The Boulder (and Boulder County) Experience

June 6th, 2017RTD’s Pass Program Working Group

2nd Meeting

The Boulder (and Boulder County) Experience

This will cover:

1) Eco Pass Revenues to RTD2) Public Funds Contributions3) Why Subsidize Eco Pass?4) Desire to Expand Access

Boulder and Boulder County

About 10% of total RTD service 20 bus routes completely within the County 6 bus routes cross County boundary 24% of the Business Eco Passes ~50% of the College Passes

Within the County Crosses County Boundary

Eco Pass/College Pass Revenue to RTD

Annual Boulder County fare box revenue: $18.2 Million 47% comes from Eco Pass/ College Pass As a reference, 32% of entire district revenue comes from

Eco Pass/ College Pass

Primary difference is College Pass 23% of Boulder County revenue from just Eco Pass 21% of entire district revenue comes from Eco Pass

(2014 data)

Business Eco Passes

Neighborhood Eco Passes9

College Passes10

Residents with a Pass

% of Residents With a Pass 

City of Boulder Residents 13,170 11,227 25,173 48,074 49%All Boulder County Residents 27,723 14,806 27,690 68,453 23%

Eco Pass Access

Removing students who are residents:

Business Eco Passes

Neighborhood Eco Passes9

College Passes10

Residents with a Pass

% of Residents With a Pass 

City of Boulder Residents 13,170 11,227 ‐ 22,901 23%All Boulder County Residents 27,723 14,806 ‐ 40,763 14%

Eco Pass/College Pass Revenue to RTD

Pass Program Revenue % TotalEmployer Paid $    2,385,000  27%Boulder Parking Dist. $     1,016,000  12% Neighborhood Eco Pass $        836,000  10% Lyons Eco Pass $          31,000  0% Nederland Eco Pass $          85,000  1% CU Boulder Students $     4,298,000  49%Naropa Students $       100,000  1% 

Total $    8,751,000  100%

2017 data

Historical Public Subsidy

Pass Program Total Public $Employer  $          425,000Boulder Parking District $     11,000,000Neighborhood Eco Pass $       2,500,000Boulder County Housing Sites  $          250,000Lyons Eco Pass $          180,000Nederland Eco Pass $          200,000 Ride Free Longmont $     700,000 

Total $ ~$15,000,000

City of Boulder Neighborhood Support

(BBBF): non-profit, independent org.

Banking services: Residents in a Eco Pass neighborhood make checks to BBBF

If enough money is collected, checks are cashed and BBBF sends a single check to RTD.

34 neighborhoods; $305,000 in annual contracts Starting payment plans for low-income neighborhoods

Why the focus on Eco Pass subsidies?

Administration Annual versus monthly (or individual passes) Employers and Neighborhood coordinators

Induces more transit ridership Achieves community goals (VMT, mobility and climate)

Eco Pass Boardings vs Route Performance

Routes with higher % of Eco Pass boardings: Recover more revenue Have higher boardings per hour Have lower subsidy per boarding

Following Charts: Each diamond represents an RTD routeMoving right, % of boardings made by EcoPass increases.

Boulder County Communitywide Pass2015-2016 Initiative

• Increasingly difficult to sign up new businesses and neighborhoods

• Those who could most benefit from a pass often to do not have access

Understanding the insurance model

• As more people are included (and are required to pay), the price per person goes down

Understanding the costs

Any new discounted pass program will induce ridership Off-peak: fills empty seats and makes RTD money Peak: leads to over crowing and costs RTD money What routes and when is more service needed?

Each trip (e.g. Weekday 7:22 WB DASH)

Estimate increased ridership (elasticity)

Estimate cost to add more service

Over capacity?

Fills empty seats

NOYES

Identify Funding Mechanisms

Any discounted program must be subsidized by new local funds

Pros and cons of various types of funding options Sales Tax Property Tax Employee Head Tax Utility Fees

Different communities have different level of transit service

NE Longmont Broadway/ Baseline

What we learned

Vast majority of trips have excess capacity Highest increased demand happens off-peak Peak hour commuters are relatively cost insensitive Price sensitive riders use transit mid-day

Finding a countywide equitable funding mechanism is difficult

Ride Free Longmont

1. Revenue neutrality2. Exposure to overcrowded

buses3. Aim for simplicity4. Local funding, local funding,

local funding!