Please note that this was developed before SacRT decided to scrap its Uber-based rideshare voucher program, so some parts will be irrelevant. However, it is useful to see our thoughts about services that were provided under the existing Smart Ride program (though unsustainable), and that might be provided under a revised Smart Ride program (hopefully sustainable). This is a follow-on to our the end of SmaRT Ride post, and will be followed by some information about the replacement program, including chances for public information and feedback.

STAR makes the following demands and suggestions for the current issue of the termination of SmaRT Ride and the proposed rideshare voucher program:

• A public hearing on the change should be scheduled for the October 14 or 28 board meeting.
• The termination of SmaRT Ride and the implementation of the rideshare voucher program should be delayed by at least one month, to January 31 for termination and to February 1 for program start.
• We strongly encourage SacRT to rethink the purpose of the rideshare voucher program, and to focus on special populations (moderately disabled, senior, and low-income) rather than providing service to all potential riders, many of whom do not need this service.
• We strongly encourage SacRT to consider retaining SacRT drivers and vehicles to serve the identified population of riders. Uber cannot effectively meet the needs of the special populations, so some direct SacRT service is necessary.
• Return any existing or proposed program to the purpose of bringing riders to and from the bus and light rail system. Point-to-point or corner-to-corner would not be provided except in special circumstances of distance or mobility limitations.

Background information and details are provided below.

Public Hearing

Staff is claiming that termination of SmaRT Ride and the new pilot ride share voucher program do not require board action or Title VI analysis. The contracts to provide private vendor services would require board action, but likely on the consent agenda without board or public discussion. While staff may be legally correct, this is a major decision about services provided by SacRT, and it deserves board discussion with public input. Though planning has been ongoing for months, the Mobility Advisory Council was unaware of it until September 19, and the public was unaware until September 23, and is largely still unaware. This transition is being rushed, and it should not be. STAR demands that the board hold a public hearing on the changes.

Timing

The schedule proposed by staff, to terminate SmaRT Ride by December 31, and implement the ride share voucher program on January 1, does not provide staff, operator employees, the board, or the public enough time to respond to the changes. The proposal offered by staff at the September 23 board meeting has so many unanswered questions and vague plans that it cannot be ready to go on schedule. Though the core Uber service is fairly well defined, almost everything else including how the program will work for disabled people, is vague. Promises that major issues will be resolved after the program starts are not acceptable. STAR asks that the transition be delayed for at least one month, and recognizes that a longer delay may be needed to resolve critical questions about the program.

History and Purpose

The SmaRT Ride program was initiated to serve the Citrus Heights and further suburbs which were losing two bus routes under the SacRT Forward system redesign, to bring riders to and from the bus system. That was the value of the program sold to the board and the public, and one which STAR supported. However, the service became a point-to-point or corner-to-corner service, not focused on supporting the existing bus and light rail system, and was greatly expanded to much of the SacRT service area, including zones which had great bus and light rail service to begin with.

For areas which were developed at a low density, and which are impractical to serve with fixed route bus service, on-demand micro-transit has value in bringing riders into the system. However, with so much of the SacRT service area being low and very low density, and the agency very poorly funded in comparison to peer agencies, it is unlikely to be possible to provide the service to everyone in a fiscally responsible or sustainable manner.

Mission Drift

The SmaRT Ride program is in part a victim of mission drift. It was originally defined as a service to bring riders into the bus system, where bus routes did not exist or had been recently eliminated. When it became a point-to-point service offered in zones which did have good to great bus and light rail service, offered at standard fares, it was clear to STAR and transit advocates that the program was not sustainable. Yet staff continued to insist that the service was sustainable, and referred to its popularity rather than fiscal soundness.

Who do we serve?

Both SmaRT Ride and the proposed Rideshare Voucher Program are designed to serve all potential riders within defined zones. STAR does not feel that on-demand, individualized service is needed for general ridership, and certainly is not fiscally sustainable. Instead, service should be focused on specific populations which need support in order to use the system. Specifically, these populations are:

• People with disabilities who do not need the full support of the Paratransit service, but have difficulty accessing or using the bus and light rail system. These include, but are not limited to, people with mobility limitations but who don’t use wheelchairs, and blind/limited vision people who must travel with their guide dogs. Uber does not and likely will never serve this population in the Sacramento region.
• Seniors. Though seniors do not necessarily require on-demand service, they have been offered this service at the reduced fare of $1.25 per ride. Under the proposed Uber-based system, they would be paying an average of $7.89 per ride, sometimes much more.
• Low-income. SacRT does not provide any benefits to low-income riders. Some low-income riders get tickets through social service agencies, but only a small portion of those needing reduced fares. STAR believes that SacRT should implement a reduced fare program for low-income riders, no matter what the nature of services are, detailed below.

Affordability

SacRT transit services, of which SmaRT Ride was a part, use a regular fare of $2.50 and a discounted fare of $1.25 for disabled and seniors. It is unlikely that the public would accept a fare increase, as demonstrated by the uproar over the fare increase implemented in 2012, with a corresponding reduction in ridership, and reversal of the increase. Yet Uber, as a private company, can and will increase prices. The staff analysis of comparable Uber rides showing an average cost of $12.89 will be out of date, with higher prices coming. The Uber ride-hailing business model is itself unsustainable.

Students

The RydeFree RT program of free fares for K-12 students for travel to and from school, as well as other trips, is a great success story for SacRT and students. The SmaRT Ride program was a part of that success, allowing students who did not live close to transit to access school. Staff estimated that 20% of the riders were students.

The ride share voucher program does not serve this same population. Uber for Teens (https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/teens/) is only available for youth 13 and up, and requires that both the parent and youth have an Uber account, a smart phone and a credit card. The proposal does nothing for students 12 and under, basically through sixth or seventh grade.Again, a population which really needs supportive services is left out.

Uber Service Quality

Members of the MAC and the public have shared a number of concerns and stories about the quality of Uber service. People have been refused transport (which is ‘legal’ under the claim that Uber drivers are independent contractors), with blind/limited vision people with guide dogs being repeated victims, have been cancelled from scheduled rides without explanation, and have been dropped in the wrong location. Overall, Uber seems to work OK, but these flaws must be addressed in any new program, particularly as it relates to disabled riders.

Account-based Services

The account-based management of the proposed voucher system, mentioned several times in the MAC presentation but not noted in the board agenda item, is a great idea that STAR fully supports. An account-based system, used by every major transit agency in California, is a much more reliable and flexible method than the ConnectCard closed loop card and the ZipPass app. Metro LA and the five major agencies within the Bay Area Clipper system (BART, AC Transit, SF Muni, VTA and Caltrain) all offer reduced fares for low-income riders. Accounts allow riders to apply for specific discounts or benefits, and would be key to implementing a low-income reduced fare, which STAR strongly supports. It would also allow deposits of cash for ongoing fare payment. We hope to see this implemented as soon as possible, regardless of the outcome of the rideshare voucher program.

• SacRT
• SacRT SmaRT Ride