In July Sandy staff participated in the Sandy Mountain Parade, taking home the first place ribbon in the civic vehicle category (again!). Staff and consultants with the Transit Master Plan also held a booth behind City Hall to survey the public regarding various future transit plans. We spoke with 140 people and gave them the ability to vote on four possible options.

The options were (in order most preferred):

• Adding an express route through Boring and Damascus to Clackamas Town Center
• Adding more weekend service
• Investing in electric vehicles
• Adding service to Vista Apartments

SAM services provided 11,307 rides in total, an overall increase of 4.9% compared to July 2018. SAM Gresham provided 8,404 of those rides, a drop of 2.4%. SAM Estacada experienced an 83.9% increase. The Shopper Shuttle experienced a 52% increase with 914 rides in July. STAR experienced an 11% decrease, likely due to riders choosing the Shopper Shuttle.  ED had a slight increase of 56 rides as compared to 52 rides in 2018.

In June, it was confirmed that Muna Rustam passed the CTAA certification exam and was recognized as a Certified Community Transit Manager (CCTM). The CCTM certification is a great recognition of the required knowledge and experience required in higher level transit positions. As the Transit Program Manager for Sandy, which includes a variety of administrative tasks for MHX, obtaining this certification demonstrates the level of professionalism expected from Sandy staff in the Transit Department.

Transit staff released an RFP for the replacement of a Freightliner vehicle in our fleet. This vehicle is primarily used for the Estacada route. The RFP is due July 15th from vendors. The RFP is to replace the high floor Freightliner with a low floor trolley style bus. At the end of June, Sandy staff met with Gillig representatives to finalize specifications for the 2 new Gillig Category A vehicles, expected at the end of December 2019. Two new vehicles for the STAR dial-a-ride program were expected in late June but have been delayed. Staff expects these vehicles by August.

An architectural team from Soderstrom Architects was chosen to design the 2 new bus barns at the Operations Center. In July, Sandy staff will present a pre-application proposal to the City for permits. Upon City approval, Transit will release an RFQ for construction of the new bus barns.

Staff continue to work with the consulting team on the Transit Master Plan update. In June, the consultant Michelle Poyourow presented results from the stakeholder meeting and public outreach to both the Planning Commission and City Council. Consultants that specialize in public engagement and City staff will present current priority topics to the public at Mountain Festival for feedback. An on-line survey will also be presented to the public and stakeholders one week after Mountain Festival in July.

In May, Transit Staff, Andi Howell and Muna Rustam attended the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) conference. At the conference, the Oregon Transit Association was named as the state organization of the year. Andi Howell holds a position on this board and both Andi and Muna were excited to be presented as the Association was presented with this award. The courses taken at the conference were engaging and inspirational

At the end of May, Transit put an electric bus in service for a day to see how this type of transit bus (made by BYD) would handle Sandy routes. This bus did very well on both SAM Gresham and SAM Estacada. Passengers, drivers and operations personnel were impressed. The bus was able to handle the routes, was easy to drive, and had a lot of power and range. Sandy continues to work with the Master Plan consultants, meet with PGE and speak with ODOT to plan for a future transition to electric. This process will require a large capital outlay and careful financial planning.

SAM services provided 11,670 rides in total, an overall decrease of 5.6% compared to May 2018. SAM Gresham provided 9,158 of those rides, a drop of 6.4%. SAM Estacada experienced a small, 4.1% decrease. The Shopper Shuttle experienced a 10.8% increase with 594 rides in May. STAR experienced a 3.5% decrease, likely due to riders choosing the Shopper Shuttle.  ED decreased from 110 rides to 66, a 40% decrease.

In April, the very important stakeholders group met to discuss Sandy’s future transit priorities. The meeting was held at the Community Center with 17 community members. Additionally, public outreach occurred in April, with both on board and online surveys. The Public Input Summary Phase One: Key Choices can be found on the Transit webpage.

Sandy staff were involved with the Mount Hood Transportation Alliance group which has begun holding their quarterly meetings at the Sandy Operations Center. The focus of this group is to prioritize transit projects, schedules and services in and around the Mount Hood Communities. The expansion of the Mount Hood Express service to Timberline Lodge arose from this group and they continue to seek solutions to the traffic and safety conditions in the Highway 26 corridor. Currently, members of this group are also interested in the “Vision Around the Mountain Plan”. Sandy is a participant in this plan and is working with other agencies, including Clackamas County and Hood River Special District to create transit service “around the mountain”.

SAM services provided 11,144 rides in total, an overall decrease of 1.5% compared to April 2018. SAM Gresham provided 8,675 of those rides, a drop of 2.2%. SAM Estacada experienced a small, 3.3% increase. The Shopper Shuttle experienced a 47.6% increase with 583 rides in April. STAR experienced a 6.7% decrease, likely due to riders choosing the Shopper Shuttle.  ED remained relatively unchanged providing 72 rides compared to 74 last year.

The TMP Update continues at a rapid pace.  The Choices Report is complete and available on the Sandy Transit webpage.  Michelle Poyourow, from our consulting team, introduced the choices report to the City Council and the Planning Commission in March.  The public survey is also available on the Transit webpage.  The survey will be given to riders and Sandy citizens.  Consulting team members will provide Sandy residents with the opportunity to take the survey in April at various in-town locations.

Staff were successful during the Special Transportation Funds (STF) funding process, however, 40% of those funds may be cut during this legislative session.  These cuts would translate to a loss of approximately 4,800 rides on the STAR dial-a-ride program in the coming biennium.  Andi Howell, the Transit Director, is working with the Oregon Transit Association (OTA) as a board member on ways to advocate to return this funding in full to the Governor’s Budget.

A project manager, Steve Kragrud,  was hired to manage the 2 construction projects currently underway in the Transit Department.  Two new bus barns and the repair and upgrade of the bus wash facility are in beginning phases.  Both construction projects are at the Sandy Operations Center.  Steve is from the CBRE firm out of Lake Oswego.  He has many years of construction project management experience, including the recent upgrades to the Cedar Ridge property (formerly Sandy High School).

SAM services provided 10,875 rides in total, an overall decrease of 3.7% compared to March 2018. SAM Gresham provided 8,394 of those rides, a drop of 5.4%. SAM Estacada experienced a small, 2.5% decrease.  STAR experienced a 10.6% decrease.  ED a 32% decrease.  The Shopper Shuttle experienced a 67% increase with 600 rides in March.

The TMP Existing Conditions and Choices Report is complete and ready for distribution at the upcoming Stakeholder’s meeting, scheduled for April 15, 2019, at the Community Center. It provides an in-depth look at the City of Sandy’s service, growth potential, challenges and opportunities. This will guide the stakeholders as we move forward with revising and updating the current transit master plan.

Staff were successful during the Special Transportation Funds (STF) funding process and were awarded funding at the levels requested.  STF funds support all of Sandy’s transit services but are primary and essential to the STAR dial-a-ride program, the Elderly and Disabled medical rides program and the Estacada service.  This grant cycle also provides funds for the replacement of 2 mini vans for the Transit medical ride program.
Sandy resident Caren Topliff, and staff Andi Howell, sit on the Advisory Committee of this funding process. Sandy staff thank Caren Topliff for her time during this process and her dedication to Sandy Transit.

The construction of 2 bus barns at the Operations Center has received federal approval to break ground.  This was a time consuming, lengthy process and provides much relief to the continuation of the project.

SAM services provided 8,597 rides in total, an overall decrease of 11.8% compared to  February 2019. The primary reason for this decline is a decline in ridership on the Sandy Gresham route.  SAM Gresham provided 6,531 of those rides, a drop of 16.8%.  Other Sandy routes such as the dial-a-ride, the Shopper Shuttle and Estacada saw fairly steady or increased ridership.

Compared to February 2018, SAM Estacada experienced another increase in ridership, going up 6.2%. The Sandy Shopper increased by 53.9%. STAR dial-a-ride remained fairly stable with a small decrease of 1.2%. Elderly and Disabled rides increased by 5.4% from 56 to 59 rides.

Sandy Transit’s first kick-off meeting for the updated Transit Master Plan was January 9th. Representatives from Sandy, the County, ODOT and several consultants spent the day on various aspects of the Master Plan. The first big outreach event will take place in March, stakeholders will begin to receive emails and invitations in February.

Sandy staff submitted 5 grant applications to the Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee in January and gave a presentation to the committee on the importance of the funding to the elderly and disabled population in Sandy. Caren Topliff, a member of Sandy Transit Advisory Board, and Andi Howell, Transit staff, serve on the STFAC board. There is approximately $7.4 m available for region 1 (which includes TriMet) elderly and disabled programs through STF and $8 million through 5310. Funding from both STF and 5310 are decided by the STFAC board. The committee will announce grant award recipients by the end of February.

Sandy Transit released an RFQ for 2 new medium sized buses. 2 state-contracted vendors bid on the RFQ. The bid and vehicle information will be presented to City Council at the February 19th meeting for approval of the procurement.

In January, SAM began using tablets only for passenger counts. Until January, SAM had always used pencil and paper to count passenger rides and since July had been using the tablets and paper.

SAM services provided 9,883 rides in total, an overall decrease of 4.6% as compared to the previous January. SAM Gresham provided 7,471 of those rides, a drop of 11.7%.  SAM Estacada, however, experienced a 14.5% increase in ridership. The SAM Shopper increased by 112% as compared to January of 2018. STAR dial-a-ride increased by 18.1%. Elderly and Disabled rides decreased by 17.2% from 64 to 53 rides.

In December, Transit staff ordered 2 new low-floor 35′ Gillig transit vehicles.  Additionally, a Request For Quotes (RFQ) for 2 new STAR vehicles was released.  The results of those RFQs will be available in January 2019.   Also in January 2019, one more RFQ will be released for a low-floor vehicle to replace vehicle #21 in the Sandy Transit fleet.  This vehicle primarily operates the Estacada route and has reached its useful life.

Transit staff presented a new Transit Asset Maintenance System (TAMS) to Council in December, highlighting the importance of maintenance and capital planning to keep the Sandy fleet in a “state of good repair” as outