NEW BUSINESS  18.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

KEY INTENDED OUTCOME:
Ensure Comprehensive Mobility Addressing All Modes Throughout The City

HISTORY:

The South Beach Loop trolley service was soft-launched on November 1, 2017 with a limited number of six (6) low-floor vehicles in service out of a full fleet of 10. Full service implementation commenced on November 20, 2017, with all 10 low-floor vehicles in service. During the soft-launch period, staff conducted observations and received feedback from passengers and the South Beach community. As a result of community feedback, staff determined that changes to the South Beach trolley service plan were warranted. The proposed changes were discussed with the South of Fifth Neighborhood Association (SOFNA) at its meeting on November 15, 2017 and with Rebecca Towers residents on November 17, 2017. Both groups responded favorably to the proposed changes.

On Monday, November 20, 2017, the South Beach Trolley was modified to consist of (3) distinct loops: 1) “Loop A” operating in a clockwise direction; 2) “Loop B” operating in a counter-clockwise direction; and 3) “Via 10 Street Loop” operating in a “figure 8” configuration to serve the Flamingo Park neighborhood and provide a direct east-west connection between Alton Road and Washington Avenue - via a temporary detour on 10th Street while 11th Street was in construction. The portions of the South Beach Trolley route serving the Sunset Harbour and Belle Isle neighborhoods remained the same. The frequency of service along the bi-directional loops (Loop A and Loop B) was approximately 15 minutes while the frequency of service along “Via 10 Street Loop” was approximately 40 minutes. This modification was transmitted via LTC No. 557-2017.

At the December 13, 2017 City Commission meeting, the City Commission referred an item entitled “Discussion of the current routes and conditions of the Miami Beach Trolley, as well as accessibility for seniors and handicapped persons” to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC).

At the December 20, 2017 NCAC meeting, the NCAC discussed the item and recommended extending the South Beach Trolley route to serve the Collins Park neighborhood. While no motion was made, the NCAC supported the extension of the South Beach Trolley to Collins Park by acclamation.

On January 17, 2018, the City Commission discussed the NCAC recommendation and directed the Administration to extend the South Beach Loops A and B to the Collins Park neighborhood, while keeping the “Via 10 Street Loop” as-is. As a result of this route extension, the average service frequency of Loops A and B has increased to 20 minutes as compared to 15 minutes prior to the Collins Park extension, while average service frequency of “Via 10 Street Loop” remained the same at approximately 40 minutes. This route modification and revised frequency of service was transmitted via LTC No. 030-2018.

At its January 24, 2018 meeting, the NCAC discussed the routes and conditions of the Miami Beach trolleys, as well as accessibility for seniors and handicapped persons. At that time, the NCAC referred to the Transportation, Parking and Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities Committee (TPBPFC) a discussion on the current trolley routes, with specific emphasis on whether the Belle Isle extension should be continued. The NCAC also requested that the Belle Isle Neighborhood Association is provided advanced notice for the TPBPFC meeting. Additionally, the Committee discussed “Via 10 Street Loop” and requested a ridership breakdown of all three (3) trolley loops operating in South Beach.

On March 7, 2018, the City Commission adopted Resolution #2018-30218 accepting the recommendations from January 24, 2018 NCAC meeting regarding the South Beach Trolley route, vehicle comfort and accessibility.

Pursuant to January 24, 2018 NCAC direction, the Belle Isle Neighborhood Association was provided advanced notification for the March 12, 2018 TPBPFC meeting. At the meeting, and in the presence of multiple residents from Belle Isle, the TPBPFC discussed the current trolley routes, with specific emphasis on whether the Belle Isle extension should be continued. After discussion, TPBPFC made the following motion: “The TPBPFC asks that the Belle Isle Route be kept and work on a route that works best with emphasis on quality of service and keeping headways down.”

The Belle Isle extension was also discussed during the TPBPFC meeting on June 11, 2018. At the meeting, the TPBPFC made the following motion: “Due to the low ridership to Belle Isle, the TPBPFC asks the City to look into proceeding with eliminating Route A and B, keeping the “Via 10 Street Loop” to Belle Isle.” However, the Belle Isle HOA was not notified in advance of this second discussion at TPBPFC as this subsequent discussion was not included in the agenda or anticipated.

