Department of Planning and Development 200 South President Street Post Office Box 17 (601) 960-1993 MEMORANDUM To ‘Tony Yarber, Mayor Gus MeCoy, CAO FROM: Erie Jefferson, Planing and Development Director a DATE: July 13,2016 aa RE: JATRAN Corrective Action Plan (DRAFT) Status of Fleet and Service © NE Transit assumed responsibility for repairing buses in accordance with VIC audit. * Currently 16 vehicles (out of 40) are out of service due to failed engines, transmissions, and turbochargers. * 39 vehicles (17 fixed-route, 22 Handi-lift) are needed to meet service demand (33 daily in service +6 on reserve). © Temporary/emergency route reductions were implemented the week of June 20. © 7 fixed routes (1B, 2, 4B, 5, 7R, 8, & 9) + Handi-lift are in service © 6 fixed routes are out of service (4R, 6/3, 1A, 707, 808, & 12/12) © NE Transit has submitted invoices totaling approximately $375,000 for bus repairs corresponding to the VTC audit * Problems with dropped calls and poor customer service that must be addressed with telephone provider — City staff is working on this. Proposed Plan of Action — Immediate (next 60 days) © NE Transit is completing repairs to 2 buses this week and expects to have Route 6/3 back in service on June 18 and Route 1A back in service the following week. ‘* Made a request to FTA on June 22 for opinion on City leasing up to 10 buses for a period of 18 to 24 month using current grant funds, waiting for answer (FTA needs 2 weeks to review our analysis and approve), © Leasing these buses at this time will allow for the City to remove buses that have exhausted their useful life and to repair the others that are still within their usefulness, © Anticipated cost for bus leases: 10 x $5,000/month = $50,000 monthly. Office of Transportation staff estimates we have $100,000 remaining in our transit budget to cover this, but it means deferring vehicle repairs until FY 17. © The buses are 30 passenger ADA with 2 mobility device positions. ‘They can be on-site within 7-10 days. Jackson, Mississippi 39205-0017© Gus McCoy and I met with the FTA Region IV Admi rator Dr. Yvonne Taylor yesterday afternoon, who confirmed leasing is an FTA-reimbursable expense and what we must do now is provide justification. They are sending us a template to guide us in completing the justification, © If approved by FTA, order 10 buses via lease purchase by end of July (NE Transit would cover insurance and maintenance). Estimated time to have lease buses in service: August 8. © NE Transit has offered to defer remaining repair costs until next fiscal year. © Planning Dept./Transportation Office staff have been meeting with MDOT, CMPDD, Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, and other local transportation providers to develop partnerships that will transfer senior transportation from JATRAN/NEXT to a reliable third-party provider(s). Senior transportation program administration would be transferred back to Human and Cultural Services. © Exploring partnership proposal with Trans-Con Regional Transportation Group to provide elderly and disabled transportation alternative in the City. * Develop a bus replacement plan and budget for purchase of 5 new buses in FY17 Proposed Plan of Action — Long-term (60 - 180 days) © Authorize repairs to select buses beginning in October based on FY17 budget. * Hire consultant to prepare a 5-year transit plan and route optimization study — FTA has indicated that it supports Jackson doing this. Study would include recommendations on contracting vs. making transit services intemal to City (see attached memo on my initial assessment of internalizing transit services). Page| 2200 South President Street Post Office Box 17 Jackson, Misissippi39205-0017 Department of Planning and Development Briefing Memorandum TO: Gus MeCoy, CAO FROM: Eric Jefferson, Director 2) Se ce: Monica Joiner, City Attomey Christine Welch, Deputy Director of Planning & Development - Transportation DATE: June 19, 2016 RE: Transitioning to in-house transit operations — initial assessment This memo responds to your request to provide this Administration with guidance as it considers moving from transit operations and maintenance from National Express Transit (NE Transit) to an entirely intemal City funetion. I sce three primary advantages in moving to an “in-house” model 1. Direct control over operations and maintenance staff, including hiring and retention; 2. Direct information and control over operations and maintenance costs and savings; 3. Elimination of potential conflicts between corporate profit motives and city’s vision and goals Under a contractor, the City does not have direct contact with or authority over the bus drivers. Any issues that arise such as complaints from riders must go through the contractor, not through the City. By bringing service in house, the City will be able to directly address issues with bus drivers by both setting the policies and having direct interaction with the drivers when enforcing those policies. Internal operations also alleviate the need for paying contractor's overhead and profit, which aren't entirely known, Furthermore, the City may be able to secure better liability and workers compensation insurance than a private provider. Moving to self-management entails a significant shift of human resources since drivers, mechanics, and other transit workers that are now employees of NE Transit. This move requires creating 70+ additional positions within the City to adequately operate transit service internally (ironic at a time when the City is furloughing and considering significant layoffs). The City’s pay plan, which doesn’t include positions needed for transit operations such as dispatchers, operations supervisors, road supervisors, general manager, etc., would have to be updated. A salary study for the positions not included in the City’s pay plan would also need to be performed. The union agreement, which expires on September 30,2016, must be renegotiated between the ATU and NE Transit, and we expect it to be a contentious negotiation. Changing the model means it will eventually fall to the City to negotiate salaries, insurance, sick days, and working conditions, Managing operations internally places a greater administrative burden the City, particularly the Transportation Office. However, from a risk management perspective, the City could be better positioned to implement strongcr training programs, refresher training and ongoing evaluations of bus rivers as opposed to it being under a contractor. Changing to an internal operation is a major undertaking, even greater than changing from ‘one contracting model to another as we did last year. Making transit an internal operation is not a decision to be made in haste, nor should it be viewed as a remedy to the current service crisis. This is a decision that must be made after extensive planning and consultation, including with other agencies that made this change, Other agencies that I've researched online took up to 12 - 14 months to plan and implement needed infrastructure changes before the anticipated transition date to internal operations, Our FTA grants for operations and preventative maintenance, which currently specify third-party contracting, would have to be amended. There would also be a need for additional FTA training and possibly additional staff in Legal, Risk Management, Personnel Management, and Administration-Finance and IS Divisions. Due to the size and scope of resources and staff needed just to run a transit operation, if it's made intemal to the City it should be entirely reorganized and removed from the Planning and Development Department. Transportation should be made either its own department or a separate authority like the vast majority of other major cities, Contractor's employees will need time to apply for a position with the City. One other consideration that | cannot stress enough ~ if we make this change the city must firmly commit to providing enough funding annually to JATRAN to purchase and, more importantly, properly maintain its fleet. The underlying reason we find ourselves in this crisis situation, beyond any failures on NE Transit to make repairs and perform proper ‘maintenance, is that the City has in the past routinely underfunded transit which contributed to the fleet not being properly maintained. That thinking can’t continue, This commitment means requiring a qualified, trained maintenance workforce that is certified and trained in the latest technologies so that newer buses don’t fall into disrepair because we have under- ‘qualified mechanics working on them. Page |2