#7 Introduce and schedule a public hearing to establish bus fare rates for Janesville-Milton-Whitewater commuter bus service (File Ord. #2012-516)
JANESVILLE TRANSIT SYSTEM MEMORANDUM
March 28, 2012
TO: City Council
FROM: Transit Director
Ordinance 2012 - 516; Revising the Regular Bus Fare Rates to
SUBJECT:
Establish Fares for Janesville-Milton-Whitewater Commuter
Bus Service.
Executive Summary:
Chapter 10.76 of the Code of General Ordinances
establishes the fares to be charged to customers for the use of the Janesville
Transit System. Fares are established by Ordinance to provide a legal basis for
the charges for service made on the Transit System; and to ensure that the
citizens’ elected representatives review and approve the amounts being charged,
as for any municipal service. Bus fares are reviewed and the Ordinance
amended from time-to-time, generally in conjunction with the annual budget
review. This is done both to ensure that bus riders are paying their fair share of
the cost of operating the system, and to make certain that the fares being
charged are generally within citizens’ ability to pay. In addition, the institution of
new programs or services by the Transit System may also trigger an Ordinance
revision as fares are established for the new service. That is the case at this
time, and the reason that Ordinance 2012-516 is being presented to you.
This Ordinance establishes sub-paragraphs M and N of Section 10.76.020
to establish fares for the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater commuter service. The
format and language of these sub-paragraphs follows that of sub-paragraphs H
and I of this Section, which establish the fares for the “Beloit-Janesville Express”,
which like these fares, are distance-based and divided into separate zones.
Zoned fares are typical in the public transit industry, particularly in larger cities or
on commuter services where longer distances are covered. The relationship
between distance travelled and a fare that recognizes that operating cost
increases with the length of the route is a simple concept that is generally
accepted. For example, the one-way cash fare from Janesville to Beloit is $3.00
for a trip of about 12 miles, while the proposed one-way fare from Janesville to
Whitewater is $4.00 for a 21 mile trip.
Department Recommendation:
It is recommended that this item be introduced and be scheduled for a public
hearing and action at the April 23, 2012 City Council meeting.
City Manager Recommendation:
The City Manager concurs with the department recommendation.
Discussion:
Fare Zones:
On the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater service, as with the Beloit-
Janesville Express, passengers travelling on this route whose trip lies completely
within the Janesville City limits will pay the regular $1.50 in-city fare. This
includes those portions of the City which extend north along WI-26 toward Milton.
Beyond this point, the two external fare zones described in sub-paragraphs M
and N take effect. The “Milton” fare zone includes those areas served by the
route within either the City or Town of Milton, from the southern boundary of the
Town to its eastern boundary. The “Whitewater” fare zone described in sub-
paragraph M includes all areas east of the Town of Milton, extending to the
northern and eastern limits of the City of Whitewater.
Bus Passes:
As with the “Beloit-Janesville Express”, JTS will offer multi-ride
passes to customers using the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater route. Aimed at the
commuter market, the passes offer 10 rides (basically one week’s commute) at a
set fee which rewards the customer for purchasing multiple rides in advance by
lowering the cost per ride. The City gets the full purchase price immediately, with
the rides taken over a longer period of time. The proposed Ordinance again
mimics the existing policy on the “Beloit-Janesville Express” by offering 10 ride
passes for both the Milton and Whitewater fare zones. These passes will be
offered for sale at all current JTS pass outlets. The Transit System is also
discussing pass sales on-site at Generac with officials there; with the potential for
employees to purchase passes by pre-tax payroll deduction, resulting in a further
real dollar savings to the purchaser.
Tracking Ridership and Revenues:
The Transit System maintains on-going
records of bus ridership and revenues received so that the results of operations
can be tracked on a monthly basis. As with the Beloit-Janesville Express, a
route-specific report sheet is filled-out by the bus driver for each run operated,
tracking the number of passengers carried, where they boarded and alighted
from the bus, and the fares collected by type. This level of detail allows us to
measure the performance of the route against projections.
th
Transit System staff will be present at the Council meeting on April 9 to
answer Councilmembers’ questions on this Ordinance.
cc: City Manager
Assistant City Manager/Director of Administrative Services
Director of Neighborhood Services
ORDINANCE NO. 2012-516
An ordinance revising the regular bus fare rates for the Janesville Transit System, with a
penalty as set forth in JGO 10.76.030.
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JANESVILLE DO ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION I. Section 10.76.020 of the Code of General Ordinances of the City of Janesville is
hereby amended by the addition of a new sub-paragraphs M and N to the existing sub A through
L, to read as follows:
10.76.020 Bus fares—Regular fare rates.
“ The regular fare rates that shall be
charged by the Janesville Transit System are as follows:
M.
$4.00 per ride or 10 rides for $36.00 when the 10 rides are purchased as a pass for travel
on the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater route to any location within the City of Whitewater,
Wisconsin, but not including transfer privileges to the Whitewater Shared-Ride Taxi System city
service; except that persons who qualify for reduced fares as outlined in subsection A of this
section are entitled to ride for one half of the regular price.
N.
$1.90 per ride or 10 rides for $17.00 when the 10 rides are purchased as a pass for travel
on the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater route to any location within the City or Town of Milton,
Wisconsin; except that persons who qualify for reduced fares as outlined in subsection A of this
section are entitled to ride for one half of the regular price.
SECTION II. The above fare rates shall take effect on April 29, 2012, and shall remain in effect
until modified as provided in Section 10.76.010.
ADOPTED:
Motion by:
Second by:
APPROVED:
Councilmember Aye Ney Pass Absent
Dongarra-Adams
Eric J. Levitt, City Manager
Liebert
McDonald
ATTEST:
Rashkin
Steeber
Voskuil
Jean Ann Wulf, City Clerk-Treasurer
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Tim Wellnitz, Assistant City Attorney
Proposed by: Transit Director
Prepared by: Transit Director