TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Flex Service
BRIEFING ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving report on current bus routes that might be better suited for Flex service. [Requested by Director Williams 6/27/2018]
Body
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no budgetary or fiscal impact associated with this briefing item.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
In July 2016, the District launched an on-demand transit service called AC Transit Flex, which enables customers to book trips from selected bus stops using: any internet-enabled mobile or desktop device, the District's customer service call center, or in-person at scheduled departure times at the Union City and Castro Valley BART stations. Operated by AC Transit operators on District-owned 14-passenger small transit vehicles, the service aimed to test whether on-demand service could improve service quality at an equal or reduced cost in sufficiently low-density service areas. In March 2018, the Board of Directors voted to continue the service in Castro Valley and Newark beyond the pilot year.
The principles and lessons learned from the Castro Valley and Newark Flex service areas should guide the consideration of expansion into new areas. To date, the service has had mixed-results. During the pilot year, over 700 unique customers tried Flex, completing 23,000 trips and returning 70 percent of the time after taking their first trip. On-time performance improved from 70% to 85%, even though operators drive a different route every hour. Service frequency increased at the schedule point - the BART station - where two-thirds of passenger trips begin or end (thanks to the bus serving only requested trips). Customers like the service: 94 percent of riders surveyed preferred Flex over restoring the discontinued fixed route, and 70 percent said they would take AC Transit more if the service were expanded.
But by other measures, Flex has not performed as well. Ju...
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