Don't ditch your Dial-a-Ride pick up appointment

The Riverside Transit Agency has been proactive in curbing unnecessary spending for its paratransit service. As reported, RTA's paratransit service accounts for the majority of its operating budget and better policing paratransit bus spending is vital. RTA is exploring a revision of its policies aimed to reduce chronic no-show's for Dial-A-Ride bus appointments. No shows who ditch their ride create an unfair inconvenience for other passengers and waste RTA's operating resources paid for by the taxpayer. RTA must therefore do whatever the agency can do to minimize such government waste.

RTA proposes to measure the systemwide average for no shows and then identify passengers who significantly exceed this average.  Prior to suspending chronic no show passengers, RTA will conduct a detailed review of such riders’ trip history and no show frequency in compliance with FTA guidance.

After the end of each month, RTA will review passenger no show rates and compare the figures against the system-wide average. Passengers found to exceed twice the system-wide rate may be subject to suspension of services.

RTA plans to set up the following process for those who ditch the Dial-a-Ride one too many times:

• Passengers in violation of the policy will receive a warning on the first offense.
• Subsequent non-compliance could result in suspension of services for seven calendar days.
• RTA also proposes to issue 30-day notifications to chronic no shows prior to suspension which would include an appeals process in fairness of the passenger.

Have an opinion or idea to streamline RTA's paratransit services and combat government waste? Stay tuned for a public hearing period.

Are free FasTrak accounts good fiscal policy in LA?

Metro's actions are certainly questionable from both a fiscal and enforcement standpoint.

Now through October 25, 2013, Los Angeles County residents who register for a FasTrak account through LA Metro will have their $3 monthly account maintenance fee waived. Infrequent users of the Metro ExpressLanes which included carpoolers complained of the fee which has been a cause of Metro's decision to cut out the fee for a six month period. Now that infrequent users of the HOT lanes within LA County can benefit with a FasTrak account without the monthly maintenance fee, could we potentially see more carpoolers returning to the high occupancy lanes as Metro intended? We might see an increase, but infrequent carpools still need to fork over at least $40 toward prepaid tolls which may never get spent. Don't forget that to travel for free in the Metro ExpressLanes, HOV's need to have LA Metro's switchable FasTrak; patrons with a standard FasTrak can only use the HOT lanes as a toll-paying traveler.

Metro's actions are certainly questionable from both a fiscal and enforcement standpoint. For many agencies, monthly fees placed on inactive FasTrak accounts generally pay for the maintenance of such accounts which would otherwise get paid for by toll revenue. Prior to the complete waiver of monthly fees for LA County residents, four trips per month in the Metro ExpressLanes would waive such fees. The $3 monthly fee for inactive accounts is therefore a very fair price. County taxpayers should not be on the hook, nor should those who intend on using the ExpressLanes solely for free carpooling.

Suppose Metro did see a rapid increase in the number of FasTrak sign up's because of the fee waiver. As the number of FasTrak transponders increase, so does the complexity of combating carpool cheating. In the Metro ExpressLanes, a motorist's switchable FasTrak declares whether the vehicle is traveling as a free HOV or a toll-paying SOV. A prime reason why Metro mandates transponders for all HOV's is the ability of Metro to have a photo enforcement system, but even with the automated system, carpool enforcement still needs to be done by the CHP under an intelligence-driven model. Because such HOV declarations could easily be done through the absence of a transponder, a potential solution that the Coalition has long advocated is to abolish the FasTrak mandate for carpoolers and increasing the fine for carpool cheating. Several other HOT lane corridors throughout the country utilize this model which has encouraged carpooling and reduced HOV violations. If Metro wants to get more free carpoolers into the Metro ExpressLanes and avert the increased traffic congestion in the general purpose lanes, the agency needs to consider free non-transponder carpooling for their toll lanes.

Friday Tips: Riding Riverside Transit

The Riverside Transit Agency has a three step guide of riding its buses. Before you embark on the bus, follow these steps to make the most of your trip.

First, decide the starting point, where you need to go, and when you need to arrive at your destination. Use the RTA system map to help you determine which set of bus routes would work best. Alternatively, use RTA's Routes by Community to help you determine your bus routes found in the RTA Ride Guide or under the route schedules on RTA's website.

Once you've located your bus routes, follow these three steps to plan out your trip:

1. Using the individual route maps, find the beginning and ending point of your bus trip.

2. Find the time point closest to your beginning and ending bus trip location on the timetable.  Each time point on the route map has a corresponding column on the timetable. Remember that there are numerous bus stops in between each time point.

3. Find the column on the correct timetable that corresponds with your selected time point. Don't forget to double check that you're looking at the correct day of the week and direction of travel. Read down the column below the time point to find the time closest to your desired departure. You can estimate the time for stops between the time points by adding the amount of time it will take the bus to get from the previous time point to your stop.

If you're having trouble planning any public bus trip in Riverside County, be sure to call the RTA Customer Information Center at (951) 565-5002.

Will the Perris Valley Line really cause a threat to a natural ecosystem or not?

The Metrolink Perris Valley Line continues to be stalled and mired in an environmental lawsuit. Ironically, the case has very little to do with long term impacts on the environment and the state can easily address much of the points that RCTC is mandated to correct by changing CEQA law.

