SRTP Virtual Open House Event FAQs
November 10, 2021 Meeting
1. What about Elk Grove weekend service?
Weekend service in areas including Elk Grove and in Folsom will be studied as part of the SRTP.
2. What besides the light rail modernization project and the train platform reconfiguration are
major impacts on the SRTP plan?
The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a separate document that contains these types of projects. The CIP will be included in the SRTP; however, it will not directly impact considerations for future service improvements.
3. Besides virtual events and meetings, are you considering any in-person events?
At this time, all community involvement events will be planned in a virtual setting. We may start to include in-person meetings, dependent on further guidance.
4. Is existing Route 82 a good candidate for 15-minute service, or not just yet?
Yes, Route 82 has strong ridership seven days a week. It is not yet certain if we will recommend it for headway improvements over other similarly strong routes, but it is among the top contenders.
5. Would you consider, with regards to span of service, going from three schedules (Weekday, Saturday, Sunday/Holiday) to two schedules over the next five years (Weekday and Weekend/Holiday) instead, especially for customer network simplicity?
In 2019, we considered making Sunday and Holiday schedules the same as Saturday schedules (or very close) but we ultimately felt that would have overspent resources on Sundays and Holidays, compared to other areas and times. Sundays and Holidays do typically have less demand than Saturdays.
6. What about weekend service for Folsom Stage Line?
Weekend service in areas including Folsom and Elk Grove will be studied as part of the SRTP.
7. Would SacRT be able to initiate more bus service improvements than originally planned due to
recently passed federal legislation like the CARES ACT of March 2020 to the recent IIJA Act?
Service improvements included in the SRTP will consider existing revenue sources. Plans for additional funding have not been determined.
8. How will the SacRT GO service get better?
Operations for complementary ADA paratransit service (SacRT GO) is dependent on the fixed-route service. If fixed-route areas grow, or if service spans are extended, then that is also reflected in SacRT GO services.
9. What is the effect of disabled persons on your 15-minute headways?
Headway improvements may be justified on some routes partly to improve wheelchair capacity.
10. Will Greyhound busses stay at Richards Boulevard?
There are no plans that SacRT is aware of to relocate the Greyhound bus terminal from Richards Blvd.
11. What does the SRTP do to address scooters and bikes as alternative transportation?
Bike and scooter share is not part of the SRTP, but recent studies have found that bike and especially scooter share programs help increase transit ridership.
12. Is SmaRT Ride going to continue to grow with serving more areas and/or neighborhoods?
There are currently no plans to expand SmaRT Ride to any new neighborhoods. Funding for SmaRT Ride is secured only through June 30, 2023, and the funding program which supports it specifies the neighborhoods it will serve. SacRT does hope to secure funding to continue the program.
13. Like Uber service, can SacRT GO service combine with a bus trip to get people to local locations?
Typically, if travel is entirely within the SacRT service area, customers prefer a one-seat ride on SacRT GO, but there is nothing prohibiting a customer from riding SacRT GO to a bus or light rail transfer.
14. Is the Watt Avenue bus rapid transit corridor being taken into consideration in this five-year plan?
The High-Capacity Bus Study identified Watt Avenue as one of the five potential BRT corridors for study. Planning efforts for next steps will be included in the SRTP and plans for BRT service implementation will be included in the Long-Range Transit Plan (LRTP). More information about the LRTP will be released sometime next year.
November 17, 2021 Meeting
1. Are there things you would change or do differently from SacRT Forward project?
Some SacRT Forward changes that have come up and will be considered in the SRTP include frequency on Route 30, the changes made to Route 19, and the elimination of Route 80, which resulted in a lack of an east/west option across Elkhorn Blvd in North Highlands.
2. Do you envision a major expansion plan, especially factoring in the newly signed IIJA legislation and State surplus of 31 million dollars?
We do not anticipate any new major influx of funding. The purpose of the SRTP is to set us up to be ready for when we do have new funding for service improvements.
3. It seems the focus has been on SmaRT Ride instead of turning up frequency as a goal of SacRT Forward.
SmaRT Ride funding is a separate mechanism from the Sacramento Transportation Authority (STA) that is specifically collected for neighborhood shuttle services. We will continue to advocate SacRT Forward’s service and frequency goals when new revenue streams are identified.
4. Will there be new routes to serve new areas?
Some new areas of development that are identified in the SRTP include Delta Shores, Metro Air Park, and Jackson Corridor. While these developments are on our radar, new routes to serve these areas have not been fully developed as they typically take several years to complete road construction and project buildout. Staff is currently in coordination with local jurisdictions on preliminary planning efforts that will eventually lead to establishing new routes.
5. Is the University 65th Street housing development factored into ridership forecasts when looking at service improvements?
Staff considers many factors when analyzing span of service changes, with ridership forecasting as only one. Other factors include the study of existing ridership (as forecasting can be speculative), and customer feedback. Individual housing projects may not always be large enough to yield quantitative results, so a lot relies on
professional judgement as well.
6. Are there other outreach meetings being planned either in person or virtually?
Once a draft document has been completed, staff will present it to the SacRT Board of Directors and schedule additional virtual events to present the document to the public. Specific dates/locations have not yet been determined but we are anticipating a January-February timeframe for the next round of outreach events.
7. Will the SRTP include information on active pilot programs?
Yes, the SRTP will include some information about SacRT’s current pilot programs, including SmaRT Ride microtransit service and the Cal ITP fare collection technology program; however, the SRTP will not include planning for future pilot programs as the document is more focused on planning for fixed-route transit services.
8. Will there be planned frequency improvements and span of service improvements for Route 23 (El Camino)?
Yes, Route 23 is one that has been studied for improvements; therefore, it may be a candidate for span and/or frequency improvements.
9. Are there plans to add new service or partner with employers to provide transit to areas with large employment/job centers that currently do not have any transit presence, such as Power Inn?
The east side of Power Inn Road has always been borderline with sustaining fixed-route service, as it is more industrial and has low ridership demand. SacRT Forward considered sustaining service in this area; however, we ended up with 65th Street being the boundary since its closer to more developed uses. With microtransit zones being somewhat flexible, this may be a good place to expand an existing, nearby zone.
10. Will there be any future meetings in person?
Currently, we are only scheduling virtual meetings and events, but we will reevaluate as things change. The virtual events have been valuable, so its likely that we may offer both in the future.
11. Now that remote work is common, how will the SRTP cover service inside suburbs where people commute less?
Commuter route services are being closely studied for potential changes, which may include reallocation of commuter service to other areas. This is still to be determined and requires extensive analysis since we also have an issue with labor shortages that limit our service capacity.
12. The 45-minute frequency on Route 23 is difficult to understand; a 30-minute schedule is better
and easier to understand.
Originally, we wanted to move away from hourly routes on weekends, and the demand is not quite high enough for 30-minute frequency, so every 45 minutes was the solution. This allowed us to eliminate hourly routes for about the same cost.