[00:10] Speaker 1: Madam Clerk, I'd like to call to order the meeting of the Regional Network Management Council. This meeting is being webcast on the MTC website. Remote participation— Participants— excuse me— wishing to speak should raise your hand feature or dial star 9, and you'll be called upon at the appropriate time to speak. All teleconference attendees will be called upon by the last 4 digits of their phone call. So that's agenda item number 1. Agenda item number 2 is a call to quorum for the Network Management Council. Madam Clerk?
[00:49] Speaker 2: Thank you. Chair Powers?
[00:51] Speaker 1: Here.
[00:51] Speaker 2: Vice Chair Chan?
[00:53] Speaker 3: Here.
[00:54] Speaker 2: Member Bouchard? Is here but not sitting down yet.
[01:01] Speaker 4: We'll come back to her.
[01:03] Speaker 2: Member Churchill?
[01:04] Speaker 5: Here.
[01:05] Speaker 2: Member Eid?
[01:06] Speaker 6: Here.
[01:07] Speaker 2: Member Vermeer?
[01:09] Speaker 1: Present.
[01:10] Speaker 2: Member Ganott?
[01:11] Speaker 4: Here.
[01:12] Speaker 2: Member Kirschbaum is present. Thank you. Delegate Assan Baig for Member Llamas?
[01:19] Speaker 4: Here.
[01:21] Speaker 2: Member Mulligan?
[01:22] Speaker 7: Present.
[01:23] Speaker 2: Member Murphy?
[01:24] Speaker 7: Here.
[01:26] Speaker 2: We do have a present quorum for the R&M Council. Thank you.
[01:29] Speaker 1: And let the record note that Michelle Bouchard from Caltrain has joined us here and is present at the quorum call.
[01:37] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[01:38] Speaker 1: Uh-huh. Okay. Agenda item number 3. This is the consent calendar for network management. And this is the meetings for the August 24th meeting. Madam Clerk, this is an action item. Let me ask if there's any public comment on this item in front of us.
[01:57] Speaker 2: I received nothing in writing. No one has approached the podium in the boardroom, and no hands are presently raised in the Zoom space.
[02:05] Speaker 1: Okay. Again, this is an action item. Do I have a motion and a second on the item in front of the committee here?
[02:10] Speaker 8: So moved, Mulligan.
[02:13] Speaker 2: Second, Rachel.
[02:14] Speaker 1: Uh, okay, we have a motion from Mulligan and a second from Eddie on this. Any commissioners wishing to make comment, concerns? Not seeing any. All those in favor, state aye.
[02:28] Speaker 3: Aye.
[02:29] Speaker 1: Any opposition? Madam Clerk, for the record, agenda item number 3 passes unanimously. Okay, so that's the front end, Part A of this meeting, folks. This is Part B. We are going to call— I'm going to call to order the meeting of the Clipper Executive Board. And this meeting is also being webcast on the MTC website. Remote participants wishing to speak should raise— use the raise hand feature or dial star 9, and you will be called upon at the appropriate time to speak. Teleconference attendees will be called upon by the last 4 digits of their phone number. Agenda item number 5, Madam Clerkess, let's see if we have a quorum for the Clipper Executive Board.
[03:17] Speaker 2: Thank you. Chair Kirschbaum?
[03:19] Speaker 9: Present.
[03:21] Speaker 2: Is present. Vice Chair Mulligan?
[03:23] Speaker 7: Present.
[03:24] Speaker 2: Member Chan?
[03:25] Speaker 4: Present.
[03:27] Speaker 2: Member Vermeer?
[03:28] Speaker 5: Present.
[03:30] Speaker 2: Member Ganott?
[03:32] Speaker 6: Here.
[03:32] Speaker 2: Delegate Assan Baig for Member Llamas?
[03:35] Speaker 5: Here.
[03:36] Speaker 2: Member Powers?
[03:38] Speaker 5: Here.
[03:39] Speaker 2: Member Schmitz?
[03:40] Speaker 6: Here.
[03:41] Speaker 2: And Member Wegner?
[03:43] Speaker 6: Here.
[03:44] Speaker 2: Thank you. We do have a present quorum for the Clipper Executive Board.
[03:48] Speaker 1: Okay, we're off to a good start, Madam Clerk, here. Let's see if we can keep going. Agenda item number 6 is kind of the last of the front end of the mechanics here. This is the consent items for the Clipper Executive Board. Agenda item number 6. Madam Clerk, public comment? On any of the items associated with agenda item number 6?
[04:07] Speaker 2: I received nothing in writing, but I do have a member in the boardroom wishing to speak on item 6B. How much time would you like to give?
[04:14] Speaker 1: Let's go 2 minutes throughout the duration of this meeting, Madam Clerk.
[04:18] Speaker 2: Thank you. Alita Dupree, you'll have 2 minutes.
[04:20] Speaker 5: Thank you. Good morning, Chair Bob Powers and members. Alita Dupree, for the record, Sheehan Irwin Team Folds, representing Skirt Folds. I'm going to talk about Item B here, Amex. Yes, this is consent, but consent items are no less important. Why do I speak about Amex? Well, Amex is important. I personally don't have Amex, though I have a close family member who's had Amex, I think, since the early 1960s, longer than I've been around.
[04:51] Speaker 7: And I speak about the importance of Amex of this item from an inclusive perspective because sometimes I go to various kinds of establishments and they'll have signs up saying like no Amex, no Discover, or some will say no credit cards, and some will surcharge this or some will surcharge that.
[05:15] Speaker 5: And unfortunately in some places out on the road we see inequitable treatment of certain cards And I mean, that's a whole other discussion for another place. But one thing I do know about people, friends of mine who do AmEx, they're very loyal. And they are generally people who are financially stable and of substance. They're savvy with their money and decisive. Well, I want some of that Amex money to come into our system.
[05:53] Speaker 7: And I'm sure there are people who are using Amex to pay for their fares, open payments, on any of our 27 systems. And you might see the Platinum card flash up.
[06:05] Speaker 5: Now, I don't have an Amex Platinum card.
[06:08] Speaker 7: It's a little over my pay grade. And I've never done the airport lounge thing anyway. I just assume I save the money and I'll bring some snacks in my backpack.
[06:19] Speaker 5: But I mean, we have to improve this. We have to show that this is a system that's for everyone regardless of the station they are in life. Thank you.
[06:27] Speaker 2: Thank you, Alita. No one else has approached the podium in the boardroom. There are no hands raised in the Zoom space. So that will conclude public comment for item 6.
[06:37] Speaker 1: Okay. We'll close public comment. Commissioners, an action item is in front of us. Is there a motion and a second?
[06:44] Speaker 4: Motion to approve, Chan. Second, Kirschbaum.
[06:49] Speaker 1: Okay, Madam Clerk, we have Chan with the motion, Kirschbaum with the second on the motion. This is the consent calendar for the Clipper Executive Board. Commissioners, comments, concerns? Not seeing any. All those in favor, please state aye.
[07:05] Speaker 8: Aye.
[07:05] Speaker 1: Any opposition? Okay, Madam Clerk, for the record, the Consent item 6B— 6 passes unanimously. Okay, folks, that gets us through the mechanics, the front end of this meeting, maybe phase 1 of this meeting. Phase 2 is the 2 items that are in front of us, 7A and 7B. Obviously, we'll start with 7A. But again, we're— these are our joint meetings with the Regional Network Management and the Clipper Executive Board. I think it's— I continue to think it's an excellent concept and an excellent idea that we are co-navigating these topics, as the topics certainly overlap. And you'll see today that the topics are overlapping. And so, we're going to start today with agenda item number 7A. And 7A, this item in front of the 7A, is the Transformation Action Plan. And it's really an eclipser focused on accessibility initiatives. And I point you back to that front end, Clipper-focused accessibility initiatives, because we'll get to 7 in a little bit here. But I'll turn this over to Melanie Choi to give a short introduction in here. And commissioners, we're joined by Drennan Shelton. Drennan, thank you for being here. Lydia Elias, both from MTC. And then we have John Sanderson from CCC TA. Thank you, John, for being here as well as our— one of the subject matter experts on this. So Melanie Choi, Director Choi, the floor is all yours.
[08:40] Speaker 2: Great.
[08:41] Speaker 6: Thank you, Chair Powers. Good morning, everyone. Just briefly, in terms of today's presentation highlights how accessibility is being advanced as part of the broader regional network management efforts. And the thing for us is that as we work more towards a seamless customer-focused transit system, it is important that we consider the experience of all riders, and this includes those who rely on paratransit or other accessibility programs. And accessibility is an area where customers often experience the challenges of the fragmented system mostly and most directly. And the differences in the processes, the payment methods, program requirements across agencies, that just creates additional complexities for these riders. And so the key objective of this work that you will hear about today is to identify the opportunities to improve the coordination across our region. But also make the transit system and services easier for those folks to access and use, for these folks. And in addressing those challenges, it requires more than anything that could be lifted from a single agency, and it requires the coordination across the— not just the operators of yourselves, but the platforms as well. And so you'll see that today. So it's spanning policy development, technical integration, and stakeholder engagement. And lastly, the sustained collaboration amongst all of us. So reflecting that breadth today, that is why we have 3 folks presenting today, and it's really being presented from 3 different perspectives. Drennan from a policy and planning perspective, John Sanderson from transit agency partnerships, and Lydia from the implementation of Clipper perspective. And so together, these areas of responsibilities really demonstrate the collective effort that's required to move these initiatives from concept to implementation. And so that's the theme of the work that we're doing. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Drennan to kick off the presentation. It's good to be with you. We're really grateful to have time to talk with you about our accessibility work under the action plan. This transformation work is as much about how we work together as it is about the individual initiatives we are delivering. As we told the R&M Customer Advisory Group last week, one of the things I really value About the initiatives is this co-PM model. It connects us more deeply with your staff and your operational goals, and we're especially fortunate to have John joining us on all of these initiatives. Lydia is going to give you the update on the progress in a minute, but I wanted to step back first and talk about the context for our work, because the programs, the pilots, the trainings, the policies, they're all important. But the deeper outcome is the regional capacity that we're building together to improve accessibility. Next slide. So accessibility and paratransit have been particularly strong examples of the power of regional collaboration. Your paratransit and accessibility staff have spent years sharing operational experience, comparing policies and practices, working together on challenges that don't stop at individual service area boundaries. The group I'm referring to, BayPAC, the Bay Area Partnership Accessibility Committee, has been the centerpiece of that collaboration. It's created a body of shared knowledge and experience that benefits agencies and ultimately our riders. For nearly 2 decades, MTC and transit staff have particularly BayPAC, have been using the Coordinated Public Transit Human Services Transportation Plan as a framework for working together to improve mobility for older adults, people with disabilities, and those with low income. On the presentation slide, there's a timeline that highlights some of our recent milestones in our regional commitment to accessibility, but this is really just a snapshot of the story as it relates to the action plan. What you don't see on this slide is more than 25 years of monthly BayPAC meetings where your staff with MTC have come together to coordinate, share practices, solve problems, and look for ways to improve accessibility and the rider experience. Back in March 2020 when COVID hit, that collaboration became even more important. The group increased its meeting frequency to twice a month, and we maintained that intensive coordination throughout the emergency. So the action plan didn't create this collaboration. Rather, it helped to invigorate and elevate the work that was already underway. This collaboration goes well beyond meetings. In addition to providing high-quality paratransit services for your agencies, BayPAC has developed and implemented procedures that reduce burdens for your riders. They have provided critical input into programs and projects well beyond the 5 accessibility initiatives in the action plan. And that input has helped to center accessibility across the Transformation Action Plan. It includes work on regional priority, transit priority, regional mapping and wayfinding, and other initiatives. The region has built a culture of working together on accessibility, and every new initiative can build on that foundation. Next slide. Today though, we're going to zoom in on those Clipper-specific initiatives. The goals with the 2 actions of standardizing eligibility practices for programs that benefit people with disabilities and the integration of ADA paratransit services on Clipper Next Generation are ultimately about improving access and expanding options for your customers. By aligning eligibility criteria and practices, we have reduced burdens for both riders and the agencies. And by aligning eligibility criteria practices, reducing those burdens for everybody, we've maintained high-quality eligibility practices and federal compliance. And creating new payment options for paratransit riders, we can eliminate another burden and barrier and then move towards a more seamless payment across the region. None of this has happened in isolation. The direction for these actions came directly from ongoing engagement that happens through our coordinated planning process, through our policy advisors at the paratransit coordinating councils, and through rider feedback. The initiatives may be what we can point to and measure, but the relationships and shared practices are what make them possible. One of the greatest successes is the regional community behind these programs, a community that continues to listen to and center riders, learn from one another, solve problems together, and turn that experience into better outcomes for your customers. Next slide, please.
