Looking north on Fifth Avenue at the AirRide stop, just south of the newly opened Blake Transit Center. (Photos by the writer.)

The only voting item handled by the board at its March 20 meeting was the extension of a contract with Michigan Flyer to provide service between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport. The board authorized the first of three one-year extensions on the initial two-year contract for the service, called AirRide.

For the third year of the agreement, the not-to-exceed amount is $170,000. That compares with the first year of the contract that was not to exceed $700,000. The drop in the cost to the AAATA stems from a revenue-sharing agreement based on fare revenues – and ridership has exceeded projections.

The board also received an update on statewide transit issues from Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, and Dusty Fancher, a lobbyist with Midwest Strategy Group. A main theme from their presentation was the need to focus on overall funding increases, as opposed to trying to fine-tune the part of the funding formula that divides public transportation funding among the 78 transit agencies in Michigan.

Harder also described an initiative to provide a non-emergency medical transportation brokerage that would tap public transportation resources. A demonstration program, to be provided through the newly formed Michigan Transportation Connection (MTC), could be up and running by Oct. 1, 2015, Harder reported.

Another highlight of that presentation included the idea that the abysmal road conditions – which have resulted from the long and harsh winter – could be a rallying point for more transportation funding. To the extent that additional money for transportation is funneled through the general transportation funding formula, that would lead to an increase in public transportation funding, along with funding for road infrastructure.

The harsh winter and the challenge of clearing snow at the 1,200 bus stops was also a part of another basic theme of the board’s discussion – accessibility of the bus service to those in the disability community. Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living addressed the board to stress the importance of making sure all the bus stops are accessible. She also reiterated the CIL’s support for the upcoming May 6 millage vote.

Other highlights from the meeting included a round of applause for AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black, who managed the Blake Transit Center construction project. The driveways still need concrete to be poured before the project is completed, but the building itself is now open to the public.

AirRide Contract

The board considered a contract with Michigan Flyer to provide transportation between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport for a third year, in a service called AirRide.

The average number of passengers for the last four weeks is 1,406, according to the AAATA.

Two years ago, the board had authorized Michigan Flyer’s two-year contract, with the possibility of three one-year extensions, at its Feb. 16, 2012 board meeting.

The first year of the contract specified an amount not to exceed $700,000 per year. The first year’s cost proved to be less than half that ($326,600) due to higher-than-projected ridership. The anticipated cost for the second year of the agreement was expected to be $216,522.

Based on additional negotiations, the cost of service for the third year is not expected to be more than $170,000. That cost will include AAATA’s share of an AirRide/Michigan Flyer staff position – who will help passengers board and load luggage. The drop in cost to the AAATA is in part attributable to Michigan Flyer’s receipt of a federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) grant. The third year of service includes adjustments that eliminate the stop on the University of Michigan central campus transit center, but add a 13th trip between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport.

AirRide Contract: Board Discussion

During her report out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale reported that ridership on the AirRide service is up 22% for the year. The average number of weekday riders for AirRide has hit 200, she said. Dale also described the historical background for the contract.

When the board reached the resolution on its agenda, board chair Charles Griffith called it an incredibly nice trend to see the cost of the service coming down each year as the ridership on the service continues to increase. He called it a great story. It reminded him of the transit improvement millage that’s on the May 6 ballot – because you take a leap of faith when you keep hearing from people about the service they want, and you think it’s the right thing to do, and then you actually provide the service.

AirRide is an example of where people really did line up and take advantage of the service, Griffith said. He ventured that it might be possible eventually to bring the price of the service down. Michael Ford noted that the AAATA is adding even more customer service components to the AirRide – as assistance loading luggage and boarding is now being provided.

Eli Cooper called the service “really outstanding.” When it was first started, the AAATA was thinking about spending around $750,000 on it, but now the cost is down to $170,000 year. It’s just remarkable, he said, what this public-private partnership has achieved. The efficiency and effectiveness of public transportation is clear in select markets, Cooper said, and it was being demonstrated here in Ann Arbor. It’s not so much a cost reduction in the contract, Cooper said, but rather a reflection of the efficiency and effectiveness of working with Michigan Flyer.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the AirRide contract with Michigan Flyer.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living called the AirRide service fantastic, saying that she and her family had used it several times going to and from the airport as well as going to and from East Lansing.

Statewide Perspective

The board received an update from Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, and Dusty Fancher, a lobbyist with Midwest Strategy Group. Their presentation had been originally scheduled for the board’s Jan. 16 meeting, but was cancelled due to bad weather.

Statewide Perspective: MPTA History, Purpose

Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, opened his remarks by thanking the AAATA board for the invitation to come down from Lansing and speak. He noted that some of the faces on the board were recognizable from his last visit two years ago, but others were new to him. He allowed that sometimes local transit authority boards don’t really understand what the MPTA does or why they do it. So he wanted to share some information about the MPTA.

The Michigan Public Transit Association was created in 1977, he said, as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit. The MPTA exists to be an educational and advocacy arm for members of the association. Out of the 78 transit authorities in the state of Michigan, 50 are members of the MPTA, he said. He characterized 50 members as a high-water mark for the MPTA, and it’s been at that level for a number of years. Some of the smaller systems, which the MPTA would love to have as members, have not joined. Harder ventured that sometimes the reason was budgetary, or for very small systems they did not see any reason to be involved. But for a very small system, he continued, that’s all the more reason to be involved. “We are all working collectively for the same goal, which is stronger support, stronger funding for public transportation,” he said. That’s why the MPTA was created, he added.

The MPTA was created with a lot of direction and support from the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT), Harder explained. In the early days of public transit in the state of Michigan, MDOT noticed that all the other entities it dealt with – like road commissions – had some kind of association to represent them. But public transit authorities had nothing at that point. So at that time a number of different people came together – including the forerunner of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), which was called the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA), and the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) in Lansing. Those two entities were instrumental in creating the MPTA.

It wasn’t very long after the initial creation of the MPTA that the long-standing association between the MPTA and AAATA came into being, Harder said. “You are one of early members and one of our very active members.” He pointed out that Dawn Gabay, deputy CEO of the AAATA, is the AAATA’s representative on the MPTA’s board of directors. AAATA manager of service development Chris White had been extremely active in the MPTA across the years, and AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black chairs the maintenance committee at the state level, Harder pointed out. So the AAATA has a high level of involvement and a large stake in what the MPTA does.

The MPTA was created for advocacy, but over the years that role has evolved, Harder said. About 10 years ago, MDOT – which had previously done a lot of training and educational programs – stepped back and said it could no longer afford to do it. As a result of that, MPTA had moved into a variety of educational and training programs, he explained. So now the MPTA has a dual role: advocacy and education/training. As a result of taking on the additional role of education and training, Harder explained, the committee structure that already existed was made more robust and more active. The MPTA now has a very strong committee structure, he said.

There are four annual conferences a year and an annual meeting, which is always in August. There’s a legislative conference in February. There’s a rural transit managers workshop typically at the end of March. And every June, the MPTA holds a transit vehicle maintenance seminar. That was something that historically MDOT had done. They stopped doing it for four or five years and a lot of transit systems approached the MPTA and asked for that program to be restored.

During question and answer time with Harder and Fancher, board chair Charles Griffith asked if the MPTA offered anything for board members by way of training on how to be a good board member, or on governance issues. The AAATA is not the only transit agency that is looking to expand, he said, and the AAATA has learned a lot about several related issues – so maybe some of that information could be shared with other transit authorities.

Michigan Public Transit Association executive director Clark Harder told the board that state public transportation funding had remained basically level over the last 10 years, which was a success in the context of other departments that had seen drastic reductions.

Harder told Griffith that it had been one of the long-term goals of the MPTA to have a transit boardsmanship training program – similar to what the Michigan Municipal League does for city council members. Some steps have been made in that direction, he said. He provides one-on-one training sessions with transit authority boards. He does not charge anything to members for that service, because he thinks that’s part of what MPTA members already pay for. He does not push it or advertise it a lot. He hoped that one day there would be a transit board certification program that would be offered on an ongoing basis.

Another program the MPTA has launched this year is called the “Route to Excellence” customer service training program, Harder reported. It’s the first one of its kind in the nation, he said, and the first one of its kind that he was aware of that any state transit association has put together. It’s a transit-based customer service program. The MPTA has been in the process of rolling out that program.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels

The MPTA’s main focus over the years has been to advocate for transportation funding – for operating funds and for bus capital, Harder stressed.

The MPTA had been successful in that advocacy over the last several years, he said. Throughout all the state cuts that every other department has faced, transportation has been able to hold its funding. He allowed that due to the cost of doing business rising, the dollars don’t go as far.

But in the face of severe budget cuts, public transportation is one of the very few things that has remained consistent across the board over the last decade, he said: “We are rather proud of that fact.” The MPTA’s current focus is on the transportation funding package in front of the legislature.

Fancher explained that the state is in the middle of the budget cycle for fiscal year 2013-14. A supplemental budget bill has just been passed in Lansing, she said.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels – Potholes

The big issue surrounding the supplemental bill was the condition of the transportation infrastructure, Fancher said: “You may have noticed there are a few potholes. I saw some coming down Main Street tonight!” There’s been discussion in Lansing for a long time about how to come up with a solution, she said, to solve transportation funding. There was a budget surplus this year, and the legislature decided to spend $250 million of that surplus to go toward the road budget. Some of that will take care of winter maintenance – salt and overtime to cover plowing activity. There’s also some additional money to go out and “cover up some of those potholes.”

AAATA board members Eli Cooper and Gillian Ream Gainsley.

Fancher ventured that the long winter had awakened a new sense of urgency for the public to do something about road funding. And that urgency has been lacking up to now. Everybody recognizes the need to fix the roads, but nobody wants to pay for it, she said. Right now there are a lot more holes in the road and it’s definitely going to get worse as the spring freeze-thaw cycle continues. So talks on the issue are starting back up, she reported.

Democrats are talking to the Republicans and they are sitting at the table and they are having conversations, she said. She wished that they were talking about a larger dollar amount, but at least they were talking. She was happy that they’re talking about a dollar amount that will flow all the way through the transportation funding formula – that is, to public transportation systems as well. When you hear people talk about “road funding” in the newspaper, it always makes her nervous, she said. While road funding is a part of transportation funding, it’s also important to make sure that it flows through to all the other parts of the transportation system. So she’s encouraged that the talks continue to focus on the entire CTF [comprehensive transportation fund] formula.

When the board was given a chance to ask questions, Eli Cooper noted that because the potholes are real and people see them, it might give cause for action. But the needs for the transit industry go far beyond just those visible infrastructure deficiencies, Cooper stressed. Funding is woefully lacking with appropriate regional and local transportation in the Ann Arbor community, in southeast Michigan and statewide, Cooper continued. He told Harder that the AAATA looked to the MPTA to advocate so that the legislature and state administration understands the need.

Cooper thought there’s a real responsibility to review both the levels and the mechanisms for funding local and regional authorities. So he asked Harder and Fancher to please keep that in mind as they head back up to Lansing and talk with other authorities. There’s an opportunity right now because the potholes are creating focus. “We should never let a crisis go unused,” he quipped. Harder agreed with Cooper, but said that some of the MPTA members get a little antsy and concerned when everything they read in the newspaper is about potholes. But that is what drives the message statewide. And if that is what they have to use to get more funding for public transportation, then Harder was OK with that –as long as they don’t lose sight of the big picture.

AAATA board member Larry Krieg. He represents Ypsilanti Township on the board.

Larry Krieg offered a suggestion as a slogan that could be used, which he’d heard from AAATA staff: “You are one pothole away from public transit.” Krieg noted that public transit had taken a hit as a result of the snow, and the impact was felt not only on the roads. Krieg cited a figure from AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black – that nearly $144,000 extra was needed for snow removal contracts alone, not to mention the overtime of the AAATA’s own staff.

