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Agenda Item # 5

BOARD MEMORANDUM

BACKGROUND:

At previous meetings, CTA members have requested information about the development and status of the Committee’s workplan.   A subcommittee to discuss the CTA workplan was created at the Committee’s September 2006 meeting. 

As an advisory committee to the VTA Board of Directors, and in accordance with its Bylaws, the CTA is responsible for advising VTA on matters relating to the accessibility of all VTA transit services, vehicles, equipment, facilities, programs, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance of such elements.   The CTA’s agenda is developed by the Committee’s Chair in consultation with VTA staff.   Committee members may refer issues within the Committee’s purview to the Committee’s Chair or to VTA staff for placement on an agenda.

Attached is a draft workplan of broadly categorized items that incorporates topics previously suggested for consideration by CTA members.   Also attached is a proposed workplan recently submitted to VTA staff by the Committee’s Chair.

The draft broadly categorized workplan lists items intended to address the following general topic areas:   1) Administrative; 2) Education, Training, and Community Outreach; 3) Ridership; 4) ADA Compliance; 5) Security and Safety, 6) Technology; and 7) Motions Tracking.   The topics listed on the workplan are intended to provide the CTA with an array of individual work items to allow the Committee to make recommendations to improve the quality of life of, and mobility options for, seniors and individuals with disabilities who reside in or visit Santa Clara County. 

The CTA is asked to review the attached draft workplans, prioritize the items to work on and create working teams where necessary to address the issues.   A report listing the CTA’s accomplishments during the upcoming year will be provided to the VTA Board of Directors on a quarterly or annual basis as may be requested by the members of the Committee.   The CTA is a key component of VTA’s efforts to provide accessible and usable services to the communities it serves.  Staff is committed to continuing to assist the Committee accomplish its workplan objectives.

August 22, 2007

• Board of Directors’ Report
• Committee Staff Report
• Chairperson’s Report
• MTC Elderly and Disabled Committee Report
• City of San Jose DAC Report
• Transit Operations Quarterly Performance Report
• General Manager’s Quarterly Report

• Mobility Training for the Elderly and Individuals with Disabilities
• Secret Rider Program
• CTA Participation in Driver Training

• Review of Fixed Route for Improved Use for Individuals with Disabilities
• Bus Stops with Photos and Descriptions on Website
• Bus Stop Improvement List
• Braille on Bus Stop Signage
• Wheelchairs on Light Rail Vehicles (increased ridership and more operator attention)
• Survey Customers with Disabilities
• Pedestrian Friendly Environments for Individuals with All Levels of Ability who reside in or visit Santa Clara County

• Calling Out Bus Stops
• Accessible Bus Stops

• Emergency Preparedness for the Elderly and Individuals with Disabilities
• Service Interruptions (major emergencies and day-to-day problems)

• VTA Website Upgrade
• Real Time Passenger Information
• Talking Signs
• TransLink

• Quarterly Status Review

The first priority is to make sure that there is no slippage on accessible documents, or distribution lists and the mainstreaming of people with disabilities as proposed in the memo of July 2007.

The next priority is “Barriers to Fixed Route".   Nationwide, other transit agencies are already incorporating best practices on these matters and VTA needs to start by developing a plan on what improvements can be made with VTA resources.

VTA needs to identify resulting accepted best practices from studies on the subject.   The following may be candidates:

1. Accessible bus stops, access to the bus stops, safety at the bus stops, etc.   A photo of each bus stop and full descriptions should be up on the web site.
2. The calling of bus stops is still an issue and the CTA must have a better response from Staff to ensure stops are and will be called. 
3. Talking signs to allow people with disabilities to use fixed route as independently as possible.
4. Mobility and travel training as a subset of talking signs.
5. Review of CTA motions and to determine what needs to come back for further review and how motions can be placed on the Board’s agenda for action.
6. Buses stopping at stops of all sizes
7. Being able to feel confident on a bus that the driver will call out and stop at the requested destination
8. Fixed route training specific to bus stop issues which involves trip planning, travel training, etc.
9. Joint partnerships with cities for walkable sidewalks for blind and wheelchair users with curb cuts
10. CTA should get quarterly reports from the various functional areas at VTA to know what is going on in Congestion Management with long range plans, with ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) planning; features in the Rapid Bus Transit that make it easy or hard for disabled persons to access, etc. 
11. CTA wants to receive legislative reports.

Identify a lead staff person at VTA for implementing the Hays Study to 1) Make sure CTA can comment and be involved (thus far CTA has had no involvement); and 2) CTA follow up on the Hays Study sections that address the Accessible Services Department and the recommendation that VTA staff needs to work to take steps to improve their relations with the disability community and the Broker.

For Reference, below is a citation from page 446 of the Haygroup Conclusions

• While VTA is providing what could be considered premier paratransit service through a broker that has state of the art technology, it is not without its challenges. Across the nation, transit agencies are struggling with many of the same issues VTA is facing; maintaining a high level of service within restrictive cost constraints. While VTA has achieved significant success in reducing costs while still maintaining, and in some cases improving, service quality and productivity, VTA does not enjoy a positive relationship with its broker or the disabled community. There is work to be done to mend those relationships and to garner buy-in and trust to support continued cost savings and productivity improvements.
• The Hay team believes that if VTA continues the analysis and implementation of the Paratransit Service Business Practices Improvement Plan while pursing the opportunities discussed in the SWOT analysis, it will be able to continue to realize cost efficiencies and service productivity improvements and will begin to mend their relationships with OUTREACH and the disabled community.

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