[15:37] Speaker 7: Thank you, Drennan. Nice to be back in front of you all. Um, all of this works because it's not just an MTC initiative or a transit agency project. It really is a true regional partnership. BayPAC, as Drennan described, provides a forum for transit agency staff to bring operational experience and expertise to the table. And then the Paratransit Coordinating Councils provide that firsthand rider perspective. Together, these 2 groups really help us all understand not just what's possible from an operational policy perspective, but what changes will make a real difference for our riders. And that combination of MTC coordination, agency expertise, and the direct rider experience is what makes the regional work stronger and provides better outcomes for everyone.
[16:32] Speaker 4: Next slide, please.
[16:32] Speaker 6: So all of that longstanding collaboration really positioned us to move quickly on Action 25. As I mentioned earlier, this action is fundamentally about standardizing practices. Because of that deep collaboration that already existed in BayPAC and our ongoing engagement with riders through the coordinated plan and the paratransit coordinating councils, we were able to move quickly to reconnect with stakeholders, confirm the steps that needed to be taken, and developed a path forward to greater consistency in paratransit eligibility practices. And an important milestone that we just experienced was completing our first action plan-sponsored regional eligibility worker training back in June. This training was, was where 30 or so eligibility staff spent the day together in train-the-trainer mode to come to get information to come back to your agencies so that we can increase the quality of assessments, enhance evaluator skills, and promote greater consistency across the region. That training is a really good example of what this action plan is about. Taking years of regional collaboration and turning it into practical improvements that can be felt by the riders. That collaboration helped us to complete Action 25, which also focused on reducing the burdens on riders. We aligned our eligibility for the RTC Clipper Access Program with an opt-in approach for ADA paratransit riders. And we streamlined the application and renewal process. So that work is complete. And that's really what we're looking for here, using regional collaboration to make the system work better behind the scenes and make that experience simpler for people who are using the system. Now, a second ago I referenced the RTC Clipper Access Program. Rebranding the old RTC program to the new Clipper Access program was another customer-facing improvement that we've made recently. And with that, I'll hand it off to Lydia.
[18:38] Speaker 4: Morning, everyone. Thank you, Drennan and John, for providing this important context on our regional collaboration and commitment to accessibility. So as Drennan mentioned— oh, sorry, also next slide. Thank you. So as Brennan mentioned, RTC was publicly rebranded to Clipper Access December 10th of last year to coincide with the NextGen Clipper launch. So this name change comes from focus groups and surveys that were previously conducted that identified Clipper Access as the name that resonated most with writers and better matched what the program offers. Prior to rolling this rebrand out, Publicly, MTC collaborated with BayPAC and brought updates to transit operator staff and the Clipper Executive Board in preparation for the public rebrand. Next slide. So the Clipper Access Program is one of the discounted Clipper cards and serves riders with qualifying disabilities on fixed route service. Riders can receive either a permanent or non-permanent card depending on their form of eligibility. But since last December's launch of Next Gen Clipper, all of the new and replacement cards for this discount program has been issued with the new Clipper Access name and logo. Next slide. So a very common question that we've received from existing riders since the rebrand launched was, what do I need to do? Is there anything that I have to do? And the answer to riders with an RTC card is that there is no action they need to take related to this rebrand. As long as their RTC card has not expired, they can continue to use it for transit. This rebrand also has not changed the eligibility or application process at all for the program. Next slide. So when preparing for the public rebrand last year, staff worked with our marketing contractor and developed very various educational and marketing materials, materials that targeted both existing and new customers, as well as outreach partners such as social service agencies, community-based organizations, nonprofits serving the disabled community, as well as transit operators. So staff provided trainings on the rebrand to transit operator customer service center staff, and materials that were developed for the public and outreach partners were also distributed last December. Staff have attended and will continue to attend community events to continue to spread the word to the public and our partners about the rebrand. We also plan to have another marketing campaign next year that will focus on the continued education to existing customers as well as targeted campaigns for new customers. Next slide. So as Drennan mentioned a moment ago, Action 23 from the plan focused on identifying next steps for the integration of ADA paratransit services with the NextGen Clipper system across the region. So in partnership with BayPAC, the solution for the majority of the region requires operators' paratransit booking software to be customized in order to connect with NextGen Clipper's fare payment system. This is referred to as the software solution or Clipper-enabled software. There are a few operators who cannot use this solution and will instead be using card reader equipment. And in collaboration with SFMTA and BayPAC, San Francisco Paratransit was selected as the pilot agency for the software solution. Next slide. So once this feature is available, it will bring benefits to paratransit riders as it will be an additional payment method riders can choose from, and one that does not require holding exact cash. And especially once this is rolled out across the region, it is one unified payment method that riders can use, especially for those regional riders who are riding across cities and counties. And for the operators with Clipper-enabled software like San Francisco Paratransit, riders can travel without having to carry their Clipper card. Next slide. This initiative, again, will bring Clipper on all ADA paratransit operators, and after the pilot is launched, it will be rolled out in phases with agencies grouped together. So 14 operators will be using the Clipper-enabled software, while 3 paratransit operators will be using card readers. Next slide. So how will this work? For the 3 operators using card readers, this will be very similar to fixed route today where those riders will simply tap their Clipper card or mobile device when boarding the vehicle. Next slide. And for the operators using Clipper-enabled software, again, they will need to be updating their paratransit booking software to let riders use Clipper when they book their trip. And this is going to integrate seamlessly with riders' existing booking process since paratransit is a reservation-based service. So at a high level, a rider will contact the paratransit office to book their trip per usual, and at that time can provide the booking agent with their Clipper card number. The agent can add this card number to their account, and the rider will choose Clipper for the payment option for the trip. And once the rider boards the vehicle for their trip, the software system will deduct the proper fare from their Clipper account. Next slide. So as mentioned, San Francisco Paratransit is our pilot agency for this integration. The MTC, SFMTA, and our vendors have completed several stages of the project, including design, development, and acceptance testing. And we are now in the final stages of pilot testing. We have been working with SFMTA to bring this to riders, and we'll have a limited launch to select San Francisco Paratransit participants coming in winter this year. This will then later expand to all San Francisco riders after a limited launch is complete. Next slide. MTC and SFMTA staff have also been working together on marketing and recruitment for this limited launch through throughout this year. And while we have filled a significant number of spots, there are still some available for riders interested in participating. So these participants will receive a preloaded Clipper card to use on SF Paratransit and be given the chance to provide feedback and test this new feature. So for riders interested in that, we recommend reaching out as soon as possible to MTC's Clipper Paratransit contact if interested in participating.
[25:37] Speaker 2: Next slide.
[25:37] Speaker 4: So as we look ahead to the regional rollout, the next phase of agencies after the pilot will include Napa, as well as Marin and Golden Gate, who co-manage Marin's paratransit services. Future phases are tentative due to a few different factors that determine agency readiness, such as the agency's software and build upgrade status, agency resources, as well as alignment of geographical location wherever possible when rolling out. So we do plan to return to a future Board meeting with more details on the remaining phases and their timing. And for the public, the CLIPR website will also have updates on the enhanced features page as this continues to expand.
[26:27] Speaker 9: region-wide.
[26:28] Speaker 4: Next slide. So thank you again for your time, and we are happy to answer any questions.
[26:34] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that presentation. Thank you for the opening remarks, Director Choi and Lydia and John and Drennan. Thank you for that. Very exciting. Um, the, uh, Madam Clerk, why don't we check in with our public participants and partners? Um, on this topic in front of us.
[26:54] Speaker 2: Thank you. I received nothing in writing. I do have one member in the boardroom wishing to speak. Alita Dupree.
[27:01] Speaker 5: Uh, thank you, Chair Bott-Powers and members. Alita Dupree, for the record, Sheehan-Harwood Team Folds.
[27:12] Speaker 7: I did share a little bit on the subject in my letter about the importance of upgrading Payment services to include those who need reduced fares.
[27:23] Speaker 5: Not an expert on paratransit, though I have a person who is close to me who is going through the approval process in another city, and hopefully they will get it soon. But, but I remember the days about a decade and a half ago when I would have to walk to the supermarket, sometimes in 100-degree heat, to pick up my monthly reduced fare pass. And sometimes I would get to the supermarket and there were no reduced fare passes.
[27:48] Speaker 7: Well, I let them know in an RTC board meeting supermarkets were running out of passes.
[27:53] Speaker 5: Why should people have to go and get passes and have to go walk in heat or cold to the bank to get money when the paratransit comes to their door? Or maybe they have to use the paratransit to go to the bank to get the money so they can pay for their paratransit. Why do people— people shouldn't have to do that. And after all, Social Security and veterans' pensions and military retirement and all kinds of other things are paid by direct deposit anyway.
[28:23] Speaker 7: So you get direct—
[28:25] Speaker 5: I have direct deposit. I get several things in direct deposit. My housemate has direct deposit. Everybody I know has direct deposit. So you fund a card with the little Wi-Fi symbol on it, you tap it on something, and then you can pay for it without having to go to the bank. I don't know what it's like to go to the bank anymore, except if I want quarters for the Pinball Hall of Fame. So this is about tying it all together so that people can use Clipper just like everybody else does. Nobody should have to go and get different kind of fair media to use the system, especially when those who are— have disability challenges need these systems the most. Thank you.
[29:07] Speaker 2: Thank you, Alita. No one else has approached the podium in the boardroom, and there are no hands raised in the Zoom space and no written correspondence received. So that will conclude public item— or public comment for item 7A. Thank you.
[29:22] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that, Madam Clerk. Let me just come around, uh, the dais. I'll start on my left and, and work my way around to, um, Seamus Murphy over at SF Ferries. Um, but, uh, Rachel.
[29:35] Speaker 6: I just wanted to appreciate this work. This Clipper integration with paratransit has been something we've all been interested in for years, and I know a topic at Baypack over many years. It's great to see it happening. Our staff's really enthusiastic about it, and I know it's complicated. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of details to work through. So I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate all the hard work behind the scenes and this presentation.
[29:55] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. Danielle?
[29:59] Speaker 2: Yes, I'll just echo those comments as well to Drennan and Lydia and John, so thank you so much also for the one-seat pilot ride. Um, we, we would like to see more of that in the future and expand our one-seat pilot rides. So thank you, Drennan, for that work.