So when we think about regional transportation, we also need to keep ourselves running, Krieg stressed.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford – chief executive officer of the AAATA – noted that he’d had an incident with a pothole this week and found himself taking the bus. “It’s nice to have that option,” he said.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels – By Formula

The transportation budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 – which will start on Oct. 1, 2014 – is currently being debated, Fancher told the AAATA board. She expected the state House of Representatives to vote their budget out of committee later this month. She thought that funding for transit would remain about the same. In the last two years, there has been a $5 million operating line item that MDOT could use for discretionary funding. The MPTA had argued to get that in because of the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), which creates a disruption in the funding of the system. She did not think that the $5 million would be part of next year’s budget.

She was hearing that there might be some money in the budget – whether it’s in MDOT’s budget or in some other budget – for the RTA. The MPTA had advocated for $2 million in the supplemental budget bill, but there was “not enough education on the House side” to get that done, she said. So what the governor’s office has done is to say “we will find the money for fiscal year 13-14 … we’ll figure it out.” And then the governor’s office would advocate for the remaining money in the next year’s budget. That would allow RTA members to go out and educate members of the House of Representatives. She pointed out that the RTA is a member of the MPTA.

Board chair Charles Griffith recalled the situation last year when there had been an interpretation of the CTF formula that had been unexpected – and it took almost a year for the AAATA to get the money back that it had expected. “Has that been fixed in a permanent way, or is that still something we still need to get done right for the long-term?” Griffith asked. Fancher indicated that it was in fact something that could happen again. She reviewed how the Detroit Dept. of Transportation’s reduction in funding had impacted other transit agencies when the regular funding formula was applied. There has not been a permanent fix for that, she said. She would be happy to find a permanent solution moving forward. She felt there was interest among legislators in finding a permanent solution. But she said the focus right now is on finding an overall transportation funding increase “before we bust into fixing things inside Act 51.”

Harder added that the MPTA has tried to spur that conversation with MDOT, but said that the MDOT was not just rather resistant, but “adamantly resistant” to carrying on that conversation – until there is new, additional funding for the formula. They’ve made that pretty clear, he said. That’s clearly coming from the governor’s level – that they don’t get into these conversations until they get appreciable new funding.

Eli Cooper added that a couple of days ago there was an article in the local media that talked about 15,000 new jobs coming into the Ann Arbor community. That’s 15,000 people looking for ways to get to work. In our economy and our community and in this state, we need to have travel choices – proper local travel choices, regional and statewide travel choices, Cooper said.

Cooper appreciated the MPTA’s work and encouraged the MPTA not to argue over the smaller pieces, but to look more broadly and into a brighter future where transit authorities and transit services in our community and statewide are adequately funded – so that local transit agencies have the ability to provide the service without worrying about whether a millage is passed or not.

In response to Cooper’s remarks Fancher said her focus was on making sure that everything goes through the formula.

Statewide Perspective: Detroit

Eric Mahler noted that in Detroit’s state of the city address, mayor Mike Duggan had made it clear that public transportation is a focus. Duggan had also said he was looking to the federal government for buses and other things. Mahler asked if Harder and Fancher had heard anything from the state level about partnering between the federal government and the city of Detroit and some kind of collaboration for other transit authorities around the state.

AAATA board member Eric Mahler.

Harder told Mahler that he had heard there was interest on the part of the administration in Washington to try to identify some additional funding. Of course the issue for the state is the match for any federal dollars on the bus capital side. Harder said that Gov. Rick Snyder’s recommendation is still very strong on the bus capital match side – and that is one of the things that Snyder’s administration had prioritized right from the start.

Harder indicated that right now, on the federal side, the reauthorization for transportation funding is being discussed. He allowed that the state of Michigan is not doing as well now, as when earmarking was the normal process. “We had a senior delegation and we did very well with earmarking,” Harder said. But “earmarking” is a dirty word in Washington now, so they don’t do that, Harder said.

On a more positive note, Harder pointed out that right now the city of Detroit and the new mayor have the ear of the U.S. president. And sometimes miraculous things can happen because of that kind of relationship, Harder said. Mahler was right about Duggan being a very strong supporter of public transportation – as a former manager at SMART. “[Duggan] gets it in terms of fixing what’s wrong,” Harder said. Fancher added that she has heard that MDOT is trying to turn over every stone to make sure that they are making the best use of grants that are available and are really trying to help out as much as possible to pull in federal funding.

Statewide Perspective: Regional Thinking

Eli Cooper recalled about a year ago a conversation about the RTA and the state budget. It focused on whether money was going to be available and that local CTF funds would be supporting the RTA. It sounded like things might be a little bit different this year, he ventured. The AAATA had wanted to support the RTA – but not at the expense of the rides that are provided within local communities, he said. Cooper was looking to the MPTA to continue to advocate on the AAATA’s behalf.

Statewide Perspective: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

MPTA executive director Clark Harder reported that last year, the MPTA has put a lot of time into researching non-emergency medical transportation with the goal of creating a statewide public-transit-based brokerage for those non-emergency rides. There’s been great input from the AAATA on that topic. Vanessa Hansle, the AAATA’s mobility manager, has been leading the mobility management aspect of that study, Harder reported.

In just the last month, the MPTA has authorized moving that forward, creating the Michigan Transportation Connection (MTC), which will be the coordinating body. They will soon be bidding out some of the managed care contracts across the state. It’s possible that by Oct. 1, 2015 there will be at least one demo project up and running to handle Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation, coordinated through the MTC, Harder said.

Later in the meeting, Midwest Strategy Group lobbyist Dusty Fancher mentioned that she had been advocating legislatively on the issue of non-emergency medical transportation – within the state’s Dept. of Human Services budget. She had arranged for the committee to hear from Harder, and he had testified in front of that committee. It had put on the committee’s radar screen that they could be thinking about public transportation as a tool to save on Medicaid dollars. There’s no reason to contract out transportation service at a higher rate than what could be provided by the local public transportation service. People are already paying tax dollars for that, she pointed out, so full advantage should be taken of it.

Dusty Fancher is with Midwest Strategy Group, a lobbyist firm in Lansing.

Responding to AAATA board questions about overall transportation funding in Michigan, Harder said one reason he was excited about the non-emergency medical project is that he sees a lot of potential to alleviate some of the pressure on the existing funding formula. That’s because it’s a new source of funding that does not come with the same strings attached as the current formula. But Harder could also see the benefit that it would bring to moving the conversation forward on a regional basis. In the time he has worked for the MPTA, he’s concluded that is really what is needed – something that can drive the arguments regionally. Those who work in public transit understand the importance of moving toward regionalization, he said. But there has not been an overriding issue that they could fall back on and point to and say: This is why we need regional transportation and here’s an example of how it pays off and works.

A non-emergency medical transportation brokerage is regional transportation, Harder said. If success is achieved with that, they would be brokering rides for people – whether it is rides on public transportation or private transportation. That will help to build the case that people don’t just live within the confines of their city or their county. Services are not just confined to the city or the county where people live, Harder said. People need to get across those artificial boundary lines that have been put up. He said public transportation was initially set up in ways that actually helped to encourage those artificial boundary lines – so that now they have to be broken down. The MPTA felt that the RTA is a wonderful thing that needs to happen – but not if it’s funded on the backs of all the existing transit agencies in the state. That would tear down the infrastructure that has taken 35 years to build.

Accessibility

Accessibility of the AAATA’s service – particularly to those in the disability community – was a significant theme of the March 20 board meeting. Clark Harder, with the Michigan Public Transit Association, gave a presentation to the board about the MPTA’s efforts on behalf of its member transit authorities, of which AAATA is one. He fielded questions from AAATA board members after that presentation, including one from Jack Bernard.

Bernard wanted to know what the MPTA is doing for riders who have disabilities. He asked what was happening in Lansing specifically with respect to disability issues. Harder replied that MPTA has a strong partnership with the state-level disability organizations. In the past, the MPTA had led coalition efforts involving disability groups, but had backed off in recent years, he said. A new coalition called Transform had emerged. MPTA had encouraged the groups that they had previously worked with to get involved with Transform.

Transform had some funding available and was able to do some things that MPTA was not able to do, Harder said. The MPTA would continue to work closely with the disability network – saying that they had always worked very closely with United Cerebral Palsy and groups like The Arc. He could not tell Bernard that there are any new sources of funding being identified for persons with disabilities in terms of public transportation usage. But he felt there was a keen awareness that for many people who have disabilities, public transportation is their only way to be mobile in our society. He felt that there is certainly room to add funding to assist persons with disabilities.

Accessibility also came up in connection with the issue of snow clearing at bus stops. During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford noted that it had been the worst winter in many years, and with that came many challenges. Shelters and walkways get cleared and then the street plows come along to do their job, which means that the AAATA needs to redo its job. That’s particularly difficult with 1,200 bus stops, Ford said. The effort is actually coordinated, Ford added, between various agencies and contractors. AAATA works with the city of Ann Arbor and the community standards department to address sidewalk complaints. And as the season draws to an end, the AAATA staff will be meeting with representatives of the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County to review how things went this year, and to start thinking about how things can be improved and coordinated next year.

AAATA board member Jack Bernard.

During the “question time” agenda slot, Jack Bernard told Ford that he appreciated the emphasis that Ford had placed on making services accessible. It’s of critical importance that the AAATA do that, Bernard said. The AAATA is uniquely situated to be able to serve populations who cannot drive or who don’t drive, so it’s critical that the AAATA make its services accessible.

On the topic of snow removal, Bernard allowed that it’s very difficult to make sure the 1,200 bus stops are accessible for all of the AAATA’s patrons so that they can get on and off buses safely and conveniently. He allowed that not every bus stop could be cleared the way the AAATA would ideally like it to be cleared. But when the AAATA knows that there are particular patrons who had disability issues or have difficulty boarding, he wondered if snow clearance could be prioritized in those spots. He allowed that it’s important to get every spot, but AAATA drivers know their passengers – so he thought it might be possible to target those spots.

Ford responded to Bernard by saying an internal meeting had been held recently on that topic. Ford said the AAATA wants to make sure it does the best job possible. Accessibility is definitely a high priority for the AAATA, Ford said.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living commented on the snow removal issue. She reported that she gets calls from people who are able to get out on the bus, but when they come back – because of the way things get plowed, or shoveled after they’ve left their home – they are stuck. Bus drivers try to be helpful in helping people off the bus, but the drivers can’t leave the bus.

Grawi noted that the University of Michigan has a strategy where patrons can provide information about where they live and where they need to go – and as a result, certain locations receive an asterisk so that they receive extra attention for snow removal. But it’s not just a question of where the person lives or where they board on a regular basis, she cautioned. Because the bus will take us wherever life takes us, and people are getting on and off the bus everywhere in the community. So it’s every curb ramp in every subdivision that needs to remain cleared, she said. There’s still ice on some ramps, even though a lot of it has melted. She suggested that in the spring, the AAATA and others should start to think about a plan so that for next winter a plan is in place.

Ford also acknowledged the issue during his March 20 report to the board. He noted that during its Feb. 20 board meeting, the board had also heard about the critical need to make the system accessible. He noted that Carolyn Grawi of the Center for Independent Living had met with staff during the past week to discuss specific concerns. Making services and systems accessible is a priority for the AAATA, Ford said, and will continue to be.

The board also received a report from the local advisory council, a group that provides input and feedback to AAATA on disability and senior issues. Rebecca Burke reported from the most recent LAC meeting, that the group had received a presentation on the Jewish Family Services (JFS) vehicle accessibility plan. The group had also reviewed a users guide, which is due to be out in May. They had also reviewed data from a survey from a small population of users. The survey had covered items like destinations that users would like to reach that are currently not served by AAATA.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its March 20 meeting, the board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Financial Report

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale gave an update on the financial report the committee had received. Revenue is under budget by 0.1% but expenses are under budget by more than that, she said. Some of the extra costs the AAATA has incurred involved additional expenses due to weather-related items, she noted. Because of the very cold weather in January, ridership had dropped off. But the other indicators – operating expense per passenger, operating expense per service hour, operating expense per service mile – were all slightly better than budget for the fiscal year, she said. In that context, everything is still doing well, she said.

