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>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND THE TIME IS NOW 2:06 P.M., AND WE'RE MEETING FOR OUR NOVEMBER 4TH, 2025, TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING. MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU PLEASE READ THE ROLL.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH. AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY HERE TODAY AND THANK YOU -- I'M EXCITED TO SEE A QUORUM SO EARLY AND I DID SEE COUNCILMEMBER HERE
[Public Comment ]
AND SO WE HAVE UNANIMOUS ATTENDANCE. WE WILL START OFF WITH PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF FOLKS TO SPEAK ON ITEM 4 SO WE'LL START OFF BY CALLINGMICHAEL ROJAS. >> H■ELLO? MY NAME IS MICHAEL ROJAS AND ON BEHALF OF THIS LADY HERE TO READ IT OUT IN PLAIN ENGLISH BECAUSE MY ACCENT -- I DON'T WANT YOU TO
MISUNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: FOR SURE.
SO YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES SO THAT'S SIX MINUTES LATER WITH TRANSLATION.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCILMEMBERS, MY NAME IS MICHAEL ROJAS AND I REPRESENT A SMALL SAN ANTONIO TECHNOLOGY AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION OPERATOR COMMITTED TO SAFETY, DIGNITY AND FAIR ACCESS. AND I AM HERE TODAY TO ADDRESS A SPECIFIC PROVISION IN CHAPTER 33 OF OUR CITY CODE, THE STRETCH LIMOUSINE OWNERSHIP REQUIREMENT. THIS RULE WRITTEN MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO, FORCES EVERY NEW LIMOUSINE COMPANY TO PURCHASE AND HAVE ONE AFTER-MARKET STRETCH LIMOUSINE TO JUST ENTER THE SAN ANTONIO MARKET. AT FIRST GLANCE IT MAY SEEM HARMLESS BUT THIS IS UNSAFE AND EXCLUSIONARY. AND SAFETY RISKS.
STRETCH LIMOUSINES ARE NOT FACTORY BUILT, THEY ARE CUT AND EXTENDED AND REASSEMBLED BY A PROCESS THAT REMOVES CRUMBLE ZONES AND DISABLES AIRBAG SYSTEMS AND CUTS AND MODIFIES BRAKE LINES AND AVOIDS SAFETY CERTIFICATIONS. THESE VEHICLES ARE NOT CRASH TESTED BY NHSTA OR IHSSS, AND FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS, FMVESS, DO NOT APPLY AFTER MODIFICATION. AND YET SAN ANTONIO STILL MANDATES THAT NEW OPERATORS BUY ONE OF THE LEAST SAFE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, NOT TO PROTECT PASSENGERS, BUT AS A CONDITION OF MARKET ENTRY. TWO, LEGAL CONFLICT. UNDER TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 215.004, SITES LIKE SAN ANTONIO WITH POPULATIONS UNDER 1.9 MILLION, UM, MAY REGULATE LIMOUSINE SERVICES ONLY TO PROMOTE PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE.
AND THIS STRETCH LIMO RULE DOES NONE OF THOSE THINGS. AND IT SERVES NO SAFETY PURPOSE, CREATES A FINANCIAL BARRIER THAT EXCLUDES SMALL MINORITY AND VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESSES, AND RISKS COMPLIANCE OF THE STATE PREEMPTION LAWS INCLUDING THE TEXAS REGULATORY CONSISTENCY ACT, HB2127. AND WHEN A LOCAL ORDINANCE IMPOSES OUTDATED AND UNSAFE EXCLUSIONARY REQUIREMENTS IT'S NOT REGULATION, IT'S OBSTRUCTION.
THREE, URBAN NEW SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL HARM. STRETCH LIMOUSINES ARE A PRACTICAL NUISANCE IN OUR CITY'S URBAN CORE AND THEIR EXCESSIVE LENGTH MAKES IT UNFIT FOR OUR TIGHT COLONIAL ERA STREETS WHERE PEDESTRIANS AND SCOOTERS AND CYCLISTS ALREADY COMPETE FOR SPACE. AND THEY BLOCK INTERSECTIONS, OBSTRUCT BIKE LINES AND COMPLICATE EMERGENCY ACCESS. AND THEIR LOW FUEL EFFICIENCY HAS UNNECESSARY EMISSIONS AND A POOR FIT FOR A CITY STRIVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY. THIS IS NOT JUST BAD POLICY, IT'S BAD URBAN PLANNING. FOUR, PUBLIC INTEREST AND INNOVATION.
REPEALING THIS MANDATE WILL IMPROVE SAFETY BY REMOVING UNSAFE VEHICLES FROM THE FLEET, EXPAND CONSUMER CHOICE WITH MODERN, EFFICIENT BLACK CARS, S.U.V.S AND EXECUTIVE VANS, ATTRACT INVESTMENT FROM OPERATORS WHO MEET OR EXCEED EVERY SAFETY AND INSURANCE STANDARD, WITHOUT BEING FORCED TO BUY A VEHICLE NO CUSTOMER IS REQUESTING.
AND IMPORTANTLY WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF NEW VEHICLES ENTERING THE MARKET WITH HYBRID AND ELECTRIC DRIVE TRAINS AND REAL-TIME FLEET DIAGNOSTICS. AND THESE VEHICLES ARE DESIGNED FOR URBAN ENVIRONMENTS, NOT RETROFITTED FOR OUTDATED AESTHETICS.
THEY OFFER COLLISION, AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS, PEDESTRIAN DETECTION, ECO-FRIENDLY FUEL CONSUMPTION, SMALLER TURNING RADIUS FOR TIGHT CITY STREETS. SHOULD SAN ANTONIO BE WELCOMING THIS INNOVATION, NOT CLIPPING TO A MANDATE THAT FORCES OPERATORS TO BUY OVERSIZED INEFFICIENT VEHICLES THAT NO LONGER SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST? COUNCILMEMBERS, THIS IS NOT ABOUT DEREGULATION FOR ITS OWN SAKE, IT IS ABOUT MODERNIZING OUR ORDINANCES, ALIGNING WITH STATE LAW AND PUTTING PUBLIC SAFETY, FAIRNESS AND INNOVATION FIRST.
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I RESPECTFULLY -- I RESPECTFULLY URGE THIS COMMITTEE TO DIRECT STAFF TO INCLUDE THE REPEAL OF THE STRETCH LIMOUSINE MANDATE AND ANY FUTURE AMENDMENTS INTO CHAPTER 33.>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. UP NEXT WE HAVE RAMON CONCEPION.
>> NAME IS RAMON CONCEPION, AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE HERE FOR THEIR TIME.
AND I WILL LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HAS DONE BEFORE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE OPERATORS AND COMPANY OWNERS FOR THE WORK DONE OVER ALL THOSE YEARS. BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMPETITIVE BUSINESS. WE WOULD LIKE TO -- LIKE FOR THEM, OR TO SPREAD THE WORD TO BE UPDATED ON EVERYTHING, POLICIES, STATUTES AND EVERYTHING ELSE -- SO EVERYBODY CAN PARTICIPATE IN A HEALTHY AND FAIR PART. AND THUS PROMOTE MORE DEPTH AND EVERYTHING THAT ENTAILS FOR EVERYBODY, ALL OF THE SAN ANTONIO POPULATION THAT IS MORE
THAN ONE MILLION. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. JOHNNY MJOHNNJOHNNY MARTINEZ.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON, MY NAME IS JOHNNY MARTINEZ, AND I USED TO BE A LIMOUSINE BUSINESS OWNER FROM 2002 TO 2007. AND AT THAT TIME I MET THE REQUIREMENTS AND AT THAT TIME IT WAS A STRETCH LIMOUSINE THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE TO GET YOUR CITY PERMITS.
NOWADAYS, YOU KNOW, I GOT HERE AT THE LAST MINUTE, BUT THE THING IS THAT TIMES HAVE CHANGED. THE POPULATION HAS GROWN IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO JUST LIKE SHE SAID, THE SAFETY IS DIFFERENT NOW, BECAUSE NOW YOU HAVE MORE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, PEOPLE, MORE PEDESTRIANS, AND IT IS HARD TO TURN ONE OF THOSE VEHICLES AND MAKE A RIGHT TURN ON A STREET. SO IT'S ALSO HARD, ALSO FOR SOMEONE TO START A BUSINESS HERE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO -- YOU KNOW, MEET THE REQUIREMENT TO BUY A STRETCH LIMOUSINE, WHICH I THINK THAT PURCHASING SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO PAY $90,000 TO $100,000 FOR THE CAR TO MOVE MAYBE JUST ONCE A WEEK FOR A Q AEREA OR A WEDDING, AND WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE NOT USING ANYMORE. SO I THINK TO GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO START IS TO ELIMINATE SOMETHING THAT IS NOT USE ANYMORE. AND WE IN THE FUTURE WISH YOU, YOU KNOW, TO ADVANCE TECHNOLOGIES, I MEAN IN OUR VEHICLES.
AND THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOOD FOR US TO COME HERE AND TO HOPEFULLY OR COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO PUT THIS IN TO HELP US OUT TO TRY TO ELIMINATE THIS. AND TO HELP SMALL MINORITY BUSINESS OWNERS TO, YOU KNOW, TO ADVANCE, TO START THEIR BUSINESS, TO GET THEIR PERMITS
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AND TO BE ABLE TO HIRE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO NEEDS DRIVERS, DETAILERS.SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE FOR TODAY BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. MARTINEZ. JASON LEONE.
>> THANK YOU FOR MEETING US TODAY. SO WE'RE EAGER TO OPERATE AND PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. OUR GOAL IS TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY, CREATE LOCAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AND TO CREATE THE -- CONTRIBUTE TO THE CITY'S ECONOMY. AT THIS TIME, THE STRETCH LIMOUSINE REQUIREMENTS IS PREVENTING US FROM MOVING FORWARD. OUR BUSINESS MODEL FOCUSES ON S.U.V.S AND NOT STRETCH VEHICLES. WITHOUT THE STRETCH LIMOUSINE WE CAN BEGIN OPERATING IMMEDIATELY AND PROVIDE SAFE AND RELIABLE AND COMPLIANT SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS AND LOCAL BUSINESSES. WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST APPROVAL TO OPERATE WITH THE PROVEN FLEET SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN SERVING THE CITY AND GROWING RESPONSIBLY.
WE'RE COMMITTED TO FOLLOWING ALL REGULATIONS AND MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY VEHICLES AND REPRESENTING THE SAN ANTONIO WITH PROFESSIONALISM AND EXCELLENCE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO CAME TO SPEAK. THAT IS GOING TO BE ALL ON ITEM 4, WHICH IS OUR LAST ITEM FOR TODAY SO WE HAVE A COUPLE TO GO THROUGH AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT ITEM.
[Approval of Minutes ]
AND WE WILL START OFF WITH APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 7TH.I ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL. >> MOTION TO APPROVE.
>> SECOND. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: WE HAVE A MOTION AND WE HAVE A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR. AYE. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[Briefing and Possible Action on ]
AND WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM 2, WHICH IS THE VIA, ITEM 2 AND 3 PRESENTED BY VIA AND WE'LL START OFF WITH NUMBER ONE AND THEN VIA WILL PRESENT THE SECOND ITEM AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A CONVERSATIONON THAT. >> THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
>> GOOD TO BE HERE AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING US, AS YOU SAID WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS HERE TODAY. FIRST WE'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR ART PROGRAM AND THINGS ARE MOVING ALONG VERY WELL, ESPECIALLY IN THE TWO ART LINES, WE STARTED CONSTRUCTION ON THE GREEN LINE, AND WE'RE AT 40% DESIGN ON THE SILVER LINE. AND THEN WE'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR SECOND MAINTENANCE FACILITY. WE HAVE CLEARED THE NEPA PROCESS SO WE CAN SHARE WITH YOU OUR PROPOSED LOCATION FOR THAT. AND SO THAT WILL BE OUR FIRST PRESENTATION AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR BETTER BUS PLAN JUST ADOPTED BY OUR BOARD A FEW MONTHS AGO. AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT PLAN.
WITH THAT I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MMANJOURI TO GET STARTED WITH TE ART PROGRAM.
>> THANK YOU. I'M THE MAJOR CAPITAL PROGRAM OFFICER AT VIA.
AND GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. AND I'M GOING TO GO FIRST WITH OUR GREEN LINE PROJECTS SILVER LINE PROJECT AND OUR ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE CONVENIENT, FAST, AND HIGH FREQUENCY SERVICE TWO LINES, AND THEN WE HOPE TO EXPAND OUR PROGRAM TO OTHER LINES.
GREEN LINE PROJECT, ALSO KNOWN AS ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT NORTH/SOUTH CORRIDOR PROJECT, IS 10.35 MILES OF CONSTRUCTION, BUT CONSTRUCTION IS U.S.-281, TO ROOSEVELT AVENUE AND STEEVES.
BUT THE ROUTE, OR THE BUS SERVICE LINE, WILL GO FROM AIRPORT THROUGH SAN PEDRO AND THROUGH DOWNTOWN, ROOSEVELT AND ALL THE WAY THROUGH. AND SO THE CONSTRUCTION LIMITS ARE SMALLER THAN THE ROUTE. IT'S 10 MINUTE FREQUENCY ON WEEKDAY, AND 15 MINUTES FREQUENCY ON WEEKENDS, AND WE ARE USING CNG ARTICULATED 17 VEHICLES.
THEY ARE SIMILAR TO OUR PRIMO VEHICLES UPGRADED. AND OUR TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET IS $48.8 MILLION, WE HAVE RECEIVED $268 MILLION FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS PART OF THE NEW STARTS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS PROGRAM. AND WE HAVE ASSURED BONDS AND THEN THE REST OF THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM VIA. AND THIS LINE ALSO INTERSECTS MULTIPLE OTHER VIA ROUTES. SO IT KIND OF SERVES AS A SPINE THAT MULTIPLE OTHER ROUTES.
MAJOR CONNECTIONS ARE AT NORTH STAR TRANSIT CENTER, WHICH IS ON THE NORTHERN SIDE NEAR 14 AND
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SAN PEDRO. AND THEN THROUGH DOWNTOWN. AND THEN CONNECTIONS AT BROOKS TRANSIT CENTER. AT THE END OF 100% DESIGN, THE CALCULATED WHAT OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE ARE DOING TO HELP NOT ONLY OUR TRANSIT SYSTEM TO BECOME RELIABLE, BUT ALSO TO SEE AN IMPROVEMENT. SO WE'RE ADDING 10 SIGNAL PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, UPGRADING THE INTERSECTIONS FOR SYNCHRONIZED SIGNALS AND FOR TRANSIT SIGNAL PRIORITY TO HELP OUR TRANSIT SERVICE TO BE MORE RELIABLE. AND WE ARE ALSO AS A PART OF THE WORK, WE ARE ALSO ADDING AND REPAIRING SIDEWALKS. MOSTLY CLOSER TO OUR STATIONS.AND THEN WHERE NEEDED WE ARE REPLACING THE STORMWATER DRAINS ALONG WITH OTHER IMPROVEMENTS REQUIRED WHEN WE PLACE OUR STATION OR WE ARE ADDING BUS LANES IN THE CENTER.
AND THE MAP ON THE RIGHT HERE SHOWS THREE TYPES OF CONFIGURATIONS.
CENTER RUNNING LANES, WHICH ARE SHOWN IN PINK OR RED. AND TYPICALLY THEY ARE NORTH OF THE LAKE. AND THAT MEANS THAT THE BUSES ARE GOING TO BE IN THE CENTER OF THE RIGHT-OF-WAY. WITH THE SINGLE STATIONS SERVING THAT.
AND MIXED LANE TRAFFIC, WHICH IS SHOWN IN YELLOW, WHICH IS ON THE NORTHERN SIDE.
THE NORTH SIDE OR ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE ON ROOSEVELT. AND THEN THE BUSINESS ACCESS TRANSIT THERE, THE DIAMOND LANES THAT YOU SEE DOWNTOWN WHICH IS BUSES AND RIGHT-TURNING VEHICLES. SO THOSE ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR PROJECT.
AND WE HAVE STARTED EARLY WORKS, WHICH INCLUDES UTILITY RELOCATION FOR EVERYONE.
WE HAVE DIVIDED THIS CORRIDOR INTO EIGHT SEGMENTS FOR EASE OF GIVING INFORMATION TO GENERAL PUBLIC. AND RESIDENTS. AND WE HAVE STARTED RELOCATION NORTH MOST SEGMENT, SEGMENT 8 ON E ISAM, AND SO CURRENTLY PEOPLE CAN SEE CPS POLES BEING RELOCATED OR SOME OTHER INTERMITTENT LANE CLOSURES TO TAKE CARE OF UTILITIES.
AND COME JANUARY/FEBRUARY WE WILL SEE A LOT MORE CONSTRUCTION ON A LOT OF THE SEGMENTS, INCLUDING SIDEWALKS AND OTHERS. THESE ARE SOME PHOTOS. WE DO SAFETY MEETINGS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, AND THERE ARE SOME PHOTOS SHOWING CHAIN ELECTRIC DOING HYDROWORK.
