCED STORMWATER CONTROL. RAILROAD CROSSING $570 MILLION FUNDED FOR 2020 2 22. THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM IS A NEW PROGRAM, AS I MENTIONED, WITH 574 MILLION AVAILABLE IN 2022 TO ENHANCE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGH ELIMINATION OF A RAILROAD AND HAVE NEGATIVE, HAD NEGATIVE IMPACT UNDER PESS COMMUNITY. UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY FUNDING MAY BE USED FOR PLANNING ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE CAPITAL PROJECTS. THE TYPE OF THE PROJECT IS ELIGIBLE FOR THIS FUNDING GREAT SEPARATION OR CLOSER TRACK RELOCATION IMPROVEMENT OF INSTALLATION OF THE PROTECTIVE DEVICES SUCH AS SIGNAGE AND OTHERS. RAILROAD CROSSING. PUBLIC FORCE DEPARTMENT IS COORDINATION WITH TECH, DEPARTMENT OF TECH, DEPARTMENT OF A TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD DIVISION IN AUSTIN HAS IDENTIFIED A POTENTIAL PROJECT LOCATED IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO, ACCOMPLISHING THE PROGRAM INTENDED USE THIS PROJECT LOCATED IN AT THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CROSSING AT RICHMOND ROAD AND GULPS BRA ROAD, AND FOCUSES ON IMPROVING THE SAFETY. THE PROJECT ESTIMATED BETWEEN 32 TO $40 MILLION. NEXT STEP FOR US IS A RECONNECTING COMMUNITY PILOT PROGRAM. AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON REFINING POTENTIAL PROJECT FOR GRANT SUBMISSION AS FOLLOW PORT STATES SUBMIT THIS YEAR, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO IN 2023 AND HEMISPHERE IN 2024. THE ORDER OF THIS SELECTION IS BASED ON READINESS OF THE APPLICATION. WE HAVE DECIDED RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION GRANT IS A GRANT IS APPLICATION IS BEING APPROVED BY TEXT.CONSULTING. THEY'RE WORKING ON IT. DRAFT APPLICATION WILL BE DONE IN SEPTEMBER 1ST, WHICH IS THIS WEEK. FINAL APPLICATION, COMPLET, IT'LL BE END OF THE SEPTEMBER. AND APPLICATION IS DUE AT OCTOBER 4TH. FOURTH. THIS IS END OF MY PRESENTATION. I AM HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU, ZI. UH, WHAT WERE THE PARTICULAR PROJECTS, UH, PICKED FOR THIS PILOT? DO YOU HAVE A CRITERIA OF OF HOW THEY WERE PICKED? YES. THE CRITERIA IS ON CONNECT IS RECONNECTING, IS, UH, IS, UH, THE CRITERIA IS, UH, TO INCLUDE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE REMOVAL, PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AND OVERPASSES, LINEAR PARKS AND TRAIL ROADWAY REDESIGN, COMPLETE STREET CONVERSATION. THIS IS THE AREA IS CON DISCONNECTED BY CONSTRUCTION OF THE HIGHWAYS OR RAILROAD AND ELIMINATE OR MAKE VERY DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATION OR GOOD JOB, GOOD PAYING JOB. THANK YOU. UM, I, I, THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF PILOT PROGRAM I THINK THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TAKE OUR CITY TO A, A HIGHER LEVEL OF EFFICIENCY. I SAY ALL THE TIME THAT, UH, THERE'S NO BOUNDARIES IN REAL LIFE. [01:10:01] AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY ELIMINATES BOUNDARIES. THIS PROGRAM CREATES CONNECTIONS. UM, I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT WAYS TO RAISE OUR CITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF, BY IDENTIFYING IDENTIFYING GAPS AND, AND BRIDGING THOSE GAPS. AND IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THIS PROGRAM IS GOING TO DO. I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, WELL, I KNOW IT'S A PILOT, YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S EXCITING. AND, UM, I ALWAYS WANNA KIND OF THINK OF THE NEXT STEPS. I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT THE PILOT WILL BE, UH, SUCCESSFUL AND I KNOW WE'LL HAVE, UH, REPORTS BACK ON THE PILOT, BUT I'D LIKE TO SEE THE NEXT STEPS, UM, GET AHEAD OF, OF, UH, OF, UM, REALLY JUST GET AHEAD, RIGHT? AND, AND I WANNA IDENTIFY MORE PLACES THAT MAYBE WE COULD INCLUDE IN AN EXTENSION OF THE PILOT OR, UH, MAYBE THERE WERE SOME, SOME AREAS THAT GOT LEFT OFF THIS PILOT THAT WE COULD JUST KIND OF KEEP IN THE, IN THE HOPPER. UM, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT CHAIRMAN, THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IS A FIVE YEARS PROGRAM. AND OUR INTENTION IS TO, RATHER THAN COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER, WE THIS YEAR TO SUBMIT BY COURTESY AND HOPEFULLY THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL. AND ALSO WE WILL LEARN, EITHER THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL OR NOT. WE WILL LEARN FROM THEM. WE HAVE BETTER TO DO OUR APPLICATION ON AT 2023 FAIR. AND AFTER US, THE HEMISPHERE WILL SUM IT, OKAY? UH, AND WE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT HOW SMALL AND CONNECTED, UM, OUR COMMUNITY IS. AND WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGH THAT, THAT ARE NOT STILL CONNECTED. AND SO OUR, OUR COMMUNITY, SOME PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY STILL FEEL DISCONNECTED. THEY WALK OUT THEIR FRONT DOORS AND THEY FACE BARRIERS. UH, HIGHWAY, RAILROAD LINES, CREEKS. UM, I KNOW I'VE TALKED WITH COUNCILMAN, UH, MAKI RODRIGUEZ AND BEEN IN DISTRICT TWO, AND I'M SITTING BEHIND A, YOU KNOW, WAITING FOR THE, THE RAILROAD TO GO BY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A BARRIER. AND SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS PILOT PROGRAM AND ELIMINATING THOSE BARRIERS AND ENHANCING OUR, OUR DEEP CONNECTIONS AND MAKING OUR CITY, UM, BRINGING US UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL. SO WITH THAT, UH, ANY OTHER, ANY COUNCIL COMMENT? COUNCILMAN PERRY? THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU, RAZZY. I APPRECIATE THIS INFORMATION AND, UM, UH, I, I THINK THIS IS GREAT GOALS TO HAVE. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY HAD TWO UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS FOR THE GREAT RAISE GRANTS, AND, UH, WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THAT? UM, I HAVE WE GONE TO, UM, TO THOSE EVALUATORS AND GOTTEN THAT FEEDBACK ON THE RAISE GRANTS WHERE WE MISSED THE MARK AT, UH, AND HOW ARE WE GAINING TECH DOTS, UM, AGREEMENTS AND SUPPORT GOING FUTURE GOING ON THESE FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANTS? LET ME COUNCILMAN, IT'S GOOD CONCERN AND GOOD QUESTION. LET ME ANSWER ABOUT THE RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION, THEN JEFF CAN ADD ON THE OTHER. WE ARE, I AM PERSONALLY WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE TECHSTAR AUSTIN RAILROAD DIVISION. ACTUALLY, THEY HAVE A CONSULTING, THEY, THEY'RE PREPARING APPLICATION ON OUR BEHALF ALL IN ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE FOUR APPLICATION, AND OURS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE TOUGHEST ONE. WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM TECH DOT ALSO, THEY'RE GOING TO PROVIDE US, WE ARE GOING TO SUBMIT FOR OUR, FOR OUR GRANT, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE US A LETTER OF THE SUPPORT IN THE MEANTIME WE HAVE REACHED FOR THE UNION PACIFIC AND ASK THEM TO PROVIDE US LETTER OF THE SUPPORT. I THINK ON THAT ONE, WE ARE, WE HAVE MUCH, MUCH STRONGER APPLICATION THAN OTHERWISE WE WOULD HAVE, JEFF CAN ANSWER THOSE OTHER QUESTION. UH, YOU'RE CORRECT, COUNCILMAN. WE, UH, OUR COMMUNITY TWO RAISE ROUNDS IN A ROW HAS NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THE FIRST APPLICATION WAS THE WEST SIDE CREEK CONNECTING THE INGRAM TRANSIT CENTER. UH, THE SECOND ONE THIS PAST YEAR WAS THE BROOKS COMPLETE STREET, UH, PROJECT THROUGH ITS CAMPUS. IT TOOK ABOUT SEVEN MONTHS, BUT WE FINALLY DID GET A DEBRIEF, UH, ON THE INITIAL APPLICATION ON THE WEST SIDE CREEKS. TAMIKA TOOK ALL THAT INTO ACCOUNT AND IS, AND IS APPLYING THAT GOING FORWARD. SHE COULD PROBABLY SPEAK BETTER TO IT, BUT, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE, THE, UH, COST, THE, UH, COST PAYOFF, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROJECT, UH, HURT US AND WE NEEDED TO MAKE A FEW OTHER TIES TO THE SAFETY THAT, THAT THAT PROJECT WOULD'VE CREATED, UH, ON THE BROOKS CASE. WERE, WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING FOR THAT DEBRIEF, AND WE HOPE TO GET IT A LOT SOONER. UH, THE MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER WERE IN DC JUST THIS PAST WEEK, UH, AND THEY, AND MAYOR ALSO MET WITH SECRETARY BUTTIGIEG A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THAT. SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO LEARN FROM THESE APPLICATIONS AND GET BETTER. UH, BUT I WILL CAUTION THAT, UH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A LOT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE ALL EXCITED ABOUT AND CHASING, IT'S STILL HIGHLY, HIGHLY COMPETITIVE RAISE. I BELIEVE, UH, ABOUT SEVEN OR 8% OF ALL THE APPLICATIONS ACTUALLY GET FUNDED. SO IT'S [01:15:01] A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE POOL WE'RE PLAYING IN, AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET BETTER AND BETTER WITH EACH APPLICATION. THANK YOU FOR THAT, JEFF. BUT I, I WOULD REMIND YOU THAT DALLAS WAS VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THIS LAST GO AROUND FOR THE RAISE GRANT. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST DOING SOMETHING WRONG. WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT, UH, ANSWERS TO THESE THINGS. SO, UM, I HOPE THAT EVEN HIRING A CONSULTANT PUTS US, UH, FURTHER AHEAD. AND I'D LIKE TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON THAT RAZZY. SO IF Y'ALL COULD COME BY AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHO AND WHAT THEIR PROGRAM IS TO SUBMIT THESE, SUBMIT THESE, UH, APPLICATIONS, AND WHAT PLAY DO WE HAVE IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS, EVEN THOUGH THE DATA IS BEING PUT TOGETHER WITH BY A CONSULTANT, I, I, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT PROGRAM AND WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING AND WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING. THAT'S DIFFERENT TO GET US UP, UH, FURTHER UP THE LADDER ON, ON THE, THE EQUATION ON AWARDING THESE GRANTS. VERY IMPORTANT GRANTS. BUT YES, JEFF, THIS IS, THIS, THIS IS OPEN TO EVERYBODY. IT'S NOT JUST HERE IN TEXAS. IT'S NOT JUST, UH, HERE FOR SAN ANTONIO. THIS IS OPEN TO THE WHOLE UNITED STATES. SO IT'S VERY COMPETITIVE AND SOMEHOW WE GOTTA LEARN FROM THOSE LAST GRANTS, WHAT WE DIDN'T, WHAT WE DIDN'T GET RIGHT. TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE IN THE FUTURE HERE FOR THESE GRANTS. SO I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THIS, AGAIN, WHAT THIS CONSULTANT IS PROPOSING AND EVEN FOR THESE, UH, RAILROAD, UH, CROSSINGS. UM, YOU JUST, DO WE HAVE A, A PRIORITY LIST OF WHICH ONES WE WANT TO WORK ON FOR THE CITY? OR IS IT, I I, I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF DETAIL. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR ON THE RAILROAD CROSSINGS? ON RAILROAD COUNCILMAN? WE HAVE TWO OF THEM IS A, CAUSES MAJOR DELAY. ONE IS ON RICHMOND ROAD IN COUNCIL DISTRICT TWO, THE OTHER ONE IS FARTHER NORTH EAST OF THAT. THEN WAL WAL ROAD WASN'T AS CRITICAL. THERE WASN'T ENOUGH ACCIDENT AND DELAY, AND WE REALLY DIDN'T WANNA COME SUBMIT TWO PROJECT COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER. THE DECISION OR RECOMMENDATION FROM TECH DOT RAILROAD DIVISION, WHICH THEY'RE REALLY MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN US. THEY RECOMMEND TO GO AFTER, UH, RIMAN ROAD AND THEY REALLY WANNA GET SOMETHING FOR TECH. EVEN THEY ARE PAYING FOR THE CONSULTING, CONSULTING IS WORKING FOR TECH DOT, BUT THEY'RE DOING OUR WORK. THEY WILL AGREE TO SUBMIT ON, ON THEIR, ON THEMSELF, ON OUR BEHALF, BUT WE DECIDED US TO SUBMIT AND THEY PROVIDE US A LETTER OF THE SUPPORT. OKAY. UH, DO WE HAVE A, A, A LIST THAT SHOWS ALL THE CROSSINGS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO? THAT, THAT, UM, YES, WE CAN GET TO THROUGH THE LIST? YEAH, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE ENTIRE LIST MM-HMM. OF WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE OUT THERE AND WHAT THE DATA SHOWS FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE DELAYS, ACCIDENTS THAT WE HAVE. ONE ON ZZA IN COUNCIL DISTRICT FIVE, WHICH IS UNDER FUNDED BY M P O AND OUR 2017 BOND PROGRAM THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION. WE HAVE MORE CROSSING NOT TOO FAR FROM, FROM HERE WE HAVE ON COMMERCE. OKAY. YEAH, IF I COULD GET THAT ENTIRE LIST, THAT'D BE GREAT. SURE. I'LL JUST ADD, COUNCILMAN TDOT DID AN ENTIRE CORRIDOR STUDY OF THE ENTIRE FREIGHT CORRIDOR, AND THE RID AND WALHAM INTERSECTIONS WERE TWO OF THOSE THAT ROSE TO THE VERY TOP OF THEIR LIST. SO THAT'S WHY, TO ROY'S POINT, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH HIS TEAM TO PUT TOGETHER THE PROJECTS AND ULTIMATELY DELIVER TO US AN APPLICATION THAT WE CAN SUBMIT AND THEY CAN SUPPORT. GREAT. THANK YOU, JEFF. THANK YOU, OZZY. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PERRY. UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ISSUE? COUNCILWOMAN CASTIO. THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU RAZZIE. UM, SIMILAR TO COUNCILMAN PERRY'S QUESTION, DO WE HAVE A PRIORITY LIST FOR THE RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES GRANT? UH, PROJECTS? WE HAVE A LIST OF THE PROJECT PUBLIC. WE HAVE DEVELOPED PUBLIC WORK DEPARTMENT AND WE WILL PROVIDE YOU LATER ON. WE ARE STILL, WE ARE TRYING TO DEFINE THE, OUR LIST. THANK YOU. AND THEN I ASKED BECAUSE, UH, WHEN LOOKING AT THE HEMISPHERE RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES, I, I AM TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT RUNS PARALLEL TO OUR VISION ZERO PRIORITIES. DO WE KNOW HOW MANY FATALITIES HAVE OCCURRED AROUND HEMISPHERE PARK? UH, I, I THINK ONE OF THE REASON WE ARE RECOMMENDING THAT PROJECT WAS, IF YOU REMEMBER BEFORE, UH, HEMISPHERE IN SIXTIES, THERE USED TO BE A NUMBER OF THE ROADWAY BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONVENTION CENTER AND HEMISPHERE, THOSE ROADWAYS BY ELIMINATED. I, THE IDEA IS TO CONNECT THE EAST SIDE OF THE 37 TO WEST SIDE OF 37. YEAH, THANK YOU. AND YOU KNOW, I, LOOKING AT THE 27 MILLION FOR THE CIVIC PARK, PLUS THE 10 MILLION FOR TOWERS OF AMERICAS AND 2022 AND THE 26 MILLION FROM THE 2017 BOND, THAT'S OVER $63 MILLION OF TAXPAYER INVESTMENT IN THIS ONE CONCENTRATED AREA. [01:20:01] WHEN I'M CONFIDENT THAT THERE ARE OTHER SECTORS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO WHO HAVE SEEN FATALITIES, UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THOSE WARRANT TO BE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST IN COMPARISON TO AN AREA THAT HAS RECEIVED OVER $63 MILLION OF INVESTMENT. SO I, I, I WOULD HOPE TO SEE, UH, ANOTHER PROJECT IN HEMISPHERE'S PLACE, UM, GIVEN THE HIGH CONCENTRATION OF INVESTMENT AND KNOWING THAT I HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES ALL THE TIME ABOUT FATALITIES AND DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS THAT I THINK, UM, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, RIGHT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, CONNECTING COMMUNITIES, LOOKING AT 37, THERE'S A LITERAL FENCE GOING UP UNDER I 37. SO WE SHOULD BE RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES, RIGHT? BUT WE'RE ALLOWING FOR FENCES TO BE PUT UP UNDER, AND I KNOW THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CITY, THAT'S TXDOT. UM, BUT DO YOU HAVE A RESPONSE, JEFF? YES. COUNCIL, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS UP. THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM ALTOGETHER, THIS RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. SO, SO WE'RE STARTING TO FEEL OUR WAY AND TRY TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS THAT FIT THE PROGRAM. AS ROZY SHOWED OUR CRITERIA INTERNALLY OF HOW WE'RE EVALUATING PROJECTS. MOST OF THE TIME WE'RE LOOKING FOR EXISTING PROJECTS THAT WE'VE ALREADY PUT SOME FUNDING IN THAT'S EITHER A PRIORITY IN THE BOND OR WAS A BELOW THE LINE PROJECT IN THE BOND. THIS IS KIND OF A NEW ONE, UM, BECAUSE REALLY THE INTENT OF THIS PROJECT IS TO TEAR DOWN HIGHWAYS THAT HAVE SELECT, UH, UM, SEPARATED COMMUNITIES OR ELIMINATE RAILROADS OR OTHER BARRIERS. AND WE HAVEN'T REALLY DEVELOPED THOSE KINDS OF PROJECTS AS OF YET. I THINK OZZY'S TEAM IS WORKING ON THAT FROM THE PUBLIC WORK STANDPOINT. AND THE PORT HAD COME FORWARD WITH, UH, AN APPLICATION THEY WERE READY TO SUBMIT, UH, THIS YEAR. UH, ADMITTEDLY, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH THE PORT, IT'S NOT THE TEXTBOOK PROJECT THAT THIS PROGRAM CALLS FOR, WHICH IS AGAIN, TO TEAR DOWN A, A HIGHWAY OR A BARRIER. BUT THE PORT'S ARGUMENT IS THAT, UH, THE MILITARY BASE ITSELF SERVED AS A BARRIER TO A LOT OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND IT. UH, IT WAS INTENTIONAL THAT TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE DIDN'T FLOW THROUGH THE FORMER BASE. AND SO NOW AS IT'S BECOMING A JOB CENTER, THEY'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO CONNECT TO THOSE ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS. WE'RE HOPING THAT THE FEDS WILL SEE THIS AS A CREATIVE APPLICATION, UH, TO THAT PROGRAM, BUT IT'S NOT THE TEXTBOOK PROJECT. ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT. AND MY QUESTION AND CONCERNS WERE PRIMARILY AROUND HEMISPHERE, UM, WITH THE PORT PROJECT. I DO BELIEVE IT'S A GREAT APPLICANT IN THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF TRAIN TRACKS THAT SURROUND THE PORT, UM, THE ARGUMENT THAT THE PORT HAS MADE AS A BASE AND THE, THE OVERALL FEELING OF COMMUNITY AROUND IT, IT IS THE CITY'S WITHIN THE CITY'S MOST ECONOMICALLY POOR, UH, SCHOOL, UM, I S G DISTRICT EDGEWOOD, UH, AND GIVEN, RIGHT, THERE'S A LOT OF INDUSTRIAL USE WITH RECYCLING PLANTS AROUND THE PORT. SO I THINK, UH, THE PORT IS A GREAT APPLICANT FOR RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES, GIVEN ALL THE BARRIERS THAT ARE AROUND IT. UM, BUT IN REGARDS TO THE PORT OR ANY OF THESE PROJECTS, HOW CAN NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES HELP SUPPORT THE APPLICATION PROCESS? UM, IF THERE'S NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS OR COMMUNITY LEADERS IN SUPPORT OF THESE PROJECTS, WHAT CAN THEY DO TO HELP SUPPORT THE APPLICATION? YEAH, LET ME HAVE A, WE HAVE SOMEBODY, ANDREAS FROM THE H PARK IS HERE. THEY HAVE GONE THROUGH SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC INPUT. ANDREAS, GOOD MORNING CHAIR, CHAIRWOMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR THE CHANCE TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTIONS. UM, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO, UH, YOUR, YOUR ORIGINAL QUESTION ON HEMISPHERE WITH 37 IN THE INSERTION OF THAT HIGHWAY. IN THE SEVENTIES AFTER THE WORLD'S FAIR, WE DISCONNECTED LABOR STREET AND, AND, AND CHAVEZ WAS SEVERED, UH, SUBSTANTIALLY AS WELL AS EAST EVA. AND SO BY BUILDING THE INTERIOR STREETS THAT EXISTED IN THIS AREA BEFORE HEMISPHERE AND BEFORE THE HIGHWAY, WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE A ROUTE ON LABOR STREET THAT COMES FROM LONE STAR AND GOES DIRECTLY TO JEFFERSON HEIGHTS, DENVER HEIGHTS AND BEYOND. UM, AND, AND SO THE, THE, UH, CONCEPT BEHIND THE PROPOSAL IS TEXTBOOK TO WHAT'S BEING ASKED. IT'S, UH, UH, HOW TO UNWIND SOME OF THE, UH, SEVERANCE OF THE HIGHWAY AND THE IMPACT IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHY THIS IS MAKING SENSE FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE. UM, THERE IS, UM, UH, UNDENIABLY INVESTMENT AT HEMISPHERE OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. UH, THERE WAS LITTLE INVESTMENT OVER THE 50 YEARS BEFORE THEN SINCE THE FAIR, AND SO WE'RE CATCHING UP TO BRING THE NEIGHBORHOOD BACK THAT EXISTED IN THIS AREA BEFORE THE FAIR. AND THE, THE, UH, FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY MODEL INCLUDES REVENUE GENERATION TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OR COMMUNITY A, [01:25:01] UM, UH, A PARK SYSTEM THAT IS, UM, NOT SUPPORTED BY GENERAL FUND, BUT THROUGH REVENUE STREAMS. AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE EQUATION THAT IS, UM, RELEVANT TO THE CONNECTING COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU, ANDREA. I APPRECIATE YOUR EXPLANATION AND ABSOLUTELY RIGHT WHEN WE GROUND OURSELVES IN THE HISTORY OF HEMISPHERE PARK, THERE, THERE WERE ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE DISPLACED FROM THAT AREA THAT HAVE BEEN PUSHED FURTHER AWAY FROM THE PARK. RIGHT? BUT, UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR YOU, BUT THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU. UM, BUT AGAIN, RIGHT, GOING BACK TO, UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS YES, CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE APPLICATION, AND I GUESS WE'RE TALKING PORT RIGHT NOW FOR THIS YEAR, UM, ABSOLUTELY LETTERS OF SUPPORT FROM THOSE ASSOCIATIONS WOULD HELP. WE CAN PACKAGE ALL THAT UP WITH THE PORT'S APPLICATION. THE FEDS WANT TO SEE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AROUND THESE PROJECTS. AND ONE OF THE STRENGTHS OF THIS APPLICATION IS THAT THERE'S ALREADY BEEN A LOT, THE BOND PROGRAM ESSAY TOMORROW A NUMBER OF, UH, EFFORTS THAT HAVE ALREADY TAKEN PLACE, THAT HAVE IDENTIFIED THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE CONNECTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY. SO WE'D LOVE TO WORK WITH YOUR OFFICE, WITH THE DISTRICT FOUR OFFICE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THAT DEMONSTRATED NEIGHBORHOOD SUPPORT AS, AS THE PORT PUTS ITS APPLICATION TOGETHER. GREAT. THANK YOU, JEFF. THANK YOU, ROSIE. I LOOKING FORWARD TO THESE BEING, UH, SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MC CASTILLO. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH. RAZZI. IS THIS FOR, UM, THIS JUST BRIEFING, RIGHT? OR? YES. OKAY. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR, MADAM CLERK. ITEM FOUR IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33 OF THE CITY CODE. AND TO THE ORDINANCE, RESTRICTING AN INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE FROM SERVING AS A TRA AS THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRPERSON. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIRPERSON. MY NAME IS RICK RILEY. I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE A BRIEFING ON A PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33, THE VEHICLE FOR HIGHER ORDINANCE OF THE CITY CODE. THE AMENDMENTS IMPACT ALL VEHICLE FOR HIGHER INDUSTRIES, OR PRIMARILY THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY. THE AMENDMENTS WOULD BRING RELIEF TO THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY, PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY TO ADDING NEW INDUSTRIES AND UPDATE LANGUAGE OF THE CITY CODE. THE FIRST QUESTION IS, WHAT MAKES UP THE VEHICLE FOR HIRE INDUSTRY? ON THE SLIDE THERE, YOU SEE THAT IS A COMBINATION OF TAXI CABS, LIMOUSINES, TOURS, CHARTER BUSES, PETTY CABS, HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE, AND GROUP CYCLES THAT OPERATE WITHIN SAN ANTONIO. AS BACKGROUND, SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY, SUCH AS UBER AND LYFT IN SAN ANTONIO IN APRIL OF 2014, THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY HAS LOST RIDERSHIP AND REVENUE. IN FACT, SINCE 2019, THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY HAS RELINQUISHED 50% OF ITS PERMITS DUE TO INDUSTRY COMPETITION FROM THE TNCS. IN RESPONSE TO THIS IN EARLY 2022, THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY PRESENTED RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD TO ASSIST THE INDUSTRY IN THE CURRENT VEHICLE FOR HIRE MARKET. THE FIRST SIX PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33 WILL PROVIDE RELIEF TO THE TAXI CAB VEHICLE FOR HIRE INDUSTRY. THE FIRST OF THOSE IS TO INCREASE FROM 90 TO 180 DAYS THE TIMEFRAME IN WHICH A COMPANY NEEDS TO ADD OR REPLACE A VEHICLE. THIS WILL HELP TAXI CAB INDUSTRY AS WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO CATCH UP FROM SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES RELATED TO COVID. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS THAT ONLY INDIVIDUAL PERMANENT VEHICLES NEED TO BE INSURED. THE CURRENT WAY THAT THIS IS WRITTEN IS THAT IF A TAXI CAB COMPANY HAS A PERMANENT AGREEMENT FOR 10 VEHICLES AND ONLY OPERATES SIX OF THOSE VEHICLES, ALL 10 NEED TO BE PERMITTED. SO THIS WOULD REQUIRE ONLY THE SIX THAT ARE OPERATING ON THE ROAD. THE THIRD AMENDMENT IS THE DISILLUSION OF THE TAXI CAB PERMIT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE. THIS COMMITTEE IN THE PAST HAD TO BE CONVENED AND THEN VOTED UPON, AND THEY WOULD USE MEMBERS FROM THE PUBLIC. WE'VE USED, UH, U T S A PROFESSORS IN THE PAST. WE'VE USED PEOPLE FROM THE AIRPORT IN THE PAST. THIS WOULD BRING IT BACK TO ISSUE PERMITS AS THEY'RE REQUESTED, A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO OTHER VEHICLE FOR HIRE INDUSTRIES. THE FOURTH IS THE TAXI CAB PERMIT REQUEST. HOW THAT'S DONE? SO IN THE PAST AND CURRENTLY YOU HAD TO BE A PERMIT HOLDER FOR ONE YEAR IN ORDER TO REQUEST NEW PERMITS. THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO REMOVE THAT REQUIREMENT AND ALLOW ANY TAXI CAB INDUS COMPANY OR INDIVIDUAL OP OWNER OPERATOR WHO WANTS TO BECOME A TAXI CAB COMPANY [01:30:01] TO REQUEST THOSE PERMITS AS REQUIRED. THE NEXT IS A FUEL SURCHARGE. CURRENTLY, TAXI CAB INDUSTRY IS ALLOWED A MAXIMUM OF TWO REQUESTS FOR A FUEL SURCHARGE ADJUSTMENTS PER CALENDAR YEAR. THIS IS WHEN THE FUEL RAISES OVER 50 CENTS A GALLON AND IS REFLECTED AS A NICKEL ON THE METER FOR EVERY MILE. THE CHANGE REQUESTED IS TO REMOVE THOSE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF REQUESTS. SO IF YOU HAVE A VOLATILE MARKET, AND THAT'S MEASURED EVERY 45 DAYS, IF YOU HAVE A VOLATILE MARKET, IS TO ALLOW THE FUEL SURCHARGE ADJUSTMENTS TO OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY AND TO LESSEN THE AMOUNT TO 25 CENTS FROM 50 CENTS PER GALLON CHANGE, BOTH UP AND DOWN. THE LAST OF THE FIRST SIX AMENDMENTS IS TO DO AWAY WITH THE REFERENCE TO THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN CHAPTER 33. BECAUSE THE STATE BEGAN REGULATING TNCS IN 2018. THE NEXT AMENDMENT IS TO EXTEND THE TAXI CAB AGE, CURRENTLY TAXI CABS IN SAN ANTONIO, UH, AGE OUT AT 12 YEARS. THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO GO TO 15 YEARS. UH, YOU CAN SEE A COMPARISON TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES THERE. REGARDLESS, THIS STILL WILL REQUIRE TAXI CABS TO PASS STATE SAFETY INSPECTIONS, WHICH WE'VE ALL BEEN THROUGH. HOWEVER, THERE'S ADDITIONAL INSPECTIONS FOR THE CITY. MY, THE GROUND TRANSPORTATION UNIT CONDUCTS THAT DEALS WITH SEAT BELTS, DEALS WITH BODY DAMAGE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THE VEHICLE IS SAFE ON THE ROAD, WINDSHIELD INTEGRITY AS WELL AS MECHANICAL. THESE ARE DONE YEARLY AT THE TAXI CAB SAFETY INSPECTIONS, AND THE VEHICLE IS PUT ON THE ROAD TO ENSURE THAT IT OPERATES SAFELY. ADDITIONALLY, CONTINUAL SAFETY CHECKS WHEN AN INSPECTOR HAS CONTACTS WITH TAPE, TAXI CABS IS CONDUCTED. BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF RECOMMEND, UH, THIS AMENDMENT. THE NEXT AMENDMENT DEALS WITH AN INCREASE TO TAXI CAB RATES, WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN INCREASED IN OVER 10 YEARS. THE DROP RATE, AS YOU SEE THERE BOTH DAY AND NIGHT, IS THE FEE THAT IS CHARGED TO ENTER THE TAXI CAB. THE FIRST THING TO MENTION IS THAT THIS WAS CHANGED IN 2011 AND WENT FROM $2 TO $2 AND 50 CENTS FOR THE DAY RATE. THE PROPOSED RATE, AS YOU WILL SEE, IS $3 AND 50 CENTS, AND THE PROPOSAL IS TO DO AWAY WITH THE NIGHT DROP RATE, SO THAT TO ENTER A TAXI CAB IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE FEE WILL BE $3 AND 50 CENTS. THE NEXT CHANGE, WHICH HASN'T BEEN CHANGED SINCE OCTOBER, 2011, IS THE PER MILE RATE GOING FROM $2 AND 35 CENTS PER MILE TO $2 AND 70 CENTS PER MILE. THE NEXT CHANGE, WHICH, UH, PREVIOUSLY OCCURRED IN JUNE OF 2008, WHEN WE WENT FROM 12 TO $24 AN HOUR PER WAIT TIME, WAIT TIME IS DEFINED AS A TAXI CAB IS MOVING AT LESS THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR. THE CURRENT RATE, AS YOU KNOW, IS $24. THE PROPOSAL IS TO GO TO $27 AND THE LAST OF THE TAXI CAB RATE INCREASES, UH, HERE IS FOR EXTRA PASSENGERS. TAXI CABS IN SAN ANTONIO HAVE SEVEN SEATS, ONE FOR THE DRIVER, SIX PASSENGERS. ANYTHING OVER FOUR PASSENGERS IS CONSIDERED ADDITIONAL PASSENGERS, AND THE INDUSTRY IS REQUESTING TO CHARGE $2, UH, PER EXTRA PASSENGER, AND THAT WOULD BE A MAX OF $4. BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF ARE RECOMMENDING THAT THESE CHANGES BE ADOPTED. THE NEXT IS THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR TAXI CAB RATES IN AND AROUND THE AIRPORT. THE CURRENT RATE FOR THE AIRPORT IS $10. THAT'S REPRESENTED BY THE BLACK CIRCLE ON THIS SLIDE. YOU CAN GET FROM THE AIRPORT TO ANY OF THOSE LOCATIONS FOR THAT $10 RATE, THE PROPOSAL IS TO GO TO A $20 MINIMUM RATE FROM THE AIRPORT, WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THE RED CIRCLE THAT YOU COULD GO FROM THE AIRPORT TO ANYWHERE WITHIN THE RED CIRCLE. AS YOU'LL NOTICE, THE RED CIRCLE DOES NOT INCLUDE DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO. UH, STAFF ESTIMATES THAT TO, FROM THE AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO WILL BE ABOUT $25. YOU NOTICE ON THE SLIDE THAT DALLAS IS $8. THAT'S D F W AND REPRESENTS IF YOU, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE FLOWN INTO D F W AND KNOW THE TERMINAL SYSTEM AND KNOW THAT THERE'S HOTELS THAT MAY BE ON THE AIRPORT PROPERTY, BUT NOT NEAR THE TERMINAL THAT YOU FLEW INTO, THAT MINIMUM IS $8 FROM D F W TO DOWNTOWN DALLAS IS A $57 CHARGE, BOTH TAB AND THE STAFF RECOMMEND THAT AMENDMENT. THE NEXT PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS A INCREASE TO THE DOWNTOWN MINIMUM. UH, THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY CHANGED IN JUNE, 2008 WHEN IT WENT FROM $3 TO $5, UH, REPRESENTED BY THE RED OUTLINE ON THE MAP. AND THIS IS FOR ANY TRIP THAT ORIGINATES AND TERMINATES IN THIS DOWNTOWN ZONE AS REPRESENTED BY THE, UH, RED OUTLINE. [01:35:01] BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF ARE IN FAVOR OF MOVING THIS AMENDMENT FORWARD, ESTABLISHING A NEW CATEGORY OF VEHICLE FOR HIRE, UH, TITLED ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES FOR HIRE A IS THE NEXT PROPOSED AMENDMENT. AN EXAMPLE TO THIS WOULD BE THE SAN ANTONIO SIDECAR BUSINESS. AN ALTERNATIVE VEHICLE FOR HIRE WOULD NOW BE DEFINED AS ANY VEHICLE FOR HIRE CLASSI CLASSIFIED BY THE DIRECTOR AS AN ALTERNATIVE UNIQUE VEHICLE. THIS WOULD DO AWAY WITH THE REQUIREMENT THAT CITY COUNCIL APPROVE SMALL AND UNIQUE INDUSTRIES, AND BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF FEEL THAT IT WOULD ENABLE THE CITY TO BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO EMERGENCY B BUSINESSES IN THE VEHICLE FOR HIGHER INDUSTRY. UH, FOR YOUR INFORMATION CURRENTLY, UH, THERE IS A SIDECAR COMPANY, OBVIOUSLY NOT SAN SAN ANTONIO SIDECAR, BUT A SIDECAR COMPANY OPERATING IN HOUSTON. UH, THE COST TO PERMIT, UH, A SIDECAR WOULD BE $250 PER VEHICLE PER YEAR. SIMILAR TO ANY MOTORIZED VEHICLE IN SAN ANTONIO, THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CARRY THE $1 MILLION IN INSURANCE AND NAME THE CITY AS AN ADDITIONAL INSURED IF WE WERE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT. AND BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF RECOMMEND THAT AMENDMENT. THE NEXT PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOCUSES ON THE GROUP CYCLE INDUSTRY. THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN DOWN AROUND THE PEARL MAY HAVE SEEN, UH, THE GROUP CYCLE OPERATING DOWN THERE. UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO COMPANIES. ONE HAS ONE PERMIT. ONE COMPANY HAS TWO PERMITS FOR A TOTAL OF THREE IN THE PAST, AND CURRENTLY PERMITS ARE ISSUED IN A DRAWING BASIS. THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT WOULD ELIMINATE THAT DRAWING BASIS AND MAKE IT A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. UM, IT WOULD OBVIOUSLY STREAMLINE THE REQUEST FOR THAT AND, AND THE MARKET WOULD DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THOSE PERMITS WERE NEEDED, UH, TO SEE IF ADDITIONAL COMPANIES AND OR A COMPANY THAT'S CURRENTLY OPERATING WOULD REQUIRE AN ADDITIONAL PERMIT. BOTH THE TAB AND STAFF RECOMMEND THIS AMENDMENT. THE FINAL AMENDMENT, UH, PROPOSED BY THE TAB IS TO ALLOW A TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY MEMBER TO SERVE AS THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE TAB. CURRENTLY, CITY CODE PROHIBITS THIS FROM OCCURRING. SO THERE'S 11 MEMBERS ON THE TAB 10 FROM EACH COUNCIL, DIS ONE FROM EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT FOR 10, AND THEN THE MAYOR APPOINTS ONE, UH, IN DECEMBER OF 1991. UH, THIS, THE ORDINANCE WAS ADOPTED THAT STATED NO GROUND TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE MAY SERVE AS THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE TAB. ALTHOUGH THE TAB RECOMMENDS THIS CHANGE. CITY STAFF IS NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS CHANGE, UH, BECAUSE CITY STAFF FEELS THAT THE TAB SHOULD OVERSEE THE NEEDS OF THE WRITING PUBLIC AND NOT THE NEEDS OF THE VEHICLE FOR HIGHER INDUSTRY. IN CONCLUSION, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS YOU'LL SEE THERE, THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD HAS RECOMMENDED ALL AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33 AND TO THE TAB COMPOSITION STAFF RECOMMENDS THE APPROVAL OF ALL AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33, BUT DOES NOT RECOMMEND THE CHANGE TO THE TAB COMPOSITION CITY STAFF IS REQUESTING TO MOVE. UH, STAFF RECOMMEND RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 33 TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL. THAT CONCLUDES MY BRIEF AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS, UM, A PETITION SIGNED BY TAXI DRIVERS IN THE CITY CALLING FOR THE RATE ADJUSTMENT THAT'S BEEN RECOMMENDED, UH, MAKE IT MAKES SENSE GIVEN INFLATION, THE RISING COSTS OF GASOLINE. UM, AND, UM, IT'S BEEN A LOT OF BEERS AS YOU MENTIONED, SINCE THE RATES WERE ADJUSTED. SO I UNDERSTAND IT'S TIME TO CATCH UP THE RENT, THE RECOMMENDED RATES. UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT, IT MAKES THE TAXI FAIRS THE MOST EXPENSIVE THOUGH. IS THAT, IS THAT ACCURATE IN COMPARISON TO OTHER CITIES CHAIRPERSON WELL IN WELL, YEAH, IN COMPARED TO OTHER OTHER CITIES STAR? YES, MA'AM. IT DOES. OKAY. UH, AND I, I WAS, I'M CURIOUS, DALLAS HAS REALLY LOW, UM, RATES, AND I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT ABOUT, UM, KIND OF THE PROXIMITY OF HOTELS NEAR THE HO NEAR THE AIRPORT, BUT DO WE KNOW HOW THEY'RE KEEPING THEIR COSTS THAT LOW? I, I DO NOT. OR MAYBE IT'S NOT THEIR COST, BUT AT LEAST THEIR PRICES ARE ARE. YES, MA'AM. I'M CURIOUS IF WE CAN LOOK INTO HOW THAT'S HAPPENING. WE CERTAINLY CAN. IS THIS RATE COMPETITIVE COMPARED TO RIDE SHARE RATES? IT IS. SO YOU'LL SEE ON THE SLIDE, FOR EXAMPLE, ON TAXI CAB RATES. UH, THE T N C RATE IS $3 AND 75 TO START. AND OBVIOUSLY THOSE OF US WHO HAVE TAKEN UBER OR LYFT, AS YOU LEAVE THE ALAMO DOME OR YOU LEAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY BIG VENUE IN THE CITY AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU GET CHARGED THAT INCREASED RATE BECAUSE OF THE, THE NUMBER AVAILABLE. SO, UH, TO PICK SOMEBODY UP, WHICH IS BASICALLY THEIR DROP RATE, OUR RESEARCH SHOWED $3 AND 75 CENTS TO LEAVE. THE AIRPORT PROPERTY IS $6 AND 25 CENTS. [01:40:01] AND THEN IT INCREASES, DEPENDING ON HOW FAR YOU'RE GONNA GO IN THAT UBER OR LYFT. OKAY. AND, UM, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE SIX, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, THE, THE, THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. UM, COMPARING US TO DALLAS, IT'S INTERESTING HOW THEIR, THEIR FEES ARE THAT LOW, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR, OUR, THE INDUSTRY IS, UH, YOU KNOW, DOING WELL IN SURVIVING. SO I UNDERSTAND THE RECOMMENDATION. I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE EXTRA PASSENGERS THOUGH. IS THERE, UM, IS THERE A FEE, A, A HIGHER FEE FOR A TAXI CAB THAT'S MAYBE A MINIVAN AS OPPOSED TO A SEDAN? WHEN YOU ASK IF THERE'S A HIGHER FEE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A PERMIT FEE? ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT FOR THE RIDER? THE, FOR THE RIDER? FOR THE RIDER THAT THERE IS NOT. SO IF YOU PUT FOUR PEOPLE IN A, IN A SEDAN, TAXI, OR FOUR PEOPLE IN A, UH, MINIVAN TAXI, IT'S THE SAME. OKAY. OBVIOUSLY, THE MINIVAN TAXI HAS THE ABILITY TO TAKE THOSE TWO ADDITIONAL PASSENGERS BECAUSE THEY HAVE SIX SEAT BELTS FOR PASSENGERS. OKAY. SO THAT, THAT ANSWER I WAS CONCERNED THAT WE'RE, WE WOULD ALREADY BE PAYING A FEE FOR USING THE MINIVAN. UM, AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, YOU WOULD ADD, UH, A FEE FOR AN EXTRA PASSENGER. BUT THE, THE RATES ARE THE SAME FOR A MINIVAN COMPARED TO SEDAN COMPARED TO ANOTHER KIND OF A VEHICLE. YES, MA'AM. AND THAT'S ALL POSTED ON THE WINDSHIELD, UH, WITH THE STICKER THAT EXPLAINS THE FEES. OKAY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. AND IS THERE A, UM, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE, I'M NOT SURE WHAT SLIDE IT WAS, BUT THE, THE, THE CYCLE, UM, THE GROUP CYCLE SERVICES, IS THERE A LIMIT FOR THE NUMBER OF PERMITS THAT ARE ISSUED FOR THOSE GROUP CYCLE SERVICES? THERE IS NOT. CURRENTLY, THE MARKET JUST HASN'T SEEN, THE MOST WE'VE EVER HAD IS THREE. WE USED TO HAVE THREE COMPANIES WITH ONE EACH. WE'RE DOWN TO TWO COMPANIES, ONE PERMIT WITH ONE AND TWO PERMITS WITH THE OTHER. OKAY. UM, SO THE ELIMINATION OF THE DRAWING PROCESS, IS IT THEN JUST WHO WHOEVER COMES TO GET A PERMIT CAN GET ONE AS LONG AS THEY, YOU KNOW, UH, QUALIFIER, RIGHT? CORRECT. YEAH, AS LONG AS THEY MEET THOSE, THOSE PREREQUISITES, UH, SAFETY INSPECTION, INSURANCE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, UH, THEN OBVIOUSLY THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO REQUEST A PERMIT. OKAY. AND THE MARKET WOULD DECIDE, OKAY, THE RIDERSHIP ISN'T THERE TO SUPPORT X AMOUNT. I'D LIKE TO HEAR MY, MY COLLEAGUES', UH, COMMENTS ON THIS, BUT I HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT NOT LIMITING THE NUMBER BECAUSE IF YOU'VE BEEN TO AUSTIN OR, UM, OVER THE SUMMER I WAS IN NASHVILLE AND IT WAS JUST DOWNTOWN WAS OVERRUN WITH THE CYCLING, UM, GROUP CYCLE SERVICES AND, UM, AND ALSO THE PARTY BUSES. BUT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE REALLY A, THAT THAT'S NOT PART OF THIS. THAT'S CORRECT. WE DON'T HAVE, BUT THERE WERE JUST, THERE WERE EVERYWHERE. AND IT WAS VERY FRANKLY, ANNOYING BECAUSE THERE WAS JUST SO MANY. SO I, I DO HAVE A CONCERN, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S BEEN CONSIDERED, UH, TO PUT A, A LIMIT ON, ON THE NUMBER OF PERMITS FOR A GROUP CYCLE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN MUCH INTEREST, BUT, UH, WE'RE GROWING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT MY COLLEAGUES THINK ABOUT THAT AS WELL. AND THEN ON SITE 11, YOU TALK ABOUT THE, UM, THE TAB REQUESTED RECOMMENDS, BUT THE CITY DOES NOT RECOMMEND A TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVE AS A CHAIRPERSON. HOW MANY POSITIONS ON THE, THE, UH, THE TAB RIGHT NOW ARE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES OR ALLOCATED FOR INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES? THERE ARE FIVE. SO CURRENTLY, LET ME START WITH THIS CHAIRPERSON. THERE ARE FOUR VACANCIES ON THE TAB. SO OUT OF THE 11, WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN, WHICH, UH, OBVIOUSLY CAUSES A PROBLEM TO GET A QUORUM SO WE CAN, AND THE, THE, UH, LAST MEMBER WAS APPOINTED IN JUNE. UH, PRIOR TO THAT, EVERYBODY HAD TO SHOW UP. UM, AND SO CURRENTLY THERE'S, THERE'S FIVE, UH, MEMBERS THAT REPRESENT THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY. THE MAKEUP OF THAT, UM, HISTORICALLY HAS, UH, IN 2009 TO, UH, THREE CONSUMERS. SO THE OTHER EIGHT WOULD BE FROM THE INDUSTRY. AND I CAN GIVE YOU THOSE THAT BREAKDOWN IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN IT. UH, NO, THAT'S OKAY. I I REALLY, I THINK THAT LAST PART WAS THE QUESTION I'M ASKING. OUT OF THE 11, THERE ARE EIGHT SPOTS ALLOCATED FOR INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. SO I THINK THAT'S SOLID REPRESENTATION. I, I TEND TO AGREE WITH THE CITY THAT, UH, THAT EIGHT, THE MAJORITY OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IF IT IS A FULL BOARD ANYWAY, UM, ARE INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES. AND SO WOULD HAVE SOME, UH, A SIGNIFICANT, UM, VOICE ON THAT ON THE TAB AND NOT NECESSARILY NEEDING TO BE THE CHAIRPERSON. SO, UM, I, I AGREE WITH THE CITY ON, ON THAT LAST POINT, BUT OF