Special Telephonic Meeting on Coronavirus Event
Discussing mitigation tactics, ridership updates, and daily ridership variances for buses, light rail, and ferries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting covers enhanced cleaning, social distancing measures, workforce updates, financial implications, and future actions concerning the current crisis.
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Presentation Transcript
TDCHR Special Telephonic Meeting March 26, 2020 Subject: coronavirus event 1
Agenda Meeting topic: coronavirus event Call to Order & Roll Call Comments by Chairman Hunter and CEO William Harrell Situation Report Mitigation tactics supporting health and safety Ridership and service updates: Essential Service Plan Communications and customer relations Workforce update Financial update Emergency State / Federal policy actions Future Meetings Discussion Adjourn 2
Mitigation Tactics Enhanced cleaning Electrostatic spray of disinfection in buildings and buses Transit Center mid-day cleaning Social distancing Rear Bus Exiting Closing seats within 6 feet of the bus operator Telework Staggered hours Wipes, gloves and sanitizers for employees Supply procurement Central information repository with messaging and resources for employees 3
Ridership Update A quick snapshot: Ridership has decreased on all modes as this event unfolds % Average % Average Weekday Weekday Ridership Decline FY19 to FY20 Ridership Decline FY19 to FY20 Date Range Date Range Bus Light Rail Ferry March 1st March 1st - - 24th 24th -22.0% -23.0% -21.5% March 16th March 16th - - 24th 24th -40.4% -44.5% -46.1% 4
Ridership Update Bus & Rail FY20 Daily Ridership Variance to FY19 Day Type Average -5.0% -15.0% -25.0% -35.0% -45.0% -55.0% -65.0% -75.0% Bus Light Rail 5
Ridership Update Ferry FY20 Daily Ridership Variance to FY19 Day Type Average 0.0% -20.0% -40.0% -60.0% -80.0% -100.0% Ferry 6
Ridership Update March 10th March 24th Variance to Daily Average All modes are experiencing significant declines in ridership relative to averages Mode Weekday Saturday Sunday Ridership declines have accelerated over the past week Bus -37.9% -39.8% -41.5% Light Rail -37.6% -48.0% -48.6% Monday, March 23rd bus carried 12,142 passengers, approximately what HRT carries on a normal Sunday Ferry -57.0% -79.0% -89.7% Paratransit -31.0% -34.4% -63.8% 7
Service Update - Essential Service Plan Plan was crafted to provide connectivity to major employment centers and was derived from routes that operate 7 days per week o All hospitals will continue to have transit service Route structure provides enough coverage to ensure there are no transit network gaps in any city All routes will operate hourly (except Peninsula Commuter Routes and certain Max Routes) Spans of service will be different than regular weekday service o Service will begin later and end earlier in many cases Plan was developed to be sized to the anticipated availability of bus operators. 8
Service Update - Essential Service Plan Ferry service ending at 9pm (effective Wednesday, 3/25) Bus service adjustments (effective Tuesday, 3/31) o 17 routes on Southside continue to operate o 18 routes on Northside continue to operate o Peninsula Commuter continue to operate Max Route 960, 961, 966, 967,972 continue to operate o 10 local routes not running (5,18, 22, 26, 33, 43, 55, 58, 64 and 121) o MAX 919 and 922 will not operate o Light Rail: service ending at 9pm and service frequencies adjusted to 30 minutes all day (effective Tuesday, 3/31) Paratransit: no changes 9
Communications and Customer Relations Press releases on the virus regarding service (two published and more planned as service dictates) New updates on the Essential Service Plan ready to be uploaded to web and announced on social feeds Multiple media coverage on television and the newspapers Social media with Instagram, Facebook (8,500 reach) Twitter (209,500 reach) Web site updates Two videos being prepared for the general public and staff on the additional cleaning on buses and all other services along with all Transit Centers and facilities Signs posted at Ferry landings and Transit Centers 10
Communications and Customer Relations 18th Street lobby closed. 18th St. ID badge processing shifted to DNTC and HTC. Approx. 50% decrease in average weekday call volume Mar 2019 vs Mar 2020 (707 to 344) Anticipate spike in calls during transition to Essential Service Plan schedules: Top queries Are buses running on their regular schedule? How are you protecting bus operators and customers? How are the vehicles being cleaned? Customer Alerts and flyers providing updates on service Coordination with key employers IVR (phone system) announcements On board announcements 11
Workforce Update HRT has implemented the following for non-essential staff in support of social distancing: Telework for all employees able to do so Flexible work schedules Meetings are held through conference calls or Skype Total current available workforce is 94%. 12
Financial update HRT is incurring additional expenses to cope with the event, utilizing a project number to track pandemic related expenses in D365. If present trends continue, coupled with implementation of Essential Service Plan operations, HRT anticipates significantly less farebox revenues through the end of fiscal year 2020. Based on current conditions, preliminary estimates indicate potential farebox revenue shortfall of approximately $2.1M or 14.7% by the end of fiscal year 2020. Actual year-end numbers may vary widely. Budget impacts will be offset to the greatest extent possible with cost controls and using additional state and federal funding. 13
Emergency State / Federal Policy Actions State The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved $11 million in state aid. HRT is receiving $2.3 million to help offset COVID-19 impacts (loss of ridership, increased cleaning expenses, etc). Federal Emergency transit funding is being allocated as part of phase 3 federal legislation. Final compromise package includes $25 billion in transit funds to FTA, to be disbursed through existing apportionment formulas. 14
Future Meetings Ordinarily, HRT cannot hold Commission meetings through telephonic, video, or other electronic means. During periods of declared emergencies, however, HRT may meet electronically when the sole purpose of the meeting is to address the emergency. As of today, HRT anticipates holding a second emergency telephonic meeting in April to discuss the ongoing response of the agency to the COVID-19 crisis. 15
Discussion Board action 16
TDCHR Special Telephonic Meeting March 26, 2020 Subject: coronavirus event 17