OR THE BEFORE WE RELOCATE THE UTILITIES. AND THE NEXT ONE THAT WE WORKED ON WAS STATION DESIGN. AND SO THIS IS A TYPICAL STATION.
AND IT HAS OUR PANELS HERE THAT ARE SHOWN -- SIX. THE ENTIRE CORRIDOR HAS 25 STATIONS, WITH 113 UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTWORK. VIA CONDUCTED COMPETITION WITH STUDENTS FROM THE SCHOOLS, ALONG THE CORRIDOR, AND WE RECEIVED ABOUT 150 ENTRIES.
WE HAD A PANEL OF ARTISTS AND VIA STAFF WHO WENT THROUGH THAT. AND NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT HOW ARTWORK COULD BE CONVERTED INTO THAT TUNNEL. SO ALL OF THE TECHNICAL THING IS GOING ON. AND WE HAVE ALSO WORKED -- MET WITH COMMUNITIES ON DESIGN.
WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME INPUT, AND WE ARE UPDATING THAT INFORMATION.
SPECIFICALLY IN HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS. THESE ARE GENERAL THEMES.
THESE ARE GRAPHICS FROM THE ENTRIES ON HOW THEY ARE -- THIS IS NOT ONE ARTWORK, THESE ARE SEVERAL ENTRIES. THE PALETTE OF COLOR, VIOLET IS NOT CLEAR ON THE SCREEN AND THERE ARE FOUR COLORS. TYPICALLY THE GRAY STEEL COLOR IS THE STRUCTURE.
AND THE GREEN COLOR IS THE ROOF. AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF VARIATIONS OF THAT GREEN, THE GOLDEN COLOR MIGHT BE USED FOR ARTWORK OR OTHER PLACES. SO THAT WORK IS UNDERGOING.
AND WE ARE AT 100% DESIGN WITH EARLY WORKS PACKAGES ISSUED AND UTILITIES GOING ON AND WE HAVE ISSUED DRAWINGS SET FOR CONSTRUCTION TO OUR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK.
AND WE ARE UNDER NEGOTIATIONS WITH THEM FOR GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE FOR THE REST OF THE
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CONSTRUCTION.BOTH SIDES. WE SHOWED THAT TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND OUR STAFF AND WE ARE WORKING ON TESTING AND LOOKING AT THAT VEHICLE. SO IF WE NEED ANY IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SPECIFICATION FOR OUR ART PROJECT WE ARE ABLE TO DO SO. LOOKING AHEAD, MAJOR CONSTRUCTION AS I MENTIONED WILL START WITH THE SIDEWALK AND SOME OTHER WORK JANUARY. AND THEN OTHER CONSTRUCTION WILL START WITH STATION IMPROVEMENT.
OUR GOAL IS ONCE WE NEGOTIATE AND FINALIZE THE PRICE AND THE WORK DETAILS WITH OUR CONTRACTOR, WE WILL BE ABLE TO RELEASE THE PHASING AND HOW THE CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO PROGRESS BETWEEN SEGMENT ONE THROUGH EIGHT. AND THAT IS UNDER WORKS.
NEXT IS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND TOM IS GOING TO GO THROUGH OUR EFFORTS.
>> THANK YOU, COUNCIL. YES, SO THIS IS JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE LAST QUARTER. OF COURSE WE HAVE MADE A COMMITMENT TO THE SURROUNDING, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTIAL -- ABOUT 750 BUSINESSES ON THE CORRIDOR AND A LITTLE UNDER 8,000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS WITHIN A HALF MILE OF EACH DIRECTION. SO A MILE TOTAL OFF OF THE CORRIDOR.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE'VE GONE AND TALKED TO ALL OF THOSE FOLKS AND WE MADE A COMMITMENT TO THEM WITH OUR CMAR TEAM THAT BEFORE THE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON, YOU KNOW, WE WENT OUT AND TALKED TO THEM 90 DAYS BEFORE THE UTILITY RELOCATION WAS STARTING AND THEN WE'LL DO THE EXACT SAME THING WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE SEGMENTS IN THE 90 DAYS PRIOR TO IT. AND THEN THE CMAR TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT HARD 30 DAYS BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE IMPACTED BUSINESSES. SO MY TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING EVERYBODY IN INFORMED IN THAT 90 DAYS BEFORE THEY GET HIT WITH SOME KIND OF CONSTRUCTION. OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO KEEP THE ENTIRE CORRIDOR NOTIFIED THE ENTIRE YEAR LONG. SO THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE, WE HAVE BEEN HITTING A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES AND GOING TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS AND TOUCHING AS MANY FOLKS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO LET THEM KNOW.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A ROUTE YET, THIS IS A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
SO WE'RE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO MINIMIZE THE INTERFERENCE IN THEIR DAILY LIFE AND WE'RE GOING TO STICK TO THAT, AND WE'RE GOING TO ABIDE BY THAT. BUT THERE ARE GOING TO BE LITTLE INTERFERENCES.
AND THE BEST THING WE CAN DO IS TO LET THEM TO KNOW FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE.
SO THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF MULTIPLE MEETINGS THAT WE HAD AND PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TOUCHED AND HOW DID TO JOIN THE CALL. AT THE BEGINNING OF IT. AND THEN WE ENGAGED IN A VERY, VERY ROBUST CONVERSATION, MULTIPLE OF THOSE FOLKS STAYED ON, AND STAYED FOR THAT WHOLE HOUR. AND WE HAD ROD -- ROD WAS ONE OF OUR GUEST SPEAKERS.
BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, GIVING THAT GENERAL UPDATE OF WHAT CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND WHAT CONSTRUCTION IS GOING TO FEEL LIKE. SO BEFORE THAT, YOU CAN SEE IN THE UPPER LEFT-HAND CORNER OF THAT PICTURE, WE STAPLED TO OUR DOOR HANGER THE INVITATION TO THE TOWN HALL. SO IF SOMEBODY DID NOT NECESSARILY LIVE WITHIN THE CONFINES THAT WE WERE TARGETING WITH THOSE NUMBERS, THEY COULD ALSO REGISTER ONLINE.
AND THEY WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THAT CALL OUT. AND SO WE, OF COURSE, WE INVITED ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES AS WELL TOO AND WE WERE JUST REMINDING THEM NOT ONLY COULD THEY CALL IN, BUT THEY COULD ALSO WATCH IT LIVE ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
BUT THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE -- THIS IS RIGHT OFF EISEN ROAD AND TACO HAVEN, OF COURSE SRGS, IS DOWNTOWN AND I LOVE MAKING THAT BUSINESS AND IF YOU Y'ALL HAVEN'T GONE IN AND HAD SOME OF THEIR TACOS AND THEY'RE FANTASTIC. AND WITH THE BUSINESS EMBROIDERY SOLUTIONS, WE MADE A COMMITMENT TO OUR VENDORS AND I WAS WEARING CLOTHING FROM THEM THIS MORNING BUT I PUT ON MY SPORT COAT. SO THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STOPPING IN ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK. AND THEN THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF THE COMMUNITY EVENTS.
YOU KNOW, WE GO OUT TO LET PEOPLE KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE GENERAL VICINITY OF THE CORRIDOR BUT WAS A P PEDIATE RICK EVENT THAT WE WENT TO AND WE HANDED OUT OTHER INFORMATION ON OTHER ROUTES. AND, SO SORRY -- WE WILL WALK EVERY SEGMENT THAT IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND WE'LL WALK THE CORRIDOR EVERY SINGLE YEAR. SO WE STARTED THAT UP AGAIN IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR AND WE KNOCKED ON 7,887 DOORS. WHETHER THEY ANSWER OR NOT, THEY RECEIVED A DOOR HANGER. YOU KNOW, IF THEY DID ANSWER, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT OF THOSE
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338, ONLY 2% HAD CONCERNS. AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT. ALL OF THOSE ENDED UP ROUGHLY IN THE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN COUNCILMAN KAUR, THE SUMMIT AND WEST KINGS HIGHWAY AREA AND THEY HAD CONSTRUCTION QUESTIONS. BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR LIST AND WE KNOW WHOSE DOOR THAT WE'RE AT WE'RE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THOSE FOLKS AND TO PROVIDE THEM ANY EXTRA INFORMATION THAT THEY HAVE. 11% WERE VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE. AND 87% OF THE FOLKS IT JUST WASN'T A, UM, I'LL FALL DOWN ON MY SWORD FOR YOU, OR, YOU KNOW, I HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS -- IT WAS JUST THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT WITH ONLY SIX FOLKS HAVING, YOU KNOW, QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS WAS -- IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A GOOD RESPONSE. I WILL GIVE IT BACK TO FOR THE SCHEDULE.>> SO HERE IN NOVEMBER, WE ARE NEGOTIATING WITH CMAR AND EXPECTED TO GO BEFORE THE BOARD IN DECEMBER TO AWARD THAT CONTRACT. AND THEN THE MAJOR CONSTRUCTION STARTS NEXT YEAR. OUR GOAL IS TO OPEN REVENUE SERVICE IS EARLY 2028.
NO LATER THAN APRIL 21ST. THAT'S OUR COMMITMENT TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO THAT'S THE END OF THE GREEN LINE. SO CAN I GO ON SILVER LINE AT THIS POINT? OKAY. SO SILVER LINE PROJECT -- SILVER LINE PROJECT IS THE EAST/WEST RAPID TRANSIT CORRIDOR PROJECT, IS 7.3 MILES.
THE PROJECT IS SET UP SIMILAR TO NORTH/SOUTH OR GREEN LINE PROJECT.
THE 10-MINUTE SERVICE DURING WEEKDAY AND 15-MINUTE SERVICE DURING WEEKEND, AND IT ALSO HAS PROJECT LIMIT FROM FROST CENTER TO GENERAL MCMILLIAN, THAT'S A CONSTRUCTION LIMIT.
BUT THE SERVICE IN FUTURE WHEN THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED, IS FROM EAST SIDE TRANSIT CENTER WHICH WILL GO UNDER CONSTRUCTION PRETTY SOON, ALL THE WAY TO THE KEL-LAC TRANSIT CENTER.
SO THE CURRENT ESTIMATED COST AT 40% COMPLETION OF DESIGN IS $322.2 MILLION.
THIS IS A DIFFERENT GRANT, THIS IS A SMALL STRATEGY GRANT. SO THE FUNDING IS CAPPED AT $150 MILLION. AND WE ARE REQUESTING $149.9 MILLION FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND WE'LL BE NEGOTIATING THAT NEXT YEAR WITH THEM. CURRENTLY, WE ARE IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, IN THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT IT IS NOT APPROVED BUDGET, BUT IT IS A FEDERAL RECOMMENDATION FOR $142 MILLION. SO WE ARE ASKING MORE MONEY NEXT TIME THAT WE GO FOR REVIEW. FACTS AND FIGURE, SIMILAR AT 40%, AND THERE ARE FOUR NEW SIGNALIZED PEDESTRIAN CROSS SECTIONS AND 25 INTERSECTIONS AND WE ARE LOOKING TO UPGRADE FOR SYNCHRONIZING THE SIGNALS WITH IMPROVED TRAFFIC FLOW. 60 PLUS NEW OR REPLACED STORMWATER DRAINS AND EIGHT PLUS MILES OF REPAIRED SIDEWALK ON THIS CORRIDOR.
AND WE DID HAVE INTERNAL OPEN HOUSE AS WE HAD GONE WITH EXTERNAL OPEN HOUSE, SO WE GET COMMENTS FROM OUR BUS OPERATORS AND MECHANICS AND EMPLOYEES, SIMILAR TO COMMENTS FROM OUTSIDE FOLKS. AND THIS OPEN HOUSE WAS IN AUGUST.
AND WE HAD TWO ROUNDS OF OPEN HOUSE WITH THE COMMUNITY EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
>> SORRY, JUST GOING TO INTERRUPT REALLY QUICKLY. THIS IS, AGAIN, OF COURSE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF JUST A SNAPSHOT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE IN THE PROCESS FOR SILVER LINE AS WE ARE IN GREEN LINE, SO THIS IS A LOT MORE OF JUST SEEKING INPUT AS WE HAVE THE NEEPA PROCESS AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, AND THIS A LOT OF THESE ARE SEEKING INPUT RIGHT TOWARDS THE END BEFORE WE SUBMIT TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SO, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES THAT WE'VE BEEN TO GET GRENADA SENIOR CENTER AND NIGHT OUT WE WERE PART OF THE ST. PAUL'S METHODIST CHURCH, YOU KNOW, EVENT.
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AND SO ANYWHERE THAT WE CAN GO AND TALK ABOUT SILVER LINE, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, SIGNING UP TO DO IT. AND THEN AGAIN WE ALSO, AS SOON AS WE FINISHED GREEN LINE WE TRANSITIONED TO SILVER LINE. AND SOME OF THE -- AGAIN, THE DOOR ANSWERING WAS A LITTLE BIT LOWER AND THERE'S ONE ISSUE WITH SILVER LINE THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY ON GREEN LINE IS SOME OF THE FENCES IN THE FRONT. AS I KNOW THAT MANY OF YOU COUNCILMEMBERS HAVE HAD THAT SITUATION AS WELL, WITH YOUR OWN BLOCK WALKING. BUT, AGAIN, WE ENDED UP WITH ONLY 2% OF THE FOLKS ON SILVER LINE WHO HAD CONCERNS AND AT ALMOST 6,000 DOORS.YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE, AGAIN, THOSE WERE MOSTLY AROUND THE -- ON THE WESTSIDE AREA IN SPECIFICALLY WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE BIKE LANES ON BUENA VISTA AND COMMERCE.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO, OF COURSE, TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS. AGAIN, HIGH SUPPORT LEVEL.
AND NEUTRAL IS REALLY JUST -- YOU KNOW, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION.
SO, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING LATER NEXT YEAR A TELE-TOWN HALL ON THE SILVER LINE TOO, AND SO WE'LL DO ANNUALLY A GREEN LINE AND SILVER LINE TELETOWN HALL TO CONTINUE
THAT ENGAGEMENT TOO. >> SO LOOKING AHEAD WE HAVE SUBMITTED ALL OF THE REQUESTED INFORMATION TO THE F.D.A. FOR THE NEEPA DOCUMENTATION AND SO WE EXPECT CONCURRENCE FROM THEM SOME TIME THIS MONTH. AND WE WILL COMPLETE PHASE TWO ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT ON SOME OF THE PROPERTIES FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. AND WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT SUPPLEMENTAL WORK FOR MORE INVESTIGATIONS BEFORE WE GO INTO THE NEXT PHASE.
WE ARE IN PROCUREMENT TO SELECT THE FINAL DESIGN AND RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION SERVICE PROVIDER. AND BOTH CONTRACTS WILL GO BEFORE OUR BOARD IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY. WE WILL ADVERTISE CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK IN THE COMING MONTH. AND THAT SHOULD GO TO BOARD EARLY NEXT YEAR.
AND AS TOM MENTIONED WE WILL CONTINUE TO OUTREACH WITH STAKEHOLDERS.
SO RIGHT NOW, COMPLETED 40%, AND WE ARE PROCEEDING WITH THE NEXT STEPS.
AND AFTER WE GET ALL OF OUR CONTRACTORS IN PLACE, THAT'S WHEN WE WILL FORMALLY APPLY FOR SMALL START GRANT TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SOMEWHERE NEXT YEAR.
PROJECT SCHEDULE -- THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT TWO YEARS BEHIND, REVENUE SERVICE OPENING IS EXPECTED SOME TIME EARLY 2030. AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE WILL NOT HAVE A EXACT DATE WITH THE GRANT, BUT CURRENTLY IT'S EARLY 2030.
AND I BELIEVE THAT'S MY LAST SLIDE ON SILVER LINE. VERY SHORT UPDATE ON SECOND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, THE FACILITY -- THE EXISTING FACILITIES, VERY SMALL.
AND IT WAS BUILT IN 1947 FOR THE 40-FOOT OR 30-FOOT AND NOW WITH OUR A.R.T. PROJECTS AND PRIMO PROJECTS WE HAVE 60-FOOT VEHICLES AND OUR CURRENT FACILITY SERVES ABOUT 500 PLUS VEHICLES. SO WE HAVE OUTGROWN OUR NEED AT THE FACILITY SO WE HAVE SELECTED A SITE UNDER CONSIDERATION, AND ON WHICH WE DID FEASIBILITY AND ALL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK.
AND THE SITE WAS SELECTED WITHIN THREE MILES OF OUR A.R.T. PROJECT.
TO REDUCE WHAT WE CALL DEADHEAD OR THE BUSES GARAGE TO THE FIRST STOP DISTANCE, LOWERING OUR OPERATIONAL COSTS. AND PHASE ONE ON THAT SITE IS EXPECTED TO OPEN 2029-2030, ABOUT 40 PLUS ACRES OF DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR THE PHASE ONE WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL 52 ARTICULATED VEHICLES WHICH IS PRIMO AND GREEN LINE AND 50 STANDARD CNG VEHICLES.
