Title
New Amazon Bus Route and ADA Paratransit Service
Presenter:
Craig Blewitt, Transit Services Division Manager
Brian Vitulli, Transit Services Planning Supervisor
Body
Summary:
During the November 12, 2020 City Council Budget Work Session there were a number of questions about the proposed new bus service to the new Amazon facility and the Colorado Springs (COS) Airport, especially with regard to the potential for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit service. There were also questions about the potential to add ADA paratransit service to express routes serving the northern UC Health and Children’s Hospitals and the Pikes Peak Community College Rampart (northern) Campus, and the potential to provide paratransit services beyond the minimum federal ADA requirement. Transit Services Division staff will address those questions in our presentation.
Background:
As part of the 2021 City budgeting process, the Transit Services Division requested funding for a new bus route serving the Amazon fulfillment center being constructed in the Airport Business Park and the Colorado Springs (COS) Airport passenger terminal. The Amazon/Airport service as funded in the 2021 City Budget is proposed as a new bus route that makes seven trips per day, running 362 days/year. The Amazon facility, which is expected to employ at least 2,000 workers, is scheduled to open in June 2021. The cost to operate and market the new bus route from mid-June through December 2021 is $131,888. Half of that cost was approved in the 2021 City General Fund Budget and the other half will be paid by the COS Airport. Amazon offered and agreed to pay the cost to construct the bus stop and shelter at its site. The value of that stop and improvements is $40,840.
As planned, the new bus route will only have three stops. On the west end, it will connect to the Mountain Metro Transit (MMT) bus system at the transfer station located at Academy Boulevard and Astrozon Boulevard, which serves four other bus routes. The other two stops are planned to be located at the new Amazon facility and the COS Airport passenger terminal. The bus service is planned to cater to Amazon shift change times, to support employees commuting to and from the facility. As planned, there will be no complementary ADA paratransit service accompanying the fixed-route bus service.
ADA paratransit provides curb-to-curb or door-to-door transit service to people with disabilities who, because of their disability, are unable to use the fixed-route bus service. Metro Mobility is MMT’s ADA paratransit service that will pick-up and drop-off riders at the curb or at the door of their origins and destinations. ADA law requires that all requested trips be provided within a +/- one hour window of the time requested. Typically, ADA paratransit service is required by the federal ADA law within ¾ mile of bus routes during the hours of operation of the fixed-route service. Rides are reserved one to three days in advance, and riders who make the same trip (origin and destination) at least three times per week can have an established subscription, or “standing order”, and do not need to make individual reservations for those trips.
Providing complementary ADA paratransit service with bus routes adds operating cost. The amount of additional cost varies depending on the size of the additional ADA service area covered and the projected number of ADA paratransit rides to be given. However, ADA paratransit service is not required to accompany express bus services.
Express service differs from local fixed-route service in that express service usually connects destinations with few or no stops in between. Express service may also operate only during peak periods.
It has been the Transit Services Division’s practice to start new bus routes that serve limited destinations as express routes for a defined demonstration period of two to three years. This period enables staff to evaluate performance, modify it if necessary, and determine if the service is successful enough to continue, or to eliminate it. This approach allows the testing of potential transit markets until it is determined whether the new service will become permanent. If it becomes permanent, stops may be added along with complementary ADA service.
With the addition of the new Amazon/Airport route, there will be a total of 31 bus routes in the MMT system. All but three of the routes are accompanied by ADA paratransit service. The three that are not are Route 38 (“Care Connection” service to the northern UC Health and Children’s Hospitals), Route 40 (Pikes Peak Community College Rampart Campus), and the new Amazon/Airport route.
The projected annual cost to add complementary ADA paratransit service to those routes is as follows:
Current Fixed-Route Cost Cost Including ADA Paratransit
Route 38 $157,000 $299,000
Route 40 $157,000 $299,000
Amazon/Airport $131,888 $192,000
The ADA law requires that bus stops and fixed-route buses be accessible to people with disabilities. As with new Routes 38 and 40, which serve the northern hospitals and PPCC’s Rampart campus, the new Amazon/Airport service will be operated with low-floor, ADA accessible fixed-route vehicles that will accommodate individuals with disabilities and limited mobility. All buses have the ability to “kneel” and extend ramps so that people using wheelchairs can roll on and others with physical limitations are able to board a bus. There are securable wheelchair berths on all buses and there are audio and visual stop announcements.
Transit agencies are allowed to provide ADA paratransit service beyond ¾ mile of the fixed-route bus service. As with the vast majority of transit agencies across the country, it has been the City’s and MMT’s policy to meet and not exceed the ¾ mile minimum. The City and MMT have funded and supported non-profit human service provider organizations that provide transportation for seniors and people with disabilities outside the ADA paratransit service area. Any expansion of the ADA service area would require significant additional budget support, and it would need to be applied in a consistent and equitable manner.
Transit Services staff has developed other service options. The following table shows the current service option along with five other options. Costs are shown for both 2021 and 2022, assuming the service is continued next year. Amazon announced in November that it would construct an additional facility at the Airport Business Park close to its other facility. This second Amazon facility will also employ a significant number of workers. It is not recommended that new bus route serve this second facility at this time, as it will not operate using the same shift times as the primary Amazon facility. The other service options included in referenced table could serve the second facility.
Amazon/Airport Terminal Workforce Shuttle
Service Options 2021 Cost* 2022 Cost**
1: All Four Shifts, No ADA (Original Budget Submission) $131,888 $179,000
2: All Four Shifts, With ADA $192,000 $303,000
3: Three Shifts Only, No ADA $100,000 $143,000
4: Three Shifts Only, With ADA $157,000 $243,000
5: Weekday, Weekday-Evening, and Weekends, No ADA $233,000 $370,000
6: Weekday, Weekday-Evening, and Weekends, With ADA $354,000 $577,000
* Note: 2021 cost is for Mid-June-December 2021 and includes $18,000 in marketing
** Note: 2022 cost is for 12 months and does not include marketing
Previous Council Action:
City Council approved the 2021 City Budget on December 8, 2020 which includes $65,944 in funding for the new bus service to the Amazon facility, expected to be completed in June 2021, and the Colorado Springs Airport. The service is planned to start in June, coinciding with the opening of the Amazon facility.
Financial Implications:
There would be additional costs if ADA paratransit services are expanded.
City Council Appointed Board/Commission/Committee Recommendation:
N/A
Stakeholder Process:
Coordination has taken place with Amazon and the Colorado Springs Airport in planning the new Amazon/Airport bus route.
Alternatives:
City Council may direct staff to implement the service included in the 2021 City Budget, or provide other direction.
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
N/A
Summary of Ordinance Language
N/A