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Agenda Item # 7

BOARD MEMORANDUM

BACKGROUND:

The FY 2004 Transit Operations Performance Report presents key operations performance information for directly operated and contracted transit services of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).

This item was presented to the Administration and Finance and Transit Planning and Operations Committees at their meetings on January 20, 2005.   The Administration and Finance Committee recommended, and the Transit Planning and Operations Committee concurred, that this item be presented to the Board of Directors at its meeting on February 3, 2005.

DISCUSSION:

The general performance trend for FY 2004 shows continued progress in improving farebox recovery and reducing operating expenses, while continuing to provide safe and reliable transportation for our customers on both bus and light rail. Farebox recovery increased 17.5% from the previous fiscal year. System operating expenditures in FY 2004 decreased 12.9 % compared to the previous fiscal year. Bus and light rail performance, in terms of service reliability exceeded established goals.

The improvements in farebox recovery and reduced operating expenses are attributed to improvements in productivity, changes in VTA’s cost allocation model, and increases in fare revenue. The reduced operating expenses are directly attributable to the 3% service reduction in sub-standard routes, staffing adjustments, and productivity improvements including a reduction in operator absenteeism. The improvements in operator absenteeism have continued into FY 2005 and will result in an estimated annual savings of $2 million.

In FY 2004, a new budget allocation methodology was developed to ensure that only costs attributable to VTA transit operations are reported in the National Transit Database (NTD). As a result of implementing this new allocation methodology, transit operations expenses were more accurately reflected in the FY 2004 NTD report, contributing to the improved farebox recovery performance in FY 2004.

Fare revenue for FY 2004 increased by 2.6% compared to last year. The average fare paid by each customer was $0.798, an increase of 20.9% compared to the previous year.

The general trend for system ridership was down, consistent with the experience of our neighboring transit systems. VTA ridership for FY 2004 was 38.4 million passengers, a 15.1% decrease compared to the previous fiscal year. The declines in system ridership are consistent with the declines in employment that have occurred since 2001. System-wide average weekday boardings were 123,225, down 15.5%.

FY 2004 bus ridership totaled 32.9 million passengers, a decrease of 16.0% compared to the previous fiscal year. Average bus weekday ridership was 105,588, down 16.2%.

Light Rail ridership totaled 5.5 million passengers, a decrease of 9.6% versus last fiscal year. Average light rail weekday ridership for the year was 17,637, a decrease of 10.8% compared to the prior year. However, during the latter part of FY 2004, light rail ridership began to trend upward and increased 10.4% over the previous quarter. This upward trend has continued with the opening of the Tasman East extension and has resulted in nine consecutive months of ridership increases.

VTA contracts for the provision of paratransit service and is a funding partner supporting Caltrain, ACE, Highway 17 Express and Dumbarton Express bus services. Paratransit ridership for the fiscal year totaled 930,540. The average cost per trip on the paratransit program declined by 2%. In FY 2004, Caltrain ridership was 8,088,601, down 2.3% from FY 2003; ACE ridership was 616,394, down 7.4% from FY 2003; Highway 17 Express ridership was 138,268, down 9.2% from FY 2003; and Dumbarton Express service ridership was 207,735, down 11.5% from FY 2003.

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