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Memorandum
Date: 11.12.08 RE: Plans and Programs Committee November 18, 2008
To: Plans and Programs Committee: Commissioners Dufty (Chair), Peskin (Vice Chair), Daly, Elsbernd, Maxwell, and McGoldrick (Ex Officio)
From: Tilly Chang – Deputy Director for Planning Through: José Luis Moscovich – Executive Director
Subject: ACTION – Recommend Approval of the Final Scope of Work for the Strategic Analysis Report on the Role of Shuttle Services in Transportation in San Francisco
Summary
At the September meeting of the Plans and Programs Committee, Commissioner Bevan Dufty requested that we initiate a Strategic Analysis Report (SAR) on the issue of shuttle services in San Francisco. As called for in the Authority’s procedures governing the development of SARs, the scope was brought to the October 7 Plans and Programs Committee for comments and guidance. The draft scope was also brought to the Citizens Advisory Committee on October 22, which passed the motion unanimously. The final SAR scope is being presented to the Plans and Committee and Authority Board for approval, before technical work can begin. We are seeking a recommendation for the approval of the scope of work for the SAR on the role of shuttle services in transportation in San Francisco.
BACKGROUND
At the September meeting of the Plans and Programs Committee, Commissioner Bevan Dufty requested that we initiate a Strategic Analysis Report (SAR) on the issue of shuttle services in San Francisco. SARs are prepared periodically by the Authority to shed light on issues and assist the Authority Board in the development of policy with regard to specific transportation topics in San Francisco that do not appear to be adequately addressed by existing regulations or activities. As called for in the Authority’s procedures governing the development of SARs, we are bringing the draft scope to the Plans and Programs Committee for comments and guidance. The final SAR scope will be presented to the Committee for approval at the regular November meeting.
DISCUSSION
Commissioner Dufty’s request cited growing complaints from neighborhoods about the proliferation of shuttle vehicles serving various employers. There appear to be areas of concern common to most complaints, centered on neighborhood impacts including congestion, parking, noise and pedestrian safety. Commissioner Alioto-Pier has also raised concerns about park and ride activity related to employer-based shuttles in her district.
Some shuttles have operated in San Francisco for a long time, using MTA bus stops and without incident. There are examples of institutional shuttles and shuttles in parks, such as the ones that provide seasonal or year-round services in Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. There are shuttles operated by private colleges, like the Academy of Art University, linking different campuses; employer-operated shuttles connecting to jobs sites inside and outside of San Francisco, by employers like Google and
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PayPal, and even shuttles connecting to Amtrak service in the East Bay. There are shuttles for which the Authority has programmed funds for in the past, like the PresidiGo Around the Park Shuttle.
Beyond documenting whether there is indeed an accelerated rate of growth in these types of services, a pertinent area of inquiry for the SAR would be to analyze the causes of that growth. Some services may have been put in place as a result of development agreements or as part of larger transportation impact mitigation plans. Others may be the result of a perception of inadequacy of the existing transit services in the area, or of inconvenient transit connections between certain origins and destinations, requiring transfers or exposing commuters to situations where they don’t feel sure about their own personal safety. The recent work by the MTA on the Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) may shed some light on these issues and the SAR will attempt to capitalize on the information gathered and on the conclusions reached by the TEP about transit service adequacy in areas overlapping with current shuttle services. The MTA is already applying for funds to operate shopper shuttles, as an alternative to fixed route services in some areas, and we want to reflect this concept in discussing any policy framework for this issue.
We know that there has been growth in shuttle services between the Parnassus campus of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the new Mission Bay campus, and that those services have increased in size as the new campus has grown. Large private sector employers appear to be using shuttle services more, as well, in some cases with vehicles of conspicuous size. The number, size and frequency of operation of these vehicles can raise issues about where and how they can be accommodated on city streets. In the analysis, basic distinctions will likely be drawn between shuttles that operate from staging areas off the street (such as parking lots or other facilities in the Mission Bay campus of UCSF) and those that use neighborhood streets, sidewalks, driveways or even existing transit stops and shelters as staging areas. The frequency, length and origin/destination patterns of shuttle trips may also need to be analyzed in some depth, because a transit-oriented shuttle, for example one connecting employment sites with a BART or Caltrain station, will likely use different vehicle types and have different operating, staging and other environmental impacts than one that makes a 20- or 40-mile trek between some San Francisco neighborhoods and an employment site in the East or South Bay. The analysis will be performed in sufficient depth to allow us to answer the key question typically raised in an SAR, which is whether the problem can be resolved within the existing legislative framework and using existing regulatory or planning tools already in place. Alternatively, the SAR will need to address whether the problem requires a new approach, new programs, regulatory structures or even some legislative changes at the local or state levels, in order to address it effectively.
