Appendix A
Technical Input to
Business Plan
Town of Los Gatos
March 2019
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 2
Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Program Structures ............................................................................................................................. 4
Tasks of a Transportation Program ................................................................................................ 4
Service Quality ............................................................................................................................... 4
Town Management ......................................................................................................................... 5
Outsourced Program Management................................................................................................. 5
Joint Powers Authority .................................................................................................................... 6
Staffing Needs .................................................................................................................................... 8
Peer Examples ............................................................................................................................. 10
Service Procurement Plan ................................................................................................................ 12
Funding Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 13
Market Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 15
Metrics for Success ........................................................................................................................... 17
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 3
Introduction
This Technical Input to the Business Plan will focus on the future of the Town of Los Gatos’s traffic
mitigation school bus program over a general time span of the next five years starting with the kick-off
of the pilot program in January 2019. In this document, School Bus Consultants provides
recommendations pertaining to the funding, structural, and operational options available to the
program as it becomes further established in the community and grows as a service over a time
frame of the next five years.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 4
Program Structures
This section will first provide an overview of the general tasks required to execute a successful
student transportation program. The next section will discuss three viable structures for the Town to
operate and manage this transportation program. The advantages and disadvantages of each will be
discussed at a high level based on industry experience including knowledge of the operating
structures of similar programs in the Bay Area including the Lamorinda School Bus Program and the
TRAFFIX program in San Ramon and Danville. Subsequent sections will provide further context on
staffing needs, service procurement, and funding as they relate to the three structures.
Tasks of a Transportation Program
In order to provide a traffic-mitigation school bus program to the community, the Town must engage
in a high level of program management. The tasks related to a successful and effectively managed
program can be summarized into the following categories:
1. Operations: This includes the contracting of a school bus operator that will provide the Town with
buses, drivers, bus operations management, and maintenance functions. The Town must oversee
the work of this contractor on both a daily operational basis as well as a long-term contractual
level.
2. Planning: This includes the development and adjustment of routes. Work related to planning is
highest when new routes are designed, or yearly adjustments are made before the start of a
school year or semester. Adjustments to routes may need to be made at an interim basis during a
school year due to traffic issues and the requests of new or alternative bus stops.
3. Communications and Customer Care: The Town will need to engage with the schools and
districts representing the stakeholders to which it will provide services. This again requires a daily
operating function to handle escalated service issues or student behavior problems. Many daily
service-related inquires and issues should be handled by the school bus operator yet is likely that
key decisions will need to be made and communicated to stakeholders by the Town. Furthermore,
long-term service planning tasks related to adjusting bus arrival times and new routes will need to
be communicated to the various stakeholders.
4. Administrative: The Town must plan for the administrative management of the program,
engaging with the Town Council and community regarding the program’s status, recruiting
ridership, and processing sign-ups and payments.
Service Quality
The proper execution of the previously described phases of program management are critical to a
high level of service. Service quality is important to any school bus or transit operation, but is of even
greater importance to a premium, parent-paid service. High service levels in which routes are
deployed in a safe, dependable and timely manner will help the program retain current riders and
bring in prospective riders. Inversely, poor performance over time may damage the reputation and
longevity of the program. It should be stated that issues will arise on a periodic basis such as a late
bus due to traffic or an occasional missed stop and the program should not be expected to be perfect.
However, persistent issues that are not addressed through operational and planning adjustments in
any given management structure will jeopardize the program as a paid service. Thus, the success of
this program will depend greatly on proper management.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 5
Town Management
The Town has several options for how to structure the program and oversee the operational,
planning, communication, and administrative responsibilities inherent in a school bus program. The
option to utilize and increase Town staff resources to oversee the program duties will be the initial
framework for the pilot program. SBC considers utilizing current staff and/or the hiring of additional
staff, contracted workers or interns to perform these duties as part of a Town-managed structure.
Among all options, the contracted school bus operator will oversee many duties such as driver
dispatching, fielding bus location inquiries, maintaining buses, and staffing drivers. In this structure,
Town staff will be engaged with all administrative, communication and contractor oversight duties.