[30:15] Speaker 6: And, um, we're excited about—
[30:18] Speaker 4: I believe we're starting in November for our Clipper on our paratransit.
[30:22] Speaker 6: We're updating our Trapeze software, so hopefully we'll have good news to share, um, come the new year.
[30:30] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments, Daniel. Why don't we go to Christy Wagner, GM for LAFTA.
[30:34] Speaker 7: Christy?
[30:35] Speaker 2: Great, thank you.
[30:36] Speaker 4: I want to echo the comments from my colleagues.
[30:38] Speaker 2: Great work.
[30:40] Speaker 6: I just have a few questions. If a transit agency wants to change paratransit scheduling software, how should that be coordinated with MTC, and would there be an opportunity in the future for additional paratransit software to be Clipper-enabled? So that's one question. And my second question is, are there any free transfers between paratransit systems? And if so, do the business rules for Clipper include those free transfers? Thank you.
[31:06] Speaker 4: Thank you for the question. I can take on the first one. So if an agency does change booking vendor, there is a path to do integration. Actually, in the memo, one of the agencies that used to contract with Trapeze is SoulTrans, and now they've moved over to Spare. So we have— we just share kind of technical requirements with— for you all when you do your RFP and then get underway. So I think right now Spare and Cubic are executing NDAs so they can then start working on the design and development. So there is a path there.
[31:45] Speaker 5: I'm not sure who can take the second question of regarding Well, I can tell you from a technical perspective, it doesn't exist in the business rules. But if it exists in the backend in terms of the paratransit booking, then of course they would get it. But it doesn't exist at the moment.
[32:09] Speaker 7: To my knowledge, there are no free transfers between paratransit systems. I will point out, though, that that this is where one-seat rides come in. Because when you take a one-seat ride, you pay one fare from where you board until you get to your destination, rather than having to pay a second fare at that transfer point.
[32:28] Speaker 1: And John, if I'm not mistaken, I think I ought to know this, and I'm just going to head out on a limb here. I think VTA and BART are right now in discussions or finalizing an agreement that does a one-seat ride from the BART service area into the—
[32:47] Speaker 7: oh, I'm sorry—
[32:48] Speaker 1: into the VTA service area as a pilot. And so we'll certainly keep you posted on the results of that. I think something just came and I approved it this morning on my way in. So, um, okay, why don't we go to Dennis Mulligan, Golden Gate Bridge.
[33:02] Speaker 7: Thank you, Chair Paros. I'll be a broken record and echo the thanks to all the staff at all the agencies for making this happen, and in particular to the 3 presenters Well done, and thanks.
[33:11] Speaker 1: Carolyn Gonat, General Manager with the VTA. Yeah, thanks.
[33:17] Speaker 4: Once again, thanks for the work that's been done. But I did want to echo a little bit what Christy said regarding if you change paratransit providers. Paratransit is one of the most costly services we run as a transit operator. And one of the things, you know, we're constantly looking at ways that might be able to handle it versus just using the typical way we're sort of managing paratransit right now. There's a lot of new technologies or new innovative ways to deal with it. So I want to make sure we're ready for that as well, whether that be another service or whatever it is. And also may offer more opportunities like same-day service at an easier— easier to do, those types of things that we're looking at. So I just want to make sure we're ready to be able to implement that.
[34:03] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[34:04] Speaker 4: Or if not, we'll figure out what we can do.
[34:06] Speaker 6: But is there ways to be able to implement still sort of the clip—
[34:11] Speaker 4: use of the Clipper card? Second is that I wanted to understand a little bit about how the cost allocation works on this. Are we estimating how many people will be using this and then again, or is it going to be every fare gets I don't exactly know how this will work. So I was curious about, is it working the same way as any Clipper system, or is it working differently? And then is there a cost to the operator? Because I'm looking— I don't know when VTA is going to be in there because you're doing San Francisco and then a few other agencies first, and then somewhere will be VTA. But I was curious, like, when that happens, is it up to VTA to make— to pay for those costs to get ready, or—
[34:56] Speaker 9: What?
[34:58] Speaker 4: Yes, so in terms of the cost for the integration work that we're doing, that is covered by MTC. It is state funding, state transit assistance funding, so the operators are not paying for the implementation. Additionally, we are paying for the first 5 years of O&M, and after that it would go to the operators. And so this, for those, the majority of region use Trapeze. And so there are already existing, you know, existing contracts between each of those operators and Trapeze that covers O&M. And so this would be incorporated in it beginning of year 6 O&M. And so, um, those— I can say for the cost that we're covering the first 5 years, um, year 1 has been identified in the costs, and midway we will be determining, um, years 2 through 5 fixed costs based off actual rider usage. Okay, that actually is very helpful to know that there will be some ongoing costs, but it might be minimal. Yes, I think it will be kind of rolled into the already existing O&M that you all have with your book— For the CHOPPEs?
[36:05] Speaker 6: Yeah.
[36:06] Speaker 4: Okay, thank you.
[36:07] Speaker 1: Why don't we go over to, uh, Bill Churchill with County Connection?
[36:13] Speaker 3: Bill?
[36:15] Speaker 5: Thank you, Chair Powers.
[36:18] Speaker 7: Hey, I just wanted to express a deep appreciation for the team working on all of this.
[36:23] Speaker 5: I think sometimes it's important to step back and, you know, remember paratransit has sort of just been kind of the forgotten stepchild for many, many years in the Bay Area. I've been here for 30.
[36:38] Speaker 7: Back in the '90s, it was a big deal as it was all coming into play.
[36:42] Speaker 5: And then It just sort of was under the rug.
[36:45] Speaker 7: And I look at this presentation, I read through the staff report, it's amazing when you think in the last, what, 5, 4 or 5 years, what's actually been accomplished in terms of standardizing eligibility, the access card, getting Clipper onto it, and the one-seat rides and all the demonstrations. And the trajectory is really in the right direction, and I just wanted to say thank you.
[37:13] Speaker 5: I know I'm being a broken record with that, but it is important for you to acknowledge the level of work that you've actually accomplished. And when you compare that to the last 30 years, it's pretty extraordinary.
[37:25] Speaker 7: So, and then the last comment I wanted to make, when we start venturing into these one-seat rides, it's important to also recognize We're going beyond ADA. One-seat rides are not part of the federal baseline ADA requirements.
[37:44] Speaker 5: It's—
[37:45] Speaker 7: this is above and beyond, and that's what the Bay Area stands for. And we're here for our most vulnerable communities. So thank you.
[37:53] Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Coming around, Hassan with AC Transit. Hassan. Chair Powers and the staff.
[38:06] Speaker 7: From my perspective, I haven't seen for 30 years, but at least I have seen in 10 years, and I really want to congratulate the staff and the region, you know, what we have come up to now. In the last 10 years, I have seen significant progress. I know that from AC Transit, we were managing the whole RTC system and eligibility and everything, and then transitioned to the the regional environment and the system, and as a technologist, it's very pleasing to me to see, you know, how we are protecting and securing the data and the whole process.
[38:36] Speaker 1: So really great job, kudos to the team.
[38:40] Speaker 7: And OneSeat, right, I think that is going to be the whole seamless experience for our accessible riders to make sure that we have the transit transition and transfer from one operator to another operator.
[38:50] Speaker 5: A couple of—
[38:52] Speaker 7: one point I would like to request East Bay Paratransit is the largest paratransit agency in the region, which is managed by joint powers between BART and AC Transit. So I would love to see maybe an update, you know, where we are with the scheduling, with the programming, and the interfaces and integration. It's a different software vendor, of course, it's Spare, but, you know, we have been working with BART partnership, implementing some of the things like I think was raised from the podium here about what's going to happen if you have a different scheduling vendor. So we kept in our design very carefully that we want to make sure that it's seamless from the integration perspective and having the freedom for operators to change the booking software whenever the time comes. But great job. Thank you so much.
[39:45] Speaker 5: Thank you.
[39:46] Speaker 7: much.
[39:46] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. April Chan, CEO with SamTrans.
[39:51] Speaker 4: April.
[39:51] Speaker 6: Thank you, Chair Powers. I just, first of all, echo everyone else. Thank you for doing this.
[39:59] Speaker 4: I think this is what I think our stakeholders want, what the public wants. Maybe because I may have stepped outside, I just want to clarify one of the slides, and I think this is the one This is the software system. It says many paratransit operators will be updating their software to allow customers to use Clipper when booking a trip. Is that something already happened or will be happening?
[40:26] Speaker 6: Is there a particular schedule that everybody will become online together, or—
[40:30] Speaker 4: I'm just trying to clarify. Yes, so it's starting with— the work is underway with the pilot agencies. agency, which is SFMTA. And the next phase will be Marin and Napa. Sam's Friends will be in a later phase. So we will be coming back to this board with the more detailed rollout of all the phases and the timing. But the work is just right now underway for the pilot agency. So there will be a schedule that we can get to see, but right now these are the initial couple of transit operators, and then we'll see how that's going, and then we're going to get the full rollout. Correct.
[41:09] Speaker 6: Okay, got it.
[41:09] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[41:10] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. Julie Kirschbaum, head of SFMTA.
[41:15] Speaker 5: Julie?
[41:15] Speaker 4: Thank you, and incredible progress. I think really a great thing for this group to be working on and to be putting pressure on to continue to see momentum.
[41:35] Speaker 9: It—
[41:35] Speaker 4: Bob and I had— Chair Powers and I had an opportunity to go to D.C. a couple weeks ago to meet with the administration and the 10 largest transit agencies. And accessibility has been completely folded into their priorities around family-friendly service and I think that makes a lot of sense. And so seeing it here and seeing us be a leader as the Bay Area is exciting. APTA, the American Public Transit Association, is doing a working group on paratransit, both big picture cost sustainability but also best practices. So I would really encourage MTC to participate And then I would just want to share how excited SFMTA is to be piloting the Clipper payment integration and appreciate all the work on it to date.
[42:41] Speaker 1: How fortunate they are to get the pilot, huh, Dronin? I'm just kidding, Julie, just kidding. Hey, I just wanted a couple of things from my perspective. I guess to Lydia, You know, Carolyn and I— Director Grenot, Commissioner Grenot and I were talking. You know, on your slide 9, and you don't have to put it back up there, I'm not interested in that, but it had the, you know, the fact sheet. It had the questions asked. You know, I leaned over to her. I'm like, where can I find that? So where are all those documents that if I wanted to brush up on that, where are all those documents housed that you've listed on slide 9? I don't know if that's you or Drennan or who.
[43:21] Speaker 4: Is this the Clipper Access rebranding, right?
[43:25] Speaker 1: I don't know. Slide 9, it had all these fact sheets, it had this sheet, it had all this data set on there, and I'm like, shit, I hope my folks at BART know where all that information is so that we're tracking on it. That's why I was asking.
[43:37] Speaker 4: Yes, yes. So most of those materials are on 511.org, and also certain materials are more internally facing for the operator staff or for the outreach partners, and so those were distributed out. If any of staff need it, they could always reach out to me.
[43:55] Speaker 1: You know what, I'm not— you don't work for me, far from it, and I would never insert myself. But if between you and Director Choi, if you get a moment, if there was— if it was easy enough that you could pull a couple things together, and I could see an email coming from Director Choi to us like, here are these attachments, and it just may make my life a little bit easier, you know, 3 months or a month from now. Is that— is Is that something we could do, Director Choi?
[44:20] Speaker 6: Certainly we can distill information together so that you have a quick fact sheet, cheat sheet.
