08 Staff Report
PREPARED BY: YING SMITH
Transportation and Mobility Manager
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, Finance Director, and Parks and
Public Works Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 09/18/2018
ITEM NO: 8
DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: SCHOOL BUS PILOT PROGRAM SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION
A. APPROVE THE SCHOOL BUS PILOT PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
(ATTACHMENT 1).
B. AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN
AGREEMENT FOR STUDENT TRANSPORTATION SERVICES WITH SANTA
BARBARA TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION DOING BUSINESS AS
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION OF AMERICA (STA), A CALIFORNIA
CORPORATION, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $328,189 IN FISCAL
YEARS 2018/19 AND 2019/20 (ATTACHMENT 2).
C. AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS IN THE FY 2018/19
PILOT SCHOOL BUSING PROGRAM (812-0128) TO ADVANCE FUNDING
FROM FISCAL YEARS 2019/20 AND 2021/22 IN THE AMOUNT OF
$411,090 AND AUTHORIZE DECREASE IN FARE AND GRANT REVENUE
BY A THREE YEAR TOTAL OF $220,590 ($33,090 IN FY 2018/19, $64,500
IN FY 2019/20, AND $123,000 IN FY 2020/21).
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Town Council:
1. Approve the School Bus Pilot Program Implementation Plan (Attachment 1).
2. Authorize the Town Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement for student
transportation services with Santa Barbara Transportation Corporation doing business as
Student Transportation of America (STA), a California Corporation, in an amount not to
exceed $328,189 in Fiscal Years 2018/19 and 2019/20 (Attachment 2).
3. Authorize expenditure budget adjustments in the FY 2018/19 Pilot School Busing Program
(812-0128) to advance funding from Fiscal Years 2019/20 and 2021/22 in the amount of
$411,090 and authorize decrease in fare and grant revenue by a three year total of
$220,590 ($33,090 in FY 2018/19, $64,500 in FY 2019/20, and $123,000 in FY 2020/21).
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SUBJECT: SCHOOL BUS PILOT PROGRAM SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION
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BACKGROUND:
Upon completion of a Congestion Relief School Bus Feasibility Study, the Town Council, at its
June 5, 2018 meeting, authorized staff to proceed with a school bus pilot program targeting a
January 2019 start date.
The Feasibility Study identified several congested corridors near schools, including Los Gatos
Boulevard, East Main Street, South Santa Cruz Avenue, Blossom Hill Road, Shannon Road,
Highway 9, and Highway 17. The potential bus routes would help alleviate congestion during
school bell times on these congested corridors by reducing school-related automobile trips.
Reduction in vehicle miles traveled would have additional Townwide and regional benefits in
reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the last three months, Town staff undertook two related and parallel efforts. Most notably,
staff designed a draft service plan including three potential routes and completed customer
sign ups. Concurrently, Town staff completed the selection of a transportation service provider
through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. In addition, staff, with support from a
consultant, has begun preparing a five-year business plan, which is expected to be completed
and ready for Town Council review later this year.
DISCUSSION:
Pilot Program Implementation Plan
To facilitate the program, staff has developed a pilot program implementation plan, provided as
Attachment 1. This program document consolidates the information necessary to implement
the program in one source for clarity and ease of reference, including the service plan,
anticipated revenues and expenses, passenger rules, and other information. Staff recommends
that the Council approve the program document as the guidance for the pilot. Following are
excerpts from the program document:
Transportation Service Provider
Based on parent and community input, the Council’s direction included a service model that is
provided by a qualified contractor that meets all the Federal and State student transportation
requirements, also known as the “yellow school bus model.” In preparing the RFP, staff
consulted with peer agencies in the Bay Area and their service providers to gather information
and learn from existing models. Prior to release of the RFP, staff reached out to potential
service providers regarding the opportunity and sent the RFP documents to them directly. Only
one company, STA, demonstrated interest and provided a response to the RFP. Staff evaluated
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DISCUSSION (cont’d):
the proposal from STA and found it meets the needs of the Town with respect to quality and
value.
