Auburn Transit Triennial Performance Audit

Transcription

1 Aubur Trasit For Fiscal Years 2009/10 through 2011/12 Fial Report Prepared for the Placer Couty Trasportatio Plaig Agecy Prepared by

2

3 AUBURN TRANSIT TRIENNIAL PERFORMANCE AUDIT For Fiscal Years 2009/10 through 2011/12 Prepared for the Placer Couty Trasportatio Plaig Agecy 299 Nevada Street Aubur, Califoria Prepared by Post Office Box Lake Forest Road, Suite C Tahoe City, Califoria, Jue 13, 2013

4

5 Table of Cotets Chapter Page 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 1 Backgroud... 1 Verificatio ad Use of Performace Idicators... 1 Review of Compliace Requiremets... 1 Status of Prior Audit Recommedatios... 2 Detailed Review of Trasit Operator Fuctios... 2 Fidigs... 2 Recommedatios TRIENNIAL PERFORMANCE AUDIT RESULTS... 3 Backgroud... 3 Performace Audit ad Report Orgaizatio... 3 Trasit Program Descriptio... 3 Aubur Trasit Operatig ad Fiacial Statistics... 5 Review of Compliace Requiremets Status of Prior Audit Recommedatios Detailed Review of Trasit Operator Fuctios CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Fidigs Recommedatios List of Tables ad Figures Table Page 1 Aubur Trasit Systemwide Performace Measures Trasit Operator Compliace Requiremets Aubur Trasit Figure Page 1 Aubur Trasit Operatig Cost per Passeger-Trip Aubur Trasit Operatig Cost per Hour Aubur Trasit Passegers per Hour Aubur Trasit Passegers per Mile Aubur Trasit Hours per Employee Aubur Trasit Farebox Ratio... 7 for Aubur Trasit Page i

6

7 Chapter 1 Executive Summary The Califoria Public Utilities Code requires that all trasit operators that receive fudig uder Article 4 of the Trasportatio Developmet Act (TDA) be subject to a performace audit every three years. This documet presets the fidigs from the performace audit of trasit operatios maaged by the City of Aubur, Aubur Trasit. As the Regioal Trasportatio Plaig Agecy (RTPA) resposible for TDA fudig i Wester Placer Couty, these audits were performed uder the authority of the Placer Couty Trasportatio Plaig Agecy (PCTPA). This audit report covers Fiscal Years (FY) through FY , ad was coducted by LSC Trasportatio Cosultats, Ic. Data collectio, iitial review, ad o-site iterviews were coducted at the begiig of The audit process follows guidelies outlied i the Performace Audit Guidebook for Trasit Operators ad Regioal Trasportatio Plaig Etities developed by Caltras (2008). BACKGROUND Aubur Trasit is maaged ad operated by the City of Aubur Public Works Departmet. Aubur Trasit offers two deviated fixed routes withi the City of Aubur ad some earby portios of uicorporated Placer Couty. VERIFICATION AND USE OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Tables ad figures i Chapter 2 preset operatig data ad performace idicators for Aubur Trasit. Durig the audit period, systemwide ridership decreased by early 9.7 percet. Aubur Trasit is very cost efficiet. I FY , operatig costs per hour ($80.19) o Aubur Trasit were lower tha other wester Placer Couty trasit operators. Cost effectiveess (operatig cost per passeger trip) did ot improve durig the audit period, as a result of the ridership decrease. Trasit productivity (passeger-trips per hour) is withi the acceptable rage for fixed route services However, Aubur Trasit productivity decreased by 12.3 percet durig the audit period. Aubur Trasit services geerated a farebox ratio (the ratio of passeger fares to operatig costs) decliig from percet to percet over the three years. Durig the audit period, Aubur Trasit was subject to farebox ratio requiremets for urbaized areas ad did ot meet this requiremet. However, goig forward, Aubur Trasit will be subject to the rural 10 percet farebox ratio. Aubur Trasit compiled operatig statistics i accordace with TDA defiitios (as preseted i Appedix B of the Performace Audit Guidebook). As for the overall data collectio ad recordig process, Aubur employs a maual data etry process which is subject to huma error. REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS The Performace Audit Guidebook recommeds reviewig trasit operator compliace with certai TDA regulatios that relate to a performace audit. Table 4 presets Aubur Trasit s compliace with these requiremets. Aubur Trasit s public trasit services were foud to be i compliace o all issues except for the timely submittal of the State Cotroller Reports, timely submittal of Fiscal ad Compliace Audits i FY 2011/12, ad meetig the miimum fare box ratio. for Aubur Trasit Page 1