Oversight of the operational duties is typically a daily task that at times (and especially during the start
of the school year or when routes are changed) will become substantially time consuming. Issues that
will likely become Town responsibilities include but are not limited to: persistently late buses, student
behavioral issues, bus accidents, and escalated complaints.
Advantages:
• Utilizing current salaried employees to perform planning and administrative tasks can reduce
program costs allowing current Town employees to use their various skills to support the school
bus program.
• Can utilize contracted, part-time or full-time employees to oversee operational and communication
functions with lower overall program costs. As skills, needs, and time allows, contracted
employees may also assist with tasks for other Town projects. This has been observed in similar
program models.
• Keeping the program under the Town allows for more direct control of goals and service levels.
Disadvantages:
• As the program grows Town staff may be over-burdened with school bus related work and not
able to perform other Town tasks, or inadequate oversight of the program could result in lower
service levels.
• Town staff may not have a full range of experience with school bus transportation to adequately
manage a program and ensure high service levels during the pilot period and beyond.
• Part time contract employees may be less likely to remain in their position as they seek full time
work and benefits. This can result in position turnover that can affect program management.
• Program costs are managed and shouldered by the Town only.
Outsourced Program Management
The option exists for the Town to contract with an entity to manage all administrative, communication
and oversight responsibilities for the school bus service. Town staff would still be engaged at the
highest level of oversight, with responsibility for ensuring the management service provider is
performing satisfactorily as well as acting as the high-level decision maker under the direction of the
Town and its Council. There would also be some level of contract and performance management
responsibilities in this scenario, focused on the management vendor and how well it was fulfilling its
responsibilities. All responsibilities would be minimal compared to the Town-managed model. While
most liability could be effectively distributed down to the management company and school bus
contractor, the Town would still bear some responsibility and potential liability for the service.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 6
Advantages:
• School bus industry and technical experience is gained through a service management entity.
• Outside resources and experience are available to the local staff under the service management
entity.
• The direction and final decision making will remain with the Town at a high level, while daily
functions are delegated.
Disadvantages:
• The Town has less direct supervision on service levels and quality at a day to day level.
• Program cost control could be limited due to less oversight of route planning.
• A separate service management contract may result in comparable program costs to a Town-
managed program. Costs of an outside service provider would need to be analyzed on a case by
case basis to establish any relative cost increase or decrease and the associated value of utilizing
each service provider.
• It may be challenging for the Town to identify qualified program management service providers
who have the range of expertise necessary to perform all required duties.
Joint Powers Authority
As the program grows, another option that exists is to transfer the authority and management of the
program to a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) organization in which the Town would be one of several
participating members. This structure would result from engaging partner counties, school districts,
schools, municipalities and/or other partner agencies who are current or future stakeholders of the
program. Under a JPA, the program management would fall under the supervision of a member
board that would hire staff to perform all administrative, communication, and operational duties. It is
possible that an outsourced management system could be contracted by the JPA as well. Under a
JPA structure, Town staff would likely only be involved as a member of the JPA board.
Advantages:
• Additional monetary resources are available to help the program grow and relieve the Town of full
financial responsibility.
• Program oversight at a high level is shared among multiple agencies via a board.
• Program management will be given to employees of a service management agency under the
authority of the board.
Disadvantages:
• The Town loses direct oversight of the program and its service levels.
• The Town must share decision making with other entities with potentially different goals than the
Town.
• Each member agency may want to shift resources and program focus to receive a larger portion
of the program’s services.
• The overall decision-making process has been observed to take longer due to the logistics of
convening members from multiple agencies for board subcommittee meetings. This may lengthen
planning efforts and require more administrative time for staff.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 7
It is feasible that the Town may evolve the program over the duration of the next five years through
some form(s) of all three structural options. The above options seek to illustrate the various structural
avenues available and the considerations that should be made towards them. These options each
affect staffing and funding needs, and to a lesser degree the service procurement plan for the
program.
As a progression, the Town may evolve from a Town-managed approach to a third-party managed
approach, which may then eventually evolve to a JPA-managed approach. It is also feasible that the
Town could transition directly from a self-managed approach to a JPA-managed approach. There is
no right or wrong progression, but rather the transition should be thoughtfully approached and
executed as deemed most beneficial to the program. Additionally, there is no “right time” to initiate
and/or evolve the transition other than those needs and motivations that spur the Town to do so.