COURSE, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES. UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? COUNCILMAN PERRY? THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. I DO DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS. UM, UH, AND LET'S GO BACK, UH, WELL, LET'S JUST STAY ON THIS SLIDE HERE. UH, YOU ALSO HAD A SLIDE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF TRANSPORTATION, UH, WHICH I, I DON'T RECALL WHICH SLIDE THAT WAS. SLIDE TWO. OKAY. YEAH, IF WE CAN GO TO THAT AND OUT OF THOSE EIGHT [01:45:01] MEMBERS WHO ON THIS LIST, DON'T HAVE A VOICE ON THIS COMMITTEE? TAXI CABS, DO LIMOUSINES, DO , DO CYCLES? DO NOT RIGHT NOW. GROUP CYCLES DO NOT RIGHT NOW. WHAT ABOUT TOURS, CHARTERS, PEDICABS? THEY ALL DO. YES, SIR. OKAY. SO EVERYBODY ON THIS LIST HAS A SEAT AT THE TABLE EXCEPT GROUP CYCLES EXCEPT FOR THE GROUP CYCLES, CORRECT? EXCEPT FOR THE GROUP CYCLES. OKAY. UM, YOU KNOW, WITH WHAT I'M SEEING DOWNTOWN AND MY, MY COMMENTS ABOUT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S GREAT. I THINK IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT ACTIVITY DOWNTOWN. AND, UM, HEY, MORE THE MERRIER AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED. A LOT OF PARTIES GOING ON DOWNTOWN, SO LET 'EM PARTY. UH, BUT THAT'S MY COMMENTS ON THAT. IF, IF, IF THIS IS GONNA BE GROWING, HOW MANY DID YOU SAY WE HAVE LICENSED RIGHT NOW? THREE, THREE, EH, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD BE, YOU KNOW, HAVE INPUT THROUGH SOME OTHER MEMBER. BUT IF THAT CONTINUES TO GROW, I THINK WE NEED TO, UM, HAVE THAT VOICE ON THAT COMMITTEE AS WELL. SO THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH ON THAT. NOW LET'S GET BACK TO, UH, UH, SLIDE SIX. YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THIS AND, UM, I, DO WE HAVE ANY REPRESENTATIVES HERE FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, THE LOCAL CAB COMPANIES, UH, UH, MR. BULL BASIS, IF YOU COULD, AND OKAY. YEAH, GREAT. I, I'D LIKE TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT FROM THEM, BUT JUST, JUST ON THE SURFACE TO ME, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT SAN ANTONIO BEING THE POOREST CITY IN THE US BUT HERE IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE'RE ALLOWING, YOU KNOW, THE INDUSTRY TO CHARGE SOME OF THE HIGHEST PRICES OF ANY OF THE CITIES HERE IN TEXAS. SO I, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. UH, MY OTHER QUESTION IS WHY, WHY REGULATED AT ALL? LET THEM SET THEIR OWN, THEIR OWN RATES, UH, HERE IN THE CITY? I, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THAT, UM, I, I, YEAH. WHY? GIMME SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THAT. WHY DON'T WE JUST LET 'EM SET THEIR OWN RIGHTS? WELL, I, I THINK AS FAR AS REGULATION GOES, NOT ONLY FROM A SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE RIDERS ARE SAFE. UH, TWO, THERE'S GOTTA BE, IN MY OPINION, UH, REGULATION TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT PRICE GOUGING PEOPLE. UH, YOU KNOW, WE GET COMPLAINTS ALL THE TIME. ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS WE GET IS THAT I'M NOT BEING CHARGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHAT THE METER SAYS, OR I'M BEING OVERCHARGED BY THE METER. SO I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO, YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE, UH, UNSCRUPULOUS TAXI CAB DRIVERS CHARGING PEOPLE WAY MORE THAN IF IT WAS REGULATED PER MILE. SO I'M GOING FROM THE AIRPORT TO NORTH STAR MALL, WHICH WOULD BE A $10 MINIMUM RIGHT NOW. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I GET TO NORTH STAR MALL AND YOU TELL ME THAT'S A $40 TRIP. AND SO THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME TYPE OF REGULATION, I THINK, TO PROHIBIT AND PRE PREVENT THAT FROM OCCURRING. OKAY. YEAH, THE SAFETY AND ALL THAT STUFF IS ANOTHER ISSUE. I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT THE RATES HERE. UM, AND I CAN, I CAN SEE THAT TO A POINT, BUT YOU'RE SAYING THAT THOSE TYPES OF INSTANCES CAN'T HAPPEN NOW? NO, THEY OCCUR NOW BECAUSE WE GET COMPLAINTS ON THOSE NOW, BUT IN AN UNREGULATED INDUSTRY, IT IS MY OPINION THAT THOSE WOULD INCREASE. OKAY. BUT THEY DO HAPPEN NOW. YES. WE GET COMPLAINTS ABOUT THOSE HAPPENING NOW. YES, SIR. OKAY. BUT PARDON ME. BUT THERE'S RECOURSE NOW, IF, IF, IF YOU DO GET THOSE COMPLAINTS IN THERE. YES, MA'AM. SO WE INVESTIGATE THOSE AND WE CAN REVOKE A PERMIT FROM A TAXI CAB AS A RESULT OF THOSE COMPLAINTS. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. UH, MY CONCERN AGAIN IS, YOU KNOW, THE RATE HERE, IT, IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK GOOD, IN MY OPINION, BEING SOME OF THE HIGHEST RATES HERE IN TEXAS COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES THAT WERE, WE'RE, AGAIN, GOING WITH SOME OF THE HIGHEST, HIGHEST, UH, ACROSS THERE. UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES IF I, MR. BULL BASIS, UH, WHY DON'T, WHY DON'T YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT, IF YOU DON'T MIND, MA'AM. NO, WELL, WELCOME. SORRY, I APOLOGIZE. I WAS LATE. UH, SOMEHOW I DIDN'T GET THE MESSAGE EARLY ENOUGH THAT THE COUNCIL MEETING WAS MOVED, BUT, UM, I WANT TO COMPLIMENT THE, UH, THE, YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. THEY DID A VERY GOOD JOB PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. THERE WAS A LOT OF THOUGHT AND INPUT. UH, THE LAST YEAR'S BEEN QUITE HELL FOR, FOR, UH, YELLOW CAB, WHICH IS NO LONGER A BUSINESS. I SOLD THE ASSETS TO A NATIONAL COMPANY, ZTRIP, UH, WHICH HAS A GREAT PLATFORM, NEW CARS, ET CETERA. COUNCILMAN, I UNDERSTAND, AND YOU BRING UP A GOOD POINT, BUT YOU GOTTA KEEP IN MIND, UH, THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IS OUTSTRETCH THE ABILITY TO RECOVER IT. YOU PROBABLY SEE IT IN ALL YOUR DEPARTMENTS. OKAY. UH, [01:50:01] THE CAB DRIVERS HAVE STRUGGLED FOR MANY YEARS WITH A COMPETITION OF UBER AND LYFT. THE AVERAGE TRIP IS LESS THAN FIVE MILES. SO WHEN YOU TAKE THE REVISED RATE TIMES A FIVE MILE TRIP, UH, AND THE COST OF FUEL AND ALL THE OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES, UH, WEAR AND TEAR AND MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLES, INSURANCE COSTS HAVE GONE UP. UH, ACCOUNT HOLDERS, WHICH, YOU KNOW, 75% OF OUR BUSINESS ARE ACCOUNT HOLDERS NOW WHERE WE DO, UH, THE PAPERWORK PAY THE DRIVERS COST OF DOING BUSINESS. AGAIN, I THINK THIS IS REASONABLE. I KNOW IN AUSTIN, UH, THERE, THERE THEY DON'T HAVE YOU. THE, THE, THE COMPANIES CAN SET THEIR OWN RATES AND AS, AS, UH, AS RICK SAID, THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS ISSUES WITH THAT. I THINK HAVING A FORMAL STRUCTURE ALLOWS A, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY TO DEFINE WHERE THE FOUR CORNERS ARE, SO YOU DON'T GO AT THE TAXI LINE AND GET INTO A BIDDING WAR. SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO ADD ANOTHER COMMENT ON TOP OF EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE PROPOSED. THERE'S ONE OTHER, UH, AMENDMENT THAT, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ON, BUT I, I DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET INTO IT FAR ENOUGH. AND THAT'S THE USE OF A TOP LIGHT, A TAXI LIGHT. AND I BET YOU IF I TOOK A SURVEY WITH EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, I WOULD GET 30 DIFFERENT ANSWERS. WHAT A TOP LIGHT REPRESENTS IN TERMS OF IS IT ON, IS IT OFF? IS IT MY BOOK? NOT BOOK? I THINK, I THINK SOME TYPE OF, OF MONOCLE IN A CAR IS, IS, IS NEEDED. UH, CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW THE ORDINANCE IS, IS WELL WRITTEN AND IT SAYS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE ONE TOP LIGHT ON THE TOP OF THE CAR THAT'S VISIBLE IN ALL DIRECTIONS. WELL, THE NEW ZTRIP MODEL, AND AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE 'CAUSE I WANTED TO BRING, UH, SOME SLIDES WITH US, SHOWS THE NEW CAR HAS AN INTERIOR LIGHT, SIMILAR TO THE TNCS, WHAT THEY USE, BUT IT HAS OUR NAME. SO RIGHT NOW, IN ORDER TO COVER THE ORDINANCE, WE HAVE TO HAVE A TOP LIGHT IN THE FRONT AND THE REAR KIND OF MAKE SOME INTRICACIES FOR WIRING AND KEEPING IT, UH, YOU KNOW, WORKING IN SUCCINCT TOGETHER. WE WERE HOPING TO GET A, UH, UH, AN ADDENDUM ADDED THAT WE COULD DISUSE POSSIBLY ONE INTERIOR TAXI LIGHT IN THE FRONT, UH, THAT LIGHTS UP. UH, SO THAT, THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD WANT TO CONSIDER IS, IS ADDING. OKAY. BUT, UM, THEY DID A GREAT JOB. WE'RE, WE'RE GOOD WITH IT. I, I, I KNOW THE RATE CAN MIGHT BE SOMEWHAT SHOCKING, BUT FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN IN THIS, I'VE, I'VE, I'VE, I'VE BEEN IN THE CAB BUSINESS, UH, 12 YEARS, SO I'VE SEEN A LOT. IT'S BEEN, UM, I THINK IT'S WELL DESERVING FOR THE DRIVERS, MA. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SIR. APPRECIATE IT. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME. YEAH. AND I, I, I'M SORRY, I DON'T KNOW THE NAMES. UM, MA'AM BACK THERE. WOULD Y'ALL LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT, OKAY. ALL RIGHT, GREAT. WELL, THANK YOU. UM, UM, AGAIN, I'M, I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT THIS, UH, BEING, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST PRICE FOR THE POOREST CITY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. AND I, I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. AND UH, AND JOHN, I HEAR EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PRICES HAVE GONE UP, SO ON AND SO FORTH, BUT THEY'VE GONE UP IN THESE OTHER CITIES AS WELL. AND HERE WE ARE, WE'RE SAYING WE NEED HIGHER PRICES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. SO I'M A LITTLE BIT, A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED ABOUT THAT. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD REALLY LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO LOOK AT THIS BEFORE WE, UH, MAKE ANY CHANGES OR SUGGESTING ANY CHANGES TO GO TO THE FULL COUNCIL. I, AND IT GAVE THIS, UH, TOP LIGHT THING. I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT BECAUSE THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL COST THAT WE'RE PASSING ON TO, UM, CAB DRIVERS OUT THERE. AND DO WE REALLY NEED TO DO THAT? SO I'D LIKE TO SEE ABOUT US, YOU KNOW, KICKING THIS CAN DOWN A LITTLE BIT UNLESS THERE'S SOME RUSH OR SOME, SOME EMERGENCY THAT WE NEED TO GET THIS DONE TODAY. MARIA, IS THERE ANY TIME, UM, RESTRICTION OR GOOD MORNING, UM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE? UM, NOW FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, HOWEVER, UM, AT THE LAST MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH THE, WITH THE TAB, IT IS IMPORTANT TO THEM TO MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENTS FOR FINANCIAL REASONS. SO, UM, AS RICK MENTIONED, WE HAD TROUBLE CONVENING A QUORUM TO MAKE A FINAL RECOMMENDATION TO THIS COMMITTEE. SO IF I COULD VOICE THEIR, THEIR URGENCY, WHAT THEY SHARE WITH ME IS THE FINANCIAL NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE WITH THE IMPACT OF FUEL PRICES AND, AND OTHER CHALLENGES IN THE TAXI INDUSTRY. THANK YOU, MARIA. UM, MA'AM, IF I MAY ADDRESS COUNCILMAN PERRY ON THE, THE TOP LIGHT ISSUE THAT MR. BRULE BASIS BROUGHT UP, THAT'S IN OUR RULES AND REGULATIONS AND WE CAN CHANGE THAT WITH APPROVAL FROM THE CHIEF. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE TAKING, DOES NOT NEED TO GO TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL 'CAUSE THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED IN THE CODE. JUST MAKE A QUICK COMMENT, COUNCILMAN. I DO, I DO. UM, I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN THAT MAYBE WE NEED A LITTLE MORE, UH, TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS, BUT, UH, IF WE DECIDE TODAY TO MOVE IT TO FULL COUNSEL, [01:55:01] THERE'S STILL THAT TIME IN BETWEEN, UM, IT BEING SCHEDULED. DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHY, WHEN IT MIGHT BE IF WE, IF WE MOVE IT ON WHEN WE COULD PUT IT TO, TO AN A SESSION? MADAM CHAIRPERSON, AS MARIA STATED, UH, THE, THE URGENCY OF THE MM-HMM. TAXI CAB INDUSTRY IS SUCH THAT THEY'VE BEEN PUSHING THIS SINCE THE EARLY SPRING. THIS FIRST CAME UP IN FEBRUARY OF 2022. MM-HMM. AND AS, UH, BOTH MARIA AND I MENTIONED THE DIFFICULTIES OF CONVENING A QUORUM HERE WE ARE ALMOST THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER, RIGHT? SO WE'VE ALREADY PUSHED IT SEVEN MONTHS. UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT IF THIS COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE SOME ADDITIONAL BRIEFING, THEN WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE THAT BRIEFING TO THE COMMITTEE. OKAY. MARIA? SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COUNCILWOMAN, THE THIRD WEEK IN SEPTEMBER IS WHEN WE WERE TARGETING TO BRING IT TO COUNCIL. ABOUT A MONTH THEN. OKAY. ALRIGHT. YOU OKAY WITH THAT COUNCILMAN? OKAY. UH, COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR AND THANK YOU. UH, MA'AM, CAN YOU HOLD ON FOR JUST A MOMENT? UH, WHAT IS YOUR NAME, MA'AM? I'LL CALL YOU UP IN A SECOND. LINDA THOMAS, I'M TACTIC. YES, MA'AM. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I ALSO WANNA EXPRESS MY THANKS TO ROBERT GONZALEZ, OUR DISTRICT FIVE, APPOINT TWO TO THE TAB. AND HE IS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDUSTRY AND HAS BEEN, UH, VERY ACTIVE AROUND TRANSPORTATION REGARDING, UM, TAXI, UH, AND THEN AROUND WHEN THE WHOLE LYFT CONVERSATION WAS TAKING PLACE. AND I KNOW, UM, HE HAS EXPRESSED URGENCY IN MOVING THIS FORWARD. UM, BUT I GUESS MY QUESTION, WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, RIGHT, TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT TO THE PROPOSED RATE INCREASE IS THE AVERAGE HOURS AND WAGES OF A TAXI CAB DRIVER, RIGHT? BECAUSE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE FOLKS, THIS IS PAYING, UH, THEIR SALARY AND WE ARE THE CITY'S MOST, WE ARE A POOR CITY, RIGHT? BUT WHEN I SPEAK TO MY TAXI DRIVERS IN DISTRICT FIVE, THE MOST ECONOMICALLY POOR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT, RIGHT? THIS WAGE, THIS INCREASE CAN, UH, ULTIMATELY IMPROVE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE WAGE OF A WORKER WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INCREASING THE CURRENT RATE. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT AND UNDERSTANDING, UM, AROUND WHY THERE'S A PROPOSED RATE INCREASE. AND I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A NUMBER OF REASONS, RIGHT? INFLATION, GAS ON AND SO FORTH, BUT ALSO THE COST OF LIVING. AND, UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS IS A PERSON'S WAGE, RIGHT? SO I I'M SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT STAFF AND THE TAXI, UH, THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY HAVE AGREED UPON WITH THESE AMENDMENTS. AND THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN CASTILLO. COUNCILMAN BRAVO. THANK YOU. UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. UM, AND, AND ONE IS WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, UM, THE, THESE, THE SCHEDULE, I MEAN, I GUESS ALL THESE PROPOSED CHANGES, THESE ARE FOR TAXI CABS. AND I'M WONDERING WHAT DOES THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY'S CLIENTELE LOOK LIKE AS COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER RIDE SHARES? THE, THE TAXI CAB RIDERSHIP TENDS TO BE, UH, AN AN OLDER DEMOGRAPHIC THAN YOUR TYPICAL TNCS. AND I THINK THAT'S A RESULT OF THE FAMILIARITY OF PEOPLE WITH GETTING OFF AN AIRPLANE, GOING TO THEIR UBER APP AND ORDERING AN UBER AND WALKING OUT OF THE AIRPORT AND GETTING IN THE UBER AND GOING RIGHT. UM, TAXI CABS. UH, A LOT OF THOSE, AS MR. ER BASE HAS SAID, UH, THEY HAVE CONTRACTS WITH, UH, THE ELDERLY, UH, COMMUNITY MAY USE THEM TO, I KNOW THAT EVERY TUESDAY I HAVE TO GO FOR A MEDICAL APPOINTMENT AT EIGHT O'CLOCK. SO THE TAXI CAB SHOWS UP AT EIGHT O'CLOCK AND THAT'S THAT NORMAL TAXI CAB DRIVER'S ROUTE IS TO TAKE THAT INDIVIDUAL FROM THEIR HOME TO THE APPOINTMENT AND THEN PICK THEM BACK UP AND TAKE THEM BACK HOME AND TAKE THEM BACK HOME. SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE MY, IN MY OPINION, THAT'S SO, MAYBE SOME OLDER CLIENTELE WHO GREW UP USING TAXI CABS AND THEY'RE MORE FAMILIAR WITH 'EM, OR MAYBE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE SMARTPHONES. I WOULD AGREE WITH THE FIRST. I, I DON'T, THE SECOND I, I COULDN'T COMMENT ON, BUT