At its October 17, 2018 meeting, the City Commission discussed Belle Isle extension and directed the Administration to maintain service as-is.

On January 30, 2019, at their public meeting, the South of Fifth Neighborhood Association (SOFNA) passed the following resolution: “A resolution asking the City of Miami Beach to make the changes necessary to route design or equipment to provide the same targeted frequency of service to residents South of Fifth as is currently provided in other parts of the City. The membership requested that the city make every effort to reduce the currently designated 20-minute intervals to 15 minutes for our south of Fifth route since the South Beach route is the one most heavily used by residents and visitors. Reducing the intervals would also align our area with the 15-minute intervals designated for other trolley routes in the City. We therefore urge you to explore any and all solutions to reduce the interval time south of Fifth to best serve our residents and visitors.”

On February 11, 2019, TPBPFC discussed South Beach trolley service frequency in the presence of multiple residents from Belle Isle, however, no motion was made.

While the City Commission initially approved a route alignment along 11 Street ("Via 11 Street Loop"), since its commencement in November 2017, the “Via 11 Street Loop” operated as "Via 10 Street Loop" along a temporary detour on 10 Street given that 11 Street was under construction.  As of February 21, 2019, upon completion of the 11 Street Project, the temporary “Via 10 Street Loop” was replaced by the “Via 11 Street Loop” and three (3) new trolley stops were established to serve 11 Street - at Pennsylvania Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, and Lenox Avenue.  

ANALYSIS:

OVERALL SOUTH BEACH TROLLEY ALIGNMENT, SERVICE FREQUENCY, AND RIDERSHIP
The South Beach Trolley service operates three (3) loops: “Loop A” (Clockwise) with four (4) vehicles in operation; “Loop B” (Counter Clockwise) with four (4) vehicles in operation; and “Via 11 Street Loop” with two (2) vehicles in operation (Attachment A depicts a map of the current South Beach Trolley route). 

Based on an evaluation of service frequency (i.e. headways) from April 2018 to February 2019, the average service frequency achieved over this period for each of the loops is as follows: 19.8 minutes for “Loop A”, 20.5 minutes for “Loop B”, and 43.4 minutes for the “Via 11 Street Loop”.  The average service frequency goal is 20 minutes for Loops A and B and 40 minutes for “Via 11 Street Loop”.  Thus, Loops A and B are currently meeting the average service frequency goal of 20 minutes and "Via 11 Street Loop" is only 3 minutes short of its goal. 

On-time performance, defined by contract as being no more than 5 minutes late at a stop, is currently at 83% for Loop A,  and 75% for Loop B. The most recent trolley contract amendment approved by City Commission in January 2019 establishes on-time performance goals of 85% for all trolley loops; thus, this is an area in need of improvement.  Performance penalties are established in the contract for not meeting the minimum on-time performance goals.

      
The average daily ridership of the South Beach Trolley Loops for calendar year 2018 was 4,762 passengers with the following distribution per loop:
• “Loop A”: approximately 2,025 passengers per day
• “Loop B”: approximately 1,975 passengers per day
• “Via 10 Street Loop”: approximately 762 passengers per day

COLLINS PARK EXTENSION
Collins Park neighborhood is currently served by Loops A and B.  The average daily ridership combined for the seven (7) stops along the Collins Park extension for calendar year 2018 was 285 boardings and 280 alightings.

VIA 10 STREET LOOP
For calendar year 2018, the average daily ridership combined for the three (3) stops along 10 Street between Washington Avenue and Alton Road was 56 boardings and 110 alightings.  As mentioned above, this loop was replaced by the "Via 11 Street Loop" with new stops on 11 Street in February 2019.  

BELLE ISLE EXTENSION
Belle Isle is currently served by all three (3) South Beach Trolley loops and one (1) stop.  The total number of times that all 3 trolley loops combined visit the Belle Isle stop is approximately 124 times per day - a much higher frequency of service than any other stop along the South Beach Loops.  From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, the average daily ridership at the Belle Isle stop was only nine (9) boardings and six (6) alightings per day, meaning that for over 90% of all trolley visits to the Belle Isle stop, no passengers were boarding or disembarking.  Staff has observed a recent drop in 2018 ridership in comparison to previous years when the South Beach Local served this stop.  The ridership decrease may be associated in part with a private development construction project taking place on North Island Avenue, however, it is important to note that ridership at the Belle Isle stop has historically been very low since inception of the South Beach Local in 2005 (i.e. fewer than 33 average daily boardings).