Town staff has indicated to SBC that it is willing and able to initiate and manage the program through
the pilot phase and potentially beyond but would like to transition the management of the program to
a third-party or JPA-managed structure as soon as possible and no later than five years into the
program. This time frame is both feasible and prudent, and the Town should proceed at its desired
pace to accomplish this transition.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 8
Staffing Needs
The Town’s current plan is to initiate the pilot service with a Town-managed structure. The Town
intends to hire a contracted half-time employee to manage the operational, administrative and
communication duties of the program. This contracted employee is slated to be assisted by a Town
staff member as well as a Town intern. For the initial two-route pilot program, SBC believes this level
of staffing is feasible with the Town’s understanding that the standing-up of the program will require a
higher level of effort than ongoing operations once the program is established and executing. On the
weekly average though, SBC believes this can be done through a total of 40 applied hours a week.
SBC advises that under this structure the contracted employee perform the tasks of program
management, including managing the service operator, daily communication with schools, program
enrollment, and invoicing and payment processing. Town staff can be involved with council and
district level communications, program planning, and contract management. These assignments
allow the contracted employee to perform more daily operational management duties, while staff
perform long term planning and program management level duties. Should these tasks require more
time by the contracted employee or the Town staff member, SBC recommends that the Town be
ready to increase the hours of the contracted employee as needed and feasible given budget
limitations or be prepared to utilize Town staff to a greater degree.
An increase in staffing resources will be needed should the number of program routes increase.
While an increased number of routes will not directly increase work for all program management
functions, such as route planning duties and high-level communication duties, the functions of
invoicing, payment processing, and school-level communication will all grow substantially based upon
the number of routes, students and schools added to the program. It should be noted that theoretical
increase of three routes added to an existing school served by the program would not materially
increase the communications with school staff, but it would materially increase the invoicing and
payment processing needs for the program.
It should be noted that resource needs associated with student sign-ups, invoicing and payment
processing may vary based upon the technology used for these functions. Strategically employing
applicable software may allow these tasks to be performed more autonomously through an online
portal which would reduce the need for Town staff to process enrollment. Conversely, the number of
employee hours increases given the program’s rules regarding sign-up and payments. More work will
be involved if enrollment occurs year-round and/or if families can cancel membership mid semester.
This variability to the enrollment structure benefits the program by attracting parents and riders who
desire more flexibility in order to use the bus services. The Town will need to balance the provision of
program enrollment structures that attract more customers, and the increased costs in administrative
time to run a flexible system.
To summarize the preceding discussion on staffing needs, the following Table 1 is given as a general
scale in the number of working hours needed to manage the program based on the number of routes.
Initial demand on staff is likely to be higher. Table 1 represents the staff resources needed for an
established program. These estimates are based on SBC’s understanding of the management
practices of similar programs in the Bay Area such as Lamorinda, and TRAFFIX.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 9
Table 1: Staffing Needs per Program Route
Routes Recommended Weekly
Staffing Resources Potential Staffing Composition
1 - 4 40 hours 20-30hr part time contacted employee +
10-20hr Town staff
5 - 8 40 - 60 hours
40hr contacted employee, + possible
20hr Town staff OR 20hr part time
contracted employee
9 - 12 60 - 80 hours 40hr contacted employee, + 20-40hr
contracted employee
13 - 24 80 hours Two 40hr contacted employees
Provided below in Table 2 is a breakdown of time dedicated to different tasks over a school year.
This understanding is based on industry experience and the structures off both Lamorinda and
TRAFFIX. The underlying trend is that the focus on operations is greatest at the start of a school year
with less focus on planning except to adjust routes with issues. Planning time increases at the end of
the school year to make changes to the next year’s routes. Communications is an important task at
the start of the school year to support daily operations and continues to be an important task as
planning becomes a focus and higher-level changes need to be arranged with school and district
stakeholders. Administrative duties exist throughout a school year yet are often minimized during start
up periods.
Table 2: Percentage of Staff Time on Tasks during a School Year
Tasks Fall Winter Spring Summer
Operations 60 percent 50 percent 30 percent 10 percent
Planning 5 percent 15 percent 25 percent 40 percent
Communications 30 percent 20 percent 20 percent 25 percent
Administrative 5 percent 15 percent 25 percent 25 percent
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
As previously noted in the Program Structures section of this document, it may be challenging for the
Town to obtain staff that can adequately fulfill the range of skills noted in Table 2 and that are
necessary to run a growing school bus operation. Seasoned workers in the school bus industry will be
able to execute the tasks of operations supervision, communication and some planning duties, but
may be limited in marketing the program (an important aspect of communications during the pilot
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 10
program) and performing board related and financial administrative duties. It has been observed that
other programs have focused on staff that have stronger marketing and communication skills
necessary to promote and expand a program but may not possess industry operational knowledge.
The part time staff focused on operational tasks will therefore likely need to be supported by Town
staff (see Table 1) to perform the needed administrative tasks during the pilot program period. As the
program grows and an additional full-time or part-time dedicated staff is added to the program, the
Town should ensure that a complementary mix of administrative, communication, planning and
operations skills are provided for on the team.
If the Town was to decide that it no longer wanted to manage the program itself and moved to
contract out those responsibilities to a management company, then the management service provider
should analyze its own staffing needs to fulfill the assignment as part of its contract bid. The above
table could then be used by the Town to determine the validity of proposed staffing resources as
specified by the management service provider. Additionally, high-level administrative duties and
decision making would still need to be performed by Town staff and should be accounted for within
the Town’s budget and staffing estimates. Furthermore, should the Town enter a JPA, then the JPA
would likely need to staff the program at a similar or higher level to account for the increased board-
level administrative needs and duties.
Regarding staffing costs, SBC understands the costs savings in utilizing staff resources that are
already engaged in other Town duties as well as utilizing part time contracted employees. Both
options minimize the overhead costs to the program. As the program grows, however, it will
eventually necessitate full-time staffing resources which will likely incur benefits and/or wages to
cover contracted employee benefits. These increased program costs will likely benefit the program in
attracting and retaining qualified staff. Since the demand of a school bus program fluctuates
throughout the school year, it may benefit the Town to strategically assign program staff to other
Town duties in order to balance out the costs to the school bus program and other Town functions.
Under a JPA structure, the capacity to leverage the program staff to work on other functions would be
limited. Furthermore, JPA staff would likely not be allowed to utilize existing Town benefits structures.
A JPA structure, therefore, may result in higher staffing costs.
Peer Examples
As previously discussed Lamorinda and TRAFFIX provide potential examples and lessons learned on
how to staff and structure a traffic mitigation school bus program. Though each program is similar in
size and under the authority of a JPA, the nature of their operational oversite is different. Lamorinda
has a 22 bus, 1500 student operation and is managed by one full-time program manager and a full-
time administrative assistant. Both employees spend a portion of their yearly time on another program
for the city of Lafayette, a member of the Lamorinda JPA. SBC estimates that both employees spend
70 to 80 percent of their time performing work for the Lamorinda bus program; equating to an
estimate 1.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to oversee the program.
TRAFFIX has a 23 bus, 1700 student program and has historically employed 1 contracted full-time
manager to fulfil the oversite duties of their program. This is supplemented by staff members of the
various agencies in the TRAFFIX JPA who assist the contracted employee with administrative and
planning duties. Thus, the TRAFFIX program is being overseen by an estimated 1.25 to 1.5 FTE’s
with an assumed cumulative contribution of 0.25 to 0.5 FTE’s from the staff members of the JPA
agencies. Table 3 summarizes these staffing arrangements of both Lamorinda and TRAFFIX.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 11
Table 3: Staffing Arrangements of Peer Programs
Program Current Riders /
Routes / Schools Weekly Staffing Resources Current Staffing Composition
Lamorinda 1,500 riders / 22
routes / 12 schools
65 to 80 hours depending on
time of year
Two 40hr contacted employees
(spend a small portion of time on
another city program)
TRAFFIX 1,700 riders / 23
routes / 11 schools 40 - 60 hours 40hr contacted employee, + 10-
20hr from staff of JPA agencies
The above description and estimation of FTE’s shows that each similar sized program requires 1.5
FTEs to oversee their program’s work. The major difference is Lamorinda has dedicated staff to
oversee this work while TRAFFIX must rely on additional resources from the JPA member agencies.