8 STATUS OF PRIOR AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS The previous audit was completed by LSC Trasportatio Cosultats i All recommedatios were completed durig this audit period. DETAILED REVIEW OF TRANSIT OPERATOR FUNCTIONS A importat step i the performace audit process is to evaluate stadard trasit operator fuctios i terms of efficiecy ad effectiveess. This is doe through iterviews with trasit staff. The review of trasit operator fuctios is divided ito the followig categories: Geeral Maagemet ad Orgaizatio Service Plaig Admiistratio Schedulig, Dispatch ad Operatios Marketig ad Public Iformatio Maiteace I summary, orgaizatio ad maagemet of the trasit operator appears to be appropriate for the size ad scope of trasit operatios. Aubur Trasit coducts effective service plaig ad regularly reviews operatig statistics iterally. Aubur Trasit has i place safety, operatios, ad traiig procedures which comply with applicable regulatios. Sufficiet marketig ad public outreach efforts are coducted by Aubur Trasit ad PCTPA. There appears to have bee o sigificat issues durig the audit period with respect to vehicle maiteace. Vehicle replacemet plas are i place to maitai a safe ad operable fleet. FINDINGS Aubur Trasit did ot complete ad submit the aual TDA Fiscal ad Compliace Audit for FY 2011/12 withi the required deadlie. Aubur Trasit has implemeted all of the previous TPA recommedatios. The detailed fuctioal review portio of the audit did ot reveal ay sigificat iefficiecy with respect to trasit operatios ad maagemet, or did it idicate ay misuse of TDA fuds. Durig the audit period, Aubur Trasit s farebox ratio requiremets were complicated by the switch betwee urba ad rural desigatio by the US Cesus. Aubur Trasit did ot meet the urba farebox ratio (15 percet) as required durig the audit period, but trasit services did meet the rural farebox ratio to which it is ow subject (10 percet). RECOMMENDATIONS Recommedatio: Although Aubur Trasit is meetig the curret farebox ratio ad overall trasit performace is good, productivity ad farebox ratio have bee i a dowward tred over the last two audit periods. Aubur Trasit should keep a close eye o these performace idicators ad make service ad/or fare adjustmets as ecessary. Page 2 for Aubur Trasit

9 Chapter 2 Results BACKGROUND The TDA, also kow as the Mills-Alquist Deddeh Act, provides two major sources of fudig for public trasportatio providers i Califoria: the Local Trasportatio Fud (LTF) ad the State Trasit Assistace (STA). The LTF is derived from 0.25 percet of the 7.25 percet retail sales tax collected statewide ad ca be used for a variety of trasportatio purposes accordig to a set of priorities detailed i the Act. The State Board of Equalizatio returs the LTF to each couty accordig to the amout of tax collected i that couty. STA fuds are derived from statewide excise tax o gasolie ad are allocated to each couty based o the followig formula: 50 percet accordig to populatio, ad 50 percet accordig to operator reveues from the prior fiscal year. STA fuds ca oly be used to pay for trasit plaig, capital projects, ad operatios. The Califoria PUC requires that a (TPA) be coducted for all trasit operators ad Regioal Trasportatio Plaig Agecies (RTPA). A performace audit is a systematic process of evaluatig a orgaizatio s effectiveess, efficiecy, ad ecoomy of operatios uder maagemet cotrol. The objectives of the audit are to ehace the performace by makig recommedatios for improvemets. I additio, the audit evaluates the adequacy of a orgaizatio s systems ad the degree of compliace with established policies ad procedures. PERFORMANCE AUDIT AND REPORT ORGANIZATION The performace audit cosisted of the followig elemets, icludig: Review of compliace requiremets Follow-up review of prior performace audit recommedatios Iitial review of trasit operator fuctios Verificatio ad use of performace idicators Detailed review of trasit operator fuctios Preparatio of the draft Audit report Preparatio ad presetatio of the fial Audit report TRANSIT PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Aubur Trasit is operated by the City of Aubur Departmet of Public Works. Fuds for Aubur Trasit are allocated by the PCTPA, which was created as a local area plaig agecy to udertake regioal trasportatio plaig for Placer Couty, exclusive of the Lake Tahoe Basi. Aubur Trasit Fixed-Route Service Aubur Trasit operates two deviated fixed-routes (the Red Route ad Blue Route ) withi the City of Aubur ad earby portios of uicorporated Placer Couty. The two routes primarily cover the same area; however the Blue Route has a exteded service area i the orther ad souther portios of Aubur. The Blue Route provides service betwee the hours of 6:00 AM ad 4:55 PM (a 6:00 PM ru is offered for returs oly), Moday through Friday. The Red Route provides service betwee 7:00 AM ad 5:55 PM. Trasfers are offered at the Aubur - Coheim Multimodal Statio for both routes. No bus service is for Aubur Trasit Page 3

10 provided o Sudays, however hourly Saturday service is offered o a sigle route betwee 9:00 AM ad 4:50 PM (a 5:00 PM ru is offered for returs oly). The oe-way geeral public fare is $1.00, ad discouted fares are $0.50 for youths, seiors, ad disabled persos. Passegers may trasfer without additioal charge to Placer Couty Trasit, Capital Corridor trai service, ad Gold Coutry Stage. Buses will deviate up to three-quarters of a mile from the regular bus routes with advaced reservatios for o additioal fare for all passegers. Reservatios are required for deviatios. Additioally, a umber of call-i stops are available o both routes. AUBURN TRANSIT OPERATING AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS Operatig statistics are preseted i Table 1 ad Figures 1-6 ad were obtaied from aual State Cotroller Reports, aual Fiscal ad Compliace Audits, ad data provided by Aubur Trasit. Data Collectio Methods As part of the TPA process, the auditor must collect ad verify the followig trasit operator statistics: Operatig Cost Passeger Cout Vehicle Service Hours Vehicle Service Miles Employee Hours i Full-Time Equivalets Operatig Cost data was obtaied from aual Fiscal ad Compliace Audits ad iclude total operatig expeses mius depreciatio costs ad cost of charter (charters oly occurred i FY 09/10 ad 10/11). The Fiscal Auditor s tests of the Aubur Trasit disclosed o istace of ocompliace that would be required to be reported uder Govermet Auditig Stadards. Accordig to Sectio 99247(a), operatig costs iclude all costs except depreciatio, direct costs for charter services ad vehicle lease costs. Extesio of service ca be excluded per Sectio The Passeger Cout data is preseted i Table 1 ad represets uliked trips. This data was obtaied from State Cotroller Reports ad compared to data provided i iteral reports. There were o discrepacies foud betwee the two sources. Systemwide, Aubur Trasit ridership decreased by 9.7 percet over the audit period. There was o correspodig decrease i service levels. Vehicle Service Hours was obtaied from State Cotroller Reports ad match iteral records. The defiitio of a vehicle service hour as curretly used by Aubur Trasit is cosistet with the defiitio preseted i Appedix B of the Performace Audit Guidebook. Vehicle Service Miles data was obtaied from State Cotroller Reports ad are cosistet with iteral operatig reports. The defiitio of a Vehicle Service Mile as curretly used by Aubur Trasit is cosistet with the defiitio preseted i Appedix B of the Performace Audit Guidebook. The Number of Employee Hours i Full-Time Equivalets (FTE) data preseted i Table 1 was obtaied from the State Cotroller s Reports. Aubur Trasit ow uses 2,000 aual perso hours of work i calculatig FTE per the Performace Audit Guidebook. Page 4 for Aubur Trasit

11 TABLE 1: Aubur Trasit Systemwide Performace Measures Previous Audit Period Curret Audit Period Performace Measures Oe-Way Passeger-Trips 62,221 57,064 65,656 54,121 53,501 48,862 % Chage from Previous Year % 15.1% -17.6% -1.1% -8.7% Vehicle Service Hours 5,160 4,653 4,874 4,563 4,656 4,700 % Chage from Previous Year % 4.7% -6.4% 2.0% 0.9% Vehicle Service Miles 62,070 62,924 65,473 61,299 60,780 61,511 % Chage from Previous Year % 4.1% -6.4% -0.8% 1.2% Operatig Costs $391,814 $471,244 $426,336 $389,967 $383,518 $376,875 % Chage from Previous Year % -9.5% -8.5% -1.7% -1.7% Number of Employees % Chage from Previous Year % 0.0% -14.3% 0.0% 0.0% Farebox Reveues $34,461 $38,095 $38,933 $25,788 $25,807 26,461 % Chage from Previous Year % 2.2% -33.8% 0.1% 2.5% Operatig Cost per Oe-Way Passeger-Trip $6.30 $8.26 $6.49 $7.21 $7.17 $7.71 % Chage from Previous Year % -21.4% 11.0% -0.5% 7.6% Operatig Cost per Vehicle Reveue Hour $75.93 $ $87.47 $85.46 $82.37 $80.19 % Chage from Previous Year % -13.6% -2.3% -3.6% -2.7% Passegers per Vehicle Service Hour % Chage from Previous Year % 9.8% -12.0% -3.1% -9.5% Passegers per Vehicle Service Mile % Chage from Previous Year % 10.6% -12.0% -0.3% -9.8% Vehicle Service Hours per Employee % Chage from Previous Year % 4.7% 9.2% 2.0% 0.9% Farebox Recovery Ratio 12.1% 11.2% 14.0% 13.02% 12.03% 10.24% % Chage from Previous Year % 24.9% -7.1% -7.6% -14.9% Note: Previous audit period data obtaied from prior performace audit. for Aubur Trasit Page 5

12 Figure 1: Aubur Trasit Operatig Costt per Passeger-Trip Operatig Cost per Pax-trip $10.00 $8.00 $6.00 $4.00 $2.00 $0.00 $6.30 FY $8.26 FY $6.49 $7.21 $7.17 FY FY FY $7.71 FY Figure 2: Aubur Trasit Operatig Costt per Hour Operatig Cost per Hour $ $ $80.00 $60.00 $40.00 $20.00 $0.00 $75.93 $ $87.47 $ $82.37 FY FY 07 FY FY FY $80.19 FY Figure 3: Aubur Trasitt Passegers per Hour Passegers per Hour Page 6 for Aubur Trasit

13 Figure 4: Aubur Trasit Passegers perr Mile 1.25 Passegers per Mile Figure 5: Aubur Trasit Hours per Employee 1,000 Hours per Employee Figure 6: Aubur Trasit Farebox Ratio 15.0% 12.5% Farebox Ratio 10.0% 7.5% 5.0% 2.5% 12.1% 11.2% 14.0% % 12.03% 10.24% 0.0% for Aubur Trasit Page 7

