[Colorado-Talk] Access-on-Demand Discussion at the RTD Board Meeting Tuesday Night

Mon Feb 24 03:15:46 UTC 2025

Greetings:

The agenda for Tuesday night's RTD Board of Directors meeting can be found
here:

https://rtd.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=3761

People who wish to attend this meeting via Zoom should Register Here
<https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ddolet4XRwGYVueu9SS7kg#/registr
ation> .

What is being recommended to the Board is shown here below.

<Begin Excerpt>

RECOMMENDED ACTION

For the Board of Directors to authorize the General Manager and CEO or her
designee to provide additional funding of $ 15,814,441 for the Access- on-
Demand program, raising the not- to- exceed amount from $ 21.9 to $ 37.8
million, and delegating authority to amend the contracts with existing
providers to increase the current amount of program funding for the
remainder of the term of the contracts, which expire December 31, 2025.

STAFF REPRESENTATIVE 

Fred Worthen, Assistant General Manager, Bus Operations 

Paul Hamilton, Director, Paratransit Services 

PRESENTATION LENGTH 5 minutes 

BACKGROUND 

RTD and its contractor partners deliver multimodal transit services across a
2,345 square- mile service area, which services include bus, light rail,
commuter rail, and micro transit services, as well as Access-a- Ride
complementary paratransit services in accordance with the requirements of
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( ADA).

In November 2020, RTD launched its Access- on- Demand service as part of an
expanded premium to Access- a- Ride paratransit service. Access- on- Demand
began as a supplemental demand- response pilot program in partnership with
Uber, a private transportation network company ( TNC). The program's goal
was to provide a responsive, on- demand platform for paratransit customers,
which was similar to the agency's Access- a- Cab program as it existed at
that time. The Access- a- Cab program provided alternative on- demand
service to paratransit customers through private taxicab providers.

The Access- on- Demand pilot program provided eligible customers a per- trip
subsidy of up to $ 20, and those customers were required to pay the first $
2 in fare for each trip. Access- a- Ride customers within four ZIP codes,
selected for their density of existing paratransit customers, were eligible
to participate in this pilot. The program hours were between 6 and 9 a. m.
and between 2 and 5 p. m. The program was later expanded to an additional
three ZIP codes and was expanded again to serve customers 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. During the pilot period, RTD continued to offer its
Access- a- Cab demand-response service, for which a $ 12 subsidy was
offered, and customers were required to pay $ 2 in fare for each trip.

Following the Board's approval of funding in November 2022 in the amount of
approximately $ 9.3 million, in January 2023, RTD merged the Access- on-
Demand and Access- a- Cab programs. Since then, RTD has partnered with four
contracted private providers, Uber, Lyft, Metro Taxi, and zTrip, to provide
Access- on- Demand service. Customers travel using their choice of these
providers, receive a subsidy of up to $ 25 per trip, and pay no upfront
fare. Additionally, customers schedule trips through the four providers'
mobile apps or the RTD Access- a- Ride call center for Metro Taxi or zTrip.
Customers are limited to 60 one- way trips per month across all providers
and are responsible for monitoring their trip usage.

Due to the popularity of Access- on- Demand as an alternative to traditional
paratransit services, demand for service quickly exceeded expectations
following the expansion beyond the pilot program in January 2023. Key
factors driving the increase in demand likely include the same- day
convenience when booking an Access- on- Demand trip, expanded service times
and service area when compared with Access- a-Ride, and no out- of- pocket
cost to customers. As a result, RTD anticipates that Access- on- Demand trip
cost subsidies for calendar year 2024 will reach $ 11.1 million, a 77
percent increase over subsidy costs in 2023 ( at the time of this report
development all third- party costs for 2024 have yet to be reconciled).

To ensure customers continue to have equitable and sustainable access to the
agency's services, RTD commissioned a peer review of the agency's
paratransit service delivery. This on- site review was conducted by industry
subject- matter experts ( SMEs) in May 2024. These SMEs engaged in a
holistic review of the paratransit program, including both the Access- on-
Demand program and the Access- a- Ride program. Peer review recommendations,
coupled with paratransit customer feedback, will assist RTD in adopting
industry best practices, understanding the agency's strengths and
opportunities concerning paratransit service delivery, and determining
options for potential improvements, sustainability, and fiscal
responsibility.

DISCUSSION 

In considering this recommended action, the agency seeks to meet the
Strategic Priority of Customer Excellence.

The Board approved an additional $ 8,600,000 in June 2024 to fund Access-
on- Demand, and the GM/ CEO approved an additional $ 2,000,000 in December
2024, which sustains the program through February 2025. Based on projected
continual growth in demand for Access- on- Demand services, and until
sustainability recommendations of the peer review committee may be vetted
and adopted, an additional $ 15,814,441 is requested to continue to provide
Access- on- Demand services through December 2025 when the third- party
contracts expire.

FINANCIAL IMPACT 

Additional funding for the Access- on- Demand program in the amount of $
13,814,440 will be derived from existing funds in the 2025 budget, and the
remaining $ 2,000,000 will be made available through the unrestricted
reserve. Future funding for this program will be allocated through the
annual budget process.

Prepared by: 

Paul Hamilton, Senior Manager, Paratransit Services 

Gretchen Vidergar, Acting Manager, Paratransit Services

<End Excerpt>

This recommendation mirrors that which was approved by the RTD Operations,
Safety, and Security Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, February 18. This
would seem to indicate that Access-on-Demand will not be significantly
reduced--at least until the end of 2025.

It should be recognized, however, that the staff recommendation was not
approved unanimously by the committee. I am guessing that while it will
probably be approved at Tuesday night's Board meeting, that approval will
not be unanimous.

Cordially,

Curtis Chong

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