Common use of Vanpool Clause in Contracts

Vanpool. A vanpool is a group of people who are coming to the same workplace or post-secondary education facility (college, trade school, etc.) from the same community, riding together in a van. Vanpools typically carry from six to fifteen passengers, and operate weekdays, traveling between pick-up locations and a place of work. Vanpools provide small-scale commuter ridership in scenarios where operator costs would otherwise be prohibitively high. Operating costs are very low, because the passengers drive themselves. Ridership per platform hour is healthy; the vanpool doesn’t run at all without a minimum of five regular riders. Vanpools are very demand-responsive; once ridership falls below a threshold, the service goes away and new routes can be added with a minimum of overhead. They can access office parking areas and other locations where scheduled SunLine service cannot reach, making for more convenient passenger drop-offs. Vanpool programs can be administered in a variety of ways, allowing the employer to be fully involved or simply promote it from the sidelines. Employers can help employees form vanpools through rideshare matching. Rideshare matching helps potential vanpoolers locate others nearby with similar schedules. With technology advancements, on-demand vanpooling may help reduce coordination costs and increase ridership. Traditional vanpool programs often have average ridership per trip at just above the minimum membership required for the vanpool. As the region develops unevenly, vanpools will be an increasingly effective means to serve trips from low-density places to employment and education centers. With new vanpool programs, SunLine may be able to pull back bus service from low-volume, coverage routes, and focus on more frequent, trunk routes and core services. SunLine’s Vanpool Program will provide a subsidy for qualified vans. The driver of the vanpool must be a participant in the vanpool program. Vanpool passengers will be responsible for paying the van lease cost minus the subsidy. They will also share the cost of gas, toll fees, and parking fees (if applicable). Passengers will not pay for the maintenance and insurance costs. Vehicles for this type of service will be leased by one of the pre- qualified vendors to one of the commuters in the group, a company, or by a third party representative. 20 require innovative solutions. This flexible, on demand rideshare service is designed to pilot service area to test the attributes of the program before launching this service more widely within the transit service area. CURRENT FARE STRUCTURE The SunBus fare structure is summarized in Figure 1.5. SunBus passengers pay the adult fare unless eligible for discounted fares, which are available to seniors, people with disabilities, and youth. Children 4 years and under ride free with an adult fare. Fares may be paid using cash or passes. FIGURE 1.5 SUNBUS FARE STRUCTURE Cash/Base Fare $1.00 $0.85 $0.50 Transfers $0.25 $0.25 $0.25 D ay Pas $3.00 $2.00 $1.50 10-Ride Pas $10.00 $8.50 $5.00 31-D ay Pas $34.00 $24.00 $17.00 Coachella Valley EmployerPas $24.00 -- -- FIGURE 1.6 SUNDIAL FARE STRUCTURE Cash Fare - Same City $1.50 -- Cash Fare - City to City $2.00 -- 10-Ride Pas - Same City -- $15.00 10-Ride Pas - City to City -- $20.00 Personal care attendants and service animals may accompany an eligible customer at no additional charge. The client must inform the reservationist when booking their trip that they will be accompanied by another person to determine if space is available. Clients may travel with up to three companions who will be charged the applicable fare. FIGURE 1.7 COMMUTER LINK FARE STRUCTURE Commuter Express fares are for trips between the Coachella Valley and Western Riverside County on the Riverside Commuter Link 220 Service. Commuter Expres Single Ride $6.00 $4.00 Commuter Expres D ay Pas $14.00 $10.00 Commuter Expres 30-D ay Pas $150.00 $100.00 Fares and fare collection will be reviewed in FY 2018/2019 with a goal of sustaining the future level of transit operations in the Coachella Valley while also maximizing ridership. SunLine is exploring partnerships with local colleges throughout the Coachella Valley to provide an affordable transit haul pass program. In addition to SunDial , SunLine offers a Taxi Voucher Program providing half price taxi trips for seniors (60+ years) and the disabled. This card is easily obtained by eligible patrons submitting an application to SunLine. Once the application is reviewed and accepted, the patron is then mailed an activated payment card. When the patron receives that card they are able to call in an add a balance of up to $75 per month. SunLine provides matching funds in equal amount up to the $75. The total balance added for each month can be a maximum of $150. Leftover funds from previous months are carried over until utilized. To use the balance, the patrons simply order a cab and pay their fare with the Taxi Voucher payment card. This service assists with the economic development of the 3 taxi franchises of the Coachella Valley and provides some relief to the demands on the paratransit services. Community members are enjoying the service, and Taxi cab drivers and their franchises appreciate how this service keeps them competitive with other ride share services in the area. The Taxi Voucher Program has been funded with Section 5310 Transportation for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities funding. PASS OUTLETS SunLine currently has 19 pass outlet locations within the service area. They sell nine different pass types: day pass, 31-day pass, 10-ride pass, adult, senior and youth. Figure 1.8 lists pass outlet locations: