Total ridership this month was 11,526, an increase of 5.9%. The SAM-Gresham ridership increased by 7.9%.
The SAM Estacada route experienced a decrease of 34.7%. This route experienced significant changes in November. Ridership is incrementally increasing each month and has grown by 23.6% since January. We expect the ridership to continue to rebound.
STAR ridership decreased by 1.2%. Elderly and Disabled ridership on STAR remained high at 65%. The Elderly and Disabled program (out-of-town medical rides) experienced an 8.4% increase in ridership as compared to March 2016.
The new Shopper Shuttle experienced a 22.2% increase over last month. This route has grown by 92.5% since implementation.
Sandy staff attended an ESL class at the Sandy library for transit training. Staff demonstrated how to schedule a STAR ride one week and took the class on SAM field trip in town the following week. 7 adults and 11 children were trained during the course. Sandy also added Language Lines to SAM services in an effort to remove the language barrier and better communicate with ESL passengers. This will allow staff to conference call an agency equipped with interpreters of 222 languages.
The TAC committee had an especially productive meeting with a variety of input from the members. Heather Michet presented a list of creative ideas for TAC members to be involved and disseminate information in the community. Caren Topliff shared her experience with the STF process and the funding received. All members engaged in a vibrant discussion regarding ADA compliance and the service animal policy. Due to some recent confrontations with passengers regarding the rights of their companion and/or service animals, Sandy staff has decided to take the focus away from eligibility as a service animal and focus the importance on the behavior of the animal and the owner. All animals will be asked to be leashed and/or contained while on Sandy vehicles and will be removed, regardless of ADA status, if not under complete control of the owner. By focusing on the behavior of the owner and animal, all passenger’s rights are respected.
*Updated by Andi Howell May 3, 2017 due to ridership data update.