14 The Farebox Reveue data preseted i Table 1 was obtaied from aual Fiscal ad Compliace Audit reports. It should be oted that PUC Sectio states that fare reveues are defied as reveue object classes 401, 402, ad 403, as specified i Sectio of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulatios: Object class 401 reveues iclude full adult, seior, studet, child, hadicapped, Park-ad-Ride lot reveues (must be operated by trasit operator), special ad reduced fares collected from passegers. Object class 402 reveues iclude guarateed reveues collected from a orgaizatio rather tha a rider for rides give alog special routes. Object class 403 reveues iclude reveues collected from schools for providig service to childre to ad from school. Fare reveue also icludes the amout of reveue received by a etity uder cotract for trasit services ot yet trasferred to the claimat. Additioally, the defiitio of fare reveues icludes fares collected (1) for a specified group of employees, members, or cliets, or (2) to guaratee a miimum reveue o a lie operated especially for the beefit of the payig etity (e.g. a employer, shoppig ceter, uiversity, etc.), or (3) cash doatios made by idividual passegers i lieu of a prescribed fare. Fare reveue does ot iclude other doatios or geeral operatig assistace, whether from public or private sources. However, either charter or advertisig reveues ca be icluded i the fare reveue category ad either ca cout toward the farebox recovery ratio calculatio. Aubur Trasit calculates ad reports fare reveue correctly. Aubur Trasit did operate charter services i FY ad ; therefore charter reveue was excluded from fare reveue. As for the overall data collectio ad recordig process, Aubur Trasit employs a straightforward maual data etry process. Drivers keep track of passeger boardigs by type ad record total passegertrips for each ru maually oto the daily operatios reports. A detailed Aual Operatios Report icludig performace statistics by route is prepared by Aubur staff. Although a system of checks is i place, maually etered data is still subject to huma error. Calculatio ad Evaluatio of Performace Idicators Usig the data described above, the followig performace idicators were calculated as required i Sectio 99246(d) of the PUC: Operatig Cost per Passeger Operatig Cost per Vehicle Reveue Hour Passegers per Vehicle Reveue Hour Passegers per Vehicle Reveue Mile Vehicle Reveue Hours per Employee I additio, farebox recovery ratio is calculated ad evaluated herei, as required i Sectio et seq. of the PUC. The Operatig Cost per (Oe-way) Passeger-Trip data is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 1. This performace measure is a key idicator of a trasit system s cost effectiveess. Accordig to the available data, operatig cost per oe-way passeger-trip stayed relatively steady from FY to FY ad icreased slightly i FY , about 7.6 percet. As compared to the prior audit period, cost effectiveess declied slightly. Page 8 for Aubur Trasit

15 The Operatig Cost per Vehicle Service Hour data is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 2. This performace measure is aother key idicator of a trasit system s cost efficiecy. The operatig cost per vehicle reveue hour improved durig this audit period by decreasig 6.1 percet. The Passegers per Vehicle Service Hour (commoly referred to as productivity ) is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 3. As preseted, productivity decreased each year of the audit period from passegers per hour i FY to passegers per hour i FY Productivity o Aubur Trasit was affected by a drop i ridership with a correspodig small icrease i vehicle hours. The Passegers per Vehicle Service Mile data is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 4. As preseted, passegers per vehicle service mile remaied steady from FY to FY but the dropped about 10 percet i FY Similar to passegers per hour the decrease was a result of the drop i ridership over the same time period. The Vehicle Service Hours per FTE data is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 5. As preseted, the umber of vehicle service hours per full-time employee equivalet icreased slightly durig the audit period, 3.0 percet. The Farebox Recovery Ratio data is preseted i Table 1 ad Figure 6. The farebox recovery ratio decreased each year of the audit period from about 13 percet i to just above 10 percet i FY As discussed i the Compliace Requiremets Sectio, durig the audit period, Aubur Trasit was subject to urbaized farebox ratios, which it did ot meet. It should be oted that both Aubur Trasit staff ad the Auditor (Table 1) iclude local support i the farebox recovery ratio calculatio. Per TDA Sectio , trasit operators ca add local support to fare reveue to determie the farebox ratio. Local support is defied as reveues i the followig reveue accout classes of the Uiform System of Accouts ad Records adopted by the State Cotroller pursuat to the PUC Sectio 99243: Auxiliary Trasportatio Reveues Taxes Levied Directly by Trasit System Local Cash Grats & Reimbursemets Geeral Operatig Assistace Local Special Fare Assistace Subsidy from other Sectors of Operatio The City of Aubur Public Works Departmet performs all maiteace for Aubur Trasit ad does ot charge the trasit budget for the costs. Vehicle maiteace is cosidered part of trasit operatig costs, but i the case of Aubur, it is paid for usig City of Aubur geeral fuds. This i-kid cotributio for maiteace costs falls uder the object class category Geeral Operatig Assistace. As per the prior TPA recommedatio ad show i Table 1, Aubur Trasit icorporates the cost of the mechaics time i operatig costs whe calculatig farebox recovery ratio. Recommedatios o Data Collectio As oted above, o discrepacies exist betwee the operatioal data maitaied i iteral Aubur Trasit reports ad the data reported i the aual State Cotroller Report submittals. Some discrepacies existed betwee fiscal data maitaied i iteral Aubur Trasit reports ad the aual Fiscal ad Compliace audits for this period. This is typical as fiacial data foud i iteral reports ad reported to the State Cotroller is uaudited. for Aubur Trasit Page 9