Ridership on ExpressRide is doing well – as it is up 10% for the year, Dale said. There is an increase in ridership on the Canton route, so that Canton and Chelsea are now about equal in ridership, Dale said.

Dale reported that the committee had received a presentation from the getDowntown program director Nancy Shore. Shore had presented the committee with results from a survey of downtown business owners and commuters in 2013. Dale pointed her board colleagues to the full report, which is available on the getDowntown website. Something that stood out for Dale was that employers considered the go!pass program a significant benefit used to attract and retain employees – with 76% of businesses using it as a way to recruit people. Among bus riders, 34% of respondents said they would be driving downtown if they did not have a go!pass. That’s 1,000 people who are choosing to ride the bus rather than driving, she said. Results from the AAATA’s ridership survey are in draft form and that would be available later, Dale reported.

AAATA controller Phil Webb.

During question time, Gillian Ream Gainsley asked about the “interest, advertising, and other” line item. She recalled that last year, advertising revenue had exceeded expectations. She asked if there were any insights that could be provided into why it’s down this year, or if there is anything that can be done about it. AAATA controller Phil Webb explained that the budget line item is a combination of a few different items.

It includes advertising revenue and some other revenue from the getDowntown program. He allowed that advertising revenue is a little bit down compared to budget. Just this week, however, he’d received a report for February, and revenue had shot back up again. The monthly amount received by AAATA was $26,000 – which was ahead of the monthly average, whereas in January it was below average for that month. “It’s starting to come around,” he said.

On the topic of low ridership in January, Charles Griffith said that a lot of people just did not get out on the very cold days. As a regular bus rider, he said, there were a lot of days he would’ve been very unhappy, if he’d had to take his car out. But the buses were still running. And “miraculously,” he said, buses were running for the most part on time. He was able to commute to work very consistently, saying it was almost kind of surprising. Off mic, Ford lightly ribbed Griffith about the idea that it was surprising to him. Griffith responded by noting that everyone else was struggling out on the roads, but the buses have good traction and they get around quite well.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center Opening

In his report to the board, Michael Ford noted that the new Blake Transit Center had opened. It’s located on South Fifth Avenue across from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, north of William. It had been opened as part of a soft launch on Monday, March 17. Staff had been on hand throughout that day to share information, he said. The new center will better serve passengers and employees, Ford said. The facility also provides a chance to make the urban core communities a more attractive place to live and work. Ford thanked everyone who had helped with the Blake Transit Center. Ford noted that additional work still needs be done – including concrete that needs to be poured.

Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority maintenance manager Terry Black got a round of applause at the March 20, 2014 board meeting. He was project manager on the construction of the new Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor, which had a soft opening on March 17.

Ford thanked staff for all the hard work that it’s taken to get things to this point: “I think it’s a magnificent facility. I also just want to acknowledge Terry Black for all of his hard work and effort. This guy has been relentless day in and day out, just being there making sure everything is going to work, and I just want to thank you personally for all your hard work.” Ford’s remarks prompted applause for Black.

Board chair Charles Griffith noted that some board members had an opportunity to get a tour just before the board meeting and he’d visited the facility on Monday during the soft launch. He asked Black for a report on how things had gone with the BTC construction. “You don’t have to tell any horror stories – we don’t need to hear those,” Griffith quipped.

Black reported that most of the feedback he received so far has been very positive. A lot of staff had worked really hard on Saturday and Sunday to get the facility to the point where it could be opened on Monday, Black said. He felt that the reaction had been positive – as far as the bus drivers and passengers were concerned. Like any new building, there are some things that need to be tweaked, he said. He was looking forward to a little warmer weather so that the concrete could be poured.

Eric Mahler asked Black to summarize some “lessons learned.” Black replied that there were a lot of lessons learned and he wanted to leave it at that. Those lessons would be incorporated into the AAATA’s future work on the Ypsilanti Transit Center.

Comm/Comm: May 6, 2014 Millage Vote

The upcoming millage, which the board approved for the May 6, 2014 ballot at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting, came up at several different points during the March 20 board meeting.

During communications time at the start of the meeting, Gillian Ream Gainsley reported some “really great endorsements” had come out of Ypsilanti. She thanked the AAATA staff for coming to give a presentation to the Ypsilanti city council. That same morning, AAATA staff had presented to the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority. The Ypsilanti DDA had passed a resolution of support for the millage with wording similar to that of a resolution passed by the Ann Arbor DDA – saying that if the millage passes, the Ypsilanti DDA will increase its support for transit and transit-related activities.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford noted that the ballot language for the 0.7 millage request had been delivered to the Washtenaw County clerk the day after last month’s board meeting. During the last four weeks, staff had been hitting the road and hitting the pavement with the message about the urgent need for improved transportation services within the community and within the greater Ann Arbor area. As campaigns often go, he said, the AAATA had received some negative press recently. Ford said he recognized that’s part of the process and said the AAATA would do its level best to balance that part of the equation by continuing to provide good factual data. Internally, the AAATA is engaged in a readiness process to ensure that it’s in a position to deploy new services shortly after funding is approved, if it is approved, Ford said.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living reiterated her support for the May 6 millage vote. Grawi said she was pleased to see the number of endorsements that were starting to be announced. The whole community benefits from transit expansion, she said. We need the service now – we need the service today, she concluded.

Comm/Comm: Connector Study

An alternatives analysis is currently being conducted by the AAATA for the corridor running from US-23 and Plymouth southward along Plymouth to State Street, then further south to I-94. The alternatives analysis phase will result in a preferred choice of transit mode (e.g., bus rapid transit, light rail, etc.) and identification of stations and stops. The study has winnowed down options to six different route alignments.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford gave an update on the connector study. The project team recently reviewed updates on the timeline, modeling, and finances. Ridership estimates are scheduled to be completed at the end of March, he said. He was recently in Washington D.C. and met with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials, who support the connector study concept and had agreed to meet with project partners to discuss possible opportunities for federal funding.

Comm/Comm: Ann Arbor Station Environmental Review

During communications time at the start of the meeting, Eli Cooper reminded the board that the Ann Arbor Station environmental review project was getting underway. The first of a series of three public meetings would be taking place on April 2, he said. Meetings will take place at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth, he noted, starting at 4:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. For people who want to come earlier in the day or those who preferred to attend later in the afternoon, there would be opportunities to attend. At those meetings the project would be introduced, he said, and the dialogue would begin – which he hoped would culminate in the identification of an appropriate intercity passenger rail station for the city of Ann Arbor and its environs.

Comm/Comm: Annual Board Retreat

Eric Mahler reported out from the planning and development committee meeting. The committee has spent a great deal of time planning for the board retreat, he reported. The committee had discussed what it wanted to get out of the retreat. They were at this point looking at June as the likely time for the retreat, he said.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eric Mahler, Susan Baskett, Eli Cooper, Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley, Jack Bernard, Larry Krieg.

Absent: Sue Gott, Roger Kerson.

Next regular meeting: April 17, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already on board The Chronicle bus, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

One resolution set the fares for the service (basic one-way fare is $15), while the other approved the contract with Indian Trails (Michigan Flyer) to provide the service based on a per-service-mile dollar cost. The service will be branded as “AirRide,” and given the route number 787, which is a change from a previous designation.

Details on cost to riders include a one-way fare of $12 for advance reservation (and limited refundability) or $15 with re-fundability up to time of departure. Round trip fare would be $22 for advance reservation (and limited refundability) or $30 with refundability up to time of departure. Volume discounts also may be available for groups of up to eight people traveling together. [.pdf of resolution establishing fare structure]

AATA CEO Michael Ford has previously described the intent of the service to provide 12 daily trips each way, with a very limited number of stops, in order to achieve a trip time of around 40-45 minutes. At its Oct. 20, 2011 meeting, the board had authorized the negotiation of the contract with Indian Trails. A resolution separate from the one setting fares establishes a two-year contract with Indian Trails at a cost of $2.56 per service mile, with the total cost for the contract not more than $700,000 per year.

Plans call for service to pick up passengers from the Fourth Avenue and William Street parking structure across from the AATA’s Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor. Parking at that structure will cost riders just $2 for as long as a two-week stay, through an arrangement with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The route will include a stop near Briarwood Mall. At Detroit Metro Airport, passengers will be picked up and dropped off at both the McNamara Terminal and the North Terminal.Including stops, the AATA is planning for an airport route of around 60 miles round trip. At the lower end of the regular fare offered on a 60-mile round trip, the service would need to average around eight seven passengers per bus to cover the cost of the Indian Trails contract on fares alone. [(60*2.56)/22 = 6.98] [.pdf of board information packet]

In the first year of the service, the AATA is planning to support it with up to $302,000 from the unrestricted fund balance, which is part of the $1 million of fund balance that the board is planning to spend for this year’s budget.

Marketing and promotional efforts are expected to be shared by the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau and the University of Michigan. Signage directing airport passengers to the service will be placed by the Detroit Metro Airport. The resolution approved by the AATA board also provides for an introductory promotional offer of $10 one-way and $20 round trip. At the AATA board’s planning and development committee meeting on Feb. 7, 2012 board member David Nacht characterized the airport service as part of “the world class development of a community called Ann Arbor.”

Service to Detroit Metro has been actively a part of the AATA’s work plan at least since a board retreat held on Aug. 10, 2010. And the board’s deliberations at its Feb. 18, 2009 board meeting included the fact that conversations between the AATA and Detroit Metro date back to the early 2000s.

Results of a recent survey, conducted towards the end of 2011, showed that 75% of registered voters throughout Washtenaw County said that hourly express service to Detroit Metro Airport was either very or somewhat important.

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Details of the service include a one-way fare of $12 for advance reservation (and limited refundability) or $15 with re-fundability up to time of departure. Round trip fare would be $22 for advance reservation (and limited refundability) or $30 with refundability up to time of departure. The resolution also provides for an introductory promotional offer of $10 one-way and $20 round trip. Volume discounts also may be available for groups of up to eight people traveling together. [.pdf of resolution establishing fare structure]

AATA CEO Michael Ford has previously described the intent of the service to provide 12 daily trips each way, with a very limited number of stops, in order to achieve a trip time of around 40-45 minutes.

The board previously authorized the negotiation of the contract with Indian Trails. A resolution separate from the one setting fares establishes a two-year contract with Indian Trails at a cost of $2.56 per service mile, with the total cost for the contract not more than $700,000 per year.

Including stops, the AATA has previously described an airport route as long as 70 miles round trip. [On I-94, it's roughly 51 roundtrtip miles from downtown Ann Arbor to the entrance of Detroit Metro.] At the lower end of the regular fare offered on a 70-mile round trip, the service would need to average around eight passengers per bus to cover the cost of the Indian Trails contract on fares alone. [(70*2.56)/22 = 8.14]  [.pdf of board information packet]

The Feb. 16 AATA board meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

The resolution passed by the board indicates that Michigan Flyer is willing to enter into a cost/revenue sharing arrangement and that marketing efforts for the new Ann Arbor-to-Detroit airport service would be made by both Michigan Flyer and the AATA.

The resolution also indicates that Michigan Flyer’s operating costs for the service would be $81.25 per service hour. By way of comparison, AATA’s budgeted cost per service hour for the current budget year is around $110 per service hour.

The airport route will be called Route #900.

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow.

AATA's CEO Michael Ford presents an overview of the transit master plan to members of a financial group that will be making recommendations on funding options for countywide transportation. (Photos by the writer.)

The AATA fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The budget approved by the board calls for expenses of $30,410,616 against only $29,418,995 in revenues, for a deficit in the coming year of $991,621. At the meeting, members stressed that the nearly $1 million deficit was due to one-time expenses associated with the planned transition to a countywide service. They also stressed that even by using unrestricted reserves over the next year to cover the planned deficit, the AATA would still be left with more than three months’ worth of operating expenses in its reserve.

Incurring a deficit this year was characterized as a way to “catapult” the organization forward, allowing it to pursue an aggressive work plan for the coming year, which was also approved at the meeting. Highlights of that work plan include reconstruction of the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor. Design for the station is expected to be complete by the end of the year, with construction to start in spring 2012.

