LTC 317-2016 Miami Beach Trolley System MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 317-2016 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of • e City Co fission
FROM Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager !'
DATE: July 29, 2016
•
SUBJECT: Miami Beach Trolley System
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide a complete picture of the history
of the trolley system and address some of the misinformation that has circulated in the
community. I apologize in advance since most if not all of you are already familiar with
these facts, but this document will also serve as a vehicle to educate the public about a
program that really is a tribute to the efforts the City Commission has made to address
traffic and mobility in the City.
Chronology
January 2014: The City Commission approves, on an emergency basis, a contract with
Limousines of South Florida, Inc. ("LSF") to launch the Alton-West
trolley. This was in direct response to the FDOT lower Alton Road
project and an effort to provide relief to residents and businesses. Since
this was accomplished in 52 days, LSF used existing cars form its fleet
and no new trolleys were ordered.
April 2014: The City Commission approves the award, pursuant to a competitive ITB
process, to LSF for the turnkey operation and maintenance of the North
Beach Trolley. The cost was at $1.64 million annually for five years, so
as to amortize the cost of the new trolley vehicles being purchased by
LSF. There were only two bidders on the contract and LSF's cost of
operation was $15 per hour per vehicle less than the other bidder. The
vehicles purchased were the traditional high floor trolleys used
throughout Miami-Dade county by other cities. As far as we can tell, LSF
was then and still is the only operator of municipal trollies in Miami-Dade
county. The contract specifications provided for additional routes at the
City's sole discretion.
October 2015: The City Commission approves an amendment to the contract with LSF,
increasing the scope of the contract to include the addition of the
operation and maintenance service for two new routes, the Middle Beach
loop and the Collins Link. The combined cost of the existing North
Beach service and the two new routes is $6.2 million annually for five
years, again to amortize the costs of the existing vehicles and the 14
new vehicles being ordered for the two new routes. The new vehicles
that have been ordered are the modified trolleys that have shorter steps
and will kneel to the curb to make it easier for passengers to board.
These new vehicles will be used on the North Beach trolley and the two
new routes. The high floor trolleys currently being used on the North
Beach route will be used as spare trolleys and would also be available
as extra trolleys in case we have special events. The two new routes
are scheduled to begin service this fall.
January 2016: The City Commission, after discussion, approves the South Beach trolley
route and service plan, and authorizes staff to negotiate an interlocal
agreement with Miami-Dade County to enable the City to operate the
route upon the termination of the existing South Beach Local service by
the County. The current City funding provided to the Local (roughly 1/3
the costs of operation) would then be available to fund a portion of the
new trolley service. The Alton-West loop would also terminate and
simply be serviced by the new South Beach trolley. This resolution was
adopted 7-0.
May 2016: The City Commission directs staff to attempt to revise the order of the 14
modified trolleys to instead be low floor trolleys, and further directs the
Administration to proceed with the previously approved South Beach
trolley route through a new competitive procurement for low floor trolleys.
July 2016: The Administration informs the City Commission that the manufacturer of
the trolleys cannot change the order and that the City would lose the full
purchase price of the already special ordered vehicles. It would also
have delayed the implementation of the Middle Beach and Collins Link
routes until next summer. As such, the City Commission directs staff to
move forward with the purchase of the 14 already ordered modified
trolleys. Furthermore, in an effort to begin to introduce low floor trolleys
throughout the system, the Commission directed staff to order 12 new
low floor trolleys that would be interspersed throughout all of the trolley
routes. As such, all four routes will have a mix of modified trolleys and
low floor trolleys. The South Beach trolley is expected to commence
service in Summer 2017.
In order to achieve this result on all four of the routes, the only solution
was to amend the existing contract with LSF to include the operation and
maintenance of the South Beach trolley route, and the order of the 12
low floor vehicles. This represents an additional $5.1 million annually for
five years to amortize the costs of all the vehicles, bringing the total
contract amount for all four routes to a not to exceed $12 million annually
for five years. Had the Commission simply issued a new ITB for the
South Beach route, we would not have been able to add the low floor
trolleys to the other three routes.
f
Ridership
I have attached LTC # 272-2016, dated June 27, 2016, which has the latest ridership
data for the two existing trolley routes. As you can see on Attachment B to the LTC,
both the Alton-West loop and the North Beach route had their best month ever in March
2016 and their best quarter ever in the first quarter of 2016 (the latest data we have).
According to Attachment A, over 3,700 people ride the two trolley routes daily, which is
more than the South Beach local and Route 115/117 buses combined. The public
reception to this service, therefore, has been outstanding.
FAQ's
a. Are the trolley cars ADA accessible? All of the trolley car models that are
either in use by the City or on order comply with the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Some models may be viewed as more user friendly, but all of them meet the
legal requirements of the ADA.
b. Who operates and maintains the trolleys? LSF, under the agreement,
operates the trolley service and maintains and services the vehicles. The
payments we make to them both cover those O&M costs and also amortize the
capital costs of acquiring the vehicles.
c. Who operates and pays for the South Beach Local? The South Beach Local
is operated by Miami-Dade County at a cost of $4.1 million annually. The County
contributes $2.8 million and the City contributes $1.3 million.
d. Why will the South Beach Local service be terminated? The South Beach
Local is operated under an Interlocal Agreement between the County and the
City. That agreement expires on February 21, 2017. The County has indicated
that it wants to get out of the circulator business, leaving that instead to cities.
The City Commission has directed the Administration to negotiate with the
County to replace the Local with a South Beach trolley. That will be part of a new
Interlocal Agreement with the County.
e. Will there be an interruption of service after February 21, 2017? NO. The
City will negotiate with the County that the Local should continue on a month to
month basis until the South Beach trolley comes on line. We anticipate that the
trolleys will come on line in the summer of 2017; as such, the Local would
continue until that date.
f. What funds does the City use to pay for the trolley? The City utilizes a
mixture of resort taxes, Parking operation revenues and Citizen's Independent
Transportation Trust Surtax funds. The service is not funded by real property
taxes.
g. How will a person know if a low floor trolley is coming? The City's e-gov
app contains a tracker for the City's trolleys, showing real time location and
movement. The tracker will be modified to clearly identify the low floor trolleys on
the route.
h. What is the fare for riding the trolleys? There is no charge for riding a trolley
on Miami Beach.
•
i. Will there be connectivity for the various trolley routes? Once all four routes
are operating, a person will literally be able to travel, with a couple of transfers,
from the north end of the City to the south end. This will mean that in the space
of only 3 '/2 years, the City would have gone from zero public transportation
offered by the City to a full citywide network of free trolleys.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Attachment
MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 272-2016 LE ER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of he City Co ission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: June 27,2016
SUBJECT: MIAMI BEACH TROLLEY AND MIA I-DADE TRANSIT CIRCULATOR RIDERSHIP
REPORT(FY2016—2ND QUARTER)
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to report ridership figures for the City of Miami Beach Trolley
System and Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) Circulators during the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2016, from
January 1 to March 31, 2016.
As illustrated in the attached ridership report(Attachment A), the North Beach Loop observed an average
daily ridership of 2,382 passengers during this quarter. This represents an approximate 7.7% increase in
ridership over the previous quarter. The overall ridership of the North Beach Loop service during the
second quarter of Fiscal Year 2015/16 was 214,370 passengers. It is important to note that this service
started operation on October 29, 2014. The temporary Alton-West Loop also observed an increase in
ridership of approximately 13.8% over the previous quarter. The overall ridership of the Alton-West Loop
during the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2015/16 was 105,607 passengers.
The City of Miami Beach trolley system provided transit service to a total of 319.977 passengers during
the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2015/16 and cumulatively to over 1.8 million passengers from inception
to the end of the second quarter Fiscal Year 2015/16.
In addition to the City's trolley system, MDT operates two (2) circulator routes entirely within City
boundaries (the South Beach Local (SBL) and Route 115/117). This quarter's daily average ridership for
the SBL and Route 115/117, were 2,467 and 484, respectively (Attachment A). These figures were based
solely on the months of January and February, as ridership totals for the month of March has not yet been
published by MDT. The MDT circulator ridership figures for this quarter will be included in the next
quarterly ridership report and issued via LTC. Based on the available MDT circulators' ridership data for
Fiscal Year 2015/16, the County transit service has experienced a 20.5% decrease in ridership with
respect to the previous Fiscal Year.
Additional ridership information for both the City's trolley system and the County's SBL and Route
115/117 for previous Fiscal Years has been included in Attachment B for reference. •
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Attachments:
A: Trolley and Circulator Ridership Report(FY2016—2nd Quarter)
B: Trolley and Circulator Ridership Comparison Report(%Change)
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F:ITRANI SALLITC1LTCsTrolleywliami Beach Trolley and Miami-Dade Transit Circulator Ridership Report(FY2016—2"0 Quarter)
FY2016 RIDERSHIP REPORT ATTACHMENT A
DAILY AVERAGE PER MONTH
QTR I QTR II QTR III QTR IV
Route Name October November December January February March April May June July August September
ALTON WEST LOOP 990 1,025 1,076 1,064 1,127 1,325
NORTH BEACH LOOP 2,169 2,231 2,234 2,293 2,403 2,451
SUBTOTAL 3,159 3,256 3,310 3,357 3,530 3,776
SOUTH BEACH LOCAL* 3,007 2,880 2,586 2,478 2,455
ROUTE 115/117• 559 531 543 44_0 528
SUBTOTAL 3,606 3,411 3,129 2,918 2,983
TOTAL OTVWIJM 6,765 6,667 6,439 6,275 6,513
Figures highlighted in yellow indicate partial ridership data of a month In progress.