THE GOAL FOR THIS SITE, THE SITE IS GOING TO BE LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE PHASE TWO BUILD OUT.
AT A LATER STAGE, ONCE WE IDENTIFY THE FUNDING. AND AN ADDITIONAL 150 STANDARD VEHICLES. SO THE GOAL IS THAT WE CAN DISTRIBUTE OUR RESOURCES MORE OR LESS IN A BALANCED WAY BETWEEN THE TWO SITES, REDUCING CONGESTION IN THE CROWDED SAN PEDRO LOCATION. AND WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO NEXT SINCE WE JUST COMPLETED NEPA IS
[00:35:02]
TO PROCEED WITH THE WORK THAT IS NEEDED TO DO BEFORE WE ACQUIRE LAND FOR WHICH WE ARE GOING TO DO SOME OF THE SURVEYS, APPRAISAL, AND THEN WE WILL GO WITH PROCUREMENTS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT. SO THAT SUMS UP ALL OF OUR UPDATES FOR THREE MAJOR CAPITALPROJECTS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER ONE, SO COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM WILL BE SPECIFICALLY TO THIS ITEM. AND I'LL START BY SAYING THAT I GOT TO SEE YOUR TEAM AT HALLOWESE AND GREAT TO SEE YOUR EFFORTS TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY. AND I LET THEM KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH VIA AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS ON THE GREEN LINE AND OF COURSE THE SILVER LINE WILL BE A FANTASTIC PROJECT ONCE WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE FURTHER ON IT. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ONLY A COUPLE YEARS AND SOME CHANGE OUT FROM THE COMPLETION OF THE GREEN LINE WHICH MEANS THAT WE'LL ALL BE HERE TO TAKE FIRST RIDE ON IT. BUT EVEN IN A PERFECT WORLD IT SEEMS THAT WILL NOT BE THE CASE FOR THE SILVER LINE. SO, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE OF US THAT MAY NOT BE THERE AT THAT TIME, STILL INVITE US OUT. BUT GRAD TO SEE IT MOVING ALONG.
WHAT STANDS OUT TO ME IS THE INCLUSION OF THE ART AT THE STATION PLATFORMS AND I DON'T KNOW IF I MISSED THAT IN PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S MOVED FAR ALONG.
AND IT SOUNDS ON THE GREEN LINE THERE'S 12 TOTAL PLATFORMS AND WILL EACH OF THOSE PLATFORMS LOOK LIKE THE RENDERING THAT WE SAW ON SLIDE EIGHT OR FAIRLY SIMILAR?
>> YEAH, SO THERE'S 25 STATION AREAS THAT MEANS THAT SOME WILL HAVE SINGLE PLATFORM IN THE MIDDLE OR THE TWO -- THIS IS A TYPICAL STATION. THIS IS A LARGEST STATION.
WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT -- ONE IS LARGE, ONE IS SHORT, AND ONE PANEL ONLY AND APPROPRIATE FOR THE CONTEXT. AND ONE, THE THIRD ONE, IS IN THE CENTER, WHERE PEOPLE CAN BOARD VEHICLES ON EITHER SIDE. AND SO THIS IS TYPICAL IN TERMS OF THE AMENITIES, AND WHERE THE ART WILL GO, AND WHERE THERE WILL BE, UM, INFORMATION PANEL AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT WE DO HAVE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE SIX FOR ME? SO WHEN I READ 12, MY INTERPRETATION WAS THAT THE STATIONS LISTED HERE -- THE FOUR IN THE BLUE AND THEN THE EIGHT IN THE ORANGISH-RED COLOR, WHAT IS THAT -- WHAT ARE THOSE DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE ONES THAT YOU JUST NAMED?
BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE'S WAY MORE STOPS, BUT SPECIFICALLY TH- >> YES, THE STATIONS ARE THE ONES THAT YOU JUST SAW ON THE SLIDES. AND EVERY DOT ON THIS MAP IS EITHER TWO PLATFORMS OR ONE PLATFORM. SO IF I GO ON THIS SLIDE, IF YOU
GO ON THE CENTER RUNNING STATION, IT'S A SINGLE PLATFORM. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: UM-HMM.
>> THERE ARE TWO PLATFORMS ON MIXED TRAFFIC LANES ON THE CURBSIDE AND ONE IS NORTHBOUND AND ONE IS SOUTHBOUND. AND THE BUSINESS TRAVELINGS ARE ALSO CURB SIDE.
AND THERE'S ONE NORTHBOUND AND ONE SOUTHBOUND. AND THE EXAMPLE OF THE STATION THAT I SHOWED YOU IS ON THE CURB SIDE, NOT IN THE CENTER. SO THE THREE DIFFERENT --
>> REAL FAST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. THERE'S 12 PLATFORMS IN THOSE TWO BOXES. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT THE TOTAL NUMBER --
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OH, IN THE BOXES. >> YES, THOSE ARE WHERE WE WENT EARLY SO OFF EISEN ROAD AND DOWN BY STEEVES AVENUE. SO THOSE ARE BOTH SIDE RUNNING AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD INSTEAD OF THE CENTER.
SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE ROAD SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S 12 PLATFORMS.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOT YOU. >> AND THAT'S ONLY LIMITED EARLY WORKS AND WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION
IS HAPPENING TODAY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: UM-HMM, APPRECIATE THAT.
THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP FOR ME. SO ALL OF THE STATIONS WILL HAVE SOME FORM OF THAT STOP? OR ALL OF THE STOPS WILL LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
AND WHETHER IT'S SMALL, BIG -- SMALL, MEDIUM OR BIG? >> ALL OF THE STATIONS EXCEPT FOR DOWNTOWN WILL LOOK LIKE THAT. DOWNTOWN DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH RIGHT-OF-WAY SO THERE WILL NOT BE STATIONS. ELABORATE STATIONS IN THE
RIGHT-OF-WAY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: SO WILL THE REST OF THE STATIONS INCLUDE
SOME AMOUNT OF ART? >> YES, YES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: AND YOU SAID THE NUMBER 150 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT EARLIER, THAT WAS THE NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS THAT WE
RECEIVED OR IS THAT THE NUMBER -- >> YES, THAT IS THE NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS. AND WE HAVE ABOUT 100 PANELS WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMMODATE. WE RENT THOSE AND WE WILL ACCOMMODATE THAT.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THAT'S REALLY EXCITING. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY
INDIVIDUAL -- ARE THEY EACH INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS? >> I THINK THAT THERE ARE 70 PLUS INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES AND SOME PEOPLE GAVE TWO OR THREE ENTRIES.
I CAN GET SPECIFIC DETAILS LATER. AND ON THE SAME NOTE, WE ARE -- WE HAVE SENT A CALL FOR ART COMPETITION TO THE SCHOOLS ON THE SILVER LINE.
[00:40:08]
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THAT'S REALLY EXCITING. >> ALL OF THE ART WORK WAS SUBMITTED FROM MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL KIDS ALONG THE CORRIDOR. SO WE HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE SCHOOLS AND WE WOULD LOVE TO SHOW YOU THE ONES ON SILL SEVERE LINE THAT WE'LL REACH OUT TO TO
DO THE EXACT SAME THING. SO IT'S ALL LOCAL CHILD ARTISTS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THAT'S BEAUTIFUL. AND THE GOAL WAS TO GET ARTISTS THAT ARE LOCATED IN SCHOOLS
AROUND THAT LINE. >> YES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: PERFECT, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL. THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR. WITH THAT, IF YOU WOULD GO BACK TO THE RENDERING OF THE STOP ON 8. I DID NOTICE -- IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S ANY SEATING OPTIONS, IS THAT MY EYES TRICKING ME, OR IS THAT
ACCURATE? >> THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SEATING OPTIONS UNDERNEATH --
>> RIGHT BEFORE THE ART PANEL. >> IN FRONT OF THE ART PANEL. >> ROCHA GARCIA: AND SO THE ART
PANEL BOTTOM IS A BENCH? >> YES. YEAH, THAT'S A WIND AND SUNSCREEN AND THE ART PANEL IS DOUBLING AS A WIND AND SUNSCREEN AS WELL TOO.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: WELL, THAT'S GOOD. I IT LOOKED STRANGE TO ME AND I'M HAPPY THAT IT'S JUST MY EYES. SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT, ESPECIALLY AS THE SUMMER HAS QUICKLY BECOME THE MAJORITY OF OUR YEAR IN SAN ANTONIO, IS THE IDEA OF MISTERS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE EXPLORING AT BUS STOPS, WHETHER THIS LINE OR WHETHER THE GREEN LINE OR JUST THE AVERAGE BUS STOP?
>> SO WE LOOKED AT MISTERS. IT REQUIRES WATER CONNECTION, BUT IT ALSO CLOGS AND WE FOUND OUT FROM COUNTERPARTS THAT IT DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL WITH THE HUMIDITY THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS.
SO WE RULED THAT OUT FOR AT LEAST THESE TWO PROJECTS. THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IN THE FUTURE IF THE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES OR WE FIND BETTER SOLUTION, WE WOULD NOT CONSIDER
THAT. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: FOR SURE. WELL, WE DON'T DEFINITELY WANT TO BE THE GUINEA PIG, THOUGH WE WANT TO LEAD SO I APPRECIATE THAT IS SOMETHING YOU AT LEAST CONSIDERED. AND WE WILL MOVE TO COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND STARTING WITH
COUNCIL WOMAN ALDERETE GAVITO. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, I UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO REALLY ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AROUND THE GREEN LINE. WHAT ARE Y'ALL DOING TO DO IT
OUTSIDE OF THAT? >> SO WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ALL OF THE ZIP CODES AND SO EVERYTHING THAT WE DO SOCIALLY AND DIGITALLY WE ARE EXPANDING THAT AND ON THE TELETOWN HALL WE WENT A MILE AND A HALF IN EACH DIRECTION. IN ABOUT A YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO BE MASSIVELY EXPANDING THAT AS WELL TOO, BECAUSE WE NEED TO START EDUCATING FOLKS ON HOW TO RIDE THE ROUTE. RIGHT NOW WE'RE HEAVILY FOCUSED ON WHAT COULD IMPACT PEOPLE WHO DRIVE THAT ROUTE. SO THE NEXT TH THING IS GOING OT THERE AND IDENTIFYING THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR CELL PHONE IN THEIR CAR AND SEEING WHERE THEIR ORIGIN IS FROM AND WHERE THEIR DESTINATION IS. SO WE CAN ACTUALLY PING THEM WITH INFORMATION AS WELL TOO.
SO THEY MAY NOT STOP INTO ONE OF THE BUSINESSES. SO WE'RE GOING TO THE BUSINESSES AND GOING TO RESIDENTIAL BUT THEN FINDING THE PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY TRAVEL THE ROUTE.
AND WE'LL PREEMPT INFORMATION AND GO INTO ALL OF THE MAPPING SYSTEMS AND PRE-LOAD CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION SO THAT WHEN, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY THAT THEY LIVE NEAR BLANCO, AND THEY GET IN THEIR CAR AND INSTEAD OF 18 MINUTES TO GET TO WORK AND IT'S NOW 24 MINUTES TO GET TO WORK. WELL, WHY, YOU KNOW. AND SO WE'LL USE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO HELP US TO PRESS THAT INFORMATION OUT MUCH FARTHER.
>> ALDERETE GAVITO: YEAH, AND THE REASON THAT I'M ASKING IS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE A BACKLASH WHEN OUTSIDE OF THE IMMEDIATE AREA THAT PEOPLE ARE CONFRONTED WITH CONSTRUCTION DELAYS OR WHATEVER AND, YES, IT WILL BE A FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE BUT IF WE SET EXPECTATIONS FROM THE GET-GO AND THEN PEOPLE WILL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE LENIENT, HEY, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS COMING AND WE KNOW TO PLAN FOR IT ACCORDINGLY. AND TO YOUR POINT, LEARNING HOW TO RIDE IT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TOO. THE SECOND QUESTION THAT I HAD WAS THE LAST TIME THAT Y'ALL DID THIS PRESENTATION, WHICH WAS A WHILE AGO -- I THINK THAT IT WAS UNDER NIRENBERG, THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, DELAYS, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE UTILITY COORDINATION.
WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THAT? >> SO THE LAST TIME THAT WE -- THE DELAY IS ABOUT NINE MONTHS.
SO WE WERE GOING TO START RELOCATION IN JANUARY, BUT WE ACTUALLY STARTED IN JULY/AUGUST.
SO THAT HAS BEEN RECTIFIED OR WE ARE MANAGING. THE START OF THE REVENUE SERVICE DATE IS NOT MOVED. SO WE PUT SOME EMPHASIS ON DESIGN AND WE HAVE DELAY, BUT
IT'S GOING TO BE THE SAME. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: THAT'S ALL, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
>> COUNCILMAN, TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, AND COUPLE MAN KAUR WE'LL GET YOU A GRAPHIC AND I
[00:45:01]
DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE NOTICED THAT I DRIVE SAN PEDRO ALMOST EVERY DAY AND AT LAMAR AND SAN PEDRO THERE'S A CPS PROJECT THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AND HILDEBRAND THERE'S LANE CLOSURES AND AT HOLLYWOOD AND SAN PEDRO THERE'S SOME LANE CLOSURES TOO.AND WE WORK WITH THE PROJECTS AND WE NOTIFIED OUR CALL CENTER AND THEIR CALL CENTERS AND WE ARE GOING TO SEND YOU A GRAPHIC WITH OUR BRANDING, BUT, WAYS TO CONTACT THEM IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THOSE PROJECTS. SO THAT'S JUST ANOTHER WAY TO WORK TOGETHER WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR UTILITIES AND OUR PUBLIC UTILITIES, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS, HEY, IF WE'RE GETTING A CALL AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE ENDS UP IN THE RIGHT LOCATION. SO, ANYWAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
INFORMATION ABOUT THAT LATER TODAY, COUNCILMEMBER. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU,
COUNCILMEMBER KAUR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND WE HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY ON THIS. SO THE UTILITIES THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT ARE BEING MOVED OR RELOCATED, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM -- HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHEN IT'S HAPPENING? SO IT WAS A PROJECT THAT WAS RIGHT AT PAST WOODLAWN, WAS THAT
FOR VIA TOO? >> I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE CPS PROJECT.
>> [INDISCERNIBLE] >> THE CPS MOVING UTILITIES FOR THE GREEN LINE OR NOT?
>> NO, THEY'RE DOING THEIR OWN WORK AND IT WAS A LESSON LEARNED FOR US WHEN THE WOODLAWN CLOSURE POPPED UP AND, AGAIN, MOST RECENTLY. SO WE JUST -- WE INTERNALLY AT VIA ORGANIZED WITH SAWS AND CPS AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT REGARDLESS WHO WAS DOING THE WORK THAT THERE WAS INFORMATION GETTING OUT. SO, WE'RE -- OUR GOAL IS THAT PEOPLE WON'T BE DRIVING DOWN SAN PEDRO AND THEN GET DETOURED AND NOT KNOW WHY.
>> KAUR: RIGHT, THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY POINT. REGARDLESS OF WHO IS DOING THE PROJECT, EVERYONE IS GOING TO BLAME THE GREEN LINE BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT IT'S -- LIKE, IT'S HAPPENING BECAUSE OF VIA. SO, LIKE -- AND I THINK THAT I TOLD JOHN THIS, BUT LITERALLY YOU'RE GOING UP SAN PEDRO AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU HIT A STOP BECAUSE IT'S A HILL AND YOU CAN'T SEE. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GET -- IT'S JUST EVERY SINGLE TIME THAT I SEE A ROAD BLOCKAGE LIKE THAT, THAT IT FRUSTRATES ME, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GETTING BETTER WITH IT, BETWEEN US AND SAWS, AND WE'RE NOT GETTING BETTER AT IT. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE FIGURE OUT TO AT LEAST TWO BLOCKS AWAY TO SAY ROAD CLOSED SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE BEFORE THEY GET RIGHT UP TO THE BARRICADE. AND I AM JUST FRUSTRATED. AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GET BETTER. I APPRECIATE -- THANK YOU F PREEMPTIVELY SAYING THAT YOU'LL SHARE NOTES ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DO -- BUT, REGARDLESS.
>> WE WILL HAVE OUR CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE FINALIZED VERY, VERY SOON.
>> KAUR: I WAS GOING TO ASK THAT. >> AND WE'RE ALREADY REACHING OUT TO THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE AND CHARTER SCHOOLS AND SETTING UP MEETINGS AND THERE'S ROUGHLY GOING TO BE ABOUT 30 PRESENTATIONS TO ALL OF THOSE PTAS.
A LOT OF THE SCHOOLS ALONG THE CORRIDOR ARE DESTINATION SCHOOLS.
PEOPLE DON'T LIVE RIGHT AROUND THAT SCHOOL. AND SO WE SPECIFICALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE, SPECIFIC LIKE MARK TWAIN AND GRAY HARTS AND KEYSTONE, ALL OF THOSE THAT THEY KNOW IF THEY COME DOWN THE SAN PEDRO CORRIDOR THEY CAN EXPECT SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME -- YOU KNOW, SOME INCONVENIENCE, BUT WE WANT TO TARGET IT TO A SPECIFIC TIMEFRAME AND LET THEM KNOW WHEN
THAT WILL BE. >> KAUR: WHEN IS THAT SCHEDULE FULLY GOING TO BE DONE?
>> SO WE ARE HAVING THE GENERAL NOTICE TO PROCEED AND WE'LL RECEIVE THAT ONCE WE GRANT IT,
CORRECT? YEAH, OKAY. >> KAUR: SO DECEMBER?
>> DECEMBER. >> KAUR: OKAY. I THINK THAT HELPS -- BECAUSE THERE ARE ALSO OTHER PROBLEMS THAT WE ALREADY NOTICED WITH THN LAVACA WHERE THERE'S A SAWS PROJECT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME, SO WE WERE ABLE TO WORK THAT OUT AND SAWS IS GOING TO PUSH THEIR PROJECT BACK BUT WE NEED TO KNOW THE SCHEDULE SO WE CAN PREEMPT, SAY, ANYTHING LIKE THAT THAT MIGHT COME UP THAT WOULD CAUSE CHALLENGES.
>> YEAH, I DO WANT TO COMMENT KAT AND SHE'S VERY GOOD AT LETTING US KNOW OR COORDINATING
AND HELPING TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT. >> KAUR: YEAH, I DEFINITELY AGREE ON THAT. HILDEBRAND CLOSURE IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NOT ONLY TO COORDINATE WITH KAT, WHO IS GOOD AT IT, BUT WITH PUBLIC WORKS BECAUSE THEY'LL BE RE-DOING THE PUBLIC WORKS PORTION -- LIKE THE LANES OF THAT.
AND SO WE NEED TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT IS ON OUR RADAR AND THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING IN THE SPRING AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE SAWS IS ON THE WORK ON HILDEBRAND SO JUST A NOTE TO GET
[00:50:01]
A BRIEFING ON THAT. SO, OKAY, THE ONE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAD FOR THE PUSHBACK THAT WE STILL GET AROUND RIDERSHIP -- CAN YOU GET US NUMBERS FOR WHAT RIDERSHIP IS RIGHT NOW FOR THE 2 AND THE 4? AND THEN WHAT WE EXPECT IT TO BE? SO THAT WE CAN TRACK TOWARDS THOSE OUTCOMES OF -- THIS IS WHAT IT IS RIGHT NOW, AND THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY SAY THAT, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THIS IN 2023 -- OR 2023, 2025, AND 2027, AND2028, THIS IS WHAT THE? >> SURE. >> KAUR: AND THEN THE LAST THIN-
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: YOU CAN FINISH YOUR THOUGHT. >> KAUR: AND THE LAST THING TO MENTION IS JUST MORE BROADER SCALE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES. WHEN I WAS BLOCK WALKING, ONE OF THE LADIES SUGGESTED DOING, LIKE, A RIDE-AND-DINE EVENT, WHERE YOU PICK UP AT MULBERRY OR WHATEVER, ONE OF THE STOPS THERE. AND THEN TAKE THE BUS DOWN TO DOWNTOWN, EAT, AND, LIKE, HAVE A LITTLE HAPPY HOUR SOMEWHERE AT ONE OF THESE SPOTS.
AND THEN TAKE THEM BACK UP AS, LIKE, AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE.
SO I WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE AS SOMETHING TO ENGAGE A RIDER CLASS THAT NORMALLY WOULD
NOT BE CHOOSING TO TAKE THE BUS. >> ABSOLUTELY. WE HAVE A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED
FROM THIS PAST WEEKEND WITH THE FEST. >> KAUR: A SHOUT OUT ON THAT --
THAT RIDERSHIP NUMBER, IT WAS REALLY HIGH. >> YEAH, OF COURSE WE HAD A LOT OF FOLKS AND WE WERE GETTING FEEDBACK FROM COUNCILMEMBER SPEAR'S OFFICE AND YOUR OFFICE AND ALL AROUND THE CITY, THERE WERE A LOT OF FIRST-TIME TRANSIT RIDERS WHO HAD A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. AND SO, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE WANT TO DEFINITELY BUILD ON THAT.
>> KAUR: AND A SHOUT OUT TO MARIANO ON YOUR TEAM AND HE SHOWS UP TO EVERY ONE OF OUR
TOUGH CONSTITUENT MEETINGS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER KAUR.
AND THE REMARK THAT YOU MADE EARLIER WITH CONSTRUCTION AND SOMETIMES FRUSTRATION WHO IS IN CHARGE OF WHAT AND WHO IN CHARGE OF WHAT AND WHOSE PROJECT IS THIS, AND ONE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE, THAT NO MATTER HOW MANY MEETINGS THAT YOU HAVE OR HOW MANY ADS YOU PLACE, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE WHO SAID THEY WERE NOT CONTACTED PERSONALLY AND NOT NOTIFIED.
AND SOME HAS TO DO WITH I THINK -- I WONDER WHAT ROLE THAT ROLE BRANDNESS AWARENESS, AND TXDOT, AND THERE'S STILL SOME FOLK WHO THINK THAT IT'S CITY PROJECTS, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE WILL KNOW IS TXDOT. AND IT GETS A LITTLE MORE CONFUSING WHEN YOU START GETTING INTO MORE COMMON STREETS AND ACCESS WAYS AND WHATNOT, THAT VIA IS DOING WORK ON, AND UTILITIES IS DOING WORK ON OR CITY OR COUNTY OR TXDOT.
SO I WONDER -- AND SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO EXPLORE IS THE TYPE OF SIGNAGE THAT WE USE FOR PROJECTS WHEN THEY'RE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
WHETHER IT HAS TO DO WITH COLORS OR NAMES OF THE ENTITY ITSELF. I THINK IF PEOPLE GET USED TO SEEING -- I'M GOING TO BE VERY RIDICULOUS WITH THIS -- BUT IF PEOPLE GET USED TO SEEING PURPLE TRAFFIC CONES OR PURPLE BARRICADES AND THEY KNOW THAT IS I PROJECT ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY AND USING PURPLE FOR COUNCILMEMBER KAUR. SO THEY EVENTUALLY ASSOCIATE THAT COLOR WITH THAT ENTITY AND THAT TYPE OF PROJECT. SO I'M WONDERING WHAT VIA CAN DE PROJECT TYPE IS FAIRLY DIFFERENT THAN THE TYPE OF PROJECTS THAT WE DO AND THE SCOPE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE LIMITED. WHAT IS LEGAL AND POSSIBLE FOR VIA TO DO SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEE A CLOSURE, OR THEY SEE SOMETHING, THEY KNOW, OKAY, THAT IS A VIA PROJECT AND THAT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, AND VERSUS SOMETHING THAT WE DO THAT MAKES CLEAR THIS IS A CITY PROJECT.
AND THAT MIGHT BE -- I MEAN, I THINK THAT IS A CNE QUESTION BUT AS MUCH AS ATTORNEY AND PUBLIC
WORKS AND CAPITAL DELIVERY AND ALL OF THAT. >> YEAH, OPEN TO EXPLORE THAT.
AND I THINK THAT EVERY CONSTRUCTION SITE HAS A SIGN AND SAYS WHO IS DOING IT, RIGHT.
AND IT HAS TO SAY THE CONTRACTOR NAME AND THEN IT'S THE VIA PROJECT AND THEY WILL NOT DELIVER THE PROJECT THEMSELVES. BUT IF WE COULD EXPLORE HOW THOSE ARE COLOR-CODED OR, YOU
KNOW, THERE'S SOME BRIGHTER SYMBOLS PERHAPS ASSOCIATED. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OR BIGGER TITLES. TITLES SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO READ THOSE THINGS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU FOCUS ON THE ROAD. AND THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA.
>> MUNGIA: THANK YOU, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. YOU WILL HAVE FOUR NEW SIGNAL LIGHT PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS. WHERE ARE THOSE LOCATED, MID-BLOCK OR ACTUAL
INTERSECTIONS? >> SOME OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE MID-BLOCK.
FOR PEDESTRIANS. AND THE MAJORITY OF THE SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS, THE OTHER NUMBER,
ARE REGULAR SIGNALS. >> MUNGIA: OKAY. I THINK THIS IS MORE OF -- SOMETHING THAT WE COULD COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY CITY ON A PSA.
UNFORTUNATELY, PEOPLE ARE NOT USING IT PROPERLY AND THEY'RE STILL BEING HIT BY VEHICLES AND
[00:55:06]
THEY WERE USING AN ACTUAL CROSSWALK AND THAT HAPPENED. AND, OBVIOUSLY, YOU HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT CROSS THE STREET -- AND NOT UTILIZING THAT AND GET STRUCK.SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DRIVERS ARE AWARE WHEN THOSE LIGHTS ARE ON, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO STOP AND IT'S NOT JUST NECESSARILY A WARNING FOR YOU. BUT I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO DO A LOT MORE ON THAT BECAUSE YOU WILL SEE A LOT MORE PEDESTRIANS ON THIS LINE.
AND THE PEOPLE MAY NOT BE USED TO IT. AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE EDUCATE THE DRIVERS AS MUCH AS WE EDUCATE THE PEDESTRIANS ABOUT THE SAFE PLACES TO WALK BACK AND FORTH FROM. SO I THINK THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
REAL QUICK, ANOTHER QUESTION, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS -- ARE Y'ALL WORRIED AT
ALL ABOUT SHORTCOMINGS FROM THEM? >> NO.
>> MUNGIA: NO? >> NO, BECAUSE OUR PROJECTS ARE FURTHER IN THE PROCESS.
AND THERE IS STILL A LARGE BUDGET ALLOCATED FOR CIG PROJECT.
SO IT'S A MATTER OF WHEN WE GO AND WE APPLY FOR ACTUAL GRANT, OUR PROJECT IS ALREADY RATED AND THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE PUT OUR FOOT IN THE DOOR, AND IT'S IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WHEN THEY ALLOCATE MONEY, THEY FIRST LOOK AT WHICH PROJECT ALREADY HAVE RECEIVED RATING.
AND OUR RATING IS PRETTY GOOD, IT'S MEDIUM/HIGH FOR SILVER LINE.
AND WE HAVE A GOOD TRACK RECORD WITH GREEN LINE. WE MEET WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STAFF ON A MONTHLY BASIS. AND THEY GIVE US UPDATES AND WE GIVE THEM UPDATES. SO STAFF LEVEL, WE ARE EXCHANGING THE INFORMATION AND THEN TOM HAS A ROLE. HE MEETS WITH ADMINISTRATOR AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS AT HIGHER OFFICES. IT'S -- IT'S JUST A PROCESS. WE ARE CONFIDENT.
>> MUNGIA: OKAY. YEAH, THOSE ARE ALL OF MY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS? ANY PERFORMANCE ART? WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT
PRESENTATION WHICH IS -- >> THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: WHICH IS ALSO VIA. MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU READ THE CAPTION ALSO.
>> CLERK: VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT UPDATE ON THE BETTER BUS PLAN.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. >> WELL, ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU AGAIN.
SO ONCE AGAIN WE'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT -- I WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE HIGHLIGHT.
THIS PRESENTATION ACTUALLY SHOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN FIRST AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR SERVICES AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE BETTER BUS PLAN AND WHERE WE'RE AT.
WE HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK SINCE THE LAST TIME THAT WE HAVE BEEN HERE.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR BOARD, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'VE RENEWED OUR VISION STATEMENT THAT YOU CAN SEE THERE, AND IT'S "BE THE DRIVING FORCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY'S GROWTH AND SUCCESS." OUR NEW MISSION STATEMENT.
WE WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE THIS AND THIS REALLY CAME LOUD AND CLEAR FROM A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES THAT IT NEEDED TO BE SIMPLE AND SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ALL REMEMBER TO TAKE YOU TO WHAT MATTERS MOST. AND WE WENT FURTHER AND WANTED TO INCLUDE A PROMISE WHICH IS "COUNT ON VIA FOR EVERY RIDE." SO THIS IS THE NEW VIA BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD. AND HERE ARE OUR FAMILY OF SERVICES.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE TO THE LEFT OF THE SCREEN, WE HAVE OUR VIA LINK.
AND NOW WE HAVE SIX OF VIA LINK ZONES. WE HAD FIVE.
BUT AS OF YESTERDAY, WE HAVE DEPLOYED A NEW ZONE ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE AROUND THE BROOKS AREA. SO WE HAVE A NEW ZONE. AND OF COURSE EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH OUR FIXED ROUTE SERVICES. WE HAVE THE BUS THAT YOU SEE NORMALLY RUNNING AROUND DOWNTOWN. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR PRIMO BUSES AND THERE ARE THREE PRIMO ROUTES THAT WE HAVE RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND, OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR VIA TRANS. THAT IS A SERVICE THAT WE OFFER TO OUR DISABLED COMMUNITY TO HELP THEM TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B AND WE DO OFFER A VANPOOL SERVICE AS WELL. AND I MAY HAVE WENT TOO FAR. THERE WE GO.
SO HERE'S JUST A MAP THAT SHOWS YOU EVERYWHERE THAT -- YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE AT.
AND YOU CAN SEE OUR FIXED ROUTE. THAT IS OUR BREAD AND BUTTER. THAT'S WHERE WE MOVE THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE -- THERE ARE 75 OF THOSE ROUTES. YOU CAN SEE THE ROUTES ON THE MAP. AND ONCE AGAIN WE HAD THE PRIMO AND OUR FREQUENT AND OUR SKIP ROUTE AND EXPRESS SERVICES. AND WE OPERATE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND YOU CAN SEE OUR HOURS. WE START VERY EARLY -- 4:00 IN THE MORNING, ALL THE WAY TO 11:00 P.M. FOR MOST ROUTES. FREQUENCIES VARY BY THE TYPE OF SERVICE.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU ARE RIDING PRIMO IT'S 12 MINUTES. AND WE HAVE SOME 20-MINUTE FREQUENCY ROUTES. AND WE HAVE SOME AT 30, AND THEN, OF COURSE, AT 60 AS WELL.
AND THERE YOU CAN SEE OUR VIA LINK ZONES AND THE ONES THAT THEY'RE IN YELLOW.
[01:00:02]
AND THEN WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THE BRAND NEW ONE IN PINK. SO THAT'S OUR SERVICE IN A NUTSHELL. AND THEN WE -- YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR BETTER BUS PLAN. THIS IS A PLAN THAT OUR BOARD JUST PASSED.AND IT'S DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THIS SERVICE THAT YOU ARE SEEING ON THE SCREEN.
SO I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO OUR VICE-PRESIDENT OF PLANNING FOR REST OF THE PRESENTATION.
>> THANK YOU, ROD. SO I'M THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF SERVICE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING AT VIA. AND I WILL JUST GO OVER THE VIA BETTER BUS PLAN UPDATE.
AND SO THE VIA BETTER BUS PLAN IS A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT NETWORK SERVICE, EVALUATION AND PLAN, AND IT INCLUDES THE BUS AND THE VIA LINK SERVICE AND IT IS DESIGNED TO STRENGTHEN VIA'S TRANSIT SYSTEM. THE ADAPTED BETTER BUS PLAN IMPROVES OUR BUS SYSTEM THROUGH THOUGHTFUL DESIGN ENHANCEMENT, AND DEFINING THE VIA LINK SERVICES AND EXPLORING INNOVATIVE TRANSIT SOLUTIONS. AND THROUGH THESE PROPOSED CHANGES THE BETTER BUS PLAN WILL DELIVER THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS TO VIA'S CURRENT AND FUTURE RIDERS: PROVIDE MORE FREQUENT SERVICE, WHICH MEANS ALMOST 20% MORE PEOPLE WILL HAVE ACCESS TO HIGH FREQUENCY, WHICH MEANS 20 MINUTES OR BETTER FREQUENCY SERVICE.
AND THIS BETTER BUS PLAN WILL HAVE INCREASED ACCESS TO BETTER SERVICE ACROSS THE VIA SERVICE AREA. WHICH MEANS THAT ALMOST 50% OF THE PEOPLE WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN THEIR LEVEL OF SERVICE DURING PEAK AND MID PERIODS. AND THE BETTER BUS PLAN WILL IMPROVE THE ACCESS TO JOB OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE ARE OVER 40% MORE JOBS ACCESSIBLE ACROSS THE VIA SERVICE AREA, WITHIN 30 MINUTES ON TRANSIT.
THIS BETTER BUS PLAN WILL ALSO ADVANCE THE ACCESS TO TRANSIT, WHICH MEANS LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO AT LEAST TWO OR MORE GROCERY STORES DURING MID-DAY AND WITHIN 30 MINUTES ON TRANSIT. THIS BETTER BUS PLAN WILL HAVE MINIMAL IMPACT ON THE EXISTING STOPS, WHICH MEANS THAT IT HAS LESS THAN 1% OF THE EXISTING RIDERSHIP, LOSING THE SERVICE AT THEIR EXISTING BUS STOP. WHEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED, THIS BETTER BUS PLAN WILL PROVIDE 30 MINUTES OR BETTER SERVICE ALL THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM.