In terms of increased service, next year’s work plan includes a focus on: establishing the AATA as a vanpool service provider; establishing service to the Detroit Metro Airport; improving work-transportation connections between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; and continuing work on commuter rail. Also related to enhanced services, the AATA is also holding rider forums in October to get feedback on proposed increased service on Route #4, between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

Related specifically to commuter rail, the board received an update at the meeting on the Washtenaw Livingston Line (WALLY) project, a proposed north-south commuter rail connection between Howell and Ann Arbor. The board expressed some caution about the project by passing a resolution that requires the board’s explicit approval for the expenditure of the $50,000 in next year’s budget allocated for station designs.

In other business, the board approved the selection of Plante & Moran as its new auditor. A new auditor rotation policy put in place by the board earlier this year made the previous auditor, Rehmann Robson, ineligible for the contract. The AATA board also approved a contract with an outside vendor to begin offering vanpool service.

In business that could be described as housekeeping, the board opted to keep its same slate of officers for the coming year and to keep the same meeting schedule – the third Thursday of the month. Jesse Bernstein was elected chair last year, and will continue in that role.

Also at the meeting, other members of the financial review group were announced. That group will be analyzing funding options for an expansion to countywide service. Previously, it had been announced that McKinley CEO Albert Berriz and former Washtenaw County administrator Bob Guenzel would co-chair the group. Their first meeting was Friday, Sept. 16, the day after the AATA board met. Berriz stated at that first meeting that the group will meet three more times, and will produce a white paper by the end of this year.

Related to that countywide effort, the initial board for an unincorporated transit authority – a precursor to an eventual formal authority – could be seated by Oct. 20, the date of the AATA board’s next meeting. It would include representatives from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and other districts throughout the county.

AATA Work Plan

Highlights of the 10-page work plan for fiscal 2012 include reconstruction of the Blake Transit Center (BTC) in downtown Ann Arbor. During his report to board members, CEO Michael Ford said the acquisition of a six-foot-wide piece of land on the southwest border of AATA’s BTC parcel would be on the city council’s agenda for Sept. 19. (At that meeting, the council approved the AATA’s purchase of the land for $90,000, which will facilitate reconstruction of the BTC starting in the spring of 2012.)

In terms of increased service, the work plan includes a focus on: establishing the AATA as a vanpool service provider; establishing service to the Detroit Metro Airport; improving work-transportation connections between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; and continuing work on commuter rail.

Related to Detroit Metro service, Ford told the board that work on getting airport service in place had continued and that in the last three weeks he’d worked with Wayne County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) on the issue. He said follow-up work was being done on the definition of public transportation as it relates to airport service. [Detroit Metro Airport charges access fees to private transportation operators.] Ford said the AATA would try to select a private-public partnership soon – in November.

Related to improvement of work-transportation service between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, on Dec. 1, 2010, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority offered a challenge grant of $14,417 to support that kind of service improvement. A description of the grant from The Chronicle’s meeting report:

Before the DDA board was a resolution that would offer a $14,417 challenge grant to fund service improvements for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Route #4 bus, which runs between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. The dollar figure for the grant is based on a total estimated price tag for the improvements of $180,000 and a Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS) computer model, which estimates about 8% of riders on the #4 bus have destinations west of State Street in the DDA district.

Before the Sept. 15 board meeting, the AATA held a rider forum on the proposed service enhancements to the Route #4 bus service. It was attended by around a dozen people. Additional drop-in sessions with AATA staff on Route #4 service improvements include:

• Thursday, Oct. 6, 5-7 p.m. at Glencoe Hills Apartments clubhouse, 2201 Glencoe Hills Drive, Pittsfield Township.
• Tuesday, Oct. 11, 9-11 a.m. at University Hospital, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor. Classroom #2C108, across from the gift shop and cashier’s office.
• Tuesday, Oct. 11, 1-3 p.m. at Michigan Union, 530 S. State St., Wolverine Room AB, Ann Arbor.
• Wednesday, Oct. 12, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Dom Bakeries, 1305 Washtenaw Ave., Ypsilanti.
• Tuesday, Oct. 18, 5-7 p.m. at Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor.

More information about the proposed changes is available online, along with details about how to give input.

The 2012 work plan also calls for continued work on AATA’s information technology, including its website as a communication tool, and improved point-of-sale systems to allow people to pay for their fares. [.pdf of work AATA 2012 work plan]

2012 Work Plan: Board Deliberations

As part of his report from the planning and development committee, Rich Robben reviewed next year’s work plan, calling it “very aggressive.” He described how it includes development of countywide networks and improvements to current service.

Service improvements highlighted by Robben included: adding service between Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metro airport; adding vanpool services; improving service between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; upgrading the AATA website; expanding the bus storage facility at the South Industrial headquarters; expanding night ride service to Ypsilanti; and reconstruction of the Blake Transit Center.

During deliberations, Anya Dale characterized the work plan as challenging, but said she thought the AATA can accomplish it. Roger Kerson gave credit to AATA staff for being able to accomplish the goals in this year’s work plan.

Board chair Jessie Bernstein called it an active, committed, dedicated past year on the part of the AATA, saying that there’s another active plan for next year.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve its FY 2012 work plan.

AATA 2012 Budget

The board considered a resolution to approve its operating budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

The budget calls for expenses of $30,410,616 against only $29,418,995 in revenues, for a deficit in the coming year of $991,621. That shortfall will be made up by drawing on the fund balance. According to the budget resolution, the AATA’s fund balance policy requires it to maintain reserves equal to at least three months’ worth of operating expenses. And the AATA expects to have $1.2 million more in its fund reserve to start the year than the minimum fund balance policy requires.

So the projected deficit – which the budget resolution attributes partly to one-time expenses associated with the transit master plan – is within the $1.2 million excess beyond the minimum three-month reserve, which the AATA holds in its fund balance. [.pdf of AATA 2012 operating budget]

In the most significant categories, the AATA’s revenues break down percentage-wise as follows: 31.4% local transit tax; 29.4% state operating assistance; 18.6% passenger fares; 12.8% federal operating assistance. The AATA also receives some revenue from surrounding municipalities that get transit service through purchase of service (POS) agreements. [2012 AATA revenue pie chart]

In the most significant expense categories, the AATA’s expenses break down percentage-wise as follows: 54.7% employee compensation; 18.2% purchased transportation from other providers; 9.3% other purchased services; 5.7% diesel fuel and gasoline. [2012 AATA expenses pie chart]

2012 Operating Budget: Board Deliberations

Reporting out from the planning and development committee earlier in the meeting, Rich Robben ticked through the figures from the 2012 operating budget. He said the budget will maintain and improve service, and will support the work plan and the transit master plan (TMP).

He acknowledged the roughly $1 million deficit, and described it as stemming from some one-time costs with development of the TMP, such as an improvement program for each district of the county, plus the governance structure. The deficit would be funded from unrestricted net assets, he explained. Even though unrestricted assets will be used, the AATA will still have 3.1 months of operating expenses in reserve after those assets are used in the course of the year, he said. By board policy, the AATA must maintain a reserve of at least 3 months of operating reserves.

Robben led off deliberations by saying it’s not a sustainable budget. But he said it would catapult the AATA towards a transition to countywide service. It’s aggressive, he said, but not taken lightly that the AATA would operate at a deficit. It’s also not AATA’s responsibility to build bank accounts, he said, so it’s appropriate to use the funds for this type of purpose.

CEO Michael Ford (right) talks with AATA board members Rich Robben and Anya Dale after the Sept. 15 meeting.

Anya Dale noted that many of the expenses that are causing the deficit are one-time costs. Now is the time, she said.

Roger Kerson said the budget reveals AATA’s next challenges. Planning was for this past year, he said, and next year is the financing challenge. It’s the right thing to do, he said, and he was looking forward to feedback from the financial review group that will be making funding option recommendations.

Board chair Jesse Bernstein said he was seriously concerned that the deficit year be a one-time commitment. He picked up on Kerson’s mention of the financial group, and noted that McKinley CEO Albert Berriz and former Washtenaw County administrator Bob Guenzel were co-chairing that group. It’s composed of people who understand financing and the politics of funding public activities, he said.

Bernstein called the AATA’s efforts at a transition to countywide service not an empty transition, but a real transition. The budget deficit, he said, should be recognized as unusual and unique, for one year only.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved AATA’s fiscal 2012 budget.

WALLY Commuter Rail

On the agenda was a resolution that expressed general support for continuing to work with surrounding communities on the Washtenaw and Livingston Line (WALLY) project. WALLY would provide commuter rail service on a 26-mile route between Ann Arbor and Howell. Relevant entities identified in the resolution include the state of Michigan, Livingston County, the city of Howell and the Ann Arbor Railroad.

However, the one “resolved” clause requires that funds allocated for WALLY in the 2012 budget – $50,000 – cannot be spent, except with the explicit consent of the AATA board.

WALLY: Background

At the Sept. 15 meeting, the board received a status report on the WALLY project from Michael Benham, a special assistant for strategic planning at AATA. Benham was hired in 2009 to handle the WALLY project. Since then, he’s become responsible for directing the development of the countywide transit master plan (TMP), which the AATA has developed over the last year.

Highlights from Benham’s report included the fact that starting in 2008, AATA has spent a total of $102,853 on the WALLY project, while other partners have spent a total of $225,000. That money has been spent primarily on a study and public education efforts. As part of the AATA FY 2012 budget, the AATA has included another $50,000 for the project. That money would be put towards station design.

Benham’s report identifies $16 million already invested by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation in track improvements, with $19 million worth of work still needed. Another $6 million in optional capital improvements is also identified.

Benham’s report projects that after the necessary capital improvements are completed to operate the commuter service, annual operating costs would amount to $5.4 million. Fares would be expected to cover $2.1 million of that, with another $1.4 million coming from the state’s Comprehensive Transportation Fund. That would leave another $1.9 million of local funding still to be identified.

Benham pointed board members to an appendix in the report with comparative data on WALLY. He characterized WALLY as “right in the ballpark” with other similar projects – at the low end of the range for capital costs. For similar commuter rail connections already in place, he said, the average time from idea to actual service was 10.5 years. So if people ask why WALLY is taking so long, it’s not actually taking so long, he concluded.

[.pdf of WALLY status report (to reduce file size, does not include scans of letters of support)]

WALLY: Board Deliberations

Rich Robben said he wanted to make the observation that the board had some concerns about the viability of the WALLY project. That’s why the presentation had been requested from Michael Benham – to make a reassessment of financial issues and to look at the prospects of closing remaining gaps in funding.

Roger Kerson also noted that board member David Nacht (who did not attend the board meeting) had raised some concerns at a committee meeting. Kerson characterized WALLY as a challenging project, but said, “We’re up to the challenge.” Kerson said the AATA was changing the eco-system by making transit a priority. Traffic is real, and congestion is real, he said. Having an alternative to US-23 will be welcome. He said he was glad to be going ahead in a measured way. Board chair Jesse Bernstein said he couldn’t imagine a clearer statement of moving forward in a careful way.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution requiring board approval for any expenditures associated with WALLY.

Auditor Rotation

The board considered a resolution authorizing a one-year contract with Plante & Moran for auditing services.

A policy adopted by the AATA board on June 16, 2011 limits contracting with any one auditing firm to a total of eight years. That meant that the auditing firm the AATA had previously used, Rehmann Robson, was not eligible to provide auditing services.

The request for proposals (RFP) was sent to 19 public accounting firms. Plante & Moran’s proposal was judged to be the best of the three proposals received by the AATA.

Auditor Rotation: Board Deliberations

Roger Kerson reported from the performance monitoring and external relations committee that the AATA had received three bids from the 19 solicitations they’d sent out. The AATA evaluation team had ranked Plante & Moran as the best of the three bids, and the committee supported that recommendation.

When the board deliberated on the issue, AATA controller Phil Webb described how the RFP was sent to 19 CPA firms. The 19 were picked from a list of firms in southeast Michigan that did similar work. Technical abilities were 60% of the evaluation score, he said. The cost part of the bids were opened later and counted for 40% of the evaluation. The evaluators were Webb, board treasurer Sue McCormick, CEO Michael Ford.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve selection of Plante & Moran as the AATA auditor.

Vanpools

A resolution on the agenda called for authorizing a contract with VPSI Inc. for vanpool services that is not to exceed $6,600 per year for each AATA owned/managed van. Vanpools are arrangements in which a vehicle is provided through the service, but is driven by one of the members of the pool. Riders pay for operational costs. Currently, the MichiVan program, operated by VPSI, provides such a service in the Ann Arbor area.

However, through fiscal year 2012 MichiVan will only continue to provide vanpool service for existing vanpools in the Ann Arbor area. It’s AATA’s intention to provide service for any additional vanpools that people might wish to create.

Vanpools: Board Deliberations

Reporting out from the planning and development committee, Rich Robben described how in a vanpool, the monthly cost is paid by riders. The capital cost will be paid by a federal grant.

Chris White, AATA manager of service development, told the board that AATA had been working on the project for a while now. [It was one of the service initiatives discussed at an Aug. 10, 2010 board retreat.] MichiVan will continue to operate (with about 100 vanpools) but there’s no ability to expand that number of vanpools. So AATA is looking to be a provider for expansion pools. It allows AATA a chance to get some experience before taking on a larger volume. The eventual goal, White said, is to assume operation of all of the vanpools in the county. This is an opportunity to do that gradually, he said.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to authorize a contract with VSPI Inc. for vanpool service.

AATA Housekeeping

The board handled a number of housekeeping items.

Housekeeping: Board Officers

The board elects new officers every year. This year, board chair Jesse Bernstein said at the Sept. 15 meeting that the current officers have agreed to continue. As the organization contemplates a transition to a countywide focus, it was felt that it would be good to have some continuity, he said.

AATA board officers are: Jesse Bernstein (chair); Charles Griffith (secretary); and Sue McCormick (treasurer).

The committee chairs are: Rich Robben (planning and development committee), and Charles Griffith (performance monitoring and external relations).

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to maintain the same slate of board officers.

Housekeeping: Board Meeting Schedule

Also on the agenda was the approval of the full board’s meeting schedule, as well as the schedule for its committee meetings. Board meetings fall on the third Thursday of the month. [.pdf of board and committee meeting dates] AATA board meeting information packets are generally available before the meetings on the AATA website.

During deliberations, Anya Dale asked if there was an opportunity to talk about holding meetings earlier in the day. CEO Michael Ford told Dale that there had not been a discussion about that, and he said that staff can be open to changes or modifications. Board chair Jesse Bernstein said he’d be very open to discussing times, once dates are firmed up.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve its meeting schedule.

Housekeeping: Local Advisory Council Appointments

Reporting out from the AATA’s local advisory council (LAC), a co-chair of that group, Jody Slowins, reported that terms were coming to an end, and that members would need to be reappointed. The LAC is a body that provides advocacy for seniors and disabled people.

Gloria Kolb had submitted an application, Slowins said, and the LAC welcomed her graciously.

Slowins said she’d been involved with the LAC for the last 12 years, and she’d never seen such a good group. The AATA’s paratransit coordinator, Brian Clouse, is strongly supportive of the LAC, she said.

Recommended for appointment to the LAC were: Gloria Kolb, Cheryl Weber, Clark Charnetski, Mary Wells, John Kuchinski, Lena Ricks, Eleanor Chang, and Stephen McNutt.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the appointments to the LAC.

Countywide Transit Finance Group

At the board’s August 2011 meeting, Ford had announced that McKinley Inc. CEO Albert Berriz and Bob Guenzel, retired Washtenaw County administrator, will be co-chairing a panel of financial and funding experts. They are tasked with reviewing a report on funding options and making recommendations that will form the basis of a governance proposal for countywide transit.

That governance proposal is expected to come from an as-yet-unincorporated board of an Act 196 transit authority (U196) to establish a countywide transit authority under that state statute. [Michigan's Act 196 of 1986 provides a mechanism for establishing a transit authority that includes a larger range of entities than just cities. In contrast, the AATA is formed under Act 55 of 1963]

The funding report to be reviewed and analyzed by the group is the third volume of the transit master plan (TMP). [.pdf of Part 1 of Vol. 3 Transit Master Plan Funding Options] [.pdf of Part 2 of Vol. 3 Transit Master Plan Funding Options].

CEO Michael Ford’s written report to the AATA board for its Sept. 15 meeting included a partial list of members in the group tapped to review the funding options report for the countywide transit master plan. At the meeting, an updated list was circulated.

Besides Berriz and Guenzel, members of the group include the following: Patrick Doyle (CEO, Domino’s Pizza); Ric DeVore (regional president, PNC Financial Services Group Inc.); Mary Jo Callan (director, office of community development, Washtenaw County); Mark Perry (director of real estate services, Masco Corp.); Andy LaBarre (vice president of government affairs, A2YChamber); Tim Marshall (president and CEO, Bank of Ann Arbor); Norm Herbert (retired treasurer, University of Michigan); Adiele Nwankwo (senior vice president, PB Americas Inc.); Mike Cicchella (financial planner, Cicchella and Associates, and former Northfield Township supervisor); Leigh Greden (executive director of governmental and community relations, Eastern Michigan University); Conan Smith (executive director, Suburbs Alliance and chair, Washtenaw County board of commissioners); Jonathan Levine (professor, University of Michigan college of architecture and urban planning); Jason Lindauer (wealth management advisor, Merrill Lynch, and mayor of Chelsea); Mark Ouimet (state representative, District 52); John Thorhauer (president and CEO, United Methodist Retirement Communities); Jon Newpol (executive vice president, Thomson Reuters); Dennis Schornack (special advisor on transportation, Governor’s Office); Jim Kosteva, (director of government relations, University of Michigan); Paul Dimond (attorney, Miller Canfield).

The first meeting of the group was Friday, Sept. 16 – the day after the AATA board met. Most of the members were able to attend. The group received a presentation of some of the material they’d already been given in written form. They also asked for specific additional information and analysis, including: the specific economic impact of transit investments in communities of comparable size to Ann Arbor; and a measure of the costs that could be avoided through increased investment in transit.

While the amount and timing of a possible countywide transit millage received scant mention, a robust theme of the initial conversation was the potential for creative private-public partnerships in funding improved transit. Berriz called his and Guenzel’s selection as co-chairs of the group symbolic of the potential for private-public partnerships.

Berriz told members of the group at the Sept. 16 meeting that they will meet three more times, and will produce a white paper by the end of the year.

In his public commentary at the AATA board’s meeting the day before, on Sept. 15, Larry Krieg, with Wake Up, Washtenaw!, congratulated the AATA for the people it had assembled for the financial review. It’s an impressive list, he said. He asked that “out-of-the-box thinking” be tried.

Krieg hoped that among the funding mechanisms the group could identify would be original, significant public-private participation.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its Sept. 15 meeting, the AATA board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Governance, U196 Board

During his report to board members, CEO Michael Ford gave a brief update on progress with future governance issues connected with the entity that would eventually administer countywide transportation.

WEMU's Andrew Cluley interviews AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein after the Sept. 15 meeting.

By way of background, the basic approach the AATA is taking to expanding countywide transit is to transition to an authority formed under Act 196 of 1986. The AATA has been working towards encouraging townships in the county to strike inter-governmental agreements [under Act 7 of 1967] to have joint representation to the board of any Act 196 organization. It’s conceived as a 15-member board, with seven seats from Ann Arbor, two seats from the southeast sector (Ypsilanti Township and Augusta Township), and one seat each for the city of Ypsilanti, Pittsfield Township, and multi-jurisdictional districts in the northeast, north middle, west and south middle parts of the county.

As a precursor to the Act 196 authority, the AATA hopes to seat an unincorporated authority (U196) by Oct. 20, the date of the board’s next meeting.

Ford reported at the Sept. 15 board meeting that he’d met with AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein and Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje about an inter-local agreement between Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and the AATA.

Comm/Comm: Chelsea Express

Roger Kerson reported out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee that the Chelsea Express – a commuter service between Ann Arbor and Chelsea – is now near capacity. The AATA is now at the point of deciding what to do if the route meets capacity.

Comm/Comm: Website Development

Mary Stasiak, AATA director of community relations, said that one concern the staff is focusing on is to make sure the AATA “owns” everything that’s being developed for the site, given that some of it is being custom developed. The AATA has sent the initial designs back to the contractor for revision, because “we want to make it the best that we can,” she said.

Comm/Comm: Complaints

Thomas Partridge introduced himself as an Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Democrat, an advocate for seniors and the disabled, and those needing and deserving of public services during this trying time in American history. He called for the election of a new chair of the board of the AATA to champion service that is friendly and caring in safe and ride-worthy vehicles. He questioned whether that’s been the case under current board leadership.

SelectRide should not receive the bid for the AATA’s A-Ride paratransit service, Partridge said. He called the vehicles that SelectRide puts on the road “jalopies” that have accumulated more than 200,000 miles before they are purchased by SelectRide.

Partridge also spoke at the second public commentary slot at the end of the meeting. He called himself an advocate for those who can’t attend the meeting. He said he had led the effort to get the board to meet in an accessible place. [Last year, the AATA moved its meetings to the boardroom of the Ann Arbor District Library from its headquarters on South Industrial Highway.] Despite those efforts, Partridge said, the board went ahead with their vote on the budget with three of its seven members absent. The budget items should have been deferred until the entire board could attend, he said.

He complained that AATA staff members got people to come to board meetings to salute their incompetence. The public is being cheated by publicly funding vehicles that should never be on the road, he said. SelectRide, the company that holds the para-transit contract with AATA, perpetuates discrimination against everyone, Partridge said, even their own employees.

His complaints have been whitewashed, Partridge contended, and he called on the board to elect new leadership.

Comm/Comm: Compliments

Carolyn Grawi spoke on behalf of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living. She said she came to support the new local advisory council appointments. She also congratulated AATA for its work associated with the non-motorized Washtenaw Avenue walkway and the accessible crosswalk – AATA was among the many players on that project, she said. She also congratulated Mary Stasiak’s department for receiving an APTA AdWheel award, recognizing its billboard ads.

Present: Jesse Bernstein, Rich Robben, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale

Absent: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Sue McCormick

Next regular meeting: Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

The budget calls for expenses of $30,410,616 against only $29,418,995 in revenues, for a deficit in the coming year of $991,621. That shortfall will be made up by drawing on the fund balance. According to the budget resolution, the AATA’s fund balance policy requires it to maintain reserves equal to at least three months’ worth of operating expenses. And the AATA expects to have $1.2 million more in its fund reserve to start the year than that minimum fund balance policy requires. So the projected deficit – which the budget resolution attributes partly to one-time expenses associated with the transportation master plan – is within the $1.2 million excess beyond the minimum three-month reserve, which the AATA holds in its fund balance. [.pdf of AATA 2012 operating budget]

During  deliberations, the four board members present stressed the unique, one-time nature of the deficit budget.

In the most significant categories, the AATA’s revenues break down percentage-wise as follows: 31.4% local transit tax; 29.4% state operating assistance; 18.6% passenger fares; 12.8% federal operating assistance. The AATA also receives some revenue from surrounding municipalities that get transit service through purchase of service (POS) agreements. [2012 AATA revenue pie chart]

In the most significant expense categories, the AATA’s expenses break down percentage-wise as follows: 54.7% employee compensation; 18.2% purchased transportation from other providers; 9.3% other purchased services; 5.7% diesel fuel and gasoline. [2012 AATA expenses pie chart]

In a separate vote, the AATA board also approved the 10-page work plan for the fiscal year. Highlights include reconstruction of the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor. In terms of increased service, the work plan includes a focus on: establishing the AATA as a vanpool service provider; establishing service to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport; improved work-transportation connections between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; and continued work on commuter rail.