Though SBC does not claim to know all the facets of either structure’s successes and drawbacks, it is
SBC’s observation that the Lamorinda management structure has been more successful in employee
retention and program oversite. The TRAFFIX model with only 1 dedicated FTE has resulted in
position turnover and extended reliance on staff of the JPA organizations to oversee the program.
To address historically high turnover and the difficulty of finding an employee with a full range of
necessary skills, TRAFFIX has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the city of San Ramon
(a JPA member) to have the TRAFFIX program be managed by an administrative coordinator under
the direction and employment of the city’s Transportation Division Manager. This move was likely
executed to provide stability, direct oversite, and enhanced benefits to the TRAFFIX coordinator in
the hope of attracting and retaining a highly qualified employee. It further provides increased FTE’s to
supervise the program. SBC presumes that this move will result in a dedicated 1.25 to 1.75 FTE’s to
oversee the program, whereas historically this supplementary assistance was shared by the JPA
agencies on a rotating basis. This underscores SBC’s staffing recommendations in Table 1 which
demonstrate that one FTE is only sustainable for up to 4 to 5 routes.
Within Marin County there are three school bus programs with the focus on traffic reduction that are
managed by Marin Transit. Each has a different oversight structure with Reed Union organized as a
JPA of the Town of Tiburon and City of Belvedere; Mill Valley established by the district, and Ross
Valley established directly by Marin Transit. Each of these constitutes a different oversight structure,
with which SBC is less familiar regarding day to day needs. These programs have therefore not been
included in this peer analysis. SBC would presume, however, that the staffing levels within each
agency are significantly lower than Lamorinda and TRAFFIX as their duties are limited to high level
administrative tasks and since Marin Transit is handling management tasks of communications,
planning, and most substantially, operations.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 12
Service Procurement Plan
The Town of Los Gatos has already executed the process of developing and posting an RFP for the
contracted services of a school bus operator. SBC participated in this process at an advisory level
through the review of the RFP development, solicitation and proposal review processes. As was the
case in the most recent RFP process, the scope of service should always be variable to allow for
growth in the number of routes both during and after the pilot period. The Town’s goal for the program
is that ridership demand and its success at relieving traffic congestion will create an ongoing need for
more routes. An RFP should be structured to accommodate for a substantive increase in the number
of routes, as needed.
Over the program’s contractual periods with school bus operators, it is advised that the Town monitor
and track the service quality of the operator through established contract and performance
management methods. Employing strong contract and performance management practices will
ensure the highest quality of service as well as give the Town an accurate and fair measurement of
the service operator when the next instance of competitive bidding comes around. Contract
performance measurement can include tracking of bus arrival times, compliance monitoring of the
contractor's driver records, and ensuring proper communication between the contractor and the
Town.
Either during the pilot or during the early years of the established program, there will come a decision
point to renew with the current school bus service provider or go out to bid. SBC recommends making
these decisions with the use of the aforementioned contract and performance management practices.
If services have not been historically satisfactory with the current vendor, then it will likely be best to
once again bid out the work. If historical services have been to the Town’s satisfaction, however, then
a negotiated renewal approach may be more beneficial to all parties, especially if the number of
routes remains below 10. Should the program begin to grow larger than 10 routes, then regardless of
past contractor performance it may be beneficial to once again engage in a competitive bidding
process. If/as the program grows in size and scope, it may very well attract more service providers in
future competitive bidding efforts. This reality could result in more completive contractor pricing as
well as enhanced competition that leads to superior service levels. However, this does not guarantee
costs will not go up overall as the costs of school bus services have seen a dramatic increase to
larger-scale (i.e. Lamorinda and TRAFFIX) programs in the region by as much as 20 percent.