DAILY AVERAGE PER MONTH
3500 - -- - ---------------_-- ------
•NORTH BEACH LOOP
2500
•,ALTON WEST LOOP
1500
U 1 '100 „ I ' U , I ' I •SOUTH BEACH LOCAL'
500 /ii
j , % ' '
0 l •
October November December January February March April May June July August September
int DAILY AVERAGE PER QUARTER
QTR I QTR II QTR III QTR IV
ALTON WEST LOOP 1,030 1,172
NORTH BEACH LOOP 2,211 2,382
SOUTH BEACH LOCAL* 2,824 2,467
ROUTE 115/117* 545 484
DAILY AVERAGE PER QUARTER
3,500
3,000 -
2,500 rALTON WEST LOOP
2'000 NORTH BEACH LOOP
1,500 `ROUTE 115/117•
1,000
S00
•SOUTH BEACH LOCAL*
QTRI QTR II QTR III
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MIAMI BEACH TROLLEY RIDERSHIP (%CHANGE) ATTACHMENT B
a
FY2016 FY2015 FY2014 %Change*
October 30,686 29,160 N/A
Quarter 1 November 30,740 27,912 N/A
December 33,360 32,570 N/A
Quarterly Total I I 94,786 I 89,642 1 - 1 6%
January 32,994 33,331 N/A
ar Quarter 2 February 31,548 29,902 17,623
O _ March 41,065 32,413 24,399
I' Quarterly Total I 1 105,607 1 95,646 1 42,022 j 10%
Y1 April 30,769 25,954
Quarter 3 May 31,246 29,984
O
June 28,404 32,769
Q Quarterly Total r I I 90,419 I 88,707 I 2%
July 27,779 28,346
Quarter 4 August 28,504 28,323
September 28,141 26,532
Quarterly Total I I 1 84,424 I 83,201 1 1%
Yearly Total 360,131 213,930
October 67,247 3,705 N/A
Quarter 1 November 66,913 42,551 N/A
December 71,370 49,122 N/A
Quarterly Total I I 205,530 I 95,378 I - I 115%
T January 71,096 52,278 N/A
W Quarter 2 February 67,280 49,020 N/A
0 March 75,994 58,790 N/A
I-
.0 Quarterly Total I 214,370 1 160,088 I - I 34%
eeaa April 58,441 N/A
m Quarter 3 May 63,340 N/A
.0 June 63,631 N/A -
Z Quarterly Total I I I 185,412 I - I N/A
July 70,078 N/A
Quarter 4 August 68,169 N/A
September - 66,248 N/A
Quarterly Total I I I 204,495 I - I N/A
Yearly Total I 1 1 645,373 L I .
*With respect to previous year.
MDT RIDERSHIP(%CHANGE)
FY2016 FY2015 FY2014 FY2013 FY2012 %Change*
October 93,202 101,914 114,037 120,127 129,443
Quarter 1 November 86,401 89,271 103,363 115,609 128,727
December 80,46 97,376 107,172 110,258 124,541
J
Quarterly Total I 259,849 I 288,561 I 324,572 J 345,994 1 382,711 I -11%
January 76,830 97,480 101,064 117,354 127,809
6 Quarter 2 February 71,188 86,750 92,925 110,858 125,111
9 March 94,353 96,812 114,579 130,926 _
9 _
V ■ Quarterly Total I 148,018 I 278,583 I 290,801 342,791 383,846 ] -4%
g April 86,672 96,371 100,218 120,683
CO Quarter 3 May 85,562 102,220 101,181 116,184
=
H June 79,288 97,250 102,528 116,068
Quarterly Total I I - I 251,522 I 295,841 303,927 j 352,935 -15%
cm July 86,232 105,915 99,746 126,036
Quarter 4 August 89,567 108,677 111,885 125,589
September 84,862 96,357 104,957 117,341
Quarterly Total I I I I 310,949 I 316,588 I 368,966 I 4 N/A
Yearly Total 1,222,163 1,309,300 1,488,458
October 18,526 30,669 26,978 29,249 27,784
Quarter 1 November 15,937 21,466 23,530 26,570 28,049
December 1 16,382 23,484 24,555 27,155 27,183
Quarterly Total I I 50,845 I 75,619 I 75,063 82,974 83,016 I 1%
January 13,634 23,473 25,908 28,173 27,339
Quarter 2 February 15,301 22,108 25,770 26,487 28,040
.-t March 25,167 26,959 29,137 30,271
IA Quarterly Total I I 28,935 I 70,748 I 78,637 I 83,797 � 85,650 I -10%%
IA April 22,251 27,785 27,735 27,542
+GA,, Quarter 3 May 20,998 26,693 27,706 28,587
0 June 19,581 24,477 24,250 27,140
OTC •
Quarterly Total I I - I 62,830 I 78,9557 79,691 I 83,269 -20%
July 19,924 25,183 25,354 27,004
Quarter 4 August 17,466 25,279 26,171 27,652
September 16,397 25,664 24,703 26,052
Quarterly Total I I I 53,787 I 76,126 I 76,228 1 80,708 N/A
Yearly Total 1 1 I I 308,781 I 322,690 332,643
Figures highlighted in yellow indicate partial ridership data of a month in progress. *With respect to previous year.
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