tv [untitled] January 4, 2012 1:31pm-2:01pm PST
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muni makes up the largest percentage of those transactions with about 50% across the region. it also represents 45% of transactions on muni each day. to insure a successful transition, over the last year, the agency implemented a comprehensive campaign. we distributed more than 70,000 adult cards, process to senior card applications, and conducted more than 180 community meetings across the city for various customers. between november 2010 and september 2011, 120,000 monthly pass customers where transitions. we were able -- a limited number of senior and young customers that utilize these passes, one- time use, three nonprofit in
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social service agencies. we also implemented new hand- held card readers, which allows cable car operators to actually deduct e-cash from the clipper cards. in conjunction with the implementation, we were also able to leverage the additional existing infrastructure. these tickets are also ballot on bus and trolley outside the metro station by using the clipper card readers, and it automatically calculates the 90-
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minute transit time. currently, we're distributing about 245 and limited use to get per month. and under this current contract, the vendor is responsible for army and its associated with these. there are problems reported, and they're required to dispatch maintenance staff with an two hours. in reality, we're finding that that response times closer to one hour. the equipment availability rate has been exceptional, exceeding 99%, and with less than 50 hours of combined downtime for all of the equipment, month. and the reliability of the onboard clipper equipment on the vehicles is one of the highest priorities for the sfmta,
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consistent collection through clipper. the equipment availability was on the increase in early 2011, reaching its peak in april, approximately 98%. you also noted there was a steep drop the following month by about 10%, which was significant. we worked closely to figure out what the cause of this problem was, and it was determined in part to be determined to be part of a software issue, and an upgrade was implemented in august in order to address that, and you will see that on the chart, where the reliability has gone up since that time. in addition, we also implemented an upgrade project in the yard to also assist with the availability of the equipment. and as i said, this was a major priority of the asset -- sfmta,
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and we continue to work to identify alternative to continue to improve this, and just as a note, when the equipment is out of service, operators are instructed to call a central control to notify the staff that are responsible for repairing and replacing the equipment. customers can also called the clipper help desk to report the outages. in terms of proof of payment, the transition, this has been really successful. each has a hand-held card reader that allows them to access the customer category, their last 10 transactions, and the balance on their card, and the estimate it takes approximately two seconds per customer to check their card. in terms of our revenue projections, i point out that we only finished the transition
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officially in september, so we do not have a lot of data in terms of revenue to go on since we have completed that. however, early projections for fiscal year 2012 based on the first quarter indicate there has been relatively little change in either the cash share, or monthly pass revenue. and again, this is all it on the first quarter, so we have a lot of time left in the year to see if there are any trends that develop. the total cash revenue has increased 22% over last year from 44% to 66%. and in terms of the annual cost of the operation of clipper, this includes ticket vending machines and their maintenance, program phase. these are estimated to be approximately $10.40 million for fiscal year 2012. the majority of these are program fees which were
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negotiated by all of the participating transit agencies during the development of this program over the last 10 years, i would say. because the noted in the previous is live are projected to be offset by a variety of benefits, including increased ridership due to improvements, reduced boarding time, less cash collected in this system, the elimination of fraudulent past years, and reduction of resources required to process and collect revenue and distribute monthly passes. additional data over time will be required to conduct a more in-depth evaluation of the costs and savings associated with these factors. so, in summary, over the past year, we averaged approximately 330,000 daily and weekly boardings. we have transitioned 120,000 monthly path -- pass customers,
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gotten fare machines across the system, and also regionally, at eight major agencies have now completed as the debate that portion of their transition, and finally, of their inspection, the equipment of availability and targets appear to be on track -- fare inspection. we will continue to work to a rabbit the feasibility of transitioning additional media over to clipper. these could include passports, cable and card tickets, and we have a significant interest in lifeline passes, and we will continue to collaborate with others in the region if there are technology changes that can improve the customer experience and also the reliability of the equipment. i do want to recognize andrew from mtc, the director deputies, and we are also an ant -- happy
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to answer any questions. >> thank you very much. i think the thing that brought clipper to my attention was the experience with not being able to charge my card or to be able to deduct their from my card on several mines, and it probably happened right around april, may, when there was an issue, and also, the experience that my partner was actually having regularly, not even just spontaneously but regularly, on a vehicle like the 49, that she would ride, and so i was mostly concerned, more than anything else, with our overall responsibilities and things like passenger protocol, like what does happen. i also noticed that a lot of
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times, people do not seem to know that you're supposed to when and machine is not working to go to dallas operator. i've never seen anybody do that. i do not even know what are passengers know to do that. so i am hoping that we might get a little bit more aggressive in developing some sort of communications system or something with our riders to first of all -- so that everyone knows that there should be protocols to be followed, when your car is not ted, you just do not go and saddam and give up. you go to another machine, and if another machine is not working, then you telling operator. i do not know if i have does not seen it and my colleagues can correct me, and the other concern i have had, getting back to the fares that we were
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missing or the revenues that we might be missing, from 1 i understand, asking around, there were some issues with the downloading of the data in the yard, with the machines. or something to that effect. i am hoping that this event in -- and tenet upgrade may have addressed that, but i do want to make sure, i would like to be able to get a little more confidence freckly on how the whole system works and are beginning what is owed to us. i would imagine that there are several sort of places where we can follow the money, so to speak, where it is collected or not to the system, back into our books, so if we're is any way you might be a to address any of those concerns, i would greatly appreciate it, but i appreciate the report. this is really a step in the direction that i want it to go.