16 Assessmet of Iteral Cotrols To esure that the iformatio gathered as part of this audit is reliable ad valid, a review of iteral cotrols is ecessary. A trasit operator s iteral cotrols are iteded to do the followig: Provide reasoable assurace that program goals ad objectives are met Esure that resources are adequately safeguarded ad efficietly used Esure that reliable data are obtaied, maitaied ad fairly disclosed i reports Esure that the trasit operator complies with laws ad regulatios The City of Aubur appears to have a reasoably well-developed system of iteral cotrols appropriate to the size of the trasit system as echoed i all three Fiscal ad Compliace audits. REVIEW OF COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS As a etity receivig TDA fuds for trasit purposes, Aubur Trasit is required to comply with laws ad statutes set forth i the Act. Below is a discussio of Aubur Trasit s compliace with sectios of the Public Utilities Code which relate to trasit performace, as recommeded i the Performace Audit Guidebook. Table 2 displays the results of the compliace aalysis: 1. I accordace with PUC Sectio 99243, Aubur Trasit has submitted aual reports to the PCTPA ad the State Cotroller based upo the Uiform System of Accouts ad Records established by the State Cotroller. However, the reports were submitted slightly after the 110 day deadlie for electroic filig (October 18th). The FY 2009/10 report was submitted o 11/13/10; the FY 2010/11 report was submitted o 11/9/11; the FY 2011/12 report was submitted o 10/22/ I accordace with PUC Sectio 99245, Aubur Trasit submitted aual fiscal ad compliace audits to the PCTPA for each year of the audit period. A 90-day extesio was grated for the last two years of the audit period. I FY , the audit was submit a few days after the deadlie. A idepedet auditor completed these reports as required. Aubur Trasit staff idicated that data was provided to the Fiscal Auditor by the fall followig the close of each fiscal year. Therefore, late completio of Aubur Trasit Fiscal ad Compliace Audits are due to delays o the part of the Fiscal Auditor. 3. I accordace with PUC Sectio 99251, Aubur Trasit has submitted evidece that the Califoria Highway Patrol has certified compliace with Vehicle Code Sectio withi the 13 moths prior to each TDA claim submitted. CHP Reports were siged with a Satisfactory ratig o each year of the audit period. 4. I accordace with PUC Sectio 99261, Aubur Trasit s claims for TDA fuds are submitted i compliace with rules ad regulatios adopted by the PCTPA for such claims. 5. Aubur Trasit is ot subject to farebox ratio requiremets listed i PUC PUC Sectio requires that Aubur Trasit s operatig budgets ot icrease by more tha 15 percet over the precedig year, ad o substatial icrease or decrease i the scope of operatios or capital budget provisios for major ew fixed facilities be realized uless the operator has reasoably supported ad substatiated the chage(s). As show i Table 1, actual operatig costs durig the audit period decreased slightly. Therefore, Aubur trasit is cosistet with PUC Sectio Page 10 for Aubur Trasit

17 TABLE 2: Trasit Operator Compliace Requiremets - Aubur Trasit I Compliace? Requiremet PUC Referece Yes No Commets (1) (2) (3) The trasit operator submitted aual reports to the RTPE based upo the Uiform System of Accouts ad Records established by the State Cotroller withi the specified time period. The operator has submitted aual fiscal ad compliace audits to its RTPE ad to the State Cotroller withi 180 days followig the ed of the fiscal year, or has received the 90-day extesio allowed by law. The CHP has, withi the 13 moths prior to each TDA claim submitted by a operator certified the operator's compliace with Vehicle Code Sectio followig CHP ispectio of the operator's termial x x b x State Cotrollers Reports submitted: 2009/10 o 11/13/ /11 o 11/9/ /12 o 10/22/12 Audits submitted: 2009/10 o 12/29/ /11 o 3/28/ /12 o 4/3/2013 (4) The operator's claim for TDA fuds is submitted i compliace with rules ad regulatios adopted by the RTPA for such claims x (5) If a operator serves urbaized ad o-urbaized areas, it has maitaied a ratio of fare reveues to operatig costs at least equal to the ratio determied by the rules ad regulatios adopted by the RTPA NA (6) The operator's operatig budget has ot icreased by more tha 15 percet over the precedig year, or is there a substatial icrease or decrease i the scope of operatios or capital budget provisios for major ew fixed facilities x (7) The operator's defiitios of performace measures are cosistet with Public Utilities Code Sectio x (8) If the operator serves a urbaized area, it has maitaied a ratio of fare reveue to operatig cost at least equal to oe-fifth (20 percet), uless it is i a couty with a populatio of less tha 500,000, i which case it must maitai a ratio of at least three-twetieths (15 percet) , , ad x Refer to discussio i text (9) If the operator serves a rural area, it has maitaied a ratio of fare reveues to operatig costs at least equal to oe-teth (10 percet) , , ad NA (10) The curret cost of operator's retiremet system is fully fuded with respect to the officers ad employees of its public trasportatio system, or the operator is implemetig a pla approved by the RTPE, which will fully fud the retiremet system for 40 years x (11) If the operator receives state trasit assistace fuds, the operator makes full use of fuds if available to it uder the Urba Mass Trasportatio Act of 1964 before TDA claims are grated. Califoria Code of Regulatios, Sectio 6754 (a) (3) x 7. Aubur Trasit s defiitios of performace measures are cosistet with PUC Sectio Durig the audit period, Aubur Trasit did ot meet the required TDA farebox ratio. Aubur Trasit s farebox ratio requiremet chaged durig the audit period. With the previous two US Cesus (2000 ad 2010), the boudaries of the Sacrameto Urbaized Area have chaged. This has complicated farebox ratio requiremets for Aubur Trasit. Prior to 2000, the City of Aubur was cosidered rural ad therefore subject to a 10 percet farebox ratio. As part of the US Cesus 2000 the City of Aubur was icluded i the Sacrameto Urbaized Area. Per PUC , PCTPA was allowed to grat Aubur Trasit five years from July of the year followig the year of the Cesus (July 2006) to meet the urbaized farebox ratio requiremet. As Placer Couty has a populatio of less tha 500,000, PCTPA is also able to set the farebox ratio for urbaized trasit operators as 15 percet istead of 20 percet. PCTPA did ot officially adopt a 15 percet farebox ratio for Aubur Trasit util July Therefore, the Fiscal ad Compliace for Aubur Trasit Page 11

18 Auditors assumed a farebox ratio requiremet of 20 percet (default urbaized requiremet) for FY ad FY ad a 15 percet farebox ratio requiremet i FY Aubur Trasit did ot meet these TDA requiremets, therefore the Fiscal ad Compliace Auditors calculated pealties for each o-compliace year. PCTPA assessed a pealty i FY for ocompliace with the 20 percet TDA farebox ratio requiremet i FY The 2010 US Cesus altered the boudaries of the Sacrameto Urbaized Area to ot iclude the City of Aubur. New urbaized area boudaries were made available by the Cesus Bureau i Therefore begiig FY Aubur Trasit s farebox ratio will retur to 10 percet. 9. See discussio for umber I compliace with PUC Code 99271, the City of Aubur participates i the State of Califoria PERS for its employee retiremet through the City of Aubur employee beefit program. 11. I accordace with Califoria Code of Regulatios Sectio 6754(a) (3), Aubur Trasit makes full use of fuds available to it uder the FTA programs before TDA claims are grated. STATUS OF PRIOR AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS The previous audit was completed by, ad the recommedatios from that effort are eumerated below. Recommedatio 1: Farebox retur ratio is low, assumig that routig ad operatios are efficiet, the most likely approach to achieve a improved farebox ratio will iclude a fare icrease. Status: Implemetatio Complete. Fares were icreased from $0.80 to $1.00 for a oe-way fare i February of It should be oted that Aubur Trasit s fares are still low i compariso to other wester Placer Couty trasit operators. Recommedatio 2: I the future, Aubur Trasit should calculate FTEs accordig to the defiitio i the Performace Audit Guidebook. A FTE employee cout ca be calculated by dividig the umber of perso-hours worked by 2,000. Implemetatio Complete: Aubur Trasit chaged FTE calculatios as of Fiscal Year 2009/10 to meet the Performace Audit Guidebook defiitios. Recommedatio 3: Aubur Trasit provided charter services, as defied by 49 CFR Part 604 Charter Service; Fial Rule durig the audit period. Aubur Trasit trasports passegers to dowtow/old tow four times a year durig the moths of April, Jue, August ad October as part of Art Walk. Although this service is ope to the geeral public, fares for Art Walk passegers are paid for by the Placer Arts Coucil. Accordig to 49 CFR Part 604, a public trasit operator who receives FTA fuds must otify registered charter providers listed o the website whe a request for charter service is received. If o registered chartered provider respods to the otificatio, the the public trasit operator is allowed to provide the charter service. I the future, Aubur Trasit should follow the procedures listed i 49 CRF Part 604 before provided charter service, icludig the Art Walk. Implemetatio Complete: The Art Walk service is ow cosidered a extesio of ormal operatios, ot a charter service, because it is ope to the public ad the regular fare is charged. Page 12 for Aubur Trasit

19 Recommedatio 4: Marketig has ot bee emphasized by Aubur Trasit, which has relied o wordof-mouth ad persoal commuicatio. Improvig marketig efforts is recommeded to boost ridership ad farebox reveue. The upcomig SRTP effort should iclude a list of potetial marketig strategies with emphasis o the trasit brochure ad route map. The followig lists the auditor s specific recommedatios for Aubur Trasit marketig materials. Overall, the trasit brochure lists valuable iformatio for passegers ad a clear trasit schedule. However, it is difficult particularly for a visitor to the Aubur area to determie the exact locatio of the bus stops o the route map. Very few street ames are listed ad the bus stop icos cover a large area of the map. Oe method of distiguishig bus stops o a route map would be to umber the stops o the schedule ad place the correspodig umber o the route map. Providig a callout box which magifies the cetral Aubur area could also be beeficial. The trasit brochure ad route map should clearly idetify trasfer poits with other regioal trasit services ad major trasit destiatios. Curretly these poits of iterest are preseted i fait text. The lik to Aubur Trasit o is defuct. Aubur Trasit should work with Sacrameto 511 to correct the problem. Implemetatio Complete: The trasit brochure has bee improved ad updated, icludig a easy to idetify trasfer poit. New brochures are available olie ad throughout Aubur. A large map at the trai statio trasfer poit clearly idetifies how ad where to trasfer. The lik to Aubur Trasit o (formerly www. sacrameto511.org) is curretly workig. DETAILED REVIEW OF TRANSIT OPERATOR FUNCTIONS This sectio presets a review of the various fuctios of Aubur Trasit. Sice fuctios of each trasit operator i Califoria will vary depedig o the scope ad breadth of its operatios, ot all parts of this sectio will apply to Aubur Trasit. I geeral, trasit operator fuctios ca be divided ito the followig areas: Geeral Maagemet ad Orgaizatio Service Plaig Schedulig, Dispatch, ad Operatios Persoel Maagemet ad Traiig Admiistratio Marketig ad Public Iformatio Maiteace Geeral Maagemet ad Orgaizatio Day to day operatios of Aubur Trasit is oversee by the full time Trasportatio Supervisor, who reports directly to the Trasit Maager. The Trasit Maager speds betwee 50 percet to 75 percet of her time o trasit ad the remaider o other Public Works fuctios. The Trasportatio Supervisor ad Trasit Maager meet ad/or speak by phoe several times daily. The Trasit Maager reports to the Public Works Director. The two staff members are housed i the same office buildig, facilitatig regular commuicatio. The Trasit Maager is resposible for data etry, trackig operatioal data, budget cotrol ad mothly/quarterly reportig. All trasit fuctios (admiistrative, dispatch, operatios, ad maiteace) are performed i-house. for Aubur Trasit Page 13