[44:25] Speaker 1: It would be helpful. I think all the commissioners here might find that— I think most people are nodding their heads that might find that helpful. So appreciate that. I do think, you know, when we get to this unified pavement method, it's going to be a fundamental game changer for paratransit. And it's that we're incrementally, Lydia, working towards that with a pilot, and then, you know, how did that go, and then move that out and continue to do that. I think it's really just gonna improve paratransit and paratransit, the quality of the paratransit service in the Bay Area. So appreciate that. You know, and I wanted to just walk you through a little bit my day Friday. Coming off of what Kirschbaum said, we were in Washington, It was on safety and security, but so complementary on that was the family-friendly and, you know, the accessibility. She and I spent Friday mid-morning, early afternoon with 2 direct— 2 of your commissioners, right? 2 board— Board of Supervisors, sorry, out at Balboa Park. And at the core of those discussions, I guess this is, you know, to Drennan and John and Lydia, were— I'm sorry, Accessibility, you know, opportunities. I'll just say it like that, right? And some of the opportunities were improving wayfinding, and some of the opportunities were, you know, the shortest path to where they want to go. And it really— that was the heart of the meeting, Julie, was improving the, you know, for whether it's fam— however, it doesn't matter how you frame it up, family-friendly or accessibility. That was 90% of the discussion for 90 minutes at Balboa Park was about improving, you know, the experience for folks that had mobility challenges and whatever they were. And so, and then coming out, I left that meeting and I get to Balboa Park and I was on the wrong train, so I jumped off at Embarcadero and I'm just paying attention walking the platform and I see Somebody coming off the BART system in a wheelchair, which was fine, level, you know, it was perfect. And they went the wrong way to the elevator. And I knew what they— you know, and I was at the wrong end of the platform. But they went all the way down. And this is your 2 supervisors on me the other day about that. You know, they came off the train. And why don't— why doesn't BART have somewhere— and this is— I'm looking at me. I'm looking at you 3, but I'm really looking at me. You know, why isn't there wayfinding from an accessibility standpoint that these folks know which way to turn to get to the elevator? They went all the way down to where the sculpture was at Embarcadero a long time ago, and then they rode all the way back to get to the elevator. And I've thought to myself, well, that's something that, you know, some partnership with the wayfinding folks, right? And I have some at BART, and you have some working for you, Director Choi. But we should be able to help that. And I don't know what Julie does in her subway system there, but it certainly shouldn't be, you know, trial and error, right? And so anyway, just an example coming out of Friday that I witnessed real time and how important it is for the BART to be so forward-leaning on this topic and just your leadership. And you continue to push the— I don't know, 10 of us up here, 12 of us up here. to do that. And one last thing, and then I'll wrap this up. I don't know when's the next time you're coming on this topic, Director Choi, but it would seem to me you would come when there's some data set on the pilot project with SFMTA that your slides very cleverly had in there, Lydia, winter of 2026. I've used that term many a time myself. But as soon as you've got some nice data, that would, you know, be helpful for a discussion set among the commissioners here, might be a nice time for you to come back with your team here. So anyway, I just appreciate the 3 of you looking out after the Bay Area on this topic and look forward to you coming again in front of these commissioners so we can improve the customer experience. Thank you. Director Troy, did you want to wrap up?
[48:39] Speaker 6: Nothing in particular except to say that one of the highlights of what you just indicated, in that this is a nationwide conversation that's happening, and it's not just happening here locally. But what we've done— and it was actually reminded to me that RTC was housed at AC Transit, and we did have— we did make a transition. And so we have done quite a bit, and, uh, having this reflection just reminds us that there's constant work in this space, but we, we are making, uh, strides.
[49:10] Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Uh, before I close out, I'm going to turn back over to Carolyn Gonod, CEO for VTA.
[49:17] Speaker 4: I mean, I want to say that one of the things that this is really helpful for, and we don't think about much, is even the one-seat ride. This is a big factor. I mean, it took us and BART, when we were negotiating the O&M agreement for the county when they started to operate, the paratransit was a big effort to negotiate.
[49:36] Speaker 9: Yeah.
[49:36] Speaker 4: Because it's not a one-seat ride. We've got to transfer. Who pays what costs? How it gets done? It's a lot of work. And I think a lot of this one-seat rides can end up saving our agencies money and at the same time be so beneficial for the people that we're providing access for. So I think that's really important. And but one of those key aspects is being able to use the same payment.
[50:00] Speaker 5: Right.
[50:02] Speaker 1: Unified payment.
[50:02] Speaker 4: Unified versus just a VTA system or whatever. So I think this is really— goes hand in hand with that really well. So I really think that's really important. The last comment I want to say, and I know Michelle and I were over in Germany, but I brought way too much luggage, so I constantly had to look for the elevators or the lifts when I was there. And they actually do have really nice symbols. It was really easy once you come out on the platform to see where the lifts were. And so, and it's just the international symbol for a lift and just where to go.
[50:31] Speaker 1: And pointed you in the right direction?
[50:32] Speaker 4: Yeah, because I had too much luggage.
[50:36] Speaker 1: We can approach that problem on both, on both sides, right? Okay. So again, thank you for being here. Thank you for the update. It's much appreciated and it's super timely. So thank you. Madam Clerk, we're going to close agenda item number 7A out and we'll open agenda item number 7B. And 7B is agenda item Next Generation Clipper update. And Director Weinstein, am I going to turn this over to you for some opening remarks? Are we going to turn this directly over to Angus Duvall.
[51:09] Speaker 5: We're gonna go right to Angus.
[51:11] Speaker 1: Okay, Angus, we'll give you a minute there just to get situated. And, but again, we just heard a little bit about where we're going from an accessibility standpoint. This next item is super complementary to that, and it's where we are with the next-generation Clipper update. And so with me buying you a few minutes there, Angus, the floor is all yours.
[51:35] Speaker 7: I appreciate the extra seconds. Thank you, Chair Powers. And good morning, everyone, or good afternoon now. So I'm Angus Duval, Assistant Director for Clipper Development and Budget with the MTC team. I'm going to be giving an update on Next Generation Clipper. Also here with me and available for questions after the presentation are Sushil Rajendran from Cubic, the project manager, our CFO Derek Hansell, who can answer questions on financial settlement issues, and my fellow Assistant Director in the Clipper Kelly Jackson to talk about customer service if there are any questions on that. Next slide, please. So as shared last month by Jason, in addition to the continued on-demand migrations by customers who log into their accounts or contact customer service, we've been continuing batch migration runs to support institutional and discount program operations. Most recently, we've been running We've been ramping up migration of youth and senior accounts, bringing us close to our goal of making regional transfer discounts available to all discount cardholders. This progress has continued since these slides were posted, so I have some updated stats to share. As of today, we're at 3.95 million cards migrated, so near approaching the 4 million card mark, and then 66% of trips being processed through C2. Next slide, please. We've also seen continued growth of transactions overall, with trips in August exceeding our previous peak from last October and 14% higher than August 2025, the previous year. And of the 16.7 million trips processed by Clipper in August, 10.1 million of these were processed through C2. And of the 43.2 million collected by Clipper in August, 2/3 of this, or that $28.5 million, was collected through C2. So continued progress there. Next slide, please. Even with this continued growth of customers using the Next Generation system, our Customer Service Center performance has remained stable in August, with call volume similar to July and average wait time to speak to an agent remaining under 90 seconds. In addition, call handling time is continued to decrease, resulting in less time overall for customers to get their question answered or issue resolved by an agent. Next slide, please. As for where we stand with system implementation, before I get to the issues shown here, I want to get to— I want to acknowledge some other system performance issues we've had to address over the last month. These included a C1 database issue on September 20th that impacted BART and Muni vending machines, some cases of discount cards being charged adult fares, and card errors that have impacted some users upgrading to new iPhones and some holders of passes such as the Bay Pass. While the causes of these incidents have been either fixed or are being mitigated through ongoing monitoring, follow-up is continuing to ensure that all customer issues have been addressed. As for the resolution of the remaining key issues shown on this slide year. One area in which we're not yet where we need to be is fare inspection devices. These issues have continued to create significant impacts on operator frontline staff. This includes a recent issue we're facing now related to memory use of the inspection app that has increased the need for infield fixes by Cubic field techs. A software update is currently in test that should address that issue and also improve bank card reads, inspection performance and payment transaction times, but production readiness of that release is still at least 2 weeks away. Qubic is also still working on cases where card taps aren't recognized during fare inspection, which requires a fix not with that inspection device itself, but with certain validators where those inspection delays are being seen. On the financial side, we're closer, with year-end documentation complete for last fiscal year and with audit activity wrapping up. However, we are still awaiting full documentation of settlement procedures and apportionment rules, and QBIC is still working on residual issues related to allocation and settlement of certain transactions, which will result in settlement adjustments being needed as those issues are resolved. These fair inspection and financial settlement issues account for 3 of the 4 critical items shown in this slide here that we were considering blockers to bulk migration. As for the fourth, we hope to be closing that one this week. That was related to Clipper Start and Access card replacements, as a fix was deployed last Friday, and we'll be— we're in verification of that fix now. Next slide, please. So with our recent migration runs, we're nearly complete with migration of all discount cardholders. The first of our priority groups migration shown in this slide here, with about 130,000 youth and senior cards remaining to migrate. We've paused operational migrations as of today so that CUBA can mitigate that inspection device memory issue I just mentioned, and also to prepare for the usual increase of calls that our Clipper Customer Service Center sees at the start and end of each month. But we plan to finish out migrations for those remaining youth and senior customers once these these migrations can be accommodated. We are also nearly complete with the second priority group, as our largest institutional programs are now on fully on C2, and as many Caltrain monthly passholders are already in C2 through on-demand migration. As for adult cardholders in priority groups 3 and beyond, shown in green for each of those categories is the remaining count of unmigrated active cardholders, meaning those who have not who have used their card on those— one of those agencies in the last 6 months. While Cubic completes their work to address remaining open issues, once migrations are complete for priority groups 1 and 2, we are proposing to continue operational migration runs for these next priority populations. As with our migration runs so far, these will continue to be closely monitored for any impacts on system performance or in our customer service center. And as long as we are confident that impacts of the remaining fair inspection and settlement work are unrelated to the number of customers migrated, we believe that continuing these operational migration runs is consistent with our shared goal of bringing C2 benefits such as the new regional transfer discount to these priority populations while not taking the pressure off Cubic's work to close out critical issues before we authorize the start of their operations and maintenance term. This will especially benefit customers who ride on multiple agencies shown here in priority group 4, both on this slide and the next slide. Next slide, please. So this will still leave several million cards in the final migration group shown in this slide, but since those are primarily inactive cards not seeing regular use, migration of those cards is lower priority in terms of customer benefit. However, it still remains a necessary step to bring all remaining financial records over to C2 in preparation for the decommissioning of the legacy C1 system. Next slide, please. So to support our ongoing operational migrations, our current communication strategy has been focused on existing customers. This includes customers who have already migrated or those who will be soon, letting them know about new customer benefits in C2 and informing them about ways to check their balance and manage their accounts. This messaging has also included information about how customers can self-upgrade to take advantage of these new benefits. This campaign has been on Clipper social media channels and shared with transit operators for reposting so that we can amplify our message with our most engaged customers. Next slide, please. Coming soon, we'll be updating the Clipper website to expand this messaging to more customers, particularly new riders, seniors, seeking out information on how to pay with Clipper, how to access discounts, and how to manage their accounts. Next slide, please. Finally, after all trips are processed— are being processed through C2, we will launch a full campaign marketing the next-generation Clipper, highlighting new features and benefits now available to all riders. This campaign will be across a range of media and will be coordinated with our transit operator partners. Growing transit ridership will be a goal of this campaign, both through increased usage by existing riders who may not know about regional transfer discounts or fare caps, and by bringing in new riders where the benefits and convenience of the new system may lower their barrier to entry and encourage them to try transit. Next slide, please. So to keep progressing towards completion of customer transition, we will keep pushing to resolve the remaining critical issues. issues through continued system and software updates. Once operational migrations resume after completing migration of the discount cardholders, our recommendation is to continue with migrations for the next set of priority groups, continuing to closely monitor migration for any impacts on the system and on our Customer Service Center and pausing as needed. And finally, in parallel, we will continue customer communications in partnership with transit operators as we extend the benefits of the Next Generation system to even more customers. So that concludes the presentation, and I'll turn it over to you, Chair Powers. Thanks.
[60:53] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that presentation. There's a lot of material there. Why don't we check in with Madam Clerk on public comment on this item in front of us, the Next Generation Clipper update?
[61:05] Speaker 2: Thank you. I received one written public comment from George Mittens. That was shared with the members and uploaded to the website. I do have 3 members in the boardroom wishing to speak. First, we have Lawrence Berland. You'll have 2 minutes.
[61:19] Speaker 7: Hi, my name is Lawrence Berland. Hi, my name is Lawrence Berland, and I am taking the somewhat extraordinary step of coming here to ask you for customer service help with my Clipper 2 card, uh, for myself and those similarly situated. I apologize, this will probably take slightly longer than 2 minutes. As a result of COVID lockdowns, job loss, and becoming permanently disabled, I ended up with a large excess transit benefits fund balance in the Clipper system. Uh, as a result, these funds were left as what's called indirect loads, which over the course of many customer service contacts between 2022 and 2024 were pending on my final permanent RTC card. These loads would need to be reactivated manually by calling Clipper as they were able to fit in the $300 balance limit on Clipper 1. So the system was clunky but working. However, in mid-December, I called to activate another one of these loads and happened to coincide with the Clipper 2.0 launch. No records were transitioned and all funds are missing since then. I'm missing approximately $550 in transit benefits value. That's a lot of money. Clipper has made no progress at all in finding these funds. I'm told there are several hundred people similarly situated. I want to give you some facts about my attempts to recover these funds. Since mid-December, I have called Clipper 17 times, not counting calls that were abandoned because of excess wait times. Because this case is complicated and everybody has to read because there's no continuity, each call is at least 30 minutes in length.
[62:55] Speaker 9: I'm sorry.
[62:56] Speaker 7: I've received 5 promises of follow-up by Clipper customer service. I have never received a follow-up call or email from Clipper customer service. 3 times Clipper has asked me for records. I provided them each time. I've never received any follow-up or response on those records. 4 times I've asked Clipper to provide me records. The first 3 times I was told I would receive them. I never have. The 4th time I was told Clipper can't promise to provide any records. 4 times I've been told that this issue has been escalated to Cubic, that there's a list of hundreds of people who've been escalated to Cubic. 3 times I've been told this case was high priority, but no resolution has been provided. No update from Cubic has been provided, and customer service recently informed me that they are not able to determine if Cubic is taking any action. I've been told repeatedly that hundreds of others are in this situation. No expected resolution date has been offered. For a period, I was provided what are called transition passes, but they're no longer providing those. I was initially told that was a policy decision, and when I asked what the policy was, I was told it's a technical limitation. It's absolutely unreasonable that I'm talking to an executive board about a customer service issue, but there are hundreds of people in a similar situation, and I personally am missing almost $550. If any of you are willing to assist in escalating this, whether that be members of this board or members of staff, please reach out to me directly. I'm going to stick around until the end of the meeting. I'm happy to provide you details. I'd really like to get to the bottom of this.
[64:17] Speaker 5: Thank you.
[64:18] Speaker 7: This is affecting a lot of people. I simply avoid riding BART right now because I don't want to put more money into a system where I have this much money already in it.
[64:27] Speaker 9: Thank you.
[64:27] Speaker 2: Thank you, Lawrence. Next we have Alita Dupree.
[64:30] Speaker 1: Hold on one second, Madam Clerk, for that. I generally am not going to go back and forth on public comment, but you know, you do have my attention right now, and you have the attention of the chair of the Clipper Executive Board sitting to my right here. So first, on behalf of the Bay Area, I apologize for what the Bay Area has put you through. By all accounts, if that data set is accurate, it is just unacceptable, right, from a customer service perspective. And there may be reasons, but at the end of the day, it is very difficult for somebody, as you have articulated, to navigate this. But you have brought it up here, and I thank you for coming and and taking time out of your day. It is— now it's in my court. And so you have the director from MTC for Cubic— for MTC Transition for C2 in front of you. You got his deputy sitting there. You got Cubic sitting in the audience here. You've got the chair of the executive board for Cubic here and me as the network management. Somebody will be in touch with you, whether it's after this meeting or even before the meeting is over. So anyway, I, I just couldn't let you sit down without, you know, at least knowing that you got my attention on the thing. So appreciate you being here in those public comments.
[65:49] Speaker 7: I appreciate that. And I do want to point out that the Clipper customer service people that I've spoken to have been, um, very apologetic about this. They're not bad people. They're trying to do their job. They're simply not empowered and not able to connect me with the people who are.
[66:03] Speaker 1: Copy that. Thank you for that.
[66:04] Speaker 7: Yep.
[66:05] Speaker 1: Madam Clerk, apologize for interrupting you.
[66:08] Speaker 2: No problem. Uh, thank you. Next we have Alita Dupree. Alita, you'll have 2 minutes.
[66:13] Speaker 5: Uh, thanks again, Chair Bob Powers and members. Uh, Alita Dupree, for the record. She and her team vote. Um, I'm seeing that we are migrating cards. Hopefully we'll migrate more of them. Uh, out on the road, I'm not seeing passes showing up on bus readers, so it means that we're getting more C2 migration.
[66:41] Speaker 7: The card's working. The last cycle since I wrote you, it's working. I mean, it is what it is. That's my honest assessment of the system is that for me, It's working.
[67:02] Speaker 5: So I'm looking forward to seeing us migrate more cards because we are paying for running 2 systems at the same time.
[67:12] Speaker 7: And even we have to migrate those inactive cards because you never know when somebody is going to visit again and use the system again.
[67:23] Speaker 5: There was a time when I had a Clipper card that was dormant for 3 years. And I think I had maybe $10 on it, and I returned to the Bay Area, and there it was.
[67:33] Speaker 7: I got on the BART at West Oakland, and it woke up, and I rode over to Coliseum, and there it was. I took my trip.
[67:40] Speaker 5: So, uh, I've been through several fare inspections, uh, on Muni and on Caltrain, and all the scanning seemed to work properly. And when I've completed the fare inspection, I say, that was easy. That's my honest assessment. I can't read any deeper into it than what happened for me in the several fare inspections that I've been through, both on Caltrain and on Muni, that picked up the value on my card and gave me green light.
[68:16] Speaker 7: Thank you.
[68:17] Speaker 5: So anyway, let's keep this going.
[68:19] Speaker 7: Thank you.
[68:20] Speaker 2: Thank you, Alita. Next, we have Adina Levin.
[68:36] Speaker 4: Here we go. Adina Levin with Seamless Bay Area. First of all, thanks very much for for listening to the gentleman who reported the challenges that he ran into. And, you know, part of that report was that there might be hundreds of other people in a similar situation. So I hope that the same level of attention going to this individual with a really tough customer service issue will go into forensics as to whether there are many other people and redressing for them as well. On the positive side, it's exciting to see that 2/3 of the transactions are now running through the new system, and interestingly, a quarter of them are with open payment, and that there's starting to be proactive social media helping people upgrade. Given that, and given the time on the calendar that we are all aware of, I am wondering what it might make sense to maybe do, you know, an increment more on the social media, because everyone who does know that, you know, if you're, you know, a new transit user and you can pay with a credit or debit card, that if you're a frequent transit user and if you can upgrade yourself, you get free and reduced price transfers, those kinds of things. things will generally help people use more transit, and the more people use transit, the better they feel about it for reasons we all understand why that is very important this season. And then lastly, in terms of the challenges with this project, wanted to share that Seamless is hosting a panel for Transit Month tomorrow night on ubiquitous challenges with public sector technology and what the Bay Area might have to learn from ways of potentially addressing those kinds of very common issues and challenges.
[70:39] Speaker 9: Thank you.
[70:39] Speaker 2: Thank you, Adina. There is no one else that has approached the podium in the boardroom, and I see no hands raised in the Zoom space, so that will conclude public comment for item 7B.
[70:51] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that. Madam Clerk, the item in front of us is the Clipper 2 update, next generation update. It's an informational item. Why don't I turn to my right and start off the discussion with Julie Kirschbaum, who is the chair of the Clipper 2 executive board.
[71:09] Speaker 6: Julie?
[71:09] Speaker 10: Thank you, Bob.
[71:12] Speaker 4: And thank you, Angus, for framing both the outstanding progress as well as the remaining issues. I am glad to see that we have transferred our discount users. That is an important equity issue and really means now that between self-migrating and credit card and then our discount programs, anybody who wants access to the amazing fare integration products— Can have access to them. So that is a tremendous benefit from my perspective. I also just want to urge us to continue to really stay focused and resolve the kind of 3 or 4 outstanding technical issues. The fare inspection devices seeming to be the ones that are kind of foiling us the most. But the— you got me excited about bulk migration by showing all of our thoughtful priorities. And I think they stand. And I just— I look forward to resolving this handful of outstanding issues so that we can then deliver what I think will be a big win for the Bay Area. So thank you and Jason and team for all your work. And let's just continue to wrap up strong.
[72:56] Speaker 6: Okay.
[72:58] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. Why don't I go over to Andy Fremere, Executive Director with MTC.
[73:04] Speaker 3: Andy?
[73:05] Speaker 5: Thank you, Chair Powers. I also want to just back up what you said about the customer challenge that was put in front of us. That certainly is a big deal, and I look forward to the resolution of that and the other hundreds of folks that are there and be happy to report back on how that goes. And I also want to thank the chair and the vice chair of the Clipper Executive Board for helping us really work hard with the Cubic and our staffs to really focus on what is the biggest impediment, which is these inspection devices. You know, we really are focused on getting Clipper 1 decommissioned, as Mr. Duvall said, and I would like to make sure that, you know, all efforts are continuing to focus on getting us to that point because it clearly is one of the biggest impediments in front of us.
[73:50] Speaker 7: But we remain committed to moving forward and look forward to getting to that finish line.
[73:54] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. Coming around here, Hassan with AC Transit. Hassan? Yeah, thank you very much, Chair Powers.
[74:04] Speaker 7: Just want to echo Chair Kirschbaum's comments about the progress. Glad to see we are making some progress on the migration, some of the resolutions on these issues.
[74:15] Speaker 1: One comment we have been—
[74:16] Speaker 7: I know that we had a discussion, Angus, about this Bay Pass issue ongoing. There are a combination of some technical issues with the software, but also it's a whole process and training issue. So that will just necessitate to make sure that the staff who are going through the change management process also are equipped with the proper training to make sure they can handle those, those users and those new tools. We have received about 700 complaints, or 700 students from UC Berkeley where they're having challenges with AC Transit service as well as BART service.