The plan also calls for continued work on the AATA’s information technology, including its website as a communication tool and improved point-of-sale systems to allow people to pay for their fares. [.pdf of work AATA 2012 work plan]

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein at the board's four-hour retreat held on Aug. 10 at Weber's Inn. He was, at the time, stressing the importance of setting some kind of time frame for progress on the WALLY north-south commuter rail project. (Photos by the writer.)

But at a special board meeting and retreat held on Tuesday at Weber’s Inn on Jackson Road, the board discussed a variety of specific strategic initiatives that have a somewhat shorter time frame for implementation.

In a four-hour session stretching from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the board discussed and passed resolutions aimed to improve transportation between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, to the University of Michigan East Medical Center, and between the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Ann Arbor.

In addition, the board authorized a lowering of the fare for the express commuter service between Canton and Ann Arbor. That fare change includes a decision to move the service in-house, instead of contracting the service out to Indian Trails. A similar change was made earlier this year for the Chelsea-Ann Arbor express bus service. [Chronicle coverage: "AATA on Chelsea Bus: Cut Fares, Add Wifi"]

Two resolutions that were not moved or voted on by the board – but which received animated discussion – involved the possible provision of vanpool services in the county by the AATA and the future of the Washtenaw-Livingston Line (WALLY) rail project.

In the area of capital improvements, the board also authorized a contract with DLZ Michigan to address a variety of infrastructure projects at the AATA headquarters on South Industrial Highway: installation and in-ground bus hoist; re-landscaping of the detention pond; expansion of the bus storage area; upgrades to the training room. The RFP for the contract also covered a potential park-and-ride lot at Glencoe Crossing Shopping Center on Washtenaw Avenue.

Board chair Jesse Bernstein also announced a Blake Transit Center advisory committee – which will include other community members – to provide input on the redesign and reconstruction of the downtown Ann Arbor transit center, located on Fourth Avenue south of Liberty. Bernstein will represent the board on the committee.

The various strategic initiatives will need to be explored in the context of the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1. So the board also received a budget overview at Tuesday’s meeting. They’ll sign off on the budget in September.

Against the Background of the TMP

The AATA is currently engaged in an extensive public engagement process to determine some kind of countywide community consensus for the kind of public transit residents would like to have in the long term – 30 years or more.  The result of that process is expected to be a transportation master plan (TMP), which should be completed in early 2011. The AATA board was briefed on the status of that initiative at its June 23 meeting. [Chronicle coverage: "AATA Moves Engagement Process into Gear"]

At a June 23, 2010 media roundtable, AATA CEO Michael Ford addressed the issue of a risk that other shorter-term initiatives might be paused while the TMP is being developed. From The Chronicle’s report of that roundtable [emphasis added]:

Michael Ford indicated that the question of Ypsilanti service was on the agenda for the board retreat coming up in July. [Editor's note: The retreat/meeting was subsequently re-scheduled for Aug. 10] They’d be looking at options for Ypsilanti, he said, but not in a vacuum – the topic would be considered in the context of the city, county, and the DDA. The idea was not, Ford stressed, to put everything on hold until the TMP was complete.

The various initiatives addressed at Tuesday’s retreat/meeting at Weber’s Inn can be seen as the kinds of shorter-term efforts that will not be put on hold until the TMP is completed.

Service to East Ann Arbor Health Center

The question of service to the University of Michigan Health System’s East Ann Arbor Health Center, located on Plymouth Road, as well as to Domino’s Farms, has received comments at public meetings by residents for over a year.

From The Chronicle’s report of the  July 16, 2009 University of Michigan Regents meeting:

Jim Mogensen: Mogensen said that the transportation report had been a “Cliffs Notes” version, and doesn’t give a full representation of the community’s transportation picture. [...] He noted that it’s difficult to get bus service to UM’s medical campus on Plymouth Road in northeast Ann Arbor, and he urged the university to make sure they provide basic transportation access to their health facilities when they renegotiate their M-Ride contract with AATA later this year.

From The Chronicle’s report of the July 21, 2009 AATA board meeting:

Jim Mogensen: Mogensen spoke to the issue of the M-Ride contract extension. He stated that it was exciting that options were being explored like having the University of Michigan Medical Center participate in paying for M-Ride. He said that he hoped that the future negotiations will include public transit access to the UM East Medical Campus on Plymouth Road near Dixboro Road.

More recently, at the March 24, 2010 AATA board meeting, Sandra Holley and Carolyn Grawi both commented on service to Domino’s Farms, where the UM currently also has medical facilities.

Sandra Holley said she wanted to draw the board’s attention to the new Plymouth Road park-and-ride lot and the impact it had on routes. To get from the north side of town to Domino’s Farms on a public route – which should be a 15-minute trip – took two hours. First you have to go down Pontiac Trail to downtown Ann Arbor, transfer at the Blake Transit Center, ride to the UM hospital, then take the shuttle. She also noted that A-Ride, the AATA paratransit service, does not consider Domino’s Farms to be inside Ann Arbor, so the fare was $9 each way, not the $2.50 fare inside the city.

In support of Holley’s depiction, Carolyn Grawi, of the Center for Independent Living, said it took a good hour spread over three routes to get from CIL to Domino’s. [...]

At Tuesday’s retreat, Mogensen suggested that UMHS really should have planned for patient transportation when the facility was built. Putting the costs in perspective, he said the UMHS had an operating budget of roughly $1 billion a year, or  around $3 million every day. In three days, he said the UMHS spent as much money as the AATA collected for the year in its city transportation millage [roughly $9 million]. He would later characterize the amount it would take for the UMHS to provide public transit to EAAHC as so much “budget dust” for UMHS.

East Ann Arbor Health Center: Staff Presentation

The issue considered by the AATA board on Tuesday was phrased as a question:

Should The Ride pursue a partnership with UM to improve public transportation between Ann Arbor and the East Ann Arbor Health Center (EAAHC)/Domino’s Farms located north and south of Plymouth Road, just east of US‐23 in Ann Arbor Township?

The presentation to the board was given by Chris White, who is the AATA manager of service development. By the numbers, EAAHC has four separate entrances, 54 clinical units, and had 250,000 patient visits in 2009. Domino’s Farms has three separate entrances, 19 clinical units, and had 145,000 patient visits in 2009.

The patient visit numbers reflect a 33% increase in patient visits since last year and a 234% increase since 2005, White said. The University of Michigan bus route serving the EAAHC, operated by UM transportation services, is called the UM Intercampus Route. It’s a long, circuitous trip, he said. He explained that this was due in part to the fact that the route was originally designed as a circulator route for the central medical campus and the Wall Street/Maiden Lane area. It includes stops at Arbor Lakes, which is an administrative facility with 300 staff, but it’s not a location where patients are treated. That reflects the original conception of the Intercampus Route as primarily for staff transportation.

UM’s Intercampus Route currently serves a stop at EAAHC and three stops at Domino’s Farms. UM doesn’t keep records, but ridership is low. Service is every 20 minutes from 6:55 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. It requires four buses and costs UMHS about $700,000 a year. The stops and service level are determined by UMHS, not UM Transportation.

On the paratransit side, UM provides no service to EAAHC. The AATA’s A-Ride paratransit service – a demand-response service where riders need to call to make an appointment to be picked up – ends at the city limits. That’s one of the challenges, White explained – and a point made by Sandra Holley at the March 24, 2010 board meeting.

Since 2007, AATA has allowed A-Ride service to continue to Turner Geriatric Clinic within EAAHC, with UM paying cab fare for the portion of the trip east of US-23. Last year there were 1,980 A-Ride trips to Turner, 1,080 of them by a person with a disability. Of those, 340 required a non-taxi accessible vehicle. A-Ride trips are increasing in frequency to Turner Geriatric Clinic.

White said that UMHS didn’t consider patient transportation when designing the EAAHC. Why is there A-Ride service to Turner – within the EAAHC – but not to the rest of  EAAHC? It’s because Turner Geriatric Center was previously located in the city of Ann Arbor. When it was moved to EAAHC, that created concerns among seniors over the loss of A-Ride service, and at that time UMHS simply wanted a solution for Turner Geriatric, not the rest of the complex.

East Ann Arbor Health Center: Staff Presentation – Options

One option not recommended by AATA staff would be to end A-Ride trips to the Turner clinic and move an A-Ride transfer point to the Green Road park-and-ride lot, where the A-Ride service could connect with the Intercampus Route. That approach would provide no access for wheelchair users, though it would reflect a cost reduction to AATA of $15,ooo to $20,000 a year.

A second option also not recommended would be to extend A-Ride service to the entire EAAHC complex instead of limiting it to Turner Geriatric. UMHS would pay for the cost of the trip beyond the city limits. That would cost the AATA about $120,000 in the first year.

The third option, which was recommended by AATA staff, is to work with UMHS leadership to make a business case that they have a financial stake in transporting patients efficiently to EAAHC. That business case is based on the cost of missed appointments, the cost of the taxi portion of A-Ride trips, and the cost of operating the Intercampus Route.  The idea would be to negotiate a comprehensive solution that includes demand-response and fixed-route service, with UMHS shouldering the additional cost. The approach would include joint promotion of the use of fixed-route service as the main way that patients reach the center who don’t drive.

White indicated that St. Joseph Mercy Hospital had estimated the cost of missed appointments last year at $1 million.

East Ann Arbor Health Center: Board Deliberations

Roger Kerson, a recently appointed board member attending just his second full board meeting, asked for more specifics about what the business case for UMHS is. He noted that with almost 0.5 million patient visits, only a couple thousand patients use the service. White indicated that if you’re talking about 2% of the patients, that itself is significant.

AATA board member Roger Kerson at the Aug. 10 board retreat at Weber's Inn.

Kerson wanted to know if the idea was to create a direct AATA route from downtown Ann Arbor to EAAHC. White said that this was not necessarily the solution, but noted that there is significant overlap between the UMHS Intercampus Route and the AATA fixed-route service.

Charles Griffith wondered if it might still be necessary to operate a circulator service. White allowed that it would be inefficient to try to hit each entrance of the EAAHC facility, but that UMHS might take responsibility for a circulator.

Sue McCormick characterized the approach as a worthwhile endeavor to forge a partnership to look at the situation now, while the trip traffic is still building. She stated that there are “two bus companies in town” – AATA and UM. It was appropriate that they look at ways to cooperate, she said.

Jesse Bernstein wanted to know what the relationship was of this initiative to the connector study. That study, currently underway, contemplates enhanced transit service in the Plymouth-State street corridors. White said that it hadn’t been determined on which side of US-23 that potential signature corridor connector service would end.

McCormick asked if the local unit of government outside of the city had been engaged – that’s Ann Arbor Township. Michael Ford, AATA’s CEO, indicated that he’d met with Michael Moran, the township supervisor.

The board considered a resolution that essentially answered the question, framing the issue in the affirmative.

Outcome: The board voted to approve the resolution expressing an intention to develop a partnership with the University of Michigan to expand transportation service to the EAAHC and to check for consistency with the transportation master plan (TMP) as that work is completed. Rich Robben, who’s employed by UM, abstained from the vote.

Vanpool Services

At the University of Michigan regent’s meeting on Dec. 17, 2009, Terry Alexander, executive director of the university’s office of campus sustainability, reported that more than 3,000 people have signed up to use the university’s GreenRide program, a system to help people find others interested in using carpools or vanpools. There are 86 UM vanpools, he reported, used by 527 people.

The van pools are operated by VPSI Inc. via a series of contracts with the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) through the MichiVan program. On Oct. 1, 2010 the state of Michigan is discontinuing its funding for MichiVan, but is providing an additional buffer period through September 2011. The state funding had depended on federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds, which will no longer be available.

Mary Stasiak, AATA manager of community relations, gave the presentation on vanpools.

The MichiVan vanpool program allows 7-15 people who live in a close enough cluster to share a ride to work in a vehicle provided by MichiVan, stored and driven by one of the commuters. UM pays 80% of the cost of the fare for its employees, so the actual cost to employees is $25 per month.