Here are the issues that RCTC must address to the court within five days:

A negative impact to a sensitive toad population, the safety of pedestrians using a hiking trail that would cross the tracks, the peace of nearby homes due to wheel noise and the air quality due to the number of truck trips needed to transport soil.

While all of this taxpayer-funded litigation is taking place, the state government needs to continue its debate on amending CEQA law. The legislature could address the rail line's so-called environmental issues by amending the law and making it retroactive. The law needs to hold accountable contracted firms who disrupt the environment during construction, not the taxpaying public. CEQA loopholes need to be closed so that NIMBY groups cannot abuse CEQA law to delay or stop long term environmentally-friendly projects in court simply because they oppose it.

A strong pro-environment CEQA law can address and solve the rail line's issues:
Will a habitat displacement actually cause a threat to the natural ecosystem, or can such populations be safely migrated elsewhere in the wildlife corridor? What does the safety and development of a hiking trail grade crossing have to do with environmental protection? How much total noise in decibels are passing trains allowed to make through quiet zones? Are contracted firms who disrupt the environment during construction being held accountable?

Protecting the people aboard public transit

News reports show that the American Public Transportation Association is advocating for better security protection aboard public transit to counter terrorism. Such advocacy follows a failed attempt by two terrorists of blowing up a passenger train in Toronto. It’s worth noting that The Transit Coalition works to develop a safe, integrated, cost effective and environmentally sound public transportation system for Southern California region. That would include ensuring protective measures are in place to keep our trains and buses as safe as possible while maintaining business-friendly policies for marketplace transit lines. As officials debate for solutions, the federal government must not forget about one major source of the problem. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world where a group of religious extremists believe they have a right to kill innocent people in order to serve their religion. Combating terrorism is going to require both protective measures from the state and federal level combined with religious leaders confronting extremists of their so-called religous duty to mass-murder innocent people. Until this happens, officials need to continue their debates for solutions. One form of intelligence-driven protection that works is bomb sniffing dogs which randomly check for suspicious items aboard vehicles and transit stations. Let’s not forget that we the transit rider must also continue to be on the lookout for any suspicious activities.

Toll Lanes: What the press needs to question

The new high occupancy toll lanes along the I-10 and I-110 freeways in Los Angeles have been getting much negative press during the last few weeks, but why did this not happen in 1996 when the I-15 carpool lanes in San Diego County underwent the same conversion?

After the Los Angeles Times published a front page article reporting worsened traffic conditions in the main freeway lanes along the I-110 freeway, public views of toll lanes in general have declined. Although toll lanes are really not bad as many think they are, having a policy where "All HOV's must have FasTrak" causes toll lanes to deserve the reputation that they've been getting during the last few weeks.

The Transit Coalition's view of high occupancy toll lanes and congestion pricing is very clear. This mode of transportation works, but HOT lanes must support free non-transponder carpooling.

The questions that the press needs to ask LA Metro are:

1. How many toll-free HOV's versus toll-paying non-HOV's are using the Metro ExpressLanes compared to the original HOV Lanes?
2. Has the number of HOV's decreased in the high occupancy toll lanes?
3. How many HOV's are now using the general purpose lanes?

Traffic has worsened in the general purpose lanes because all of the non FasTrak-registered HOV's were displaced from the former 2+ carpool lanes; all vehicles including HOV's are now mandated to have a FasTrak transponder to use the facility. For toll-free travel, a Metro-issued switchable FasTrak is needed, not just any FasTrak. These are clear facts and here's an example:

The HOT lanes down in San Diego County which permits carpools or FasTrak traffic has better balanced traffic distribution and cut down significantly on commute times because non-registered carpools were never displaced. To be fair, San Diego's latest upgrades included additional lanes, but the actual HOV-to-HOT conversion took place back in 1996 in the original reversible lanes; no new lanes were built at that time and traffic flow did improve in the regular lanes according to reports. Therefore, the I-15 toll lanes didn't receive a negative reputation from the press.

If Metro wants the ExpressLanes to cut down on I-110 commute times, they need to get the displaced HOV's out of the general purpose lanes and back into the high occupancy lanes. If Metro desires to do this while fulfilling its long term goal of reducing the number of solo drivers in the corridor and promote ridesharing, the new regulatory burden on HOV's needs to be repealed. To be fair, most motorcycles and all plate-registered buses (public and private) are exempt from needing a transponder, but the FasTrak mandate for all other HOV's needs to be abolished and that notion needs to be adopted for all other future HOT lanes throughout Southern California. If there's suspected carpool cheating going on, get the CHP to conduct an enforcement sting with media coverage, lobby the state to increase the base fine to $500 and make it a one-point moving violation.

Celebrate Earth Day today

April 22 is Earth Day which is a day dedicated to demonstrate support for the protection of the environment. Naturally, wildlife animals and plants are destined for the common good for us humans. This day reminds us that our power over our surroundings is never absolute and should not be taken for granted.

Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wonderment
Simple gifts of nature that all join into a paradise
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love throughout all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love throughout all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world

-Earth Day anthem