Agenda Item Wording:
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Agreement for College of the Sequoias Student Transit Pass Program - Authorize the City Manager to sign the renewal Agreement between the City of Visalia and the Tulare County Association of Governments to participate in the COS Student Transit Pass Program for the Spring 2025 through Fall 2034 semesters.
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Deadline for Action: 6/16/2025
Submitting Department: Administration - Transit Division
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Angelina DeRossett, Transit Manager, (559)713-4591, Angelina.DeRossett@Visalia.City John Lollis, Assistant City Manager, (559)713-4323, John.Lollis@Visalia.City
Department Recommendation:
Authorize the City Manager to sign the renewal Agreement between the City of Visalia and the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) to participate in the COS Student Transit Pass Program for the Spring 2025 through Fall 2034 semesters.
Summary:
Beginning in January 2011, the College of the Sequoias (COS) and the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) entered into an agreement, and the City entered into a separate agreement with TCAG, to participate in the COS Student Transit Pass Program. The agreement between COS and TCAG is to facilitate the contract for services with each participating Transit agency, which in turn enters into agreements with the individual Transit agencies. The prior agreements between COS and TCAG and the City and TCAG expired on December 31, 2020. COS and TCAG have renewed their agreement for ten (10) years effective December 1, 2024 through December 31, 2034, and TCAG has requested that the City of Visalia, the City of Porterville and the Tulare County Regional Transit Agency (TCRTA) approve the same.
Background Discussion:
Beginning in 2010, City staff worked with the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) and the College of the Sequoias (COS) to establish the formation of a transit pass program specifically for COS students. This was a collaborative effort between the City, COS, TCAG and the other transit providers in both Tulare and Kings Counties. TCAG conducted a study to implement the COS Student Transit Pass Program, which resulted in a 3-year pilot program beginning with the Spring 2011 semester. In September 2010, COS students voted to implement a mandatory transportation fee of $5.00 for full-time students and $4.00 for part-time students each semester, and the COS Board of Trustees approved a $1.00 per student match each semester. Through an agreement in 2011, the City and TCAG agreed to terms for the pilot program, including that the City would not subsidize the COS Student Transit Pass Program. During the 3-year pilot program, student ridership experienced almost a fifty percent (50%) increase in ridership, with more than 100,000 rides in Spring 2014. Given the success of the pilot program, the COS Student Transit Pass Program was formalized by a 7-year Agreement beginning with the Fall 2014 semester through the Spring 2020 semester, and the full-time student semester fee was increased from $5.00 to $10.00 and the part-time student semester fee from $4.00 to $9.00.
It is the purpose of the program that the fees from the students, combined with the COS contribution, make the program fully supported by the students and COS and fully fund the City’s proportional operating costs resulting from the program. Currently, there is approximately $980,000 in revenues collected above operating expenditures for the program since 2014 that is reserved for transit capital improvements that directly benefit COS and its students. These reserve funds are housed with TCAG for future capital expenses related to the COS Student Transit Pass Program.
Due to the disruptions brought by the pandemic in Spring 2020, the expiration of the 7-year agreement between COS and TCAG and TCAG with the transit providers was not formally extended. It has been operating in accordance with the expired agreement. TCAG initiated a 10-year renewal of the expired agreement with COS during Summer 2024, which was formally approved by both the COS Board of Trustees and the TCAG Board of Governors at their meetings in December 2024, beginning with the Spring 2025 semester through the Fall 2034 semester. TCAG is now requesting the transit providers to consider approval of the same.
Similar to overall public transit trends subsequent to the pandemic, ridership has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels but is steadily increasing. Please see the chart below for ridership over the term of the prior Agreement:
Year: Ridership:
FY 2014-15 206,439
FY 2015-16 171,998
FY 2016-17 149,551
FY 2017-18 174,965
FY 2018-19 164,742
FY 2019-20 110,092*
FY 2020-21 3,921**
FY 2021-22 40,995
FY 2022-23 52,467
FY 2023-24 57,080
FY 2024-25 75,800 (Projected)
(*) No ridership April - June 2020 due to campus closure
(**) No ridership July 2020 - January 2021 due to campus closure
There are several benefits to the COS Student Transit Pass Program, including allowing many students the opportunity to attend COS that would otherwise be unable to do so, community economic benefits that are associated with a more educated population (i.e., less unemployment and more educational attainment opportunities), and students developing transit habits that may remain beyond the college experience.
Fiscal Impact:
None
Prior Council Action:
August 18, 2014 - City and TCAG Agreement for Fall 2014 through Spring 2020
June 3, 2013 - City and TCAG Agreement for Summer 2013 through Fall 2014
Other: N/A
Alternatives:
The City Council could elect not to approve this agreement and end the City’s participation in the COS Student Transit Pass Program.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to sign the renewal Agreement between the City of Visalia and the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) to participate in the COS Student Transit Pass Program for the Spring 2025 through Fall 2034 semesters.
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments:
Draft Agreement
City Council Agenda Staff Report - August 18, 2014