TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Clifford G. Finley, Public Works Director
DATE:January 16, 2024
SUBJECT: Agreement with City of Agoura Hills for Dial-a-Ride Services RECOMMENDATION:
1. Terminate Contractor Services Agreement No. 12224-2019 between City of Agoura Hills and City of Thousand Oaks.
2. Approve Agreement and authorize expense for Transit Services with City of Agoura Hills, to provide Senior and Disabled Dial-a-Ride (DAR) services through June 30, 2025, with an agreement not-to-exceed amount of $380,000.
3. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. Minimal staff time to prepare report included in the Adopted FY 2023-24 Transportation Fund Budget. The total cost to operate these Transit services for the City of Agoura Hills is $380,000, with $190,000 included for both FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25. Services performed for other agencies under contract are reimbursed at full-cost recovery, with no City subsidy.
BACKGROUND:
Thousand Oaks Transit (TOT), established in 1981, provides fixed route bus service, Senior DAR, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Paratransit Services to residents of Thousand Oaks. In addition, TOT provides contracted transit services to the Cities of Moorpark, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, County of Ventura (including Oak Park and select unincorporated areas) and the East County Transit Alliance’s (ECTA) InterCity DAR service.
On June 20, 2023, extensions to existing contracts were approved by all agencies including Agoura Hills, through June 30, 2025, to run concurrently with the City’s contract with MV Transportation, Inc. (MV), which was extended on June 6, 2023.
Agreement with City of Agoura Hills for Dial-a-Ride Services January 16, 2024
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7 Previously the City of Agoura Hills required that their vehicles, ridership, and data be operated independently without commingling with any of the other services TOT provides. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 on ridership and changing community needs, the City of Agoura Hills no longer maintains a separate fleet of vehicles or reservation numbers. Instead, they have opted to commingle their services with TOT to increase their productivity and efficiency. This new Agreement formalizes that they are now using the vehicles and reservation numbers for TOT, similar to the other agencies that contract with TOT for DAR services and pay for their share of vehicle utilization and ridership demand.
Recently, the City of Agoura Hills decided to move from General Public DAR Services available to all their residents to Senior and Disabled only service, which more closely aligns with those services operated by other agencies. COVID- related impacts necessitated a change in service and altered the basic nature of the service being provided by the City of Agoura Hills. These changes now require an alternative approach to billing for these services and a new TOT Services Agreement with the City of Agoura Hills. The existing Agreement No. 12224-2019 needs to be terminated and this new Agreement effective January 16, 2024 will replace it.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
The new TOT Services Agreement is consistent with existing DAR Service Agreements that are already in place with the Cities of Moorpark, Westlake Village, and the County of Ventura.
As a result of this new agreement, Agoura Hills’ service will now more closely match the services offered to other agencies including an increase in daily operating hours and seven days a week service.
Another benefit of this new agreement and the sharing of resources is an expansion of the defined “local service area” that will allow any resident in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, and the unincorporated areas of Ventura County serviced by TOT to travel seamlessly between the communities without the need to transfer or pay higher ECTA fares for intercity transportation.
Each agency’s residents will be served more efficiently, at no additional cost to the participating agencies. The proposed agreement will run through June 30, 2025.
Agreement with City of Agoura Hills for Dial-a-Ride Services January 16, 2024
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7 COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goal:
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
PREPARED BY: Grahame Watts, Emergency Program Administrator Attachments:
Attachment #1 – Transit Services Agreement with City of Agoura Hills for DAR Services
DPW 940-25\mh\ev\Council\2024\011624\Agreement with City of Agoura Hills for DAR services.docx