[74:49] Speaker 1: So we need to Take a look at that one, and if any feedback or any update, that will be greatly appreciated. FIMS is definitely an ongoing challenge and an issue.
[75:00] Speaker 7: It's impacting us as well.
[75:03] Speaker 1: On slide number 4, Angus, I think we are showing call volume drop.
[75:08] Speaker 7: Are we seeing operating costs drop as well?
[75:11] Speaker 1: Yes. Associated with— I know that there was a spike made when we had a higher call volume and the call takers?
[75:21] Speaker 7: Have you seen any sort of drop in the operating cost related to call handling and call volume?
[75:28] Speaker 5: So Jason Weinstein here, Director of the CLIP program. The pricing structure for the call center is a fixed So it's not like the C1 contract where it was transactional-based. It's a fixed cost for the certain number of contacts that we get each month. And if it— at this point, we're in the process of evaluating it so that when we go look to make a contract amendment with WSB, that we have it dialed in.
[76:08] Speaker 7: Okay, thank you.
[76:08] Speaker 1: Okay, let me come around, uh, I'm starting on my left. Uh, uh, Michelle Bouchard, uh, the general manager at Caltrain. Michelle.
[76:19] Speaker 6: Great, thanks, Chair Powers, uh, and thank you so much for the presentation.
[76:24] Speaker 4: Really, really appreciate, um, you know, that progress is being made, um, and I know we're all rather frustrated by the path that the FIMPs have been taking.
[76:35] Speaker 6: It seems like there is progress that's being made. Angus, if I could ask you, you mentioned the version that looks like it's going to be ready for rollout in 2 weeks. That's the 1.18?
[76:49] Speaker 7: Correct.
[76:51] Speaker 1: Okay.
[76:52] Speaker 10: Okay.
[76:52] Speaker 6: Great. Good to know. Yeah, I just think critical to us nailing these final issues is just a complete and transparent communication about how things are going and how us as operators and leaders of the organizations that really require these devices, how we can be helpful.
[77:08] Speaker 4: So I really appreciate the update and, and really look forward to continuing to work with you, Jason, and your staff, and Sushil, you as well, on, you know, how we can get these, these final issues resolved.
[77:22] Speaker 6: So thank you.
[77:23] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments. Michelle, why don't I come around? Christy Wegner with the general manager at LAFTA.
[77:32] Speaker 7: Christy?
[77:32] Speaker 6: Thank you, Chair Powers. I actually want to piggyback on Hasan's comments on the call center.
[77:39] Speaker 4: So it looks like in July and August we actually had higher call volumes than in April and May, which is interesting. It's summer, summer months. And I, and I don't expect you to have this answer right now, but maybe in a future report you back with this. What are the top 5 to 10 trending issues at the call center, and have those changed over the last few months? When stuff's going haywire at my agency, I find it very helpful to dig into the complaints and what is happening at the call center.
[78:05] Speaker 6: It helps shine a light.
[78:06] Speaker 4: So, I would just be curious to see, are the trends consistent, the reason why people are calling, or are they changing? Thank you.
[78:15] Speaker 1: Did you want to get back to the committee member on that, Director Weinstein, or—
[78:22] Speaker 5: We could, actually. I think Kelly is helping our customer.
[78:25] Speaker 1: Yeah, she is with 2 other people. So let's leave her focused on that. That's the higher priority. And I'm not disrespecting you.
[78:32] Speaker 5: Yeah. We will definitely get back to you.
[78:34] Speaker 1: We will certainly circle back with Kelly when she comes back in and provide that information. But let's make sure we have our priorities right here. So we'll get back to your question here. Why don't I take a pause and go to Dennis Mulligan, the general manager with Golden Gate Bridge.
[78:48] Speaker 7: Thanks to Angus and the team for a very concise, factual, and transparent presentation. It's greatly appreciated. It documents the progress and the remaining work we have to do. I do want to thank the Clipper team for coming to the Sausalito Ferry facility on Friday to work through some of the PHMS issues. I think it was very constructive for both parties and just want to acknowledge that effort. With respect to the gentleman that spoke, it weighs heavily because none of us showed up here today thinking we're going to hear that. And so there may be other issues out there like that. It would be helpful if staff put together a list of the issues that are out there where there may be hundreds of people impacted that are still open, so that prior to a future meeting, having a future repeat, but perhaps for a slightly different topic, that we kind of have a heads up of what's bubbling out there. I know the daily reports we get have some of that, but clearly there's a few more issues that are out there that are open, and that would be helpful if you could bring that to us at a future meeting. Then I, I do have an inquiry about financial reconciliation. Is there a schedule for when we'll have the apportionment rules documented? Good afternoon, Derek Hansel. When do you expect that schedule to be ready? We're working on that schedule right now. I reiterated actually in another meeting this morning the need for that schedule, and it's really about putting together a comprehensive list of all the things that actually need to be dealt with. We are still putting bows on the financial settlement for our side. I think all of the operator side is, so to speak, settled. I think some of those are settled at this point, but ours are not quite. We've finally provided all the information to our auditors that they need in the testing. And then again, we'll be moving on to those issues.
[80:37] Speaker 8: Thank you.
[80:38] Speaker 7: I want to— I should acknowledge that that was completed, and that's a huge, huge thing for you and for all of us. So kudos to getting that across the finish line. If there are issues with putting together a schedule, it would be worthwhile understanding, is there some uncertainty with respect to availability of resources to conclude it, or is it tied to some factor that there's some unknown solution that hasn't been fully diagnosed yet? Or, you know, if there are challenges, you know, at some point it makes us nervous.
[81:07] Speaker 5: Sure.
[81:08] Speaker 7: I think it's going to be multifaceted. It's kind of an interdisciplinary effort, right? Some of these are rules that have yet to be— a consensus arrived among the operators themselves. So there are technical pieces of what need to be done, but then there's work between the Clipper team, Cubic, and the operators themselves to finalize up the rules and then document them. And so what I'm trying to get our team to work on, and they've started work on this already, is again putting that comprehensive list of things together, what needs to be done with respect to each of those and then driving those to completion and documentation. Thank you. I appreciate your leadership on this, Derek.
[81:50] Speaker 3: Thanks.
[81:51] Speaker 1: Thank you for those comments, Dennis. Why don't we go to Carolyn Gurnott, General Manager with the VTA? Carolyn?
[81:57] Speaker 6: Great, thank you.
[81:58] Speaker 4: Some of my questions were answered, including some of the ones that Dennis just asked, but I do have a question regarding the inspection devices. There's a comment in there about batteries and needing to replace the And then there's a— it just says that there's a need to— that the units are getting near their end of life and will need replacement. Are we talking about only the batteries, or are we talking about the whole unit is now near the end of life?
[82:27] Speaker 7: It's actually the whole unit. As Pax is the manufacturer of those devices, and this is one of the ones that's coming up for their kind of official end of life. So similar to, you know, Microsoft or a, you know, a phone provider too, once it sort of ages out. So we're not quite there yet, but it's at the point where we need to start the process of thinking what is going to be the device that can be kind of carried forward. I do want to note that these device replacements, that's considered and it is actually part of the C2 contract. So that should be not a change order.
[83:02] Speaker 5: This is A—
[83:03] Speaker 7: Cubic has a responsibility in the contract to maintain and replace devices as they become end of life.
[83:09] Speaker 4: Okay, that's what I was going to ask you, is, is— are we— is the operator going to be responsible? Is it part of the Cubic contract? Because we're already near the end of life, and these were provided specifically for CP, for the Clipper 2, right?
[83:22] Speaker 7: Correct. Um, they were put in as part of the, the accelerated deployment, so they— because they had that backwards compatibility of C1. So that's why they've— we were able to introduce them even before we'd kind of fully or even started the transition of customers, just to kind of, um—
[83:37] Speaker 4: And what do you think that timeline is for replacement?
[83:40] Speaker 7: Um, we don't have that, um, worked out yet.
[83:43] Speaker 5: That's—
[83:43] Speaker 4: What are we talking about, 12 months? Are we talking about 2 years? What, 6 months?
[83:47] Speaker 7: I would, I would hazard to guess that we're going to talk about the years, years versus months. But, uh, I think Right.
[83:54] Speaker 5: The goal here first would be to— let's get the current device to work so that it works, but at the same time, we're working on what that next device is, right? We can do both in parallel.
[84:05] Speaker 4: Okay. And then will we— I'm assuming we're going to have to retest the new devices, right?
[84:11] Speaker 5: Right.
[84:11] Speaker 9: Okay.
[84:11] Speaker 5: And we'll be able to work with operators to say, do we need all these things that we had with the original device to maybe simplify it so that it does specific things that operators need and not have to be a one-size-fits-all for everything, which creates complication in terms of inspection and collecting fares and printing receipts and all kinds of things. So there— we've learned a lot along the way, and I think we can apply that to what we do with new device.
[84:39] Speaker 4: Okay, I know I probably feel a little scary.
[84:42] Speaker 1: Let me drop back over to Michelle Bouchard with Caltrain, who popped up here. Michelle?
[84:48] Speaker 6: No fear, Carolyn.
[84:49] Speaker 4: Yeah, I did just want to really encourage staff, and we've spoken with Mr.
[84:59] Speaker 6: Weinstein about potentially putting together a group, which I think we really need to get together the requirements setting.
[85:08] Speaker 4: It strikes me that is the most important phase for this new version of the FEMS. and to consider all of the things you're talking about, Jason.
[85:18] Speaker 6: But I do think it'll require some real brain trust to get moving on that as quickly as possible, understanding that you still have sort of a fairly heavy lift with today. So it would be— it would be sort of good to, in subsequent meetings, to understand how that—
[85:36] Speaker 4: how that group might form and how we might push forward with it.
[85:39] Speaker 5: Excellent. And I'll dovetail and say that we really want to adopt what Melanie has done with the co-PM model in terms of being able to get that thing staffed. Okay.
[85:53] Speaker 1: Thank you for that. Michelle, you're good?
[85:56] Speaker 4: I'm done.
[85:58] Speaker 6: Thanks very much.
