Santa Rosa City Council
January 25, 2022

CityBus Temporary Transit Service
Modification To Address Staffing
Shortage
Santa Rosa City Council
January 25, 2022
Background
• In August 2021 CityBus service increased to 85% of pre-pandemic level
• Subsequently Bus Operator recruitment has not kept pace with attrition, resulting in net reduction in available drivers • Carrying 15 vacancies; currently have just 74% of budgeted positions filled
• Maintaining service with unsustainable level of overtime • Highly precarious situation in light of ongoing pandemic impacts • One-day reductions during late December and early January • Service reliability fundamental to rider experience
• Recommending modest temporary service reduction to maintain system reliability until staffing increases and stabilizes 2 Relationship of Proposal to Current Status
• Emergency reduction to Saturday-level service on weekdays on January 14 due to high number of staff quarantined in current surge • Operating weekday routing on Route 10 and weekday span on Route 15, as well as supplemental service on Route 6 for large school demand • Staffing levels expected to recover over next few weeks as staff exit quarantine
• Anticipate stepping up service levels accordingly (i.e., additional “Saturday Plus” service adding frequency on main routes)
• Staff proposal would restore weekday service at a more sustainable level until additional Bus Operators can be hired and trained 3 Staff Evaluation of Needs and Options
• Goals:
1) Reduce scheduled service by 2 weekly driver rosters to ensure all scheduled service can be covered
2) Minimize impacts on riders by preserving span of service and avoiding reductions on routes that are already operating at lower service levels
• Multiple scheduling options evaluated, with modest reduction of Route 1 (Mendocino Avenue) weekday frequency identified as least detrimental to transit access
• Weekday frequency would be reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes
• However, frequency would increase on Route 1 on Sundays 4 Route 1—Mendocino Avenue
• Travels between Transit Mall and
Coddingtown Transit Hub via Mendocino
Avenue, Bicentennial Way, and Range
Avenue
• Serves Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa
High School, County Center, and Kaiser
Medical Center
• Highest frequency in CityBus system, along
with Route 2/2B (Sebastopol Road)
• Defined as one of Santa Rosa’s “high
frequency transit corridors”
5 Proposed Temporary Service Reduction
6 Route Weekday Saturday Sunday Route Weekday Saturday Sunday Route 1 57 30 11 Route 1 41 29 20
Route 2 29 ~ ~ Route 2 29 ~ ~
Route 2B 28 27 10 Route 2B 28 27 10
Route 3 14 14 7 Route 3 14 14 7
Route 4 14 14 7 Route 4 14 14 7
Route 4B 14 ~ ~ Route 4B 14 ~ ~
Route 5 14 14 7 Route 5 15 14 7
Route 6 28 11 7 Route 6 29 11 7
Route 8 27 14 7 Route 8 27 14 7
Route 9 15 14 7 Route 9 15 14 7
Route 10 14 10 7 Route 10 14 10 7
Route 12 26 14 7 Route 12 28 14 7
Route 15 14 8 7 Route 15 14 8 7
Route 18 7 7 7 Route 18 7 7 7
Total 301 177 91 Total 289 176 100
Current Service Proposed Service
Comparison of
Number of
Trips/Day—
Current and
Proposed Service
Public and stakeholder outreach conducted
• Rider survey—online and in person at transit facilities • Social media
• Notices with information on how to comment
• Outreach to stakeholders including SRJC and SRCS
• Internal outreach to City colleagues
• Discussion and coordination with SEIU leadership
7 Note: All public outreach activities conducted in English and Spanish Rider Survey: Preference for Approach to
Service Reduction
Approach to Reduction Overall Rider Preference
Temporary frequency reduction on Route 1 82%
Cut runs on day-to-day basis as needed 18%
8 • The majority of respondents prefer the Route 1 frequency reduction to the uncertainty of day-by-day reductions
• Slightly lower percentage of Spanish-speakers prefer reduction on Route 1 to day-to-day cuts (74% vs. 82% for English-speakers) • This is consistent with comments received from riders Rider Survey: Impact of Route 1 Change
9 Impact of Route 1 Reduction Overall
No impact 36%
Somewhat impacted 50%
Impacted 5%
Highly impacted 5%
Other 4%
• 86% of riders indicated that they would either experience no impact or be “somewhat impacted”
• Rider comments focused on maintaining service in other part of the system (e.g., Roseland, Piner High School)
• Responses from Spanish speakers in alignment with overall results • 10% of riders said they would be “impacted” or “highly impacted” Staff Proposal
• Based on rider feedback staff recommends proceeding with temporary reduction to Route 1 frequency
• Recommend implementation of service change as soon as possible, likely in March 2022
• Outreach to riders will occur in advance of the change to minimize disruptions to travel
• 15-minute service will be restored to Route 1 as soon as staffing levels increase and stabilize (Target: Summer 2022)
• Transit Division working with Human Resources to expand and diversify marketing/outreach efforts related to Bus Operator recruitment
10 Recommendation
• It is recommended by the Transportation and Public Works Department that the Council, by resolution, 1) approves a temporary minor reduction of weekday frequency on Santa Rosa CityBus Route 1 to ensure service reliability during the current staffing shortage, and 2) approves restoration of weekday frequency on Route 1 as soon as possible after
staffing levels and increased and stabilized.
• Questions?
11