Finally, should the program evolve into a JPA, it is likely that a new contract would be needed
between a school bus contractor and the JPA. This ensures that the full responsibility and authority
resides with the JPA rather than the Town.
A final element to be aware of regarding service procurement is the availability of school bus
operators. Operating a school bus company involves a large amount of capital; a large inherent
liability in providing services; and the challenging task of maintaining an adequate number of certified
drivers in a competitive market. Together these factors have historically reduced the number of
operators in any given region or city within the U.S. This reduction in the number of qualified
operators can make it difficult for public entities to procure services and at competitive rates.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 13
Funding Strategy
The Town is currently using its own General Fund to resource the pilot program along with parent
contributions. Based on feedback from surveys, it was determined that the community would be most
interested in participating in the program at the lower end cost of $350 per academic year. A higher
share of program funding will therefore need to be shouldered by the Town. During the feasibility
study, county measure dollars and grants have been pursued but have yet to result in concrete
additional funding sources. These funding sources should absolutely be pursued throughout the pilot
and beyond for the program’s duration, but not relied upon as stable sources of additional funding.
In the case of similar programs, TRAFFIX and Lamorinda each rely on a specific Contra Costa
County measures to fund a predominant portion of their programs’ operating expenses. The rest of
the program’s funding comes from per student parent contributions. Marin County programs are each
funded via a combination of County funds (supported via Marin County Measure A), local city funds,
and parent contributions. Though these programs have been successful models for several years,
multiple factors can place their programs in difficult financial situations:
• Variable County measure funding: Both the TRAFFIX and Lamorinda programs rely on Contra
Costa County Measure J funding. Funding for Measure J is based on a half cent local sales tax
that is distributed to many programs including the two school bus programs previously mentioned.
The County measure provides an estimated $90.9 million to be provided to “Safe Transportation
for Children” over 25 years resulting in an estimated $1.06 million per year for Lamorinda and
$1.6 million per year for TRAFFIX. However, tax revenues can fluctuate over the 25-year time
span of the measure. Furthermore, the measure could end in 2034 without a replacement
measure or new funding source. Measure J requires that programs establish a 3 percent reserve
annually to cover potential dips in sales tax revenue. Marin County programs have been in
existence for a shorter period time. Measure A funding that support these programs is subject to
renewal as was the case in 2018.
• Increase in program operating costs: It is common practice for school bus transportation
service vendors to build in yearly inflation cost increases as part of their service contract. In the
case of the current contact the Town will see a 3 percent (and in the last year 4 percent) yearly
increase of the contract cost. Beyond this inflation-based increase, costs for school bus services
may rise between contract periods. This can occur even when new RFP’s are created to seek
competitive bids from service providers. Though in no way the only factor, recent service costs
have likely increased for most vendors due to the need to pay drivers higher wages and benefits
to compensate for cost of living increases and in order to retain and recruit drivers during a strong
economy. This effect is even more pronounced in major US cities.
• Potential limitations in increasing parent contributions: Increasing parent contribution per
rider can offset increased program costs yet is subject to a loss in overall ridership should the per
rider price become higher than the community’s tolerance. Though small increases to ridership
fares is both likely and necessary over time, major price increases are typically met with
community push back and frustration. For example, to avoid increasing parent contribution to all
riders, Lamorinda has approached route consolidation in order to mitigate increased operator
costs. This tactic is more achievable in a larger operation that services multiple schools and grade
levels. Thus, it may be a solution in the future if the Town is operating numerous routes and must
find a way of reducing costs without drastically increasing ridership fares or eliminating service
completely.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 14
The variability and current lack of grant measure funding may put the Town in the position of needing
to dedicate resources to not only a pilot, but the established program itself. As seen in the Marin
County programs, local contribution can be part of the base funding structure. SBC recommends that
this potential liability be clearly understood and accepted by the Town and its Council as it moves
forward and evaluates the success of the program. Should the Town continue services past the pilot
period, a consistent and reliable funding source that can increase with likely service cost increases
will be critical to the program’s longevity.