20 Aubur Trasit has a appropriately well-defied program of admiistrative oversight. It reviews ad acts upo mothly performace ad fiacial iformatio compiled iterally. The trasit maager reports ridership data quarterly to the PCPTA ad reports fiacial data to the city s Fiace Director. Service Plaig The effectiveess of a trasit system is highly depedet o the cotiued developmet of short- ad log-rage trasit plas. The city s most recet Short Rage Trasit Pla (SRTP) was fialized i August The SRTP was subsequetly adopted by the City Coucil. Although o sigificat trasit service chages had bee made sice the last audit, Aubur Trasit is reviewig the feasibility of several of the alterative routig optios ad service extesios idetified i the SRTP. I terms of strategic plaig, Aubur Trasit has set clear, reasoable goals ad objectives i the SRTP ad the RTP. Aubur Trasit regularly reviews performace ad fiacial data mothly to determie progress toward meetig its goals ad objectives. As part of the SRTP process, schedule adherece ad boardig ad alightig couts were coducted. I additio, five commuity workshops were coducted i cojuctio with PCTPA s umet trasit eeds public process. The survey ad workshop efforts reach out to both riders ad o-riders i the Aubur commuity. Schedulig, Dispatch, ad Operatios This fuctioal area cocers the short-term schedulig of routes, drivers, ad vehicles, the daily coordiatio ad assurace that each customer is served, ad the specific fuctio of providig trasportatio service. Schedulig for Aubur Trasit is provided by the Trasportatio Supervisor. Deviatio requests are routed through the South Placer Call Ceter. Same day deviatio requests (majority of requests) are the set to the Aubur dispatcher. The ADA requires agecies that provide geeral public fixed-route service to also offer complemetary paratrasit service for those idividuals with trasportatio disabilities who caot otherwise use the fixed-route service. The complemetary paratrasit service must be offered durig the same hours ad days as the fixed-route service. Because Aubur Trasit operates a flex-route program that serves the required miimum ADA service area, it is curretly i compliace with the ADA o this issue. Aubur Trasit drivers are appropriately certified for the types of vehicles operated. Drivers choose shifts based o seiority ad are traied to operate each vehicle i the fleet. Drivers are represeted by a labor uio. Full-time employees are eligible for vacatio, sick leave, ad ay other employer-paid beefits, although part-time employees are ot. Temporary employees are called i to cover sick days ad family emergecies. No-moetary awards are give for safe drivig. Persoel Maagemet ad Traiig Aubur Trasit has low driver turover ad is able to hire drivers with previous experiece (geerally retired school bus drivers), limitig the eed to actively recruit ad miimizig the eed for iitial traiig. Iitial ad o-goig driver traiig is coducted by the Trasportatio Supervisor ad meets state requiremets. The Trasportatio Supervisor coducts o-goig traiig at City Hall for Aubur Trasit driver ad school bus drivers. Aubur Trasit requires its drivers to complete te hours of certificate traiig aually, though oly two hours are required by law. Aubur Trasit drivers are required to atted bi-mothly safety meetigs which cover a variety of topics. Aubur Trasit vehicles are Page 14 for Aubur Trasit

21 equipped with safety equipmet such as fire extiguishers ad bells for reverse. Performace evaluatios are coducted aually. Employee disciplie is the resposibility of the Trasportatio Supervisor. There is a clear policy regardig abseces ad tardiess, ad o discipliary actios have bee ecessary beyod a occasioal mior verbal reprimad. Drug ad alcohol policies are i place which coforms to applicable federal ad state requiremets. Admiistratio Aubur Trasit has a reasoably developed budget ad reportig system that is appropriate to the size ad scope of the trasit program. Aubur Trasit uses stadard software programs to maage iformatio ad produce reports. Performace ad fiacial data is moitored iterally. Oly ridership statistics are reported to PCTPA o a quarterly basis. The City Coucil must approve substatial chages i the budget ad/or spedig, while the PCTPA must approve reveue allocatios. Accordig to State Cotroller Reports, operatig expeses were withi budget i all three fiscal years. The City s Trasit Maager had primary oversight of grats maagemet duties, service plaig, ad public iformatio durig the audit period. Day-to-day operatios ad maiteace maagemet cotiues to be provided by the Trasportatio Supervisor. Aubur Trasit operates out of the City s corporatio yard, located at Blocker Drive i Aubur, which is operated ad maitaied by City staff. Aubur Trasit uses maually lockig fareboxes. Fareboxes are collected at the ed of the day ad locked i a secure room. After the morig shift, drivers deliver their fareboxes ad the fareboxes from the previous afteroo s shift to the public works office located at city hall. There, the Trasit Maager couts ad records the fares i the presece of aother staff member ad the submits the fares to the fiace director. The Trasportatio Maager attempts to recocile fares collected with passeger couts. Payroll services for Aubur Trasit are provided through the city s iteral payroll system, which uses a secure database of employee records, pay rate, beefits ad other key data. Employees submit timesheets as a basis for payroll, ad direct payroll deposit is available for city employees. Marketig ad Public Iformatio Iformatio regardig the city s trasit service is accessible through the city s website. The trasit page offers iformatio o fares, schedule times, routes, ad hours of operatio. Also available is cotact iformatio for regioal trasit services icludig both public ad private providers. The Aubur Trasit service map ad schedule ca be dowloaded from the website, both of which were recetly updated. Prited versios of the ew map ad schedule are available throughout tow at the followig locatios: library, chamber of commerce, hotels, ad visitor iformatio ceter. Outreach is provided to schools, particularly to the disabled commuity. Complaits are received verbally, ad if the passeger feels the complait is uresolved, they are ecouraged to put the complait i writig. Very few complaits are received i this maer. Aubur curretly relies o the PCTPA for the majority of regioal marketig efforts, such as the Trasit Coectios i South Placer Couty website ad maps. for Aubur Trasit Page 15