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those may be three issues, i would love to be a to hear any kind of comments from anyone on this. chairman nolan: director oka? director oka: i have noticed on two or three occasions that people do not necessarily know that they should try it again, and it's still keeps being repeatedly, they should go to the operator. they just go and sit down. the operator does not do anything in that case. but i do think that becomes a problem, because the people do not realize, unless it beeped
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once, and how much are we doing to correct that, and is there a way to correct that? chairman nolan: thank you, director oka. do you want to respond to anything that director ramos brought up? >> that is a lot. i think it might be best to come back with more information on the issues that you have discussed. would that be a king approved >> -- would that be ok? >> we could come back with more information, we had what would appear to be a high failure rate of the onboard units.
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the data does not show it. it was part of the function of what was being measured as part of the functioning of the onboard unit. i think in practice, most people's experience was that it was a much higher failure rate than the chart showed, and i think the mta was losing revenue. but the software change that was made, i think it was in august, it pretty much solved that problem. it was a significant problem. the reports that we were getting from contractor as well as from the maintenance folks, it is that the failure problem has virtually gone away, and the percentage of those units that are working properly is very close to 100, and it is staying there, so that problem is fixed. a deadly one-two in acknowledge the contractor and mtc for
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recognizing the problem and fixing it. with customer service issues, we had gotten complaints about people getting the 800 number and dealing with issues. i think they have both stepped up to an extended to address those, as well. the download issues have been resolved, as well. i think it was on the order of $700,000 of further investment that would improve downloading, which is when they go back to the mint's yards, to make sure that the data from the onboard unit is getting into the central system, which then kicks off the revenue flow, but i do not know if we believe that we feel there is any revenue loss right now, a significant revenue it lost. diana works in somali's area, and if there were revenue issues, they would have been
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addressed. i think that most of these issues, they are passed. i think at this point, we feel that it is largely working well, that we will be bringing forward to you again to move forward with, it would not be possible without clipper, which means finely than to some of the communications issues that both you and director oka raised, the people of fast passes did not there to use an arm of the time. i found that out with a fair inspector letting me know. the fact that some people do not recognize the three deep versus one beep or in nonfunctioning unit, that it be a functioning unit. again, that issue as someone go away, but the effort that was
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made to transition to a clipper was tremendous and help to remove one ever was, 120,000 people over a very short period of time. mortification is going to be needed on the use of clipper. john has been working on this as he has been developing an outdoor boarding proposal. it is going to need to be accompanied by a very comprehensive communications initiative to make sure that folks understand their responsibilities with regard to payment and proof of payment and clipper in particular, so we will use that opportunity as the transition to outdoor boarding to address those communication concerns, which i think are very valid. chairman nolan: thank you. director brinkman? director brinkman: i did not know about that either. i think a lot of these are kind
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of growing pains of the system, and i just want to chime in and say how great it is to sit on the bus and hear that repeated beeping as they get on the bus, and we could not do that without this, and in the last month, i'd think i have used my clipper card on board, on a munich, on caltrain, when i wrote to 04 on my bicycle and took a public transportation back. i have in-laws in marin. a lot of times, it is a ferry ride over or a bike ride. there is one that does not yet take a clipper, and i am looking at a gentleman whom i know what i am talking about. the key for the report. this is very good. i am a huge fan of clipper, and i think that this is getting closer to a system that i experienced in hong kong, where there was one card that would
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take you anywhere. thank you for this report, because it is good to see how is -- has progressed. thank you. chairman nolan: director ramos? director ramos: everyone here thinks this is addressed, then it certainly does not need to come back. if this issue has been resolved, particularly with a fare collection, i am comfortable moving on and not expecting anything at this point. like i said, i thought it was addressed when you showed the chart that shared that debt, and that was my primary concern. i am looking forward to a communications strategy when we go to the boarding, and that might be the best time to bring this up again. since mtc is here, i do
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regularly take transit system, and it is a real bomber to get on and then get on board, and then get on another system and have them tell me, "sorry, do not know what you are talking about pure " hopefully we can have this their scent. my last complaint is that that be and so loud sometimes, it really is hard on a person's years. i have heard from a few people that when they are just trying to take a casual, calm ride in, if there is any way we can turn it down area i have heard it turned it down before. it was very nice on the ears, and i thought maybe they were moving toward that, but i think it was a fluke. chairman nolan: director