[85:58] Speaker 1: Good. Okay. Hey, I did— anybody else, comments, concerns? Okay. I had a couple just high-level stuff— not stuff, but first I wanted to start off by, I think, thanking you, Jason, you and Angus and Sushil. I do believe, not my words of 3 or 4 months ago, I think we're on the right path. I think you're moving in the right direction. I think there's a finite list of, you know, areas that we're focusing on that you're moving towards resolution on. And certainly, probably at the highest is the FIMS devices. And you don't need me to walk you through all that, but I do feel better, and I feel— actually, I feel good about the direction that you're going in. And so that's good. 2, I do believe that I'm on the same page with the executive director of MTC that, you know, at the right moment in time, you know, taking the C1 system and the maintenance of that and the, you know, watching over that thing, pulling that out of Revenue Service and just, you know, migrating over to C2 is a big deal, right? And at the right moment in time, that's a, you know, we got to do that. You know, but until that point in time, I would encourage Jason, you and Angus and Sushil to make sure that as stuff is migrated to the C2, that that C1 system is functioning. And I know, I know a little bit about, you know, when was it, August the 30th or September, and, you know, some of the challenges with the C1. But let's not lose sight of the C1 system up and running until that time that, you know, the director from MTC and everybody is in agreement that that can start being, you know, phased out. so that it's reliable as folks are transitioned over. And I know you are, and so you don't even need to answer me because I do know that it's, you know, it's your highest priority, you know, you and Jason and, and, and Sushil. So I do feel good about the way the direction this is going in, and I can see light at the end of the tunnel. And I would, you know, to what, uh, I was going to say Director Bouchard, but Commissioner Bouchard or committee member Bouchard was talking about I wanted to thank the kitchen cabinet. Those folks from all the agencies, there's people from BART, there's people from SFMTA, there's probably every operator has touched that kitchen cabinet once in a while, once or twice. Continue to lean on the kitchen cabinet when and where positive. And maybe, I know you wanted the follow Director Choi's lead on the co-PM model and we'll keep Director Choi around for a while. But, you know, the kitchen cabinet or a subversion of the kitchen cabinet for the PHMS, you know, whatever that might be, you know, you might have something right there and you just need to tweak it a little bit. But again, I'm not, you know, you know what you're doing on that stuff, Jason. But, you know, the kitchen cabinet has been at the center of a lot of these discussions working with Sushil, with you and your team. And I think anchoring to them as— I guess we're down to 3 or 2, or, you know, there's not a whole lot of issues out there. Anchoring to that kitchen cabinet would be helpful, and I know you will. And I just wanted to go on record to thank that kitchen cabinet for keeping us and being a resource to Jason, to you and your team, and Sushil, to you and your team, um, because I think they're going to be needed between now and, um, when we you know, complete migration of the C2 system. So again, I think you're doing a nice piece of work, Jason and Angus and Suchil. I think we're moving in the right direction and look forward to the next report out to this committee. So with that, Madam Clerk, we are going to close agenda item number 7B. And, uh, hang on a second, let me reopen 7B. Is Kelly Kelly, I don't know if I would never— let me just see if you've got an appetite to answer this question, and I'll protect you if you don't, because nobody else. But one more time, Christy, on the question. You were out doing— you had a higher priority. But one more time, let's see if we can get this question answered.
[90:26] Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you so much, Chair Powers.
[90:29] Speaker 3: Hi, Kelly.
[90:30] Speaker 4: I was just curious about the trending issues at the call center. Have they changed over the last few months?
[90:38] Speaker 6: And you don't have to answer this today.
[90:40] Speaker 4: It could be just provided in our next meeting packet.
[90:42] Speaker 3: Thank you.
[90:42] Speaker 6: So we are actually doing a lot of work around tracking them. And we tried to represent that in one of the attachments to the memo. But we are— as lessons are being learned, we're actually refining the definition. So it's hard to see it across time right now. Um, Eric Nathaniel's here, and he was also helping with the escalation, but his team has been doing a lot of work on that. I mean, the good thing is most of it is account management, and it's around kind of learning the new tools. Unfortunately, I think also Mr. Berlin's issue would be considered account management because we're trying to get value to his card. So it's a little bit muddled right now. But normally we're not seeing it as the same, like, explosive migration issues. It's now these cleanup issues that we're dealing with and getting transaction histories, because if you're looking at something before you migrated, it's also in the Cubic system, and trying to, like, connect Cubic and NTC and WSP to satisfy those.
[91:47] Speaker 1: Thank you for that response, and thank you for your attention to the and helping with our public commenter early. Much appreciated. Thank you, Kelly. Um, all right, now, Madam Clerk, we are going to close out agenda item number 7B, and we're going to move over to, um, agenda item number 7C, which is proposed dates for the 2027 Clipper Executive Board Regional Network Management. Um, so this is an information item, and, uh, Akash is going to walk us through this item. Again, this is just an informational item. We're not— this is not action. We're not taking action item, but this is kind of where we are, what we're thinking about. Akash?
[92:34] Speaker 7: That's correct. Thank you. Yes, so this item concerns a proposed 2027 Joint Regional Network Management Council, or RNM Council, and Clipper Executive Board, or CEB, calendar of meetings. Which, as you must know, must be adopted annually per the procedures manual. Uh, the proposed calendar is provided, uh, as Attachment A to this memo, and that shows the suggested meeting dates, uh, for 2027 highlighted in yellow. Uh, the council and board will continue to meet on the 4th Monday of each calendar month from approximately 11:30 to 3:00 PM. This schedule is consistent with prior years and supports continuity in board operations. There are 2 instances of the 4th Monday falling on or near a holiday in 2027, and we've consequently proposed moving to the 3rd Monday in November and the 2nd Monday in December. Again, those dates should be reflected in yellow on Attachment A. As of the packet posting date, staff have taken into consideration possible conflicts with other MTC meetings. and posted events from organizations like APTA, CTA, and others from across the industry. There were 2 conflicts identified: the APTA Marketing Communications and Customer Experience Workshop in February and the APTA Transform Conference in September. Staff believe that the existing conflicts are limited and do not affect the overall feasibility of the proposed calendar. We have historically not rescheduled R&M Council and CEB for conflicts with these specific conferences, but feel it is important to highlight for the board. Your input is valued, and staff want to ensure that this calendar works well for everyone. We kindly ask that all board members and their agency staff review the attached calendar and provide any comments as soon as possible, as we plan on bringing this calendar back for approval at the next meeting. Thank you for your attention, and we look forward to your feedback and support. and finalizing the meetings calendar. Happy to take any comments and questions from the board at this time.
[94:40] Speaker 1: Okay, so I appreciate that, but I'm going to encourage the committee members that we're not going to, you know, committee schedule something right here and now. So, um, but I appreciate you taking your time looking where the conflicts might be and going around. Um, we'll do a brief around this, around the dais here. Madam Clerk, public comment on this item in front of us?
[95:05] Speaker 2: I received nothing in writing. No one has approached the podium in the boardroom, and there are no hands raised in the Zoom space, so there are no public comments for item 7C.
[95:13] Speaker 1: Okay, thank you for that, Madam Clerk. Agosh, if, if, like, say, let's say if, uh, Christy Wagner, head of LAFTA, has, you know, uh, something on this topic, does she send it straight to you or your staff? What, what's the mechanics of getting back to you? Well, All you said was get back to us. How do we do that?
[95:32] Speaker 7: Right. As long as it's communicated to somebody on the Clipper team, we'll make it check.
[95:36] Speaker 1: All right, fine. All right, good enough. All right, so anything right off the top so that, you know, any showstoppers for Akash as we're looking at this? And I don't, you know, I'm not trying to stop people from making public comment. I'm not. But, you know, we don't really need to, you know, pull out our calendars here. Carolyn, go ahead.
[95:54] Speaker 6: Just one.
[95:55] Speaker 4: The Transform conference Because that's usually a board meeting that's that weekend before. I'm not sure how many, but a lot of us sit on the APTA board. So that could be problematic, and I don't know. We can get back to you on that, but that would mean all of us just being there for the board meeting and then maybe coming back, or I don't know. I know many people sit on the board.
[96:19] Speaker 1: You might just have to move that meeting, Akash. It's, you know—
[96:22] Speaker 4: And it might be able to do the 3rd Noted.
[96:26] Speaker 7: And, uh, yeah, we'll definitely come— the approval item next month will come with the—
[96:31] Speaker 1: And I would encourage you, just move it, right? And just don't mess around with it because you're going to get asked to move it anyway. So anyway, Julie?
[96:38] Speaker 4: Um, I, I understand the need for a 2027, uh, calendar, but I would also like, uh, as we head towards the end of the year, to talk about a more formal possibility of sunsetting the Clipper Executive Board now that we have the Regional Network Management Council stood up and so many of the issues are relevant to both bodies.
[97:10] Speaker 3: Okay.
[97:14] Speaker 1: Andy Fremere, MTC GM. Yeah, you know, in the—
[97:18] Speaker 5: Art of efficiency, I think you could also consider canceling one meeting a year. 11 might work fine.
[97:23] Speaker 7: It works fine for our commission and others as well.
[97:25] Speaker 1: Point taken. Appreciate that. Uh, okay, anything else for the good of the order? You got— you'll get what you need, Akash, when— before you come back. And so whenever you guys come— whenever you and your team come back on this, um, okay. Not seeing any other comments, I'm done commenting on this one. All right, so we're going to close agenda item number 7C out, and we'll go to agenda item number 8. And this is our directors' plural report with Director Choi and Director Weinstein. Director Choi, the floor is yours.
[98:00] Speaker 6: Great, thank you, Chair Powers. I will kick it off, and then I'll hand it over to Director Weinstein. But before I dive into today's updates, I do want to briefly acknowledge some incredible atmosphere over the weekend in attending SamTrans' 50th anniversary celebration at Millbrae on Saturday. Nice.
[98:19] Speaker 1: Congratulations.
[98:21] Speaker 6: It's a great milestone. It was really great to see many of you there and also recognizing this important milestone for SamTrans. And for me, what really stood out was the amount of energy of having the leadership from from so many agencies all gathered in one place. It felt more like a celebration of not just one agency, but really the collective celebration of us as a region and the partnerships and the people. And it was just a very warm event. I also even noticed— I went to the Caltrain side and went to the bus side, to the bus bays, and noticed some of our temporary mapping and wayfinding. signage out there in plastic but very temporary format.
[99:04] Speaker 3: But—
[99:06] Speaker 6: so we're making small but meaningful inward— inroads towards really trying to make the user experience more seamless. So with that and seeing the level of pride, dedication, just the collaboration in one place was just a really great energizing and inspiring event. So, It was a fantastic event. In terms of— I'll transition now to my updates. So each month we have this opportunity to provide you all with updates regarding all the progress we're making together as a region. And I will highlight that most of the work that we do is behind the scenes. So a lot of things folks don't see. And it's happening across multiple agencies. All of us are really contributing towards this larger goal of creating the network that's easy to use, more reliable, and increasingly seamless. So today what we wanted to do, both Jason and I, was just to include a few examples and updates on how we're seeing tangible results from the foundation that we're all building together. And in particular, over the last 6 years, it's been amped up, as Drennan had mentioned in her presentation. So first on program milestones, in 2024, the council, R&M Council and MTC, approved $20 million for 9 projects across the region through the Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery Program and BusAid. So the program was designed to deliver quick-build projects for riders and targeting transit delay hotspots. The important thing with this program is we built in evaluation into the investments so that we can measure the results and see what's happening out there and understanding what works. So I'm happy to report that the cloud-based Transit Signal Priority project in San Jose is the first bus aid project that has crossed the finish line. And what we're seeing— what VTA is seeing is that the results are very encouraging. This project was implemented through a partnership between VTA and the City of San Jose, so the 2 agencies. The project deployed next-generation cloud-based Transit Signal Priority at nearly 200 intersections across VTA's frequent transit network. I'm going to give 2 snippets of things. There's a report that VTA and the city has published, but the average bus delay was reduced by 18% and double-digit percentages in this kind of metric is pretty significant. And then additionally, the buses were showing to be 5% more likely to pass through an intersection on a green light. So those are a few snippets of things that they're seeing. In the evaluation report. So simply put, what we're doing— working on service that is moving faster and operating more reliably. And this is just a showcase of the types of things we were intending to do with the bus aid program. The second thing I wanted to highlight is the continuation of the momentum on Bay Pass. And so last month, Bay Pass was launched, launched at San Jose State University in August for more than 30,000 students. Earlier this month, the MTC Regional Network Management Committee approved an expansion of the program to UCSF. And that extended the eligibility to another approximate— approximately 36,000 employees and students. And this will be effective January 2027. So it's not effective yet. But since the program launched, I wanted to give you some stats. In January 2024 is when Bay Pass launched. We've seen tremendous growth. The program grew from approximately 1.5 million trips in 2024, uh, to more than 5.5 million trips in 2025. Um, and then 2026 is on track to be even stronger than those numbers. Uh, so, and today Bay Pass includes more than 30 participant— participating organizations and approximately 135 eligible participants. So secondly, I'll shift over into looking ahead onto October 9th. And so we look forward to welcoming the leadership from BART, VTA, and Golden Gate to the R&M Committee meeting on our October 9th MTC Commissioner R&M Committee meeting. And annually— so annually this has become a really important tradition for us in terms of having the opportunity for the commissioners to hear directly from all of you. As transit agency leaders about the work that we are doing together, but also things that you are doing at your own agencies to really work towards our shared goals. So we're excited to have that presentation come on October 9th to our MTC Commission Committee. The third thing I wanted to provide an update on is an update on our Community Advisory Group. And last year we updated the composition of that group. the CAG, and it brought together members from your advisory bodies into our advisory body. The new group convened in April, and since then we've met 5 times. What we are seeing is exactly the type of engagement we are hope— we had hoped to create. And this is also inspired by Adina Levin and the Vice Chair Warren Cushman in terms of this concept. They spearheaded it with MTC staff and What we're seeing is that members are really building relationships across agencies, learning more about regional initiatives, but what's also happening is that that information is being brought back to the local advisory bodies and communities. And so, the representatives that you have nominated to sit on the CAG, we're very appreciative of that because it's exactly what we are hoping to encourage. And so, that exchange for us really helps strengthen the connection between the regional efforts with the folks that use the transit system every day. So that's been great. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Jason.