AND THE SERVICE, THE MAIN SERVICE, WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 30 MINUTES, IS BETWEEN 6:00 IN THE MORNING TO 7:00 IN THE EVENING ON WEEKDAYS. AND BETWEEN 8:00 IN THE MORNING, AND 6:00 IN THE EVENING ON WEEKENDS. SO AS ROD MENTIONED, VIA BOARD HAS ADOPTED THIS BETTER BUS PLAN IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. THERE WERE 14 ROUTES ENHANCED IN FISCAL YEAR 2025. SO THOSE ROUTES ARE DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN.
THE ROUTES WHICH HAVE IMPROVED FREQUENCY -- THOSE ARE EIGHT ROUTES MENTIONED, WHICH ARE ROUTE 20, 26, ROUTE 30, 44, ROUTE 51, 68, 90 AND ROUTE 102. THERE ARE FIVE ROUTES WHICH NOT ONLY HAVE FREQUENCY IMPROVEMENTS, BUT ALSO HAS ROUTE ALIGNMENT CHANGES.
WHICH ARE ROUTE 9, 10, ROUTE 21, ROUTE 609 AND ROUTE 618. THERE IS ONE ROUTE WHICH HAS REALIGNMENT CHANGES, WHICH IS ROUTE 502. IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, THERE WAS 24% OF THE FIXED ROUTE OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN IMPLEMENTED, WHICH IS BETWEEN APRIL 2025 AND AUGUST 2025 SERVICE CHANGES. IN FISCAL YEAR 2026, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF VIA BOARD AND OUR C.E.O. WE ARE ACCELERATING THAT DELIVERY OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN. WE HAVE SERVICE CHANGES THREE TIMES IN A YEAR, WHICH IS JANUARY, MAY, AND AUGUST. IN JANUARY OF 2026, THERE WILL BE 18% OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN IMPLEMENTED. WHICH IS ADDITIONAL TO THE
[01:05:03]
FISCAL YEAR 2025, WE HAVE ALREADY DONE 24%. IN JANUARY, THERE WILL BE 26% BUS ROUTE IMPACTED. IN MAY OF 2026, WE PLAN TO DO ADDITIONAL 16% OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN. AND THERE WILL BE 14% OF THE BUS ROUTE IMPACTED.IN AUGUST OF 2026, WE PLAN TO DO ADDITIONAL 5%, AND IT WILL HAVE 5% OF THE BUS ROUTE IMPACTED.
SO BY AUGUST OF 2026, WE WILL IMPLEMENT 63% OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN.
WITH THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN, VIA WILL IMPLEMENT TWO VIA RAPID LINES, EXPAND VIA LINK SERVICE, AND ALL ROUTES THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM WILL OPERATE 30 MINUTES OR BETTER SERVICE DURING PEAK AND MID-DAY, CONSISTENT ROUTES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND NIGHT.
AND THERE WILL BE MORE DIRECT CONNECTIONS. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. ONE, THANK YOU FOR THE INITIAL . OVERVIEW OF YOUR SERVICES AND OFFERINGS. I ENJOY SEEING VIA LINK AND SERVICES ACROSS MY DISTRICT.
IT FELT LIKE THE PAST YEAR AND CHANGE, SEEING IT ONCE IN A BLU MOON TO SEEING IT EVERY TIME I' DRIVING AND EVERY TIME I'M IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, SO THAT IS A SERVICE THAT I'M SURE IS GREATL APPRECIATED. I'LL ALSO NOTE THIS PRESENTATIO PRESENTATIONS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A PART OF OUR LAST MEETING, SO THANK YOU, ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND BEING ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS NEW SCHEDULE. STARTING WITH, I GUESS, THE BETTER BUS PLAN.
I THINK IT HITS ON A LOT OF G GOALS WE HAVE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, AND I DEFINITEL FEEL A DESIRE IN COUNCIL TO SEE THESE GOALS THROUGH. I DO WANT TO -- I'M THINKING ABOUT METRICS AND TIME LINE, AN SO IF I'M READING SLIDE 8 PR PROPERLY, IF YOU COULD GO THERE FOR ME. IT SEEMS LIKE 100% OF THE BETTE BUS PLAN WILL BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2027. IS THAT ACCURATE, OR IS THIS SPECIFICALLY CHANGES TO ROUTES.
>> NO. IT'S NOT IMPLEMENTED. SO THERE ARE ROUTES TIED TO GREEN LINE AND SILVER LINE. SO BY 2026, WHICH IT'S ALMOST 2026, WILL BE DONE 63% OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN. SO THERE WILL BE 37% REMAINING, AND IT NEEDS TO BE WORKED OUT WITH THE GREEN LINE AND SILVER LINE BECAUSE THOSE ROUTES ONLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED WHEN GREEN
LINE AND SILVER LINE ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: MAYBE IT'S THE CHOICE OF TABLE TYPE OR TABLE TYPE -- OH. FISCAL YEAR 2027 AND
BEYOND. THAT'S THE POINT? >> YES.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOT YOU. BECAUSE THE POINT I WAS GOING TO MAKE IS IT'S NOT POSSIBLE FOR THE SILVER LINE, AND MOST OF IT, THE GREEN LINE WOULD BE READY BY THIS POINT, SO IT'S NOT POSSIBLE THAT THE BETTER BUS PLAN COULD BE FULLY IMPL IMPLEMENTED BY THAT TI TIME.
>> YES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: SO I WANTE TO KNOW, I GUESS, WHAT ARE THOS SLIDE? I GUESS WHAT I'M MISSING HERE IS ASIDE FROM THE GREEN AND SILVER LINE ARE WHAT ARE THOSE SPECIFIC SERVICES THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED IN '25, '26, '27? SO THE COLORS DON'T REALLY MEAN ANYTHING IF THEY JUST SAY SERVICE ADDED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? >> I THINK -- SO HE DID A GOOD JOB OF SHOWING YOU WHAT WE IMPLEMENTED IN APRIL. YOU GOT TO SEE ALL OF THOSE ROUTES. COME JANUARY -- WE PROVIDE YOU THAT SAME MAP. THERE'S 27 ROUTES THAT ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTED IN JANUARY, WE'RE DOING ALL THE SAME THING, INCREASING FREQUENCY, INCREASING FREQUENCY WITH NEW ALIGNMENT, DOING NEW ALIGNMENT, SO WE COULD PROVIDE THAT TO YOU, THERE IS A BIG, HUGE, ROBUST CHANGE THAT WILL BE IMPARTED ON OUR CUSTOMERS COME JANUARY. SO HAPPY TO SHARE THAT
WITH YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. I GUESS -- YOU'RE ABLE TO SHARE IN JANUARY, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY FORECASTED TWO,
THREE, FOUR YEARS DOWN. >> YES. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: WELL .
>> WELL, IT'S FORECASTED TO THE END OF '26. WE NEED TO WORK ON AFTER GREEN AND SILVER LINE COME ON -- ONCE THOSE COME ONLINE, THERE ARE OTHER ROUTES WE TIE TO THOSE. AFTER WE DO GREEN LINE, WE'LL HAVE A BETTER PORTION OF THAT, AFTER SILVER LINE, THEN WE'LL
KNOW THE WHOLE PLAN. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: WELL WHEN YOU PROVIDE THE NEXT UPDATE.
I WOULD LIKE AS FAR AS A FORECAST YOU CAN GIVE U US, SO IF THAT GOES THROUGH 2026, THAT'S FINE, JUST BEYOND WHAT'S BEEN DONE, WHACK WE
EXPECT. >> YEAH PRETTY -- FOR THE MOST PART I CAN TELL
[01:10:03]
YOU AT THE END OF AUG AUGUST, WE'LL HAVE 37% OF THE PLAN LEFT TO DO, AND WE'LL BE IN A HOLDING PATTERN FOR A LOT OF IT BECAUSE WE NEED TO DO GREEN LINE, SILVER LINE. YOU'LL SEE OUR FOCUS ON THE LINK ZONES, SO NOW WE'RE AT 6 ZONES, THERE ARE FOUR MORE COMING, SO I THINK IN THOSE YEARS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THOSE FOUR ZONES COME ONBOARD AS WELL. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND I HOPE COUNCILMEMBER KAUR LIKES THIS QUES QUESTION.
WE TALK ABOUT MET TRICKS FOR SUCCESS, AND WE LOVE DATA, AND I'M WONDERING, MEASURING THE SUCCESS IN THE BETTER BUS PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, ARE WE LO LOOKING AT FREQUENCY FOR RIDERSHIP, SATISFACTION RATES, WHAT IS THAT SORT OF SCALE LIKE? WHAT DOES THAT METRIC LOOK LIKE?
>> WE'RE LOOKING AT THE RIDERSHIP. SO THE BETTER BUS PLAN YOU KNOW WILL BRING RIDERSHIP BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO DO THE WHOLE SYSTEM 20 MINUTES OR BETTER. SO ALMOST, ABOUT, 60% OF OUR ROUTES BEFORE WE START IMPLEMENTING OUR FREQUENCY.
SO WILL THIS BETTER BUS PLAN HAVE A BETTER FREQUENCY, JUST STARTING IT BETTER. SECONDLY, LOOKING AT THE RIDERSHIP LEVEL, AND ALSO, WE DO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY EVERY YEAR, SO WE TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW SATISFIED ARE THOSE CUSTOMERS, AND OUR NET SCORE IS PRETTY HIGH WHEN WE LOOK ALL THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, SO WE ARE ALM ALMOST, LIKE -- I WOULD SAY WE ARE WITHIN TOP 3. OUR CUSTOMERS ARE PRETTY HAPPY, AND WITH THE BETTER BUS PLAN I TRIED TO LOOK INTO THE CUSTOMER REQUESTS AND DELIVER THEIR REQUEST WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR.
SO QUESTION LOOK AT CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY, LOOK INTO RI RIDERSHIP, AND ALSO TRY TO BALANCE IT WITH FREQUENCY.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I GUESS MY QUESTION THERE, IS THERE ANYTHING -- IS THERE ANYTHING MISSING, ANY TYPE OF METRIC M MISSING. BECAUSE I'M NOT AN EXPERT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. I'M NOT IN -- YOU KNOW, I'VE NOT BEEN ENGAGED IN VIA IN THE WAY YOU HAVE BEEN, AND I THOUGHT OF THOSE METRICS IN A FEW SECONDS, AND SO IS THERE SOMETHING MORE COMPLEX THAT COULD BE USED TO MEASURE SUCCESS ON THE BETTER BUS PLAN.
>> GENERALLY, WE MEASURE IT WITH THE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP, THAT'S THE PRIME THING WE CONSIDER IN ALL THE TRANSIT, WE SEE AND COVER THAT.
>> YEAH, COUNCILMEMBER, ONE THING. ONE THING WE'RE DISCUSSING ALREADY, LAST MILE OPTIONS, THOSE ARE DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT A, IMPACTS RI RIDERSHIP, BUT ALSO MAKES OUR SYSTEM THAT MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE. THE FREQUENCY ISSUE RIGHT NOW IS REALLY WHERE WE'LL FIND THAT -- THOSE RIDERSHIP INCR INCREASES.
FOR EXAMPLE, OUR COE JUST ANNOUNCED TO OUR BOARD THAT JUST THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES FROM 2025, 10 ROUTES, WE'RE SEEING A 22% INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP ON JUST THOSE ROUTES ALONE. SO WHEN IT TALKS ABO ABOUT -- YOU KNOW, ANYTIME MY TEAM IS OUT IN THE MARKET AND WE'RE TALKING TO FOLKS, IT'S, HEY, IF I JUST MISSED THE BUS AND HOW LONG I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE, AS MUCH AS WE CAN CONDENSE THAT TIME DOWN, THEY'RE MUCH, MUCH HAPPIER. SO SANDID WAS TALKING ABOUT GOING OUT TO COMMERCE TWICE A YEAR AND GETTING NET PROMOTER SCORE, AND THAT'S HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO P PROMOTE SERVICES TO SOMEBODY ELSE. WE HAVE 82%. ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN THE NATIONS. DISNEY LAND, DISNEY WORLD IS AT 75, SO WE CONSIDER OUR CUSTOMER BASE VERY LOYAL. WE WANT TO USE THEM AS ONTIVES TO HELP CELL OUR SERVICE TO THOSE WHO MAY HAVE FALLEN OFF OR WHO
COULD BE NEW TO THE SERVICE. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOT YA.
I CAN APPRECIATE THAT. THE SEND ONE IS A QUESTION I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO, BUT MANY SENIORS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS WITH GETTING TRANSPORTATION SENIOR CENTERS. SO FOR ME, IT'S A BIGGER QUESTION OF SENIOR TO ELIMINATE SOCIAL ISOLATION, ACCESS TO SERVICES, HEALTH SER SERVICES, FOOD, ALL OF THAT.
TWO THOUGHTS. I WOULD LOVE TO HELP COORDINATE SOME SORT OF PRESENTATION AT THE DISTRICT 2 HALL SENIOR CENTER, AND WOULD ENCOURAGE THE SAME ENGAGEMENT ACROSS SENIOR CENTERS ACROSS THE CITY.
I BELIEVE ALL OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SENIOR CITIZENS ARE AT DHS, WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE SECOND, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH AND STRATEGIZE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO LOOK AT THE DATA THEY HAVE AND IMPROVE PERFORMS TO ROUTES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, AND THEY WORK WITH OTHER SPECIAL POPULATIONS WITH SIMILAR DISABILITY CHALLENGES. SO IS THAT COMMUNICATION SOMETHING THAT DOES HAPPEN ON SOME LEVEL OF FREQUENCY, OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT COULD
BEGIN NOW? >> SO WHAT WE DID, AS PART OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN, WE REALLY LOOK INTO ALL THE DATA SETS THAT WAS -- SO THE
[01:15:04]
BETTER BUS PLAN IS MORE LIKE -- IT'S A PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.I KNOW BASED ON THE REQUEST FROM OUR BOARD AND CEO, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THAT, BUT AL ALSO, WE LOOK INTO ALL THE REQUESTS, AND ALSO WE TRY TO DELIVER AS WE MOVE ALONG, BUT AS PER YOUR REQUEST, WE CAN ALWAYS GO IN THOSE ME MEETINGS, AND GO IN THE SENIOR CENTERS, AND LOOK AT ALL THE INFORMATION AS WE DO THE SERVICE CHANGES BECAUSE SERVICE CHANGE HAPPENS THREE TIMES IN A YEAR, WE CAN START COMMUNICATING THAT
TOO. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GOT YA. >> YEAH, COUNCILMAN, AND JUST TO PICK UP ON WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. SO HE PRESENTED THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT GROCERY STORES; RIGHT? WE WANT TO GET PEOPLE WHERE THEY GO REGULARLY; RIGHT? SO THAT'S THAT COUNT ON VIA EVERY YEAR, OUR PROM PROMISE -- SO SENIOR CENTERS ARE INCLUDED IN THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS PART OF SOME OF THE DATA WE COLLECTED, WE'RE GOING TO CON CONTINUE TO COLLECT THAT DATA, WE'LL WORK WITH MELODY FROM THE CITY AS FAR AS IDENTIFYING -- FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE LAU LAUNCHED THE NEW STONE OAK STONE, WE CAN ALMOST GET YOU TO THE DOOR OF SENIOR 9 CENTER, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS TODAY THAT WOULD TAKE A TRANSFER FROM THE VIA LINK TO THE TRANSFER SERVICE. WE WANT TO TRY TO CUT DOWN ON AS MANY TRANSFERS AS POSSIBLE, THERE'S ALSO THE VIA TRANSOPTION FOR THOSE WITH A DOCTOR'S NOTE, BUT THE VIA LINK EXPANDS THAT TO THOSE SERVICES THAT MAY NOT QUALIFY UNDER DOCTOR'S NOTE BUT COULD USE THE SERVICE. SO, A, A CUTDOWN ON THE NUMBER OF TRANSFERS, AND B TO GET THEM WHERE THEY WANT TO GO MOST, SO WE'LL GET THAT DATA, AND NEXT TIME WE COME ARO AROUND, WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW THAT -- HOW THOSE
PUT INTO THE PLAN. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: APPRECIATE THAT.
ANY COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS? COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA?
>> MUNGIA: THANK YOU. I THINK RIDERSHIPS DEFINITELY A KEY INDICATOR OF THAT. SO LOOKING AT RIDERSHIP, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT NOW COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, PRE-PANDEMIC RI RIDERSHIP?
>> WE ARE TRYING TO -- YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF PANDEMIC, WE REDUCED THE SERVICE, IT WAS MORE LIKE -- THERE USED TO BE ROUTES WITH 30 MINUTES OR BETTER SERVICE, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP TO THAT.