With the expiration of the MDOT contract with VPSI, the AATA sees an opportunity to get into the vanpool business and provide that as an additional mode in its transportation offerings. AATA is looking at RapidVan in Grand Rapids as a possible model, which has operated outside of the MichiVan program at a lower cost than MichiVan.

Vanpool: Staff Presentation

The staff presentation on vanpooling was made by Mary Stasiak, AATA’s manager of community relations. The framing question was this:

Should The Ride begin to incorporate vanpool services for Washtenaw County into AATA operations in FY2011?

The existing market for the vanpools is one key argument for AATA to take over the service. The 88 total vanpools currently operated by MichiVan carry 538 passengers, with origins all through southeastern Michigan and northern Ohio. What’s common to all of the vanpools geographically is that their destination is inside Washtenaw County.  Compared to a scenario where all 538 passengers drive their own car, vanpooling takes 450 cars off the road every day.

The estimated cost of operation, based on the RapidVan model, is $7,912 per van or a total of $696,228. Stasiak estimated the cost to purchase 88 vehicles at $23,800 per vehicle or $2.094 million total. The estimated operating revenues, assuming the existing vanpools and UM subsidies continue, would be $696,228. Based on National Transit Database formula funds, the operation of the 88 vans would yield an additional $400,000 per year in federal funds, due to the additional passenger service miles provided by the vans.

As part of the initiative, the AATA is contemplating the hire of a full-time vanpool coordinator at a salary of around $70,000.

Vanpool: Board Deliberations

Jesse Bernstein clarified several of the particulars of this scenario. He wanted to know if the vans would be leased or bought. The answer from AATA controller Phil Webb was they’d be bought. Bernstein also wanted to know what the average service life of a vehicle would be. The answer he got was around 4-5 years, based on the accumulation of around 100,000 miles.

Sue McCormick picked up on the 4-5 year lifespan of the vehicles, the roughly $2 million capital start-up costs to purchase them, and the $400,000 additional NTD formula funds, and concluded that the additional federal funds would roughly cover the cost of the van fleet replacement, meaning that vehicle cost to the AATA would be “a wash,” leaving just the $70,000 for the vanpool coordinator.

David Nacht wondered if it was a risk that the NTD formula funds might be discontinued. Chris White, AATA’s manager of service development, indicated that the formulas have been in place for more than 25 years and he didn’t anticipate they’d be discontinued.

Rich Robben wanted to know if the current provider of vanpool services, VPSI, would become a competitor to AATA. Stasiak indicated that VPSI’s costs haven’t changed – for them to drop their costs down as low as RapidVan in Grand Rapids would be unusual, she said. AATA is looking at the RapidVan model as the key to its implementation. Throughout the state, she said, transit agencies are looking at operating vanpools themselves.

Michael Ford, AATA's CEO (left), chats with board member Charles Griffith before the start of the Aug. 10 retreat.

Stasiak clarified that VPSI would have a sole-source contract with MDOT from October 2010 through September 2011. Charles Griffith wanted to know why AATA would transition before October 2011. The idea seemed to be that AATA would use the coming year to position itself and to have people lined up.

Roger Kerson sought to understand what competitive advantage AATA had versus other potential suppliers of vanpool services. The answer was that AATA, as the local transit authority, has eligibility for NTD forumula funds. Kerson clarified that the NTD formula funds represent “money on the table” that VPSI is currently not capturing.

Jesse Bernstein wanted staff to explore the question of possibly buying the current vans that are in use. He also asked if the current fleet was accessible for wheelchairs – the answer was no. During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Center for Independent Living thanked Bernstein for his awareness of that as an issue and encouraged the board to make its vanpool services accessible to those with disabilities.

McCormick indicated that she wanted the staff to look at cost efficiencies  related to coordination, but she thought vanpool services were appropriate for the AATA to consider as “the transit provider” in Washentaw County.

Kerson wanted to know if it was possible to brand the vans as AATA vehicles – the answer was yes.

Rich Robben expressed some concern about the assumption that AATA would be able to operate vanpools as inexpensively as Grand Rapids – AATA costs were typical not as low as in Grand Rapids. Stasiak indicated that one possibility was that AATA could join Grand Rapids’ contracts.

Kerson returned to the question of competition – would the AATA be the only game in town? The answer seemed to be yes. Bernstein indicated that part of the negotiation would be for the vanpool to have a dedicated parking spot at the destination.

David Nacht indicated that he’d feel more comfortable seeing a real financial calculation and to run the proposal through the board’s planning and development committee before spending $2 million.

Kerson also suggested fleshing out what it means to take 450 vehicles off the road in terms of carbon footprint. McCormick asked when the vanpool coordinator needed to be brought on board – the answer seemed to be way sooner than October 2011. Bernstein also asked staff to provide some additional information on what kind of qualifications a vanpool coordinator needs.

Outcome: No resolution on vanpool services was moved by the board or considered at the Tuesday meeting. The matter will be reviewed by the board’s planning and development committee.

Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Service

The idea of improving service between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti has received increasing discussion in the community, including by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. DDA board members Newcombe Clark and Sandi Smith have both spoken recently about the need for better Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti service.

The topic was also addressed at a Friday, July 30, 2010 meeting among the DDA’s transportation committee and representatives from the AATA. In attendance were AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein, AATA board member Charles Griffith and CEO Michael Ford, along with executive director of the Ann Arbor DDA, Susan Pollay, and DDA board members Newcombe Clark, Sandi Smith, Keith Orr, Joan Lowenstein, John Mouat and Roger Hewitt.

Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Service: Staff Presentation

The staff presentation on Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti service was made by Chris White, AATA’s manager of service development, who described it as “the main event!”

The framing question for the presentation was:

Should AATA pursue partnerships to fund improvements to worker transportation between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor? If so, does AATA have priorities for the type of service improvements?

White reminded the board of the fiscal constraints faced by Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township that have prevented AATA from making improvements to bus service between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. [Chronicle coverage: "Buses for Ypsi and a Budget for AATA." A non-binding proposal for a transit millage for Ypsilanti received approval from 70%  of voters on Aug. 3, 2010.]

White reported that the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority had indicated a willingness to consider providing funding for improved service and that other employers and organizations had also expressed a willingness to discuss funding.

The current routes serving the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti connection are routes #3, #4, #5, and #6. Ypsilanti local service is provided by routes #10, #11, and #20. During his presentation, White drew out the relationship between the local Ypsilanti service and the connector service to Ann Arbor. Improvements on the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti corridor might not realize their full potential without corresponding improvements to Ypsilanti’s local service.

Ridership on existing routes are as follows:

A2-Ypsi Routes     Avg Daily Pssngrs/
                   Boardings Srvc Hr

#3 Huron River     352        29
#4 Washtenaw       842        60
#5 Packard         333        30
#6 Ellsworth       334        28

Local Ypsi Routes

#10 Ypsi NE        472        39
#11 Ypsi S         331        39
#20 Ypsi Grv-Ecrs  558        51

-

The current “productivity” of the Ypsilanti routes, said White, is actually very good compared to the system-wide average of around 30 riders per service hour.

The main focus of the improvement to Ypsilanti service is Ann Arbor workers who live in the Ypsilanti area. Numbers of Ann Arbor workers who reside in areas that might be served by better Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti service are distributed among key surrounding areas as follows (2008 data): Ypsilanti, 2,015; Ypsilanti Township, 5,122; Superior Township, 1,319. That’s a total of 8,459 workers, or about 8.5% of Ann Arbor’s workforce.

White then walked the board through various scenarios for improvements to Ypsilanti service, with estimates of the increase in riders, based on computer modeling using data from the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS).

For example, by increasing the weekday service on Route #4 from once every 15 minutes to once every 10 minutes, it’s estimated that there would be 1,566 more daily rides at an annual cost to the AATA of $125,460 or $0.31 per rider. Another example of an option is to create a peak-hour express service between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti with an estimated travel time of 30 minutes – compared to the current 45 minutes. That express service would operated every 15 minutes. That would cost the AATA an additional $734,400 annually to operate, plus six new buses. That express service would generate an estimated 1,088 additional daily rides, which works out to $2.65 per rider.

White also presented evening and weekend options. For example, the extension of evening service on Route #4 to include an additional eastbound trip at 11:45 p.m. could be accomplished with an AATA annual investment of $28,560, projected to increase daily rides by 35, or a cost of $3.25 per rider.

Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Service: Board Deliberations

Roger Kerson wanted to know whether the additional riders reflected people getting out of their cars and into a bus, or if they reflected people just deciding to travel at all. White said that the numbers could include both – availability of transit, he said, can also induce people to travel.

About the estimated additional riders, White allowed that he would “not take the numbers to the bank” but that they were useful for comparing various options.

Charles Griffith wanted to know why the focus was on the Washtenaw Avenue routes as opposed to the local Ypsilanti routes. White explained that these routes were already the most productive, and it’s been identified as a signature corridor.

Sue McCormick was interested in managing expectations of when these route changes might be implemented. She asked that the board be provided periodic updates on them.

Jesse Bernstein recalled the express trains from his youth that were not simply point A to point B with literally no stops in between, but rather with a limited number of stops. White explained that this kind of express service was possible to implement but there is always pressure to add just one more stop. Against that, White allowed that there was a lot of frustration for a rider who is standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus and the express bus rolls by without stopping. Bernstein suggested that the express buses be clearly marked as such.

Chris White, manager of service development for the AATA (left), chats with AATA board member Anya Dale before the Aug.10 board retreat.

White explained that there were some time savings that come from eliminating stops, but the real time savings comes from skipping the area of the UM medical center. Anya Dale indicated that if 10 minutes could be saved off the trip from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti by omitting stops at the medical center, then it is important to know how relevant that destination is to people riding that route.

David Nacht wanted to know if it would be possible to charge an extra 50 cents for the express.

Roger Kerson reiterated a point he’d made earlier in connection with vanpooling – it would be useful to express the benefit from the route changes not just in terms of additional riders, but also to express it in terms of improvement to the carbon footprint as a result of those riders not driving a car.

With respect to the few numbers of extra riders involved with extending service to the later hours, Griffith said it might involve fewer people, but that the need was stronger – and that’s a policy issue, he said.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved a resolution to explore partnerships that could lead to improved service to Ypsilanti that is flexible enough to accommodate the eventual transportation master plan (TMP).

Ann Arbor-Detroit Metropolitan Airport

There’s been some frustration expressed by board members, in particular by David Nacht, that the AATA does not offer service to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. From the Feb. 18, 2009 Chronicle report of the AATA board meeting:

Part of what had prompted the east-west rail conversation was Nacht’s introduction of the topic of AATA service to the Detroit airport. In response to a query from Nacht, [Dawn] Gabay said that in 2002-03, they had approached the airport for consideration of east-west service and determined that it was at that time not feasible. Nacht asked if it had to do with a charge for entry to the airport facility. Gabay said there would be no charge for entry. What was the barrier then, wondered Nacht. Gabay said there was a possible lack of a state match, because operating east-west service to the airport might be taking business from a private operator already providing that service.

Nacht then noted that AATA routes had been altered to support a private service, and Gabay confirmed that the AATA routes had been changed to go closer to Wolverine Tower.

Nacht then declared that he would like to have active consideration of providing the Ann Arbor community with bus service to the airport. He said that he didn’t want to hear back simply, “It’s too expensive,” which prompted [Paul] Ajegba to observe that this seemed contradictory to the mission statement to provide service in a cost-effective manner. Griffith said Nacht wasn’t saying the cost doesn’t matter, which [Rich] Robben agreed with, saying  that it was a question of not wanting to dismiss it out of hand. Gabay said that the timing of such a service needed to be coordinated with east-west rail that might be going in.

Airport Service: Staff Presentation

The staff presentation was delivered to the board by Ed Robertson, AATA’s head of human resources. The framing question for the discussion was this:

Should The Ride provide regularly scheduled bus service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metropolitan Airport?

In discussions with the airport, Robertson said, they’d been told that AATA would be assigned to the same drop-off spaces as SMART, which is Detroit’s public transit system. Although the airport charges a per-vehicle entry fee, as a public transportation authority, he said, AATA would be exempt from that charge. If AATA were to subcontract for the airport service, it’s not clear whether that same charge would be applied.