[104:55] Speaker 5: Thank you, Director Choi. Before I start, I did want to add my apology to our public commenter and to all the public that are in this particular situation and are experiencing problems that, you know, we take very seriously. So, Kelly, the whole customer service team, myself, we want to make sure that we get to those things. And we heard you, board member— or Vice Chair Mulligan, my apologies— about getting a list of issues for you so that we can let you know where those things stand. So, you know, as the Clipper program continues to transition from implementation to an operational stabilization place, members of the Clipper team are increasingly being asked and invited to participate and speak at major transit and fare payment industry conferences. For example, Ed will be representing Clipper at both ITS California in Sacramento and the CTA Fall Conference in Monterey, engaging with industry peers on emerging transportation technologies and transportation initiatives. Angus will be speaking at the Global Mass Transit's Transit Payments in the U.S., right here in San Francisco in late October, sharing insights from the deployment and operation of the Clipper system. And I'll actually be presenting at Transport Ticketing North America in Washington, D.C. in mid-November highlighting Clipper as a regional fare collection system that supports all of you, the 22 transit agencies, and some of the challenges and opportunities that our system presents when doing so. Pivoting to the growing energy around Transit Month and wrapping up what Melanie and I are saying, Transit Month in the Bay Area is organized by the San Francisco Transit Riders and Seamless Bay Area. Increasingly, transit operators and MTC have taken on a larger role in helping amplify and shape the month-long celebration. This year, transit agencies and MTC organized supported and partnered on more than 25 events throughout the region. 2 signature events in particular highlight the value of regional coordination. So as many of you know, the CEO Ride-Along brought together approximately 90 participants including transit general managers like all of you and regional leaders to showcase a seamless multi-operator trip across the Bay Area. Each time the group transferred, they celebrated the new $2.85 discount, and prior to the new discount, the journey would have cost about $17. With the new discount, that cost was cut roughly in half. The event also received media attention with 2 television news crews covering the ride and helping extend the reach of that message. The second regional effort was All Aboard Bay Area Transit Day on September 15th, which featured a coordinated regional communications campaign designed by MTC and promoted by transit agencies throughout the Bay Area. Notably, BART recorded its highest ridership day since the pandemic during that event. And I'll pass it back to Melanie to finish up.
[108:01] Speaker 4: Thanks, Jason.
[108:03] Speaker 6: So, but Transit Month is not just about our agency leadership, it's also about the community leadership. And I know that there are a countless number of stories of community organizations helping people experience transit in new ways. And the The one that particularly stood out to me was last weekend's Caltrain's cookie— Caltrain and Cookies event organized by the Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action Group. And what happened was this group of high schoolers brought together approximately 100 high school students and their families to ride Caltrain, and many of them rode for the first time. They traveled from Burlingame to Menlo Park, and also the partnership in terms of with this climate action group was partnered through Caltrain in the sense of Caltrain partnered with the local rail museum to then help participants learn more about the history of the corridor and creating that experience that was educational, welcoming. It's that first ride. So these local partnerships are incredibly valuable, introducing new riders to transit in a really supportive way, building the community connection, and really fostering the next generation of riders and advocates in the area. So with that, I wanted to just close out with just taking together all of these efforts that Jason and I have been talking about really show the breadth of work that everyone is doing across the region. It's improving travel times, the fare integration work, the community engagement, introducing new riders through transit and through Transit Month. It's just all of this is really—
[109:33] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[109:34] Speaker 6: contributing and collectively contributing. It's not just one thing to the meaningful progress we're all making in our— making our customer-faced Bay Area transit network. But most importantly for me, what these examples really show is what we're capable of doing when our agencies and community organizations and our staff all work together through a shared vision. And it's One region and one network. And so with that, I think that closes out our directors' report.
[110:05] Speaker 1: Well, thank you for those directors' reports, Director Choi and Director Weinstein. And Director Weinstein, thank you for your commitment to the, the quality of the customer service and your comments there. Much appreciated. Madam Clerk, public comment on our joint directors' report?
[110:21] Speaker 2: I received nothing in writing and no one has approached the podium in the boardroom, but I do have one hand raised in the Zoom space. Roland LeBrun, you'll have 2 minutes.
[110:31] Speaker 3: Thank you, Chair Powers, committee members. Very briefly, with regards to the announcement Melanie made about inviting Bob to the RNM Council next Friday, October 9th, Isn't there some kind of conflict with the proposed Joint VTA Board meeting at BART headquarters in the morning? And if so, I'm wondering if that could be resolved. I had planned to attend that in person, but that conflicts with all the MTC meetings I had planned on attending in the morning. And I'm wondering if there would be any way to reschedule this Joint VTA Board meeting possibly combining it with the Board oversight meeting at noon the previous day on October 8th. So these are my questions. If anybody could answer them either now offline, it would be much appreciated. Thank you.
[111:35] Speaker 2: Thank you, Roland. We do have one public comment in the boardroom. Adina Levin, you'll have 2 minutes.
[111:44] Speaker 4: Yeah, Adina Levin with Seamless Bay Area and really happy to be celebrating Transit Month with everyone. And I don't actually have a final count, but overall, I believe there were over 100 events celebrating transit through Transit Month all around the Bay Area counties. And one of the really interesting things that came is in Director Bouchard's packet for the board on Thursday is just how many people start using transit when they come out for something fun. And, you know, whether that is a Giants game or whether that is, you know, coming out and having cookies with the family, having many opportunities to come out and celebrate transit is good and helps bring out more people. So happy end of Transit Month.
[112:42] Speaker 2: Thank you.
[112:43] Speaker 4: And I think that October 9th in the evening is the date of the Ride of First Awards. So hope to— if that's a Friday, so hope to see all of you then. Thanks.
[112:52] Speaker 2: Thank you. There are no further people that have approached the podium in the boardroom and no hands raised in the Zoom space. That will conclude public comment for item 8.
[113:04] Speaker 1: And Madam Clerk, I'm not in the business of back and forth with public commenters, but to that first public commenter that was virtual, to the leadership of Director Choi. I believe she has navigated those 2 conflicts, so thank you for that, Director Choi. And with that, we will complete agenda item number 9, and we'll move to agenda item number 10, our final agenda item. And we're all set for October 26th.
[113:33] Speaker 7: Chair, I believe we took public comment on 8 but not on 9 yet. I believe we have a public commenter for number 9.
[113:39] Speaker 1: I did— one more time, Councilor?
[113:43] Speaker 7: I believe the public comment we just took was for 8.
[113:45] Speaker 1: For 8, okay.
[113:47] Speaker 7: And I believe we have a public commenter for item 9.
[113:49] Speaker 1: All right, so I need to do public comment for item number 9?
[113:52] Speaker 7: Correct.
[113:53] Speaker 1: Thank you, sir, for pointing that out to me. My bad. Um, so we're going to take public comment for agenda item number 9, which is public comment on any other business. Apologize. Alita, come on up.
[114:05] Speaker 2: Uh, well, first, I did receive 2 written public comments for this agenda item. 2 were from Liang K. Zong, and the other one was from Alita Dupree. Those have both been shared with the members and uploaded. And next we have Alita Dupree in the boardroom.
[114:19] Speaker 5: Uh, thanks again, Chair Bob Powers and members.
[114:25] Speaker 7: Uh, Alita Dupree, for the record.
[114:27] Speaker 5: She and her routine faults, so I speak Generally, I was at the BART meeting a few days ago, and I had to stand up and say— I submitted a speaker card on this item, so thank you. Where do we go from here? Doing fare payment is challenging. I looked at the MTA website, that's New York.
[114:48] Speaker 7: They're having some issues with reloading OMNY cards, whether it be online or the retail network. network or using their vending machines that look like nice refrigerators.
[114:59] Speaker 5: Not everybody has phones and credit cards. So there are challenges with fare payment that happen all over the country. And surely this is impacting people's ability to use buses in New York. And that famous transportation system with the big S, the subway, subway, the system that is legendary and stately. And so what do we do here? We're dealing with probably the most complex fare payment system the world has ever seen. And we're working on these things.
[115:35] Speaker 7: And I write you letters, and I appreciate the letters being published, though the typeface does look a bit like an eye chart, so you might want to go to a larger font next time.
[115:44] Speaker 5: Even my reading glasses only do so much, but I usually read it online and I can expand it. But there is a lot of work to do. For me, the system is working. But sometimes I've run into people, you know, a close relative in New York had some trouble with Omni.
[116:04] Speaker 7: I think it was earlier this year. It's been resolved.
[116:07] Speaker 5: But there is more work to do.
[116:09] Speaker 7: And—
[116:12] Speaker 5: Where do we go from here? It takes all of you, a village, to make this thing work. So I enjoy writing my letters and sharing about these things, this program that's very dear to me that I use every day. Thank you.
[116:25] Speaker 2: Thank you, Alita. No one else has approached the podium in the boardroom, but I do have one hand raised in the Zoom space. Roland LeBrun, you'll have 2 minutes. Please unmute yourself.
[116:35] Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you very much. And a couple of, um, Clean-up items. The first one is, I would like to briefly circle back to item 7.a. And I'm wondering why different operators need different ADA scheduling software. And is it because the software is tied to a specific vendor? And if not, would we have an opportunity for a unified paratransit booking interface for all operators in the Bay Area? That's the question. But in closing, I'd like to touch on the issue of perceived, I repeat, perceived rampant fare invasion on Muni. And I'm wondering that this apparently is happening because people who have got whatever passes don't have to tap. I'm wondering if it would be possible to implement a policy on Muni whereby everybody has but not everybody pays. Thank you.
[117:44] Speaker 2: Thank you, Roland. Uh, there are no other hands raised in the Zoom space, so that will conclude public comment for item number 9.
[117:52] Speaker 1: And we're going to close agenda item number 9, Madam Clerk, now, um, and we'll move on to agenda item number 10, which is adjournment and the next meeting. And it looks like we're all set for the next meeting, joint meeting of the Network Management Council and the Clipper Executive Board. We'll be at BART headquarters on Monday, the 26th of October. And with that, Madam Clerk, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you.
[118:18] Speaker 9: Thank you.