LOOKING INTO THE RI RIDERSHIP, IF YOU COMPARE TO PRE-PANDEMIC, WE ARE STILL DOWN BY 2 24%, BUT THIS FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT IN APRIL, BUT MOSTLY IN AUGUST, WE STARTED IMPLEMENTING THE BETTER BUS PLAN, SO AS WE IMPLEMENT ALL OF THOSE SERVICES, NEXT FISCAL YEAR OR THE YEAR AFTER, WE WILL SEE THE INCREASE IN DRIVERSHIP, BUT I'LL MENTION, WE ALREADY SAW 22% INCREASE ON THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGES.
THOSE TEN ROUTES, SO WE SEE THE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP.
>> MUNGIA: THAT'S GOOD. AND I WOULD LIKE YA'LL TO GET MORE DETAILED FOR ME ON WHERE YOU'RE S SEEING THE RIDERSHIP INCREASE AROUND YOUR SYSTEM; RIGHT? SO IF IT'S DOWNTOWN NEAR EAST, NEAR WEST OF DOWNTOWN, I GET THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO MAKE SURE FOLKS IN DISTRICT 4, WHICH IS A VERY LONG COMMUTE FOR BUS SERVICE, IS SEEING THAT IMPROVEMENT ALSO. YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE HOW WELL CONNECTED IT IS WITH, YOU KNOW, APPLE MAPS, BUT TO GO RIGHT NOW TO MY FIELD OFFICE, IN MY CAR IS 20 MINUTES, AND ON THE BUS IT'S ABOUT AN HOUR ACCORDING
TO THE APP. >> COUNCILMAN, I WAS THINKING, WE PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT WITH YOU AND GO OVER THE WHOLE BETTER BUS PLAN, I THINK WE WENT OVER IT WITH THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL PERSON, BUT IF WE COULD SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND GO ON THE BETTER BUS PLAN, WE CAN SHOW YOU ALL THE ROUTES THAT WE'VE ALREADY IMPROVED AND THE ROUTES THAT ARE STILL TO COME, AND THOSE ARE THE ROUTES THAT WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, THE INCREASE IN RI RIDERSHIP, LIKE JUST THE AUGUST SERVICE CHANGE, THAT WAS PART OF THE BETTER BUS PLAN THAT WE PUT IN PLACE, 22%, SO I THINK IF WE COULD GO OVER THOSE ROUTES WITH YOU, YOU COULD SEE THE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE DISTRICT, SEE WHERE WE'RE CONNECTING FOLKS TO SCHOOLS, PLACES OF WORK, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE SEE THAT INCREASE IN RI RIDERSHIP.
>> MUNGIA: THAT'S GREAT. AND ALSO WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS FOR BUS STOPS ALONG THE RI RIDE; RIGHT. D4 HAVE A LOT OF BUS STOPS THAT ARE NO SHELTER, NO CROSSWALK, HARDLY A BENCH, SOMETIMES A LE LEANING BENCH ON OUR SOIL. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S ALL A PART OF IT. AND I'M HAPPY TO SIT DOWN AND GET MORE INFORMATION. I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN THE MODEL OF RAPID -- I MEAN THE MODEL LINK NUMBERS. AND SO JUST CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, YOU DO HAVE BUS SERVERS GOING TO A&M SAN ANTONIO.
OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT'S ACCURATE.
>> YEAH. >> MUNGIA: AND THEN A QUESTION FOR YOU, JOHN, DOES THE CITY
STILL ALLOCATE THE APPROXIMATE $10 MILLION TO VIA ANNUALLY? >> SO IN PREVIOUS FISCAL
[01:20:03]
YEARS, THE $10 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED IN FY24, WE ALLOCATED PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS 3 WAYS. ONE WAS 10 MILLION TOWARDS THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY. 12.5 WAS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMP IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE CONNECTIVITY, AND THEN 12.5 MILLION FOR IMP IMPROVEMENTS ALONG THE SILVER LINE, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE STATIONS. AND THIS PAST FISCAL YEAR, IT WAS -- THAT 5 MILLION WAS INCLUDED IN THAT TOTAL AMOUNT OF 25 MILLION. MOVING FORWARD FOR FY26, WEWE'RE NOW INTO THE ILA THAT WAS PASSED IN JUNE OF '22, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE SALES TAX THAT IS NOW PART OF VIA, SO AFTER THAT, IT -- WE NO LONGER HAVE THE10 MILLION. >> MUNGIA: OKAY. SO AFTER THAT, THERE'S
NO GENERAL FUND REVENUE GOING TO THAT. >> CORRECT.
IT WON'T BE PART OF REN NATIONS. >> SO CAT WAS HEATING WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST, MOVING FORWARD, THAT'S CORRECT.
>> MUNGIA: I ASKED BECAUSE ONE OF MY PRESS SECRETARIES WORKED ON THAT WRITE, AND I'M GLAD THE SALES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, BUT JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO INVEST IN AREAS THAT MAY NOT BE PART OF THE ORIGINAL PLANS, I KNOW YOU HAVE RIDERSHIP LEVELS, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET, YOU KNOW, A 20 MINUTE ROUTE OUT OF THE PARK TOMORROW AND I UNDERSTAND THE REASONS Y BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THOSE AREAS ARE NOT FORGOTTEN AS PART OF THIS, AND SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. BUT -- OH, AND THEN REALLY QUICK. HOW ARE YOU ON YOUR LEVELS RIGHT NOW WITH BUS OPERATORS, BUS DRIVERS, DO YOU HAVE A SHORTAGE OF THAT, IS
THAT A CONCERN FOR YOU? >> NO, WE REALLY HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF OPER OPERATORS. IN THE LAST ONE YEAR, OUR CEO SET UP A GOAL OF 75, BUT WE ALREADY ACHIEVED THAT. IT'S -- IT'S OCTOBER, OUR TIME FRAME WE GOT THE NUMBERS, SO WE ALREADY GOT AT OPERATORS ALREADY HIRED. SO WE ARE HIRING MORE OPERATORS, SO WE ARE AT THE LEVEL. SO WE ARE GOOD. WE ARE STILL HIRING IN
THE NEXT ONE YEAR. >> MUNGIA: GOOD. >> AND WE HAVE A GOAL OF
100 + OPERATORS TO BE HIRED. >> MUNGIA: AND YOU HAVE A GOOD
RETENTION RATE. >> YES, FOR NOW WE HAVE A GOOD RETENTION RATE.
YES. >> MUNGIA: AWESOME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
APPRECIATE IT. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COUNCILMEMBER KAUR.
>> KAUR: THANK YOU CHAIR P PROTEMPERATURE -- INTERIM CHAIR. OKAY.
A COUPLE OF THINGS. SO I APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION ALWAYS, IT GIVES US THE UPDATES, I WILL PUSH YOU GUYS, MAYBE IT'S NOW THAT I FEEL LIKE I'M ACTING LIKE A VETERAN BUT BECAUSE WE'VE SEEP THIS SAME PRESENTATION A FEW TIMES, I WOULD PUSH YOU TO INTERJECT NEW INFORMATION THAT SOME OF US WHO HAVE SEEN THIS HAVE NOT SEEN.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU DID AN NPS, THAT'S AWESOME.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT DATA. SO MAYBE AT THE NEXT QUARTERLY PRESENTATION, WE COULD SEE WHAT THAT DATA LOOKS LIKE WHERE HOW MANY PEOPLE AND WHICH KIND OF ROUTES AND MAYBE A LITTLE MAP THAT'LL, I THINK, GIVE US MORE INSIGHT TO WHAT YOU'RE WORKING TOWARDS.
AND THEN DOUBLING . >> SO AT THE START OF NEXT YEAR, WE NORMALLY DO A SUMMER AND A LATE FALL. SO OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GET FROM SUMMER IS WE WANT MORE SHELTER BECAUSE OF THE HEAT IN TEXAS, BUT WE GET A DIFFERENT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, SO WE'LL PULL BOTH THE SUMMER AND THE FALL, AND IF WE COME BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF ANY OBJECTION YEAR, WE'LL COMPILE ALL OF THAT FOR YOU.
>> KAUR: THAT WOULD BE GR GREAT. AND EVEN FOCUSING ON THINGS LIKE BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS, LIKE HIGHLIGHTING A FEW OF THE ONES THAT YOU'VE JUST DONE, A FEW OF THE AREAS THAT YOU KNOW ARE ON THE RADAR, JUST DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WOULD HELP US, HELP PROVIDE FRESH INFORMATION, AND THEN THE SECOND THING, EVEN ALSO ON THE BETTER BUS PLAN, IS IF WE CAN GET DIFFERENT RIDERSHIP NUMBERS AS WELL FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS AND GROWTH ON THAT, THAT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL.
I'M SAYING THIS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN SPEAKING TO A COUPLE OF CONSTITUENTS THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS THAT HAVE BEEN PUSHING ON OUR ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE'RE USING FOR RI RIDERSHIP, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DATA, AND I THINK THE MORE WE CAN SHOW DATA AND USAGE AND NUMBERS, THE BETTER AND STRONGER PEOPLE WILL SEE THAT WE ARE, AS A TR TRANSIT AUTHORITY. THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAD. JUST THE LAST THING IS I KNOW WE HIRED A LOT OF NEW BUS DRIVERS, WHEN BUSES ARE NOT IN SERVICE AND THEY'RE ON THE FR FREEWAY, THEY ARE A LITTLE WILD.
I GOT CUT -- I KNOW I'M CARLESS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I'M NOT THE BEST
DRIVER, BUT I GOT CUT OFF BY BECAUSE. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: STORY TIME.
[01:25:02]
>> KAUR: I GOT CUT OFF FROM BECAUSE THE OTHER DAY, AND I WA LIKE, I SHOULD PULL OUT MY PH PHONE, THAT WAS WILD. AND I KNOW THAT WAS PROBABLY HAPPENING BECAUSE THEY WERE DONE WITH THEIR SHIFT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO THROW
THAT OUT THERE, THANKS, CHAIR. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU,
COUNCILWOMAN. COUNCILMEMBER GAVITO. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: THANK YOU, CHAIR. TOM, WHEN I WALKED BACK IN, SORRY I HAD TO STEP OUT. YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT YOUR NPS SCORE.
>> IT WAS 82. WE HAD THE HIGHEST NPS SCORE OF ANY TRANSIT
AGENCY IN THE COMPANY. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: SO I WANT T CELEBRATE THAT, BUT I ALSO WANT TO BE REALISTIC. MY VERY FIRST JOB AT RACK SPACE, SO LONG AGO WAS MANAGING THE NPS PROGRAM FOR THERE, AND TO HAVE THAT TYPE OF SCORE, HIGHER THAN DISNEY MAKES ME NERV NERVOUS; RIGHT? I'M WONDERING IF WE'RE CAPTURING THE INFORMATION RIGHT.
I'D LOVE TO SEE THE COMMENTS AND THE SENTIMENT FROM RIDERS, JUST TO MAKE SURE -- I I -- IT RAISES A RED FLAG QUITE HONESTLY BECAUSE I'M LIKE, OKAY, WE CAN'T BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
WE LOVE VIA, BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW WE COULD HAVE A HIGHER SCORE THAN THAT; RIGHT? I MEAN, SOMEBODY IS RIDING BECAUSE, VERSUS AN EXPERIENCE LIKE DISNEY OR WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW? AND SO I'M SKEPTICAL OF THE INFORMATION, SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO HAVE AN OFFLINE CONVERSATION SO I CAN ACTUALLY READ THE COMMENTS AND SEE HOW
YA'LL ARE TRACKING THAT. >> SURE. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: THE OTHER THING I WANT TO SAY IS I WANT T THINK THE WORK THAT YOU ALL -- THANK YOU TALL FOR THE WORK YOU CONTINUE TO DO, I KNOW IT'S DEFINITELY TOUGH WORK, AND THAN YOU FOR WORKING WITH MY OFFICE AND I TO ADDRESS NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES IN DISTRICT 7. AS WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND ON THE NUMBER OF PROGRAMS, I WANT US TO NOT KEEP OUR FOOT OFF THE GAS IS A GOOD ANALOGY, I GUESS MAYBE NOT FOR S YOU SHOULD KH.
KEEP OUR FOOT OFF THE GAS FOR EXISTING SER SERVICES AND PROGRAMS. BECAUSE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS YOU KNOW I HEAR IS KIND OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE AROUND VIA BUS STOPS. OBVIOUSLY THE MONTH CELLO PARK EXAMPLE CONTINUES TO BE A HEADACHE, I KNOW WE'RE WORKING WITH YA'LL ON APOLUNE, IT CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH FOR THE NEIGHBORHOODS, SO LO LOOKING AT THE SAFETY AND SECURITY AROUND THOSE BUS STOPS, AND ALSO JUST -- I KNOW WE ALL LOOK AT THE ROUTES AND THE FREQUENCY OF THE ROUTES AND THE PASS PASSENGERS ON THE BUSS, ON THE BUS LINES, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE ST STOPS AND HOW MUCH TRAFFIC IS ON THE STOPS AND SAYING ARE WE ACCOMMODATING ACCORDINGLY, WE GET A TON OF REQUEST ABOUT SHADE STRUCTURES AND STUFF. AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHILE WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON IMPROVING OUR BUS LINE, WE'RE ALSO NOT -- IT'S NOT AT THE DETRIMENT TO THE EXISTING SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE COME TO KNOW AND EXPECT, AND I STILL WANT US TO SEE
IMPROVEMENT IN THAT REGARD TOO. >> ABSOLUTELY.
OUR CORE SERVICE IS OUR CORE SERVICE FOR A REASON; RIGHT?
>> ALDERETE GAVITO: UH-HUH. >> AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS OVER THE 47 YEARS IN OPERATION, PEOPLE HAVE COME TO KNOW AND TRUST.
AND SO EXACTLY THAT. I MEAN, WE ADDED MONEY TO OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR FOR SHADE STRUCTURES, SPECIFICALLY, BECAUSE OF EXPEDITING THE FREQUENCY ON ROUTES; RIGHT. RI RIDERSHIP FOLLOWS FREQUENCY.
SO AS WE MAKE OUR FREQUENCY BETTER, WE'RE GOING TO SEE MORE RI RIDERSHIP, WHICH MEANS MORE CONGREGATING AT STOPS, WHICH MEANS MORE SHADE STRUCTURES; RIGHT. SO ALL OF THAT, WE'RE BUILDING INTO THIS PLAN ITSELF. YOU KNOW WE -- YOU KNOW, IT WAS GREAT GOING TO TO THE MONTH CELLO NEIGHBORHOOD SYSTEM. WE REMINDED OUR OPER OPERATORS, HEY, WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE AT BECAUSE STOP THAT'S NOT A RIDER, YOU KNOW, STOPS ARE FOR RIDERS; RIGHT? SO WE R REMINDED ALL OF OUR OPERATORS THAT IF YOU SEE SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, HANGING AROUND, CALL IT IN, AND WE CAN GET TR TRANSIT POLICE OUT TH THERE, SO WE'RE ENGAGING MUCH FASTER. YOU KNOW, OUR BOARD DID GIVE US THE RIGHT TO GO AND START NEGOTIATING WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER THAT COULD LEAD TO ACQUISITION, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT PROPERTY, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE THAT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN. BUT THOSE AGAIN ARE JUST -- WE YA'LL GIVING US FEEDBACK ON SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT WE'RE GETTING SO THAT WE CAN GO AND GET THAT. I MEAN, COUNCILMEMBER MMUNGIA, YOU TOLD US PEOPLE HAVING ISSUES WITH NOT UNDERSTANDING THE DIGITAL STOPS, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY OF LEAVING SOME OF THE ORIGINAL BUS STOPS THERE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN TRANSITION FROM I HAVE TO GO STAND AT THIS BUS STOP, TO I NEED A DIM TAL STO STOP; RIGHT? SO THEN WE CAN EVENTUALLY GO REMOVE THAT. WE'RE ABLE TO ENTER INTO OUR EDUCATION PHASE FOR THIS PROGRAM, SO WE WENT AND DID THE INPUT PHASE, NOW THAT OUR BOARD AS ACCEPTED IT, NOW THE NEXT 90 DAYS UNTIL
[01:30:04]
IMPLEMENTATION, JUST EDUCATING, HEY, THIS IS YOUR ROUTE, THIS GOT I IMPACTED, THIS IS THE BENEFIT TO YOU. AND SO ALL OF THAT -- I HOPE THAT ANSWERED SOME OF YOUR, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS.WE DO STILL -- DEFI DEFINITELY NEED TO COME BACK AND KEEP YA'LL U UPDATED WITH HOW ALL OF THIS IS GOING, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE
FREQUENCY NUMBERS. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: THANK YOU. I DID JUST HAVE ONE
QUICK QUESTION IF I MAY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: GO AHEAD. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: THANK YOU.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OF COURSE. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: I DID SEE A NOTE THAT DISTRICT 2 AND DISTRICT 7 VIA LINK ZONES ARE BEING MODIFIED. ARE WE -- HOW ARE WE NOTIFYING RIDERS OF THE CHANGES, AND HOW WILL THIS IMPACT THEM.