OPTIONS TO CONSIDER:

In an effort to reduce the wait times and improve the reliability of the South Beach Trolley service, the Administration has evaluated the following three (3) options for consideration by the City Commission.

Option 1: Eliminate the Belle Isle Extension 

Given the low ridership at the Belle Isle stop, Loops A and B could terminate at the Sunset Harbour Publix (see Attachment B).  This modification would improve headways along Loops A and B from approximately 20 minutes to approximately 17 minute frequency of service.  The “Via 11 Street" Loop would continue serving Belle Isle at approximately 40 minute service frequency.  Given the low ridership at Belle Isle, it is anticipated that the “Via 11 Street Loop” would provide adequate service, with approximately 24 visits per day to the Belle Isle stop.  Belle Isle residents would be able to use the Trolley Tracker Mobile Application to see when the next trolley would be arriving at the Belle Isle stop, in real-time, and plan their trips accordingly.  

Additionally, the Belle Isle residents could potentially be served by a free on-demand transit service that the City is currently pursuing on a pilot basis.  The app-based on-demand service would provide first mile/last mile connectivity to transit stops.

This option would not have any fiscal impact.  

Option 2: Eliminate the "Via 11 Street Loop" and Reassign Trolleys to Loops A and B

If the "Via 11 Street Loop" is eliminated, the two (2) trolley vehicles currently assigned to the route would be reassigned to Loops A and B.  This would result in reduced average headways from 20 minutes to approximately 16 minutes.  Should the City Commission wish to pursue this option, there would be no east-west connection through the Flamingo Park neighborhood and Flamingo Park would not be directly served.  To access the park utilizing Jefferson Avenue/11 Street entrance, passengers would need to walk from the closest trolley stops at Alton Road/11 Street (approximately 1,300 feet) or at Washington Avenue/11 Street (approximately 1,700 feet).  

It is worth noting that since the "Via 10 Street Loop" was replaced by the "Via 11 Street Loop" in February 2019, ridership figures, including boardings or alightings, are not yet available for the new route alignment and stops on 11 Street. 

This option would not have any fiscal impact.

Option 3: Add Trolleys to Reduce Wait Times While Keeping Current Routes As-Is

Should the City Commission wish to reduce headways for Loops A and B, while keeping the "Via 11 Street Loop" and Belle Isle service as-is, two (2) additional trolley vehicles would be required (one for “Loop A” and one for “Loop B”) in order to improve average service headways from 20 minutes to 16 minutes for both loops. 

The fiscal impact associated with this service enhancement is estimated to be approximately $1.1 million annually, assuming used low-floor trolleys are acquired.  Given that less than 3.5 years are remaining on the current trolley contract, there would be insufficient time for the contractor to amortize the cost of acquiring two (2) new low-floor trolley vehicles at the current hourly operating rate in the contract.  Thus, purchasing two (2) new low-floor trolleys would result in a higher hourly operating cost to the City for those vehicles for the duration of the remaining 3.5 year term of the current contract with the trolley operator.

It is important to note that City's trolley service is funded by a combination of People's Transportation Plan (PTP) surtax from the County, Resort Tax Quality of Life - Transportation Funds, and Parking Surplus Revenues.  Currently, the Transportation Department's operating budget is fully utilizing the allocation of PTP and Resort Tax Quality of Life - Transportation Funds.  Further, as parking demand has been declining, so have Parking Surplus Revenues, limiting the availability of these funds for additional allocations.  As such, it is likely that transfers from the General Fund would be required, if available, for any enhancements to the trolley service.

CONCLUSION:

Given the low ridership at the Belle Isle stop, both currently and historically, the Administration recommends eliminating South Beach Loops A and B extension to Belle Isle and serving Belle Isle via the "Via 11 Street Loop" only.  As mentioned above, trolley service to Belle Isle could be supplemented by a free on-demand transit service, once such service is implemented.

The Transportation Department would continue to monitor usage at the Belle Isle stop and provide updates via Letters to Commission as needed.