STA is proposing vehicles that are three years or newer at the start of the agreement, dedicated
to the Town’s service, and equipped with three-point seat belts as required by State law. The
proposed STA contract includes an extensive driver recruitment and training program, a 10%
vehicle and driver spare ratio, and the “SafeStop” parent smartphone application. Most
importantly, STA has a focus on student safety. The contract includes a performance and
staffing management program with performance standards to ensure a high level of service for
the passengers.
The contract amount plans for one standard bus (72-passenger) and one large bus (84-
passenger) to support two routes, plus a five percent contingency for unscheduled service
overage. The Town has the option of which bus types to deploy and will make the vehicle
decision based on the final number of paid passenger sign ups. The Town’s expense is
calculated based on the actual days of service with the actual vehicles authorized by the Town.
Note that the rated capacity reflects small children sitting three to a seat. For older children,
the capacity is reduced by one-third.
The contract with STA in the amount of $328,189 will allow for service over t he 18-month pilot
program. The contract contains language that allows the Town to exit the agreement with 70
days’ notice, timed to allow the Town to make a decision in advance of the start of the next
school year. Because the initial term of the agreement is 18 months, funding for the full term
needs to be available up front and the budget recommendation accomplishes this.
Summary of Passenger Sign Up
Based on student home addresses and preferences from the parent surveys, the study team
designed several route options that maximize ridership and congestion relief benefits. The
draft service plan includes three potential routes, which would capture approximately half of
the amenable customers projected in the Feasibility Study.
Online customer sign ups started on August 20 and the responses were very strong. By the
August 31 deadline, there were a total of 150 customers signed up for the service. Table 1
shows the customers by route.
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DISCUSSION (cont’d):
Table 1: Summary of Sign Ups by Route
ROUTE Passengers
Route A - Monte Sereno and North Los Gatos to Fisher Middle
Blossom Hill Elementary Schools
49
Route B - Mountains to Los Gatos High School and Fisher
Middle School
64
Route C - North and East to Los Gatos High School 37
Staff recommends the pilot include routes A and B to align with the current demand, available
funding, and desired scale of the pilot.
Outreach
The community has been very supportive of this program through a broad series of outreach
efforts. These outreach efforts benefited greatly from collaboration with the schools, the Safe
Routes to Schools Coalition, and the Transportation and Parking Commission in developing
outreach materials and spreading the word of the new service.
Regional and Community Partnership
At the June 5, 2018 meeting, Council also directed staff to discuss subsidizing the program with
jurisdictions with students attending Los Gatos schools. Staff met with City of Monte Sereno
and County Supervisor Mike Wasserman. At this point only one student with a Monte Sereno
address is signed up and the County is not in a position to subsidize the program this fiscal year.
To secure the most suitable bus stop locations, staff worked with City of Monte Sereno staff,
property owners, and the Los Gatos Union School District (LGUSD) to get permission to use
streets and properties that are outside of the Town’s jurisdiction. These entities are very
supportive of the program and have supported the Town’s requests. The proposed routes
require use agreements with three organizations:
• Lexington Elementary School: School board decision expected in October.
• Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center Silicon Valley on Oka Road: Approved.
• Friendship Park and private streets in Redwood Estate: Approved.
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CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS:
Approval of the recommended actions will allow for continued progress on the school bus pil ot
program.
The key milestones leading to the start of the service include:
• September: Final Service Plan
• October: Full Payments Due
• November – December: Customer Confirmation and Issue Passes
• January 7, 2019: First Day of Service
In conjunction with this pilot implementation, staff will continue to work on a business plan
that lays out the goals of the program for the next five years, including expenditure
expectations, alternative funding opportunities, performance metrics, and program growth
opportunities.
COORDINATION:
This report was coordinated with the Finance Department .
FISCAL IMPACT:
Table 2 shows the revised expenditure and revenue forecast for the pilot program. Staff
continues to be very cognizant of the high cost of service delivery for this program and this will
continue to be a significant consideration in future planning. Any potential growth in the
number of routes results in proportional growth in expenses, meaning four routes will cost
almost double the two-route cost. The funding needs for this program should be considered as
tradeoffs with potential investments in other priorities and opportunity costs for other
potential programs.