>> BASICALLY, WE TRIED MORE LIKE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, WE TRIED TO BE AT THE TRANSIT CEN CENTER, WHICH IS TIED TO THE VIA LINK, ALSO TRIED TO DO THE SUPER STOP ENGAGEMENT, WE GO AND TALK TO THE CUSTOMERS AND INFORM THEM ABOUT THE CHANGES IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES.
>> ALDERETE GAVITO: IF WE HAVE THEIR CELL PHONE NUMBERS, ARE W TEXTING THEM.
>> CELL PHONE NUMBER. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: BECAUSE WOULDN'T WE HAVE THEIR CELL
PHONE NUMBER. >> WE DID -- YESTERDAY WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE VIA LINK ZONE, ALL VIA USERS GOT A NOTIFICATION IN THE APP THAT THERE WAS CHANGES SO WE USE PUSH MESSAGE NOTIFICATION IN THE APP ITSELF.
>> ALDERETE GAVITO: THANK YOU. MAY NOT BE A TEXT, BUT SOME SORT OF NOTIFICATION ON THEIR PHONE IF THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE AT.
THANK YOU, TOM. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS.
CONCERNS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BOTH OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS. WE WILL WORK TO GET YOU ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR
FOLLOW UP. >> THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. MADAM CLERK, READ THE CAPTION FOR THE NEXT
ITEM. >> CLERK: BRIEFING OF THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT ON TH VEHICLE FOR HIRE INDUSTRY AND THE REQUIREMENTS TO OPERATE IN SAN ANTONIO AS A PERMITTED
LIMOUSINE COMPANY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. I'LL PREFACE THIS ITEM BY SAYING THIS ITEM IS FOR BRIEFING ONLY TODAY, OF COURSE, AND I AGENDIZED IT IN RESPONSE TO A REQUEST BY COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA SO WE COULD LAY THE GRO GROUNDWORK FOR POTENTIAL POLICY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE AND OF COURSE MUSH MORE DISCUSSION. THIS PARTICULAR CONVERSATION IS INTE INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE IT POSES THE CORRELATION OF SUSTAINABILITY, WHICH IS NOT OFTEN THE CASE WHEN IT COMES TO DEREGULATION AS A PRIMARY FUNCTION, SO TODAY, WE'RE NOT BE TALKING ACTION, BUT I WOULD LIKE FEEDBACK ON THE PATH THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE WHETHER IT'S HAVING STAFF COME BACK WITH PROPOSED CHANGES, ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK FROM STAKEHOLDERS, AND MAYBE AN ANALYSIS OF SIMILAR CHANGES IN OTHER CITIES OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT YA'LL CAN THINK OF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO MOVE THIS DISCUSSION ALONG. BUT ALL OF THIS BEING
SAID, THE FLOOR IS YO YOURS. >> THANK YOU.
AND GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS NICK RILEY. I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND AS THE CHAIR MENTIONED TODAY, I'LL PRESENT A BRIEFING ON THE LIMOUSINE INDUSTRY AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS TO OPERATE A LIMOUSINE SERVICE WITH INSIDE SAN ANTONIO.
TODAY'S BRIEFING WILL COVER THE FOLLOWING. A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF CHAPTER 33, AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIMOUSINE INDUSTRY AS IT SITS TODAY, THE TYPES OF VEHICLES THAT ARE CONSIDERED LIMOUSINE VEHICLES PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 33, AS WELL AS THE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS TO OPERATE AS A LIMOUSINE COMPANY. THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD AND ITS ROLE IN CHAPTER 33, AND THEN A CONCLUSION AND A REQUEST FOR SOME FE FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL -- OR FROM THE COMMITTEE, I'M SORRY. SO SINCE 1992, CHAPTER 33 OF THE CITY CODE HAS GOVERNED THE OPERATION OF VEHICLES FOR HIRE AND GROUND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES IN SAN ANTONIO. SO THE FIRST QUESTION, OKAY, WHAT'S A VEHICLE FOR HIRE? SO YOU'LL SEE UP THERE, A CHAUFFEURED VEHICLE, OTHER THAN MASS TRANSIT, WHICH OPERATES FOR ANY FAIR COMPENSATION AND USED TO TRANSPORT PASSENGERS OVER CITY STREETS.
THESE INCLUDE TAXI CABS, BUSES, VANS, STRETCH LIMOUSINES, LUXURY VEHICLES, PET I DID CA CABS. MOTORBIKE SIDE CARS AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES. THE GROUND TRANSPORTATION UNIT WITHIN THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IS TASKED WITH ENFORCING THOSE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 33 OF THE CITY CODE, AND THEIR PURPOSE IS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY AND PROMOTE THAT PUBLIC CONVENIENCE. SO A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE LIMOUSINE INDUSTRY.
THE CITY HAS ISSUED PERMITS TO THE LIMOUSINE INDUSTRY SINCE 1989.
WE CONSIDER, BY CODE, A LIMOUSINE INDUSTRY IS A GROUND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE THAT TRANSPORTS PASSENGERS FOR FAIR BASED ON ONE HOUR OR MORE OF A TIME PERIOD. SO YOU'LL SEE, 1989 WAS WHEN WE STARTED ISSUING PERMITS, THIS WAS PARTICULAR FOR THOSE WHO WERE HERE DURING THE HORSE CARRIAGE DISCUSSION. IN 2013, ALL OF THOSE INDUSTRIES WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER AND CODIFIED UNDER CHAPTER 33 OF THE
[01:35:02]
CITY ORDNANCE, SO A LOOSE GROUP OF VEHICLE FOR HIRE INDUSTRIES THAT WERE SUBSEQUENTLY CODIFIED UNDER CHAPTER 33.SO THE TYPES OF LIMOUSINES UNDER CHAPTER 33 TODAY, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STRETCH LIMOUSINE, THE REQUIREMENT IS IT MUST BE STRETCHED 10 100 INCHES OR MORE BEYOND THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURE'S SPECIFICATIONS AND NO PASSENGER LIMITS IN THAT STRETCH LIMOUSINE.
ADDITIONALLY. LUXURY VEHICLES, SEDANS, NO MORE THAN 8 PASS PASSENGERS. LUXURY SUVS, SE SELF-EXPLANATORY, AGAIN, A PASSENGER LIMITATION OF 8. A LIMO VAN, PASSENGERS 8 TO NO MORE THAN 15. AND IN THE LIMO BUS, WHICH IS WHAT YOU SEE PEOPLE PICKING UP AT THE AIRPORT, TAKING THEM TO OR FROM A RENTAL CAR FACILITY, 9 PASSENGERS, NOT MORE THAN 45. SO UNDER CHAPTER 33, YOU HEARD FROM PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, LIMOUSINE COMPANIES MUST HAVE -- AND WHEN I UNDERSTAND MUST HAVE, HAVE TO OWN, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN AT LEAST TWO STRETCH LIMOUSINES OR ONE STRETCH LIMOUSINE AND TWO LUXURY VEHICLES OR SUVS IN ORDER TO BE PERMITTED AS A LIMOUSINE COMPANY WITHIN SAN ANTONIO. ADDITIONALLY, FOR STRETCH LIMOUSINES ON TOP OF THE 100-INCH EXPANSION IS THAT VEHICLE CAN'T BE ANY HOLDER THAN 7 YEARS, 7 MODEL YEARS AND LESS THAN 100,000 MODELS, FOR THE OTHER TYPES OF VEHICLES WE DISCUSSED, THEY CANNOT BE OLDER THAN FOUR MODEL YEARS, AND ALSO THE 100, 100,000-MILE HARD STOP ON THE ODOMETER THERE. CURRENTLY, WITHIN SAN ANTONIO, WE HAVE 12 LIMOUSINE COMPANIES OPERATING.
THERE'S 116 LIMOUSINE PERMITS OUT THERE, AND 155 PERMITTED LIMOUSINE DRIVERS. NEXT, I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD ESTABLISHED IN 1984, MEETS MONTHLY EXCEPT IN MONTHS OF HOLIDAYS AND FIESTA. AND ITS PURPOSE IS TO REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL AND CHIEF OF POLICE REGARDING THE VEHICLE FOR HIRE ORDNANCES, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES. IT'S COMPOSED OF 11 VO VOTING MEMBERS, WHICH ARE APPOINTED BY YA'LL AND THE MAYOR, TO MAKE UP THE 11, AS WELL AS FIVE NONVOTING MEMBERS, YOU'LL SEE THERE PUBLIC WORKS, AVIATION, VISIT SA, CCDO, AND VIA. SO AS WAS HEARD DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, PART OF THE REASON THIS BRIEF HAS COME TO YOUR ATTENTION TODAY IS THE TAB HAS RECEIVED PUBLIC COMMENT TWICE IN 2025 FROM INDIVIDUALS REQUESTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE LIMOUSINE VEHICLE REQUIREMENT BY REMOVING THAT STRETCH LIMOUSINE REQUIREMENT. MOST RECENTLY IN AUGUST, IT CAME UP AGAIN. THE TAB VOTED UNAN UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND NO CHANGES TO THE CURRENT LIMOUSINE VEHICLE PERMIT REQUIREMENT, AND THAT WAS DURING THE AUGUST MEETING.
AS I TURNED ON. THE TAB IS A RECO RECOMMENDING BODY, WE COME TO YOU FOR YOUR POLICY DIRECTION AND HOW YOU WANT TO MOVE.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE CONCLUSION, AND THIS HITS RIGHT ON WHAT THE CHAIR WAS TALKING ABOUT. THE STAFF IS REQUESTING FEEDBACK AND DIRECTION REGARDING THOSE LIMOUSINE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.
IS IT -- YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO TAKE IT TO COUNCIL, DO WE WANT TO GO BACK TO THE TAB. DO WE WANT TO DO MORE RESEARCH TO FIGURE OUT WHAT COULD BE SUBST SUBSTITUTED. A FOR B, FOR C.
WHATEVER IT MAY BE. SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION COUNCILMAN,
AND I'M INTERESTED IN YOUR COMMENTS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
I'LL START OFF WITH A FEW COMMENTS AND THEN TURN THE FLOOR TO COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA SINCE THIS WAS AN ITEM OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR HIM. MY PRIMARY QUESTION WHEN THIS WAS BROUGHT TO ME WAS THE WHY OF COURSE. AND SO THE WHY, AS I UNDERSTOOD FROM THE SPEAKERS TODAY IS THOSE STRETCH LIMOUSINES -- STRETCH LIMOUSINES ARE NOT AN IDEAL INVESTMENT FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING THE WAY IT'S MANUFACTURED. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND SAFETY FOR THE PUBLIC. IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE THE BENEFIT OF BEING CLASSIFIED AS A LIMOUSINE SERVICE IS THE ABILITY TO CHARGE THE HOUR OF FARE. IS THAT NOT A POSSIBILITY FOR ANY
OTHER TYPE OF BUSINESS. >> I NEED YOU TO RESTATE IT.
I GOT LOST. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THE REAL QUESTION I HAVE, AN INSTANCE -- IF A BUSINESS DOES NOT HAVE A STRETCH LIMOUSINE SERVICE, ARE THEY STILL ABLE TO OPERATE IN THE SAME WAY, JUST WITHOUT THAT LIMO? OR WHAT IS THE .
>> MY RESPONSE WOULD BE NO, THEY WOULDN'T BE PERMITTED AS A LIMOUSINE COMPANY. THEY COULD OPERATE INDIVIDUALLY AS AN UBER OR LIFT TYPE BUSINESS, BUT THAT'S ONE VEHICLE, ONE DRIVER GOVERNED BY UBER LIFT, SO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WANTED TO START AND OPERATE A LIMOUSINE SERVICE OR BUSINESS WOULD BE PRECLUDED FROM THAT.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU. THAT BECOMES A BIG CONCERN TO ME BECAUSE I
[01:40:03]
DO BELIEVE THE STRETCH LIMB HOES ARE -- I REMEMBER BEING A CHILD IN THE EARLY 2000S AND BEING ENAMORED BY THE IDEA OF RIDING IN A STRETCH LIMO, AND YOU SAW THEM BECOME THE HUMMER LIMOUSINE, AND THOSE BECAME THE BIG POPULAR THING, AND TODAY THERE'S A LOT LESS DEMAND FOR STRETCH LIMO SCENES, AND SO TODAY I CAN APPRECIATE THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD PROVIDED INPUT AND RECOMMENDED NO CHANGES.I DO THINK THERE'S A LARGER CONVERSATION TO BE HAD, AND I WOULD -- WHAT I WOULD REQUEST, AND SOME OF THE THINGS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I WOULD LIKE -- I WOULD WONDER IF YOU COULD COME BACK WITH A DRAFT OF WHAT CHANGES WOULD LOOK LIKE, ADDITIONAL FE FEEDBACK FROM STAKEHOLDERS OUTSIDE OF THAT SPECIFIC BOARD, AND MAYBE AN ANALYSIS OF SIMILAR CHANGES IN OTHER CITIES. ARE OTHER CITIES KEEPING THIS SORT OF VEHICLE FOR HIRE REQUIREMENT FOR STRETCH LIMOUSINES, OR ARE THEY ALSO UPDATING AND ELIMINATING THIS? WHAT ARE THE TRENDS WE'RE SEEING ELSEWHERE? AND IS IT REASONABLE T TO -- IT SOUNDS
REASONABLE TO MAKE THIS CHANGE. >> I CAN ANSWER A PART OF THAT. SO YOUR REQUIREMENTS, AUSTIN CURRENTLY REQ REQUIRES ONE STRETCH LIMOUSINE OR FOUR LUXURY VEHICLES/SUVS SO IT'S AN EITHER OR THING. HOUSTON, DALLAS, CORPUS, NO MINIMUM VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS IN THOSE CITIES TO OPERATE AS A LIMOUSINE COMPANY.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OKAY. THAT DEFINITELY -- THAT READS THERE IS A NUMBER OF OPTIONS WE COULD GO WITH, AND THAT'S THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK YOU COULD SOLICIT FROM STAKEHOLDERS WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THAT.
I GUESS, TO ME, WHAT I WOULD ULTIMATELY LIKE TO GET OUT OF THIS IS A LIMOUSINE SERVICE TO ME IS MEANT TO BE A LUXURY VEHICLE SERVICE.
AND SO WHAT IS THE STANDARD OF VEHICLE -- IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO INCLUDE -- IF IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A STRETCH LIMO, IS IT MORE LUXURY VEHICLES, HOW DO YOU DEFINE THOSE OR SOME OTHER DEFINITION, AND WHAT WILL THAT LOOK LI LIKE. SO I'LL TURN THE FLOOR
OVER TO COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA. >> MUNGIA: THANK YOU, CHAIR, FO HELPING AGENDIZE THIS. AND, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUCH AN INTERESTING TOPIC. I SPOKE TO MR. ROW HAS A FEW WEEKS AGO AND MAYBE A MONTH OR TWO BEFORE HE REACHED OUT TO MY OFF OFFICE, I HAPPENED TO SEE A VIDEO OF A NEWS PUBLICATION AND TALKING ABOUT THIS TOPIC, AND SAYING, THAT, YOU KNOW, STRETCH LIMOS, VERY DANGEROUS, YOU TAKE A CAR, CUT IN HALF, EXPAND IT, AND NOT MUCH SAFETY REGULATIONS ON THAT, DON'T HAVE TO WEAR SEAT BELTS, NO LIMIT TO HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN BE IN A LIMO, WHICH IS TROU TROUBLING. AND THEN THE FACT THAT THEY'RE NOT AS POPULAR AS THEY USED TO BE BE; RIGHT? YOU -- ALL THE BUSINESSES HERE DOWNTOWN, I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN A LIMO IN MY TIME DRIVING DOWN TO THESE PLACES. YOU SEE THE LUXURY SE SEDANS, THE SUVS, TAHOES, CADILLACS, ESCALATORS, NAVIGATORS, BUT YOU DON'T SEE A LIMO ANYMORE. I FEEL LIKE THAT IS REALLY -- PROM, FUNE FUNERALS, THESE ARE TIMES WHEN WE USE LIMOS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS. AND AS A KID, I GOT TO RIDE IN A LIMO, THAT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. BUT I THINK THE MARKET HAS CHANGED A LITTLE B BIT, AND I DO SEE THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING IN FROM THE AIRPORT OR GOING TO NCAA, THEY'RE NOT TAKING STRETCH LIMOS OUT THERE ANYMORE. AND SO I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO ADAPT TO THE MARKET THAT WE HAVE NOW. AND I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO ENSURE THAT WHATEVER CHANGES WE MAKE DO NOT DECREASE THE QUALITY THAT WE'RE LO LOOKING FOR WITH THI THIS; RIGHT? SO I TALKED TO SOME FOLKS HERE, HEY, YOU CAN HAVE A VERY LOW MILEAGE REQUIREMENT; RIGHT, YOU COULD HAVE A VERY RECENT CAR PRODUCTION YEAR WITHOUT REQUIRING A STRETCH LIMO, SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, AND I HAVE A REALLY QUICK QUESTION. SO, A STRETCH LIMOUSINE NO OLDER THAN 7 MOLDER YEARS, IS THAT AT THE TIME OF THE PERMIT OR THE ENTIRETY YOU HAVE A
PERMIT. >> SO PERMITS ARE RENEWABLE EVERY YEAR.