To secure further funding for the program’s growth, it may be advantageous to the Town and other
public entities to join together as partners in the school bus program. Potential partners include
municipalities whose residents will benefit from utilization of the school bus services, as well as
counties, school districts, schools, municipalities and/or other partner agencies that benefit from the
regional traffic reduction. As the program grows, the number of routes could be increased to service
more than just schools located in the Town of Los Gatos: thus, reducing regional traffic in neighboring
municipalities. School districts themselves could become viable partners given the success of the
program as well as existing school busing programs in the region. This partnership in the form of a
JPA can allow the costs to be shared amongst all stakeholders who benefit from the services. This
partnership could stabilize the funding sources of the program as well as give the stakeholders more
say in the direction of the program and how funding is divided. If measure and grant funding are
acquired, then the cost to each member could be reduced. A larger JPA program may also be able to
attract more measure and grant funding as an established and growing entity in the region.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 15
Market Analysis
A school bus program focused on traffic mitigation has a unique business focus and therefore a
distinctive market. Where normal school bus programs seek to provide transportation to all interested
student riders residing at a given distance from the school, a traffic focused program must add in the
focus of targeting theses services to those areas where traffic congestion may be reduced the most.
An additional layer of complexity is added via a paid program where providing an attractive and
beneficial service is also a necessary parameter. The feasibility study undertaken by the Town and
SBC during the Spring/Summer of 2018 shows that with all these parameters the initial interests in
the community for the program was 335 student riders. As of the beginning of the pilot program in
January 2019, the paid enrollment was 102 riders. Not all 335 were provided a viable transportation
option at this time given that only 2 routes were offered during the pilot program.
SBC believes that these 2 routes servicing 4 schools is an adequate starting point for the program to
grow. This averages to 51 riders per bus, a strong starting point considering the average maximum
bus capacity for a secondary school is 48 students, and the average maximum capacity for an
elementary school is 72 students.
The below Table 4 is a comparison of peer programs in the Bay Area with an assessment of the
current program size in relation to the student enrollment sizes. From this assessment the Town can
begin to understand the potential growth and market potential for their similar traffic program. The
percentage of riders per enrollment averages to 10 percent if the outlier of Reed Union is removed
(Reed Union considered an outlier as there was limited data on the ridership figures of the district).
Various elements factor in to this 10 percent average ridership population of the available enrollment.
Limiting factors to ridership include students residing within proximity to school, preference of other
transportation methods, similar mountainous geographies where buses cannot reach all students,
limited service times, and the focus of program routes on areas that benefit traffic congestion relief.
Table 4: Comparison of Peer Program’s Service Levels and Ridership
Program Funding Source Year
Started
Current Riders / Routes /
Schools
2017/18
Enrollment at
Distiricts Served
Ridership as
Percentage of
Enrollment
Lamorinda County Measure J
Ridership Fees 1994 1,500 riders / 22 routes /
12 schools 13,628 11 percent
TRAFFIX County Measure J
Ridership Fees 2009 1,700 riders / 23 routes /
11 schools 32,504 5 percent
Marin County:
Reed Union
County General Fund
Local City
Ridership Fees
2016 635 riders / 12 routes /
4 schools 1,444 44 percent
Marin County:
Ross Valley
County General Fund
Local City
Ridership Fees
2016 401 riders / 10 routes /
3 schools 2,094 19 percent
Marin County:
Mill Valley
County General Fund
Local City
Ridership Fees
2016
Pilot continuing:
140 riders / 3 routes /
3 schools
3,086 5 percent
Town of Los
Gatos
Town Funding
Ridership Fees 2019
Pilot continuing: 104
paid riders as of Jan
2019 / 2 routes /
3 schools
5,263 2 percent
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 16
Last row changed to 113 paid riders/2 routes/4 schools, enrollment 5,155, 2.7 percent
Should this assessed 10 percent ridership average amongst peer programs be applied to the Town of
Los Gatos enrollment population, a potential 526 riders are feasible. The Town hopes to reach five to
six routes at the fifth year of the program. At an average of 60 riders per route, a five to six route
program could service 300 to 360 students. This would constitute 5 percent to 6.5 percent of the
enrollment population. This may likely be the limit of the Town considering the proximity of many
families to their respective schools. Should the Town seek to reach the theoretical 10 percent