CERTAINLY IT MAKES SENSE THAT SOMEBODY WHO HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, UH, EASIER TO GET A A T IS THERE A WAY TO GET A BOOK, BOOK AN UBER OR LYFT RIDE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SMARTPHONE? WELL, I GUESS YOU COULD SIT A COMPUTER. I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T WANNA ARGUE WITH THE COUNCIL PERSON, BUT I THINK YOU NEED A SMARTPHONE. BUT TAXIS, IN FACT, THE COMPANY, MR. BULA BASES SOLD HIS COMPANY TWO ZTRIP ALSO HAS THE ABILITY TO ORDER A TAXI VIA SMARTPHONE OR VIA AN APP. IT, IT'S NOT AN ARGUMENT. I'M JUST ASKING A QUESTION. YES, I, I WOULD AGREE. OKAY. UM, SO I, I DON'T HAVE MUCH VISIBILITY INTO THIS FUEL SURCHARGE. IN HERE IT SAYS MAXIMUM TWO REQUESTS FOR FUEL SURCHARGE, AND THEN THE PROPOSAL IS TO REMOVE A MAXIMUM OF REQUESTS FOR A FUEL SUR SURCHARGE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT A FUEL, I, I AGREE THAT FUEL SURCHARGES ARE IMPORTANT. UM, YOU KNOW, IF GAS PRICES DOUBLE, THEN YOU CAN'T OPERATE WITH YOUR, YOU KNOW, WITH YOUR PREVIOUS PRICING. UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT A FUEL SURCHARGE LOOKS LIKE IF THERE'S, OR IF THAT'S [02:00:01] REGULATED IN ANY WAY. LIKE, IS IT FUEL CHARGE A DOLLAR? IS IT $50? YOU KNOW, UH, THAT, THAT, SO THAT'S, IM, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DETAIL THAT'S LEFT OUTTA THIS PRESENTATION. SO A FUEL SURCHARGE, EVERY 45 DAYS, THE CITY LOOKS AT THE PRICE OF FUEL, THE AVERAGE PRICE OF FUEL. IF IT HAS RISEN BY MORE THAN 50 CENTS, THEN THE INDUSTRY CAN REQUEST A FUEL SURCHARGE, WHICH THEN IS SEEN AS A NICKEL ON THE METER FOR EVERY MILE FOR THE RIDER. SO THE, THAT IS THE CURRENT WAY IT'S DONE, AND A MAXIMUM OF TWO OF THOSE PER YEAR. THE PROPOSAL? YEAH, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S SUFFICIENT, A NICKEL FOR A MILE IF YOUR, IF YOUR GAS PRICES DOUBLE. AND, AND SO I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE PROPOSAL IS TO ALLOW THAT TO BE DONE MORE FREQUENTLY AND AT 25 CENTS. SO IF GAS PRICES RAISED 25 CENTS A GALLON ON AVERAGE, THEN THAT 25 CENTS RESULTS IN A NICKEL ON THE METER. SO IT'S DONE. UM, YOU DON'T FALL AS FAR BEHIND AS QUICKLY, I GUESS IS WHAT I WOULD SAY. IF IT'S BEING DONE EVERY 45 DAYS, AND AS WE SAW GAS RISE OVER THE LAST NINE MONTHS, THAT SHOT WAY HIGH, THOSE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE DONE, UH, EVERY 45 DAYS AT 25 CENTS AN INCREASE, AVERAGE, A NICKEL ON THE METER EVERY TIME. I, I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT THAT'S ADEQUATE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES, YOU KNOW, RAPIDLY CHANGE, UH, CHANGING FUEL PRICES. SO IN ORDER TO ADD SOME, MAYBE I CAN ADD SOME CONTEXT TO IT FOR, FOR US, UH, CURRENTLY WITH THE PRICE OF GAS, UH, IT'S 40 CENTS PER MILE SURCHARGE FUEL SURCHARGE AS IT HAS GONE UP. SO IF YOU START AT UNDER $2 AND 20 CENTS, UH, WHICH IS IN CHAPTER 33, THERE IS NO FUEL SURCHARGE. WHEN GAS GOES TO TWO 20 TO TWO 50 50 CENTS INCREMENTS, AGAIN, CURRENTLY THAT'S A NICKEL SURCHARGE. AND THEN EVERY 50 CENTS THEREAFTER, YOU WOULD ADD ANOTHER NICKEL. SO WITH THE COST OF GAS, IT IS, RIGHT NOW WE ARE AT 40 CENTS PER GALLON FOR A FUEL SURCHARGE OR 40 CENTS PER MILE. I'M SORRY. IN YOUR OPINION, IS 40 CENTS ADEQUATE FOR THE PRICE OF GAS TODAY? I'M NOT A TAXI CAB DRIVER. UM, BUT GIVEN HOW FAST IT'S RISEN, UH, IN MY OPINION, ALLOWING TAXI CAB DRIVERS TO DO THIS AT 25 CENT INCREMENTS FOR GAS AND MULTIPLE TIMES INSTEAD OF A MAXIMUM OF TWO, WOULD CERTAINLY PROVIDE THE RELIEF OR SOME RELIEF THAT THE TAXI CAB INDUSTRY NEEDS. GOT IT. OKAY. UM, I'M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT THIS ALTERNATIVE. SO THERE'S A, A PROPOSED PERMIT FEE, I BELIEVE, OF $250 FOR THE ALTERNATIVE. UH, V V F H, I DON'T KNOW WHAT V F H STANDS FOR. VEHICLE FOR HIRE. VEHICLE FOR HIRE. OKAY. UH, WHAT IS A PERMIT FOR A TAXI? $250. ALL MOTORIZED ARE THE SAME? YES, THE SAME PRICE. GOT IT. OKAY. AND THEN IS THERE SOMETHING IN HERE ABOUT, UH, REQUIRED SIGNAGE FOR A VEHICLE FOR HIRE? SO, UH, ALL VEHICLES FOR HIRE HAVE A, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, ON TAXI, IF YOU GET IN, IT'S ON THE WINDOW AND IT EXPLAINS THE, THE COST THAT YOU'RE PAYING, THE DROP FEE, THE PER MILE FEE, THE WAIT TIME FEE, THE EXTRA PASSENGER FEE, ALL OF THAT IS ON THERE. UM, OKAY, BUT NO, LIKE LIT UP SIGNS OR ANYTHING? NOT FOR RATES, NO, SIR. NO, BUT, BUT JUST TO, TO INDICATE THAT IT IS A VEHICLE FOR HIRE. YES. UH, THE CITY ISSUES, A, A, A PERMANENT, A STICKER THAT GOES ON THE SIDE, UH, MUCH LIKE WE DO FOR OUR TOWS AS WELL. YEAH. UM, THAT, THAT IS INDICATED THAT THAT TOWING COMPANY, UH, WORKS FOR THE CITY AND IS PERMITTED BY THE CITY. GOT IT. OKAY. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I, UM, DO SHARE SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT COUNCILMAN PERRY EXPRESSED. UM, AND I, I'M INTERESTED IN HAVING MORE TIME. I DON'T KNOW IF MAYBE MORE TIME TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW THIS PROCESS, IT ASK QUESTIONS, UM, BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN IT GETS SCHEDULED TO GO TO FULL COUNSEL IS ADEQUATE OR NOT? IT PROBABLY IS FOR ME. UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I DO WANNA SPEND MORE TIME LOOKING AT THIS AND, AND ASKING QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. I THINK, UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A CONSENSUS THAT MAYBE IT'S OKAY. COUNCIL , DO YOU HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH, IF THAT'S WHAT YEAH, YEAH. AND MAYBE DELAYING IT, BUT I DON'T WANNA DELAY IT TOO LONG. I WOULD ASK THAT, UH, MARIA, MAYBE YOU AND I PUT IT ON THE AGENDA FOR, FOR NEXT MONTH, UM, IF WE CAN. SURE. COUNSEL, WOULD YOU LIKE FOR US TO MEET INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE? YES, PLEASE. BUT NOT COME BACK TO THE FULL COMMITTEE. OH, UM, THAT'S AN IDEA. UM, YEAH. WELL, WE'D HAVE TO BRING IT BACK THOUGH, WOULDN'T WE? TO MOVE IT TO FULL COUNSEL? YES. OKAY. SO, UH, MAYBE A SHORTENED VERSION OF IT WHEN WE, [02:05:01] UM, BRING IT BACK TO, TO COMMITTEE, BUT VERY GOOD. DEFINITELY A, UM, BRIEFINGS FOR EACH COMMITTEE MEMBER, INCLUDING, OF COURSE, OUR COUNCILMAN. SHE'S NOT HERE TODAY, BUT, UM, SANDAL WILL DO. UM, OKAY. SO, UM, MS. THOMPSON, UH, SO THANK YOU, SIR. MS. IS IT THOMAS? I'M SORRY, MS. THOMAS. UH, PUBLIC COMMENT IS USUALLY AT THE BEGINNING, BUT I, I WANNA OFFER YOU A, A COUPLE OF MINUTES. UM, WE'LL HAVE A TIMER HERE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK. THANK YOU, MADAM. UH, COUNCILWOMAN? I, UH, YES. GOT A PHONE CALL TO WAKE ME UP AND LET ME KNOW THE TIME HAS CHANGED FOR THE TO BE HERE. UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY. I AM TRYING TO GET, SHINE SOME LIGHT ON THE PROFIT OF THE TAXI INDUSTRY. THE MAIN AND, UH, PLACE THAT A TAXI IS TO GET A TRIP IS AT THE AIRPORT. I'M CONSIDERING IT, MY HEADQUARTERS BY NOW. UH, DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAVE A COMPANY AND IS, IT'S THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT IS SO PRICEY THAT IF I'M NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY, I CAN'T AFFORD IT. AND THAT INCLUDES ANY OTHER, UH, RECENT TAXI COMPANY THAT'S PROPPED UP, UH, THE, GOING THROUGH THE DAY, SITTING AT THE AIRPORT, PERHAPS UP TO FOUR HOURS BEFORE WE GET A TRIP. MY PROFIT, THE FOOD ON MY TABLE, MY GAS, MY PERMITS, IT'S NAIL BITING, SNAIL BITING. IT'S TOO MANY ROADBLOCKS IN THE WAY. JUST LIKE TO ASK FOR SOME HELP SOMEWHERE, IF IT'S EVEN ADVERTISEMENT. I JUST MISSED THE DEADLINE AT LYFT MONDAY, LAST MONDAY. 'CAUSE I GOT, I GOT INFORMATION ABOUT IT A LITTLE LATE, UH, TO GET SOME, SOME FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S JUST NOT ALLOWING US TO PROFIT AS WE WOULD LIKE TO FOR, UH, THE TAXI INDUSTRY. THANK YOU. YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SPEAKING WITH US TODAY, MA'AM. MM-HMM. . AND WITH THAT, UM, I THINK WE'VE, WE WE'RE GOING TO PUSH THIS TO THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING, TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING, AND, UM, WE'LL GET PRIVATE BRIEFINGS ON THAT. AND THEN, UH, OUR MEETING'S ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.