In sketching out the history of the AATA’s exploration of the issue, Robertson noted that the alternatives [to simply driving oneself or getting dropped off by a friend or family member] for travel between Ann Arbor and the airport consists of taxis and limos or rides on Michigan Flyer, which operates a regularly scheduled service between Lansing and the airport. Michigan Flyer had extended its service to include one stop in Ann Arbor – at the Sheraton Hotel at 3200 Boardwalk – and had also added extra trips just between the airport and Ann Arbor.

Much of the data from a previous carrier, Robertson said, is not useful because it predates the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, which led to increased airport security measures and different protocols, as well as predating the Detroit airport reconstruction and the current economic downtown.

Certain key facts, however, are the 70-mile round trip. Current fares are: Michigan Flyer, $20, or $30 round trip; SelectRide taxi, $29.50, or $49 round trip; Metro Cars limousine service, $50 each way.

Service that is not door-to-door almost always includes a parking component, and Robertson reported that the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority has offered reduced-cost long-term parking at the Fourth & William parking structure. When that topic was brought up at the Friday, July 30 meeting between AATA board members and members of the DDA board, a point of emphasis was the fact that if parking were anything but nominal, people would simply drive to the airport and pay for parking at the airport.

According to Michigan Flyer, about 27.5 passengers a day ride the service between Ann Arbor and the airport. AATA estimates that it would need three buses to operate hourly service from 2 a.m. through 10 p.m. – two on the road plus one spare. Robertson’s math was as follows: There would be 44 service hours per day, 365 days a year at $105 per service hour for an annual operating cost of $1.686 million a year. Subtracting $0.506 million in state operating assistance would leave $1.180 million.

Charging $15 per passenger, they’d need 78,700 passengers to break even. Dividing that total number of passengers by the 7,665 trips gives 11 passengers per trip, or 230 passengers a day to break even.

AATA would thus need to increase the ridership that Michigan Flyer currently enjoys – 27.5 per day – by 20-fold, in order to break even.

Airport Service: Board Deliberations

David Nacht said he appreciated the work that had been done. He noted that part of the problem in ridership might be the need to pay to park at the Sheraton – riders might feel like they might as well just drive to the airport where they can also pay for parking.

Nacht’s main theme during deliberations was not just getting people who live and work around Ann Arbor to the airport. He wanted to focus on getting people into Ann Arbor who were flying into Detroit. When you land at the airport, everybody learns you can gamble in Detroit, he said, but nobody knows Ann Arbor. He stressed the importance of forging partnerships with the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Nacht stressed that in thinking about costs for AATA to provide the airport service, it is important to note that the AATA collective bargaining agreement explicitly stipulates that the AATA would not need to use union drivers for that kind of service.

Sue McCormick observed that a popular way to provide door-to-door service in other communities is to provide collector-van-shuttle services.

Nacht declared that he was a little frustrated. He said he was willing to spend a little money on things that Ann Arborites might actually use. Airport service, he said, is one thing that people might actually use, but what he gets, he said, is constantly such “pushback” with proposals that are slow and unimaginative. “I can’t begin to express my frustration!”

Michael Ford, CEO of the AATA, assured Nacht that staff were, in fact, pursuing other partnerships. He allowed that the resolution language was perhaps not as clear as it could be.

Rich Robben said he agreed with Nacht, but wondered if the market was being satisfied with the current combination of methods, why does AATA need to enter the market? He wondered if a $5 savings was really going to move someone to switch their service option.

Nacht said he wanted the resolution to address the development of partnerships on the demand side.

Roger Kerson noted that in order to break even, there would need to be huge increase in ridership over Michigan Flyer’s numbers. He agreed that there needed to be a bigger marketing effort – he flies frequently yet had never heard of Michigan Flyer. He also agreed on the importance of parking being provided essentially free – otherwise, people will just drive to the airport and pay for parking there.

Kerson also suggested that the AATA tap into UM’s frequent booking of flights – every time someone books a flight, they could get a coupon for the AATA airport service, he suggested.

A general consensus seemed to be that it might make the most sense to partner with Michigan Flyer to help expand and promote its provision of service, instead of the AATA trying to provide its own direct service to the airport.

Jesse Bersnstein, noting that the resolution before the board did not require any actual expenditures at that moment, suggested it could do no harm to pass it.

Nacht wanted the resolution amended so that the kind of partnerships to be developed were not restricted to those providing transportation and could include partners that could increase demand.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved a resolution to develop partnerships to expand the frequency and coverage of airport service.

Washtenaw Livingston Rail (WALLY)

On Oct. 28, 2008 at a special meeting, the board adopted a resolution stating that AATA would take a leadership role for the Washtenaw Livingston Line (WALLY) project. Staff member Tom Cornillie was assigned to the project, which envisions commuter rail service from Howell to Ann Arbor along existing tracks owned mostly by Great Lakes Central Railroad. Cornillie left the organization to take on different employment, and Michael Benham was hired to replace him.

WALLY: Staff Presentation

The framing question for the staff presentation was this:

Under what conditions do we continue our support for WALLY Commuter Rail?

Benham began by ticking through some of the improvements that had already been funded by MDOT: track work and train layover facilities, $5.5 million; rehab of 15 railcars, $4 million; lease of railcars and locomotives – responses to RFP under review with costs not yet known. Grade crossing and signal improvements have been engineered by MDOT staff, but the funding and source of that funding have not yet been determined.

Michael Benham of the AATA talks about the need to have a connector service between Fuller Road Station and stations on the WALLY line.

Funding for stations – platforms, parking, linkages – is still needed. Total cost for that, which is expected to be the responsibility of local communities, is estimated at around $4.3 million.

Annual operating cost for WALLY is estimated at $7.1 million, with $1.5 million of that to come from the Michigan Comprehensive Transportation Fund, $2.1 in passenger fares (assuming 1,300 riders a day), and $1.3 million in railcar and locomotive lease covered by MDOT. An annual operating subsidy has not yet been identified to cover the unfunded $2.2 million balance.

Among the risks identified by Benham were the possibility that other local communities might not want to take on responsibility of building stations, and that MDOT would identify other priorities. He also identified a political risk – if there is diminished public support for the WALLY project, it might have a negative effect on support for an eventual countywide transit millage.

The major risk, however, is that Ann Arbor Railroad might not cooperate. Ann Arbor Railroad owns the key piece of track, from mile marker 47.5 near Barton Drive to points south. Even to end the WALLY service at that point, Benham said, it would require use of 500 feet of track past the 47.5 mile post. What they’d like ideally is to be able to go further south two more miles to the football stadium, and even better would be to go all the way to Toledo.

He noted that the tracks in question do cross those planned for the east-west commuter rail, but that it’s not possible to engineer a direct transfer for passengers.

WALLY: Board Deliberations

After getting clarification from AATA controller Phil Webb that AATA had spent $50,000 per year for the last three years on the project, David Nacht noted that the AATA had previously passed a resolution accepting a leadership role for WALLY and said he saw no reason to go on record today about it. He said he didn’t think they had any new information.

Sue McCormick noted that what was missing from the resolution was any “carrot” that would provide anyone with an incentive to keep AATA on board with the project. The proposed language read in part “AATA will continue its support of the WALLY project as long as MDOT is supportive and as long as there continues to be a reasonable level of support from the WALLY host communities.” She expressed that staff might feel hamstrung if the resolution were not passed.

Michael Ford, AATA’s CEO, indicated that they would love to see the resolution passed, which expressed qualified support.

Jesse Bernstein picked up on Nacht’s comment that there was no new information by saying that no more information is actually information. It’s only verbal support, he said, and it is important to put a time limit on this – if in six months these things haven’t happened, “we’re done!” Bernstein said he’d heard that Ann Arbor Railroad might now be interested in talking – their freight business wasn’t what it used to be, with cement plants closing and the like. There is some interest in offloading shipping containers in Toledo, he reported, and moving them by rail northwards.

“It feels to me like we’re stymied,” Bernstein said. “We’re not moving forward … We need to have an end in sight or it will just drag on and on.” He allowed that he was just one person and didn’t speak for the whole board, but “we just have to say…” – however, instead of finishing the sentence, Bernstein concluded by saying, “I can’t say what I just thought!”

Roger Kerson responded to Bernstein by saying that he understood the frustration, but noted how important a project WALLY could become if it were a success. So he did not want to pull the plug on it, he said. The lead agency should not convey that it’s ready to give up on the project, he said.

Board member Sue McCormick was seated between board member Roger Kerson (on her right) and CEO Michael Ford (on her left.)

McCormick concurred with Kerson, saying it was a matter of phrasing the resolution so that it expressed as milestones what the AATA’s partners need to accomplish in order for AATA to continue with its efforts.

Rich Robben also advised against “drawing a line in the sand,” saying that it overlooked the work that its partners had already done. That approach would give strength to people who don’t want to participate, he cautioned.

Nacht said it was helpful that Bernstein had made his statement and that others had made their statements, and that he didn’t see the need for the board as a group to make a statement that day. He acknowledged the work done by the staff and recalled that he’d sat at the same table with Congressman John Dingell when he’d served as chair of the AATA board [two years ago] and he’d told Dingell that the AATA would move the project forward. He concluded that the project makes sense and that he hopes the project will make sense to those who have money.

Outcome: The board did not move or vote on a resolution on WALLY.

Canton Express

On a pilot basis, the AATA has operated commuter bus service from Chelsea to Ann Arbor since May 2008, and from Canton since August 2009. Neither service has met hopes for ridership. In March, the board voted to bring the Chelsea service in-house using AATA buses and to cut fares from $125 per month to $99. Previously the service had been contracted out with Indian Trails. Riders are primarily University of Michigan employees and their fares are subsidized by the university.

Canton Express: Staff Presentation

The framing question on Canton express service was this:

Should AATA bring the fare structure of the Canton Express Service into line with the fare structure for the Chelsea Express Service?

Michael Benham walked the board through arguments for taking the service in-house and reducing fares that were similar to those they’d heard back in March when the fares for the Chelsea service had been reduced. AATA estimated that they could save roughly $94,000 a year in operating costs, compared to what it cost to contract out the service to Indian Trails.

Their goal is to double the ridership on the service – that would bring them to a break-even point, Benham said.

Canton Express: Board Deliberations

David Nacht wondered if by using a smaller vehicle to deliver the service it might be possible to charge as little as $75 instead of $99. He encouraged the staff not to be wedded to one model of service delivery.

Roger Kerson questioned whether doubling ridership was realistic. He asked what the universe of potential riders is.  Chris White replied that a lot of that was tied to what people’s work schedules are.

He reported that one of the express buses would be included in the Chelsea Festival Parade.

Rich Robben wondered if by using an AATA bus, the authority was in effect subsidizing operations by providing the bus. Jesse Bernstein concurred that it was a question that is relevant and needs to get an answer.

Nacht said it was okay that the AATA was learning how to provide this kind of commuter bus service. In contrast to the train business – which the AATA may or may not get into, he said – commuter bus service was something they needed to stay committed to.

Kerson asked if there was any information available on the impact of the fare reductions on the Chelsea route since March. Not yet, was the answer.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved a resolution to reduce fares on the Canton express route.

Other Public Commentary

In addition to the remarks of Jim Mogensen and Carolyn Grawi, which are reflected in the body of this report, two others addressed the board during public commentary time.

Vivienne Armentrout thanked the board for making the meeting accessible to the public – by providing the audience with copies of the many different handouts that accompanied the presentations.

Thomas Partridge spoke at the start and at the end of the meeting. He called on the board to make their meetings accessible to the public by holding them in a location where they could be taped on CTN.

Board chair Jesse Bernstein followed up on Partridge’s remarks by noting that starting with the board’s next meeting on Aug. 19, the meetings would be recorded using facilities at their new meeting location – the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library.

Board members present: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Jesse Bernstein, Sue McCormick, Rich Robben, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale

Next regular meeting (NOTE NEW LOCATION): Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]