ridership mark with five or six routes, an effective strategy would be to reuse buses amongst two tiers
of service in both the morning and afternoon. Reusing a bus twice in a service period would double
the potential capacity and therefore funding. Effective bell tiering allows for this reuse of buses and
has been employed in Lamorinda and TRAFFIX. Therefore, in order to best achieve a greater portion
of the market with a limited number of resources, bell time coordination in the community will be
necessary. This may be an endeavor to discuss with the Town’s partner districts at the pilot stage as
interest in the programs grows.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 17
Metrics for Success
During the pilot and following its establishment as an established service to the community, the
strength and merit of the program should be evaluated on several levels. The tracking of the program
on these levels will prove to current and future stakeholders the value of the service to the community
and its main goal of traffic reduction. Categories to evaluate and track include but are not limited to:
1. Program Enrollment and Ridership: Tracking the number of students/households that enroll in
the program as well as daily, weekly or monthly ridership figures (variable based on operational
capacity to track these figures). While enrollment numbers carry higher value in terms of funding,
ridership statistics will allow the Town to better understand the use and value of the program as a
traffic reduction program and public service to the community.
2. Transportation Benefits – Congestion Relief and Automobile Trips Reduction: Tracking the
reduction of traffic congestion at the most impacted locations around school campuses during
peak commute times will establish the program’s value towards the goal of congestion relief.
Tracking the school-related automobile trip reduction will measure the local and regional
transportation impacts and regional air quality benefits.
3. Financial Sustainability: Utilizing the pilot to understand the true operating and administrative
costs will assist in projecting future costs should the program continue and expand
4. Safety: Tracking safety is a best practice of any school bus operation, and such measurements
will help engender the service as a strong alternative to personal vehicle transportation.
5. Service Quality: As mentioned previously, measuring quality of the service will ensure that the
service provider is performing to both Town and community expectations.
6. Staffing and Responsibilities: The number of hours and the effectiveness of the time spent
managing the program by Town staff and contracted employees should better inform future
staffing needs should the program continue and expand.
7. Bell Schedules: It is highly recommended that as the program continues to grow, bell schedules
of the program associated schools be evaluated for adjustments as to better accommodate school
bus transportation. Schools may be able to share transportation services should their bell times
be ideally offset and aligned for early releases and/or late start days. Additionally, bell schedules
can be adjusted so that one bus can perform two to three tiers of service to multiple schools
during both morning and afternoon service periods. Bell schedule driven adjustments would also
allow the program to increase ridership and therefore funding for the program.
Town of Los Gatos – Technical Input to Business Plan 18
Conclusion
School Bus Consultants believes that the current enthusiasm for the traffic mitigation school bus
program will continue to grow with the start of the pilot in January 2019. This initial period will provide
the Town with crucial understanding of staffing needs, program demand through waitlist and
ridership, and service quality. SBC believes the current staffing plan of one contracted employee
assisted by Town staff will suffice for the initial pilot period. However, SBC advises the Town to be
flexible with early start-up demands and the potential to increase the contracted worker to 30 hours or
beyond if needed.
As the program becomes more established and grows in the number of routes servicing the Town,
SBC sees strong potential for a JPA to be formed with regional stakeholders. A critical reason for this
is the security in funding from a network of partners. This partnership may further benefit the Town in
relinquishing itself from management duties, yet this change does come with a loss of direct control
over the program’s future. Further caveats to a JPA structure are the increased levels of board
oversite on all decisions and the potential for lingering liability as a JPA member. These caveats
being stated, SBC believes that the Town should work towards a successful program that can be
promoted though the tracking of its traffic mitigation and value-add to the community. This value will
create community buy-in and potential partnerships from which a JPA can be created and a growing
program can be sustained.
For Questions or Comments:
Patrick D. Kneib
p: (843) 410-6743
e: pkneib@schoolbusconsultants.com
Ian M. Jones
p: (818) 617-9703
e: ijones@schoolbusconsultants.com
www.TransParGroup.com