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Report regarding a recommendation to authorize the submittal of an application for the San Mateo County Shuttle program funding in a total amount of $1,939,050, and committing a 25% total matching contribution of $646,350 from South San Francisco Local Measure A funds, in support of the South City Shuttle program. (Marissa Garren, Public Works Management Analyst II)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the submittal of an application for the San Mateo County Shuttle program funding in an amount of $1,939,050 and committing a 25% matching contribution of $646,350 from South San Francisco Local Measure A funds, in support of the continuation of the existing South City Shuttle program.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The South City Shuttle has been in operation since November 2014, funded by five rounds of San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Shuttle Program funds. Staff has successfully applied for the TA Shuttle Program funds for South City Shuttle operations in February of 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The TA provided the City with $1,661,876 in funding for the current cycle, fiscal year (FY) 2024-2025 and the City provided a 25% match of $553,959 in local Measure A funding for a total project cost of $2,215,855.
The South City Shuttle continues to be a vital resource to the South San Francisco community. The three shuttle routes include stops at local stores, senior centers, Kaiser Hospital, the new Library/Parks & Recreation building, downtown South San Francisco, various parks, Veterans Village in Colma, and more. Additionally, the shuttles provide convenient transit connections to SamTrans, BART, and Caltrain. This free service is available to all members of the public.
The City has two shuttles, running in opposite directions that provide service to the South San Francisco BART Station and provide access to Sunshine Gardens, Hillside Boulevard, Linden Avenue, and Grand Avenue. They also serve the Terrabay Recreation Center, downtown South San Francisco, both libraries, the Roberta Cerri Teglia Senior Center, Orange Memorial Park and Pool, Rotary Plaza, and Kaiser Medical Center.
A third shuttle provides service to the South San Francisco BART Station, traveling to the Treasure Island RV Park, Winston Manor, Buri Buri, Avalon, and Westborough neighborhoods. It also provides access to parks, schools, the Civic Campus, Rotary Plaza, and connections to the current South City Shuttles and SamTrans. In 2024, South San Francisco partnered with the Town of Colma to expand this shuttle route to Veterans Village, with a financial contribution from Colma.
The three shuttles serve approximately 7,600 riders monthly. A breakdown by route is as follows:
• Blue (Clockwise/Eastern Route) Ridership - 4,000 riders per month / 180 riders per day
o Cost per rider - $7.50 per rider (City pays PCAM $30,000 per month for operations of Blue route)
o Operation hours - 7:10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
• Green (Counter Clockwise/Eastern Route) Ridership - 2,643 riders per month / 127 riders per day
o Cost per rider - $11.35 per rider (City pays PCAM $30,000 per month for operations of Green route)
o Operation hours - 7:10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
• Orange (Western Route) Ridership - 1,032 riders per month / 49 riders per day
o Cost per rider - $32.00 per rider (City pays PCAM $33,000 per month for operations of Orange route)
o Operation hours - 7:15 a.m. to 7:15 p.m., Monday through Friday
The Shuttle’s General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data is provided to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) 511 Open Data Portal. Sharing this data to the portal allows MTC to share the Shuttle’s data with private sector disseminators to maximize the number of travelers benefitting from 511 data. Private sector partners include Google, Apple, TomTom, HERE, and INRIX. Similarly, the Open Data Portal provides several APIs for developers creating applications, widgets, and other tools using 511 data.
Call for Projects
The TA, in conjunction with the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), issued a Call for Projects on January 13, 2025, for the San Mateo Shuttle Program. The estimated $17 million program is a combination of City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG) Local Transportation Services Program and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Measure A sales tax funds. The funding is available on a competitive basis for a two-year funding cycle: fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. The TA and C/CAG require a governing board resolution from the City committing the City to the completion of the South City Shuttle as part of the application.
The shuttle program has proven to be successful, and staff recommends Council approve submission of an application requesting funds for the next two funding cycles.
FISCAL IMPACT
The projected cost of the Free South City Shuttle program over the next two years is $2,585,400. If approved, new Measure A or C/CAG congestion relief funds will cover 75 percent ($1,939,050) of the projected costs. The proposed city match for the next two years is 25% of the projected costs ($646,350). This amounts to approximately $323,175 per year for FY 2025-2026 and FY 2026-2027. Staff proposes the matching funds come from the City’s Local Measure A fund.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
The Free South City Shuttle program supports Priority Area 2: Quality of Life of the South San Francisco Strategic Plan by providing access to multi-modal transportation options.
CONCLUSION
City Council’s support of the application for the San Mateo County Shuttle program will allow the City to provide free public transportation options to the South San Francisco community.
Attachments:
1. Presentation slides