In developing the SAR, staff will consult with the MTA and other relevant agencies, as well as seek input from the neighborhoods and current shuttle service providers. In fact, staff have already held preliminary meetings with MTA representatives and we have also received feedback on the scope of work from employer-based shuttle service providers. The revised scope reflects this input. We may also look at the way other Bay Area counties are using shuttle services and provide a general overview of any trends at the national level that might be relevant to a better understanding of this issue in San Francisco.
In conducting the SAR work, we anticipate needing to procure a basic amount of consultant assistance, especially to gather information in the field. We will initiate technical work in December. A first draft of the SAR is anticipated for late April 2009, to be finalized in June for adoption by the Authority Board.
We are seeking a recommendation for the approval of the scope of work for the Strategic Analysis Report on the role of shuttle services in transportation in San Francisco.
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ALTERNATIVES
1. Recommend approval of the scope of work for the Strategic Analysis Report on the role of shuttle services in transportation in San Francisco.
2. Recommend approval of the scope of work for the Strategic Analysis Report on the role of shuttle services in transportation in San Francisco, with modifications.
3. Defer action, pending additional information or further staff analysis. FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The proposed SAR is included in the Authority’s FY2008/2009 work program and budget. RECOMMENDATION
Recommend approval of the scope of work for the Strategic Analysis Report on the role of shuttle services in transportation in San Francisco.
Attachments
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Draft Scope
SAR on the Role of Shuttle Services in San Francisco’s Transportation System
I. BACKGROUND
a. Definition: what is a shuttle? Publicly available vs. private shuttles.
Comparison/differences with taxicabs, van services, jitneys, public transportation services.
b. Precedent for shuttle services in San Francisco. Brief history of shuttle services. c. Regulatory framework for shuttle management.
d. Inventory of current shuttle services in San Francisco.
We will develop an inventory (within the available SAR resources) sufficient to support the analysis and conclusions in the SAR. It will include data such as purpose, frequency, route(s), staging areas, vehicle size and type, ownership and contracting mode and ridership. We will try to rely on existing data from studies, but may also do some field data collection as necessary. There are existing reference studies and data on the topic, pertaining specifically to shuttle services in the Bay Area and San Francisco, such as the TFCA data for San Francisco shuttles, which will be detailed in the final version of the scope. In addition, the Authority has already incorporated information about shuttles into previous SARs and other Authority studies, which will also be cross-referenced. The inventory will be categorized. We know of employer-owned shuttles (local and regional), BART- and Caltrain-oriented shuttles, park-related shuttles like the
PresidioGo, and others; and there are some currently being proposed, like the MTA’s shopper shuttle. The categories will become self evident through the data collection and analysis process.
II. CURRENT CONDITIONS AND ISSUES WITH SHUTTLES IN SAN FRANCISCO a. Reasons for growth in shuttle services
We are particularly interested in diagnosing the causes for the proliferation of shuttle services. We will look at variables such as travel time, frequency, security and
connectivity, to try to infer real vs perceived benefits of these services. b. Impacts on neighborhoods
i. Traffic and congestion, “park & ride” impacts ii. Pedestrian and other safety considerations iii. Air pollution and noise issues
c. Benefits of shuttles
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ii. Congestion reduction benefits iii. Environmental benefits
d. Relationship to publicly funded fixed-route transit i. Complement or competition for riders ii. Operational impacts at transit stops iii. Funding and cost-effectiveness III. POLICY ISSUES
a. Planning
An important consideration in looking at shuttles, is whether their place in the spectrum of San Francisco transit services is clearly defined in existing policy and planning
documents. We anticipate that some of the policy decisions that will be highlighted by the SAR will deal with regulation and oversight, support for shuttles as part of San Francisco’s Transit First Policy, and whether there should be efforts to recapture into regular fixed-route transit some of the ridership currently on shuttles.
b. Permitting/Regulation
c. Operations and Traffic Management d. Funding Policies and Prioritization IV. NEXT STEPS/RECOMMENDATIONS