22 Maiteace A prevetive maiteace schedule is i place that meets the requiremets of the bus maufacturers. Drivers track the prevetative maiteace schedule o the Daily Ispectio Report. All vehicle maiteace staff is paid out of the city s geeral fud, without a charge-back to the trasit program. Mechaics time spet repairig trasit vehicles is tracked so that their time may be accouted for i the budget, as this ca be couted toward the farebox ratio calculatio. The City of Aubur s cosolidated operatios/maiteace facility appears to be sufficiet for the varied types of vehicles operated. The facility icludes four service bays, a bus washig area, ad adequate storage space for maiteace equipmet. It also icludes admiistrative space. Vehicles are parked outside i a feced ad paved lot. Sice the last audit, security cameras have bee istalled. Aubur Trasit s curret fleet of five buses is 100 percet wheelchair accessible. The vehicles are i good coditio, with four of the buses beig relatively ew model years of 2009 or The average mileage o the fleet is about 53,000 miles. Oe of the older vehicles has reached the ed of its useful life ad is scheduled for replacemet i FY 2012/13. Vehicles are ispected daily by the Aubur Trasit drivers, ad defects are oted o Daily Ispectio Report. If a safety-related defect is discovered, the vehicle is red-tagged ad the keys are give to the mechaic util the vehicle is repaired. Keys are ot retured util the mechaic esures the vehicle is repaired to specificatios. To esure vehicle availability, the mechaic seeks to complete simple repairs first ad ext cocetrate o more labor-itesive repairs. This priority system seems to work well, as there is ot typically a backlog of repairs. Page 16 for Aubur Trasit

23 Chapter 3 Coclusios ad Recommedatios The Auditor s aalysis of Aubur Trasit idicates that, i terms of operatios, the system was efficietly ru ad well maaged durig the audit period. The City of Aubur adheres to TDA laws ad regulatios i a efficiet ad effective maer, ad is i compliace with TDA rules ad regulatios with a few exceptios. The followig otes the auditor s fidigs ad recommedatios. FINDINGS Aubur Trasit completed ad submitted the aual TDA Fiscal ad Compliace Audit for FY 2011/12 just after the 90 day extesio deadlie. It should be oted that Aubur Trasit provides ecessary data to the Fiscal Auditor i a timely maer. Aubur Trasit has implemeted all of the previous TPA recommedatios. The detailed fuctioal review portio of the audit did ot reveal ay sigificat iefficiecy with respect to trasit operatios ad maagemet, or did it idicate ay misuse of TDA fuds. Durig the audit period, Aubur Trasit s farebox ratio requiremets were complicated by the switch betwee rural ad urba desigatio by the US Cesus. Techically, Aubur Trasit did ot meet the urba farebox ratio requiremets durig the audit period. However, goig forward Aubur Trasit will be subject to a rural farebox ratio. Aubur Trasit s curret farebox ratio meets the rural requiremet. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommedatio: Although Aubur Trasit is meetig the curret farebox ratio ad overall trasit performace is good, productivity ad farebox ratio have bee i a dowward tred over the last two audit periods. Aubur Trasit should keep a close eye o these performace idicators ad make service ad/or fare adjustmets as ecessary. Aubur Trasit productivity (passeger-trips per hour) is withi the idustry stadard bechmark for fixed route services: 10 passeger-trips per hour. However, productivity slowly decreased durig this audit period ad is below the six year high of passeger-trips per hour. Farebox ratio has also decreased from a six year high of 14.0 percet to 10.1 percet. The Aubur Trasit SRTP recommeded a variety of alteratives to icrease trasit performace ragig from limitig route deviatios to revisig fixed routes. Aubur Trasit should carefully track performace measures ad cosider implemetatio of SRTP alteratives that boost productivity. I a effort to keep the City Coucil iformed of trasit productivity, Aubur Trasit staff should report historical ad curret performace statistics to the City Coucil at least aually. for Aubur Trasit Page 17

24 This page left itetioally blak. Page 18 for Aubur Trasit