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heinicke? director heinicke: the complaints i get about clipper are none really, as people appreciate it. it took some convincing to get folks to do it, but now they seem pretty good about it. i would imagine also that if we were having root problems with registration on the system that we would see resulting complaints about tickets, and our proof of payment of buzzers would say that people are claiming over and over again, and to my knowledge, we are not seeing that. but the problems that you described are very real as part of the implementations system, so i am glad it is going well, and i do not know that we need to talk about it on that level. the one issue i have is that we at 330,000 daily-week day
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clipper boardings. am i remembering right that we have 700,000 boardings total? do we anticipate that 330,000 number going up significantly? and i guess i am a this point a little surprised that your than half of our boardings are clipper boardings, and i am just wondering why is that? >> i believe that generally represents the best passes, so is the adults, the senior, and the young. that is a big chunk that has moved over. the cache bears on the clipper are still quite a bit less, and that is probably the most difficult, the people would pay cash because they are local and choose not to buy or because of the frequency with which -- with which they use munis were people coming from out of town. there are a couple of other categories. our next biggest category is lifeline passes, which are think is on the order of 20,000 per
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month. we have been talking about the ability to transition lifeline pass holders over, but the passes are really kind of the low hanging fruit. and we have gotten our big categories already, so the next is really moving to, aside from lifeline, moving to cash bears, which is going to be much slower. >> right, and we have discussed that before, and i know you know my views. my view would be to move to a cashless system or as close to it as we can. i think the efficiency and the safety and the revenue, there are all sorts of reasons to do that, so our would just give you my reaction. i was surprised of the number after all of the average, it was still this low. i guess it is not an indication of the success of clipper. it is an indication the i misunderstood how many cache bears where having on a daily basis, which is apparently a
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lot, so i would just reiterate i would as a policy matter favor doing whatever we can to move away from cash there's, and it is interesting to hear that even on a lot of people, you know, you are making more than just one trip or something like that are unwilling to load up a clipper card, and i wonder if one thing to look at there is a differential one-time affair for clipper versus actually throwing coins into the box, to give people incentive to do one-time hits with the clipper card. >> if i could, i think that financial incentives are something that we should look at. the indexing policy that the board put in place a number of years ago for the upcoming fiscal years, because of the weight indexing policy is structured will raise fast pass theirs but not single-use theirs because of the way the formula works and because of rounding,
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some of the adult fast pass with bart will go to 72 to 74 to 76, and the adult fare will stay at two dollars, so single use and cash versus clipper, something that the board, that will be happy to bring for the board consideration, all the passes that i mentioned are already clipper, but for single use theirs, many of them are cash. one thing we could do is that if you tap your clipper card, it is $2. if you want to use cash, it is more. director: the reason i favored the indexing program was to avoid arbitrary increases for pure financial budgeting reasons. i think there is a reasonable and legitimate exception to the
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indexing program if you are making a fair differential for transit policy reasons, which this would be, so i for one would not oppose looking at that sort of thing as we revisit fares the next time around. director bridges: i think another got to 90%, which is the best in the region. director: i know that director brinkman and i think i to eye on this. there is somebody up there with a quarter, slowing the whole thing down. i appreciate your report, but i'm surprised by the number and want to know what we can do to get that number as close to 700,000 as we possibly can.
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director oka: it is my hope that paratransit's can be switched over to the clipper card also. i have been pushing with mtc since the beginning of time. we need one mechanism that works on everything, and, you know, i would love to see that before my time on this earth. i am not going to hold my breath, but we should be able to do that. chairman nolan: thank you very much. i thank you for bringing this to our attention, director ramos. secretay boomer: mr. chairman, no one has indicated an interest of addressing you up to this point. >> good afternoon, director. first, i want to wish you a
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happy new year and a major happy new year from munich. with all of the stuff i learned from this today, i thought it was just like the old days, so i learned something, and that may improve your numbers. one little complaint that i have heard about, the student clipper cards, it is very difficult for people to add money to the student clipper cards. there should be a place where every mile or so on major routes where you can get off and just recharged on a monthly basis. it is easy in my neighborhood, but i never heard people who cannot do that and have to go downtown, and that is completely out of the way, so we should work on that. and i want to add my voice that we should sometime soon nubbers is still young get people to use clipper card for every ride. the advantage is that when you have your small increases, they
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just go right into the clipper card, and of course, you've already started to speak that if you want people to use the clipper card 100%, then you may have to charge a premium for the cash there, and i do not think it is a problem, even for visitors, when they know they are staying at a hotel. you can seldom a clipper card, and they can go to the walgreens or something, and then you get zero cash. that should be the ultimate, so happy new year. banks are not. chairman nolan: -- thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. ms. boomer? secretay boomer: >> the board voted unanimously
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