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FISCAL IMPACT (cont’d):
Table 2 - Revised Revenue and Expenditure Plan
Staff updated the total cost for the program based on current program expenses and revenue
forecasts. The updated expenditures over two fiscal years include an increase of $124,140. The
increases are due to several factors:
1. The cost proposal from the transportation provider was higher than initially estimated.
Increasing industry costs and the newness and small size of the program contribute to this.
2. Additional consultant services are needed to accommodate the increased work load to carry
out a school bus program. Since this is a highly specialized field, the market for consultants
is very competitive, which drives up the cost. The budget reflects anticipated costs and
contingency expenses over the course of the pilot program.
3. Additional temporary staff work is needed to support the pilot. The experience in the last
three months confirmed that rolling out a new service places a high demand on staff time.
The trend is expected to increase as the service starts. The temporary staff cost was
adjusted slightly higher to reflect this experience.
As presented at the June 5 Council meeting, the 2018/19 CIP Budget identifies funding of
$673,680 over three years to fund the program (Table 3). This amount was a combination of
projected fare revenue, grant revenue, and General Fund Allocated Reserve (GFAR) funds.
Year 1/2 Year 2 Year 3 Two-Year
FY18-19 FY19-20 FY20-21 Total
Expenses
Total 167,528$ 285,563$ Pending 453,090$
Revenue
Fare Revenue 20,160$ 42,000$ 62,160$
GFAR 147,368$ 243,563$ 390,930$
Total 167,528$ 285,563$ 453,090$
Town Fund %88%85%86%
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FISCAL IMPACT (cont’d):
Table 3 – Pilot School Busing Program Adopted 2018/19 CIP Budget
As the program has developed, the costs and revenue expectations have changed, as described
below. To meet the increased budget needs and the immediate needs for funding availability
for contracting with STA, Town staff recommends shifting funding origina lly budgeted to years
two and three into the current fiscal year. This will allow for funding of the program through
the 18-month pilot but does not allow for funding of the program in the third year as originally
planned in the CIP. The proposed revisions are reflected in Table 4. Staff will continue to track
and report out on program costs in detail for Town Council review.
Table 4 – Pilot School Busing Program Revised 2018/19 CIP Budget
Table 4 reflects the following specific budget changes:
1. Decrease grant revenue by $120,000: Anticipated revenue from the Transportation Fund for
Clean Air (TFCA) Grant did not materialize. Although staff will continue to explore grant
opportunities, staff does not recommend including grant funding for future years.
2. Shift FY 2019/20 and FY 2020/21 GFAR budgeted funds of $333,580 to FY 2018/19.
3. Reduce anticipated fare revenue in 2018/19 by $3,090 and 2019/20 by $4,500 to align with
signups.
4. Remove fare revenue from consideration for FY 2020/21 ($93,000).
Adopted budget FY18-19
Expenses FY18-19 FY19-20 FY20-21 Total
Total 110,600$ 221,200$ 341,880$ 673,680$
Revenue
Fare Revenue 23,250$ 46,500$ 93,000$ 162,750$
Grant 30,000$ 60,000$ 30,000$ 120,000$
GFAR - Budgeted 57,350$ 114,700$ 218,880$ 390,930$
Total 110,600$ 221,200$ 341,880$ 673,680$
Revised CIP Budget FY18-19 FY19-20 FY20-21 Total
Expenses
Total 167,528$ 285,563$ $0 453,090$
Revenue
Fare Revenue 20,160$ 42,000$ $0
Grant $0 $0 $0
GFAR - Budgeted 390,930$ (budget in 18-19)$0
Total 411,090$ 42,000$ 453,090$
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The project would not have a significant impact on the environment; therefore, the project is
not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act [Section 15061(b)(3)].
Attachments:
1. School Bus Pilot Program Implementation Plan
2. Contract for Furnishing Student Transportation Services between the Town of Los Gatos and
Santa Barbara Transportation Corporation, doing business as Student Transportation of
America, a California Corporation