SO AS THAT VEHICLE GETS OLDER, IT WILL AGE OUT AS YOU HAVE TO RENEW A
PERMIT. >> MUNGIA: OKAY. GOOD.
AND, SO, YEAH, IF I THINK WE'RE GOING TO REDUCE THE REQUIREMENT OR GET RID OF THE STRETCH, THERE'S WAYS TO MODIFY THIS TOO, EVEN TO SAY IT COULD BE LESS THAN 75,000 MILES OR NO OLDER THAN 5 MODEL YE YEARS, THERE'S WAYS TO ADAPT THAT SO WE DON'T JUST HAVE A BUNCH OF O OLDER CARS ON THE ROAD THAT ARE NOT SUDDENLY GETTING PERMITS.
AND I ALSO WANT TO GI GIVE -- YEAH, SPEAKING OF LIMOS.
I WANT TO GIVE A SH SHOUTOUT TO MR MR. RODRIGUEZ WHO KEEPS ME UPDATED AND ATTENDS EVERY MEETING AT THE T TAB, SO I'M APPRECIATIVE
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OF THAT. BUT OF THE 11 MEMBERS OF TAB; RIGHT.>> YES, SIR. >> MUNGIA: HOW MANY OF THOSE CURRENTLY HAVE A LIMO PERMIT
WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. >> TWO AND -- TWO DO, AND THEN ONE TAB MEM MEMBER'S WIFE HAS A LIMO PERMIT, SO YOU CAN COUNT THAT AS 2 AND A HALF IF
YOU WILL. >> MUNGIA: YEAH. AND SO I THINK -- I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY THERE HAVEN'T BEEN RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE PAST, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT HAS ANYTHING TO PLAY WITH IT, TOO, BUT MY PERSPECTIVE IS I THINK IT'S TIME -- WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THIS
WAS AMENDED, THE REQUIREMENTS? >> 2000.
YEAH. >> MUNGIA: 2000? THE YEAR 2000?
>> YEAH. >> MUNGIA: SO THERE'S BEEN A LO OF CHANGES IN 25 YEARS, AND I THINK IT'S TIME TO GET SOME F FEEDBACK, SO I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO GO BACK AND DO COMPARISO TO OTHER CITIES. I WOULD SUGGEST GOING BACK AND ASKING TAB -- AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND I THINK THEY RECENTLY HAD A SUBCOMMITTEE WHERE THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS OR OTHER THINGS, AND THEN THAT FIZZLED OUT, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GO BACK AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS COMMITTEE IS INTERESTED IN THIS T TOPIC, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL GET A GOOD SOLUTION OUT OF THAT COMPARED TO THE PAST, AND I THINK A LOT OF THE SAME MEMBERS ARE STILL THERE. SO I THINK IT'S TIME TO KIND OF REVISIT THAT, AND I WELCOME THE FE FEEDBACK OF MY COLL
COLLEAGUES ALSO. THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER, AND I NEGLECTED TO ASK THIS, AND I THINK THIS I A LITTLE BIT OF THE POINT THAT COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA WAS MAKING. ONE OF THE THINGS I VALUE ABOUT COMMITTEE LIKE THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD IS IT'S MEANT TO BE COMPRISED OF FOLK WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE IN THAT PROFESSION, FOLK WHO WILL BE IMPACTED BY ANY CHANGES AND REGULATION AND WHATNOT, AND SO THEIR FEEDBACK IS IMPORTANT. THERE'S A NATURAL, SOMETIMES -- IT'S NOT WITHOUT POLITICS. AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE FOLK WHO MAY BE I IMPACTED OR MAY SEE SOME SORT OF COMPETITION, AND SO I'M NOT -- I DON'T WANT TO IMPLY THAT'S WHAT THAT WAS; RIGHT? BUT I WOULD BE INTE INTERESTED, DO YOU HA HAVE -- I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE A MEMBER OR ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER ATTENDED THE MEETINGS WHERE THEY HAVE THE -- WHERE THEY VOTED BASICALLY UNANIMOUSLY NOT TO MAKE ANY CHANGES, WHAT WAS THE DISCUSSION LIKE.
>> SO I WAS THERE. THE DISCUSSION REALLY CIRCLES AROUND I HAD TO PUT MY ANTE IN THE POT IN PRES PRE PURCHASING A STRETC LIMOUSINE, AND SO EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE TO ANTE INTO THAT POT. BUT SOME OF THE FEEDBACK I'VE HEARD FROM YOU AND COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA, IS THERE A WAY TO WORK AROUND THAT, LET'S HYPOTHETICALLY SAY A STRETCH LIMO COSTS $100,000, DOES THE INVESTMENT GO TO I HAVE TO PURCHASE VEHICLES EQUAL TO THAT COST POINT NOW; RIGHT? SO NOW SOMEBODY ELSE HAS SOME FINANCIAL, YOU KNOW, SKIN IN THE GAME IF YOU WILL TO MOVE FORWARD
WITH THAT COMPANY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND DO TAXIS COUNT IN THIS GROUP? >> THEY'RE SEPARATE.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: SO THEY WOULDN'T -- I'M THINKING OF ANY POTENTIAL IMPACTS AND CHANGES T THIS SPECIFIC TYPE OF OPERATOR, AND I'M WONDERING -- LET ME KEE THAT THOUGHT, AND THEN I'LL TUR THE FLOOR TO COUNCILMEMBER ALDERETE GAVITO, AND I'LL THINK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT.
>> ALDERETE GAVITO: THANK YOU, CHAIR. YOU ACTUALLY ASKED A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS. I WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE STANDARDS ARE IN OTHER CITIES, ALSO, TOO, ABOUT THE RATIONAL FROM THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD'S RECOMME RECOMMENDATION -- BASICALLY WHY THEY SAID NO. I DID WANT TO THANK CHAIR GEORGE MARY FOR HIS SERVICE ON THE TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD AND ALSO MR MR. MICHAEL ROW HAS FOR SHARING HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISSUE WITH US.
REALLY, THE ONLY QUESTION LEFT THAT I HAD WAS IF OUR CURRENT
POLICIES ALIGN WITH STATE LAW. >> AS FAR AS -- SO WE HAVE POLICIES THAT REQUIRE STATE LAW AND INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, THAT TYPE OF THING, YES, MA'AM. SO I WOULD HAVE TO GET MORE RESEARCH INTO, YOU KNOW, IF OUR POLICY -- AND WHEN YOU SAY POLICY, I'M ASSUMING YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ORDNANCE, AND SPECIFICALLY THE CITY CODE REGARDING MODEL YEARS, ODOMETER READ READINGS, THAT TYPE OF THING, I WOULD HAVE TO DO SOME MORE RESEARCH,
AND I RE. >> ALDERETE GAVITO: I REMEMBER IN OUR MEETING A WHILE AGO, THA WAS ONE OF THE COMMENTS MADE THAT OUR CITY POLICIES MIGHT NO BE FOLLOWING STATE LAW, SO I JUST WANT TO GET CLARIFICATION ON THAT, SO THAT WAY WE CAN KNO EXACTLY IF IT DOES OR NOT.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE, CH CHAIR, THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU,
COUNCILMEMBER KAUR. >> KAUR: THANK YOU, CHAIR. YEAH, I THINK THE MOST INTERESTING THING THAT YOU MENTIONED WAS KIND OF WHAT SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, AND SO I WOULD RECOMMEND US BE -- TRY TO BE
[01:50:01]
INCLUSIVE AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT TO THE POINT THAT YOU MADE AROUND FOLKS FEELING LIKE THEY HAD TO KIND OF BUY- IN TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY OTHER WAY TO ADDRESS THAT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK WE STAND WITH LIKE WE ARE THINKING BACK INTO THE DAYS OF WHY WE HAVE FREE TRADE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE LIMITING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THE BAR FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A SERVICE AND GET A PERMIT FOR THIS, FOR WHATEVER SERVICE THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING, FOR SHARE RIDE CARS, WHATEVER. I ALSO THINK -- I MEAN, WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS -- I BROUGHT THIS UP THE LAST TRANSPORTATION ME MEETING, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A VERY SIMILAR CONVERSATION FOR PED I DID CABS, I KNOW I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS THERE, AND SO WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING THAT BACK, TOO, AND WE TALKED ABOUT DOING AN OVERALL PRESENTATION FOR WHAT PERMITS WE HAVE, JUST, LIKE, A BRIEFING ON, LIKE, THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRANSPORTATION PERMITS THAT ARE OFFERED, THIS IS WHERE THEY'RE APPLICABLE, AND THIS IS THE AMOUNT AND HOW MANY PERMITS ARE ALLOWED, ET CETERA, TO EACH COMPANY.>> COUNCILMEMBER, WE'LL BE GLAD TO INCLUDE THE PED I DID CAB QUESTION
AS A PART OF OUR REVIEW OF CHAPTER 33. >> KAUR: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
>> SO I UNDERSTAND, COUNCILMEMBER, MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE PED
I DID CAB IS AN INSURANCE AMOUNT. >> KAUR: THAT WAS ONE.
BUT THE OTHER THING IS JUST HOW MANY -- LIKE THE AMOUNT OF PERMITS OR WHO COULD GET A PERMIT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE ALL USED UP BY A COUPLE OF COMPANIES AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE IN USE OR NOT IS -- THIS IS A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH A DRIVER FOR A PEDY CAB, SO I THINK IT'S JUST -- YEAH, OVERARCHING, IT'S GOOD TO JUST LOOK BACK AT -- BECAUSE WE SOMETIMES TRY TO PUT THESE PERMITS FOR MAKING SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING AND NOT HAVING THE SITUATION THAT WE DID WITH THE SCOOTERS, REMEMBER, LI LIKE, FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN THEY FLOODED DOWNTOWN, AND WE ARE LIKE OH WE'VE GOT TO CREATE A POLICY FOR TH THIS, BUT ALSO AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT FLOODING THE MARKET WITH THIS, BUT ALSO AT THE SAME TIME, NOT HAVING TOO MANY BARRIERS WHERE SOMEONE WHO HAS A PASSION AND WANTS TO START A BUSINESS CAN'T START IT UP. SO I THINK AN OVERVIEW
WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME, AT LEAST, ON THIS. >> THANK YOU FOR THE
DIRECTION. >> KAUR: YEAH. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU
COUNCILMEMBER KAUR. COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA. >> MUNGIA: ONE ADDITIONAL POINT.
I UNDERSTAND YOU ALSO HAVE TO OBTAIN A PERMIT FROM THE AIRPORTS TO DO PICK UP AND ADOPT OFF THERE, SO IN THE FOLLOW UP, IF YOU COULD ADD A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE AS I UNDERSTAND, YOU COULD HAVE THE AIRPORT PERMIT BUT NOT THE CITY PERMIT, AND SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE. THANK YOU.
>> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: CAN -- WOULD YOU MIND CLARIFYING THAT FOR ME NOW.
SO THE OPERATE TOR NEEDS A PERMIT IN ORDER TO DO PICKUPS FROM THE AIRPORT
IN ADDITION TO THE OPERATORS IN THE CITY. >> MY NAME IS GARY GILBERT, I'M THE ADMITHE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES MANAGER, I OVERSEE THE GROUND TRANSPORTATION BUT ALSO THE LIAISON FOR THE GROUND TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD. SO IN ORDER TO HAVE A PERMIT. A COMPANY HAS A PERMIT. THEY HAVE TO HAVE A CITY WIDE PERMIT, TO OPERATE AT THE AIRPORT, THEY HAVE TO GET ONE AT THE AIRPORT ALSO, SO YOU CAN'T HAVE AN AIRPORT PERMIT WITHOUT HAVING YOUR CITY ONE FIRST. SO WE HAVE VEHICLES THAT OPERATE ONLY CITY WIDE, NEVER AT THE AIRPORT, BUT IN THE LIMOUSINE INDUSTRIES SPECIFICALLY, THEY HAVE A CITY WIDE PERMIT WITH THE DOWNTOWN GTU, AND THEN THEY GET ANOTHER AIRPORT PERMIT TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE THERE.
DIFFERENT FEES, FFA RU RULES, THERE'S OTHER REASONS WHY, BUT THAT'S
WHY. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: OKAY. THANK YOU.
AND I KNOW -- DOES TH THAT -- I GUESS WHAT -- WHAT INFORMATION WOULD
BE HELPFUL FOR YOU, COUNCILMEMBER MUNGIA? >> MUNGIA: YEAH.
I GUESS -- SO I THINK YOU CORRECTED SOMETHING I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION OF IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IF YOU HAD A LIMO COMPANY AND YOU WERE IN UNIVERSAL CITY OR THE VALLEY AND WANTED TO PICK SOMEONE UP AT THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN SAN ANTONIO. AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I WANT TO RESTATE WHAT YOU SAID, YOU CANNOT GET A LIMO PERMIT AT THE AIRPORT TO HAVE ACCESS WITHOUT HAVING A CITY-ISSUED LIMO PERMIT.
>> THAT'S -- WELL, COUNCILMAN, THEY CAN PICK UP, BUT THEY CAN'T STAGE AT THE AIRPORT, SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PERMIT TO BE ABLE TO STAGE PICKUP PASSENGERS, BUT IF YOU HAVE A P PREARRANGED ROUTE OR CUSTOMER, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO GO THERE. YOU STILL HAVE TO REGISTER WITH THE AIRPORT TO PAY THEIR DEPARTURE FEES, SO
THEY'LL STILL DO THAT FOR YOU. >> MUNGIA: BUT IN THIS CASE YOU
DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A CITY PE PERMIT. >> CORRECT.
YES, SIR. >> MUNGIA: OKAY. SO LAYING THAT OUT IN THE BACK OF MY MIND WOULD BE HELPFUL, AND IF THAT'S ALSO RELATABLE TO UBER, LIFT, HOW THAT WORKS WITH OTHER INDUSTRIES INVOLVED IN
THAT. SO THANK YOU. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
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THANK YOU COUNCILMEMBER. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CROSSED MY MIND, AND IT'S MINORLY SILLY THOUGHT, BUT IT'S A REAL ONE.IF EVENTUALLY ALL THE LIMOUSINE SERVICES DECIDE THEY NO LONGER WANT TO HAVE STRETCH LIMOS AS A RESULT OF THIS CHANGE, IT'S NO LONGER A LIMO SERVICE, AND SO DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO RENAME THE CLASSIFICATION TO LUXURY VEHICLE SERVICE, AND THEN IN -- THAT'S JUST ONE QUESTION, ONE THOUGHT FOR FEEDBACK. SECOND, IS THERE A MINIMUM WHERE, KIND OF SIMILAR TO HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES; RIGHT? IS THERE A MINIMUM OR LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF -- IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF OPERATORS THAT CAN EXIST, AND IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF
VEHICLES THAT EACH CAN OPERATE? >> NO TO BOTH THOSE
QUESTIONS. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: HMM. THAT MAY BE A QUESTION I THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO ASK THE, YOU KNOW, OPERATORS, ANY OF THE FOLK WHO ARE STAKEHOLDERS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ACCESS TO.
I THINK THE GOAL WOULD BE, RIGHT, FOR EVERYONE WHO FALLS INTO THIS CLASSIFICATION TO, AS YOU SAID, HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF SKIN IN THE GAME, HAVE THE SAME STANDARD FOR THE INDUSTRY, AND YOU DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, ONE BUSINESS TO HAVE 1,000 '97 HONDA CIVICS AND EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO MAINTAIN A STRETCH LIMO. SO ANSWERING ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS WE HAVE AS A COUNCIL OR AS A COMMITTEE, WHAT I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN FROM YOU COMING BACK IS -- WOULD BE POSSIBLE CHA CHANGES, SO ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT OPTIONS YOU'VE LAID OUT THAT OTHER CI CITIES ARE DOING, ANY OTHER POSSIBLE FEEDBACK YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GATHER BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEW YEAR WHEN WE'RE ABLE TO SCHEDULE THE FOLLOW UP DISCUSSION, AND POTENTIALLY A RECOMMENDATION AND WE'LL SEE FROM THERE. BUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS, FE FEEDBACK FROM COUNCILMEMBERS? WELL, THAT'S ALL FROM M ME. IS THAT -- GOT WHAT YOU NEED.
>> PERFECT. GOT IT, COUNCILMEMBER. >> MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ: THANK YOU.
THE LAST ITEM FROM THE DAY. ANYTHING FROM YOU? THE TIME IS NOW 4:05 4:05:00 P.M., JUST A LITTLE BIT PAST WHEN I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO ST STAY. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. NEXT TIME WE'LL END AT 4:00.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.