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AGENDA REPORT
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| | | | | | | | DATE:
| February 4, 2020
| TO:
| Mayor and City Council
| FROM:
| Stefan T. Chatwin, City Manager 
| | SUBJECT: | Resolution 2020-21 of the City Council of the City of Fairfield Approving Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) Expansion of the Free Golden Pass Program to Include Rides on SolanoExpress Blue and Green Express Lines |
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| | | | | | | | | RECOMMENDED ACTION | | Adopt resolution. |
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| | | | | | | | | STATEMENT OF ISSUE | | Approval of the attached resolution would authorize Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST) to expand the Free Golden Pass Program to allow participating and future City of Fairfield and Suisun City residents age 80 and older to ride FAST SolanoExpress commuter routes free of charge. |
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| | | | | | | | | DISCUSSION | On October 7, 2014, by Resolution 2014-210, City Council adopted the Golden Pass Program for Fairfield and Suisun seniors (age 80 or older) as a component of FAST’s Community Engagement Policy. Since 2014, FAST has issued more than 300 Golden passes. Currently, the Golden Pass allows eligible riders to ride for free on local routes within Fairfield and Suisun City.
The Golden Pass program has been a great success for FAST. The program has increased mobility and expanded access to meet the travel needs of low-income seniors or seniors who are no longer driving. Eligible pass holders regularly express their gratitude and share program information with their peers, which has made this a popular program resulting in increased FAST ridership (40 passes in 2014 to 352 currently).
As proposed and requested by current pass holders, FAST would expand the Golden Pass program to include free rides on FAST SolanoExpress Blue Line and Green Express (GX) routes. The Blue Line serves the cities of Vacaville, Dixon, Davis, Sacramento, Benicia and the Pleasant Hill BART Station; while the GX provides non-stop service to the El Cerrito del Norte BART Station. Expanding program options will provide additional safe travel options for these seniors to travel outside Fairfield and Suisun City. Because the program is already in place, expanding this promotion option would be of minimal impact to FAST operations since the riders will typically be riding during off peak travel hours when there is excess capacity on the bus. In addition, even though FAST would not receive fare revenue, the increased ridership and community goodwill generated from this program will more than offset the minimal fare revenue that would be received.
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| | | | | | | | | FINANCIAL IMPACT | | There is no impact to the General Fund and only minimal cost for staff time to notify participants of this additional program option which will be covered by Transportation Development Act operations funding. |
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| | | | | | | | | CITY COUNCIL WORKPLAN | Community Safety
| Community Infrastructure | Quality of Life | | Financial and Operational Sustainability | Economic Development | Travis Air Force Base |
| City Council Goal this item supports:
Quality of Life |
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| | | | | | | | | Project: | One-time item not recommended for including in the Workplan
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| | | | | | | | | PUBLIC CONTACT/ADVISORY BODY RECOMMENDATION | Staff presented the Golden Pass Program Expansion to the Intercity Transit Finance Working Group on November 19, 2019, and the Consolidated Transportation Services Agency Advisory Committee on January 23, 2020.
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| | | | | | | | | ALTERNATIVE ACTION | | City Council may choose not to support adding the SolanoExpress routes to Golden Pass Program. |
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| | | | | | | | | STAFF CONTACT | April Cobb, Transportation Technician
707-434-3809
acobb@fairfield.ca.gov
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| | | | | | | | | COORDINATED WITH | Solano Transportation Authority
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| REVIEWERS: | | Reviewer | Action | Date | | Feinstein, Diane | Approved | 1/21/2020 - 6:58 PM | | Kaushal, Paul | Approved | 1/22/2020 - 1:58 PM | | Alexander, Amber | Approved | 1/23/2020 - 2:25 PM | | Alexander, Amber | Approved | 1/27/2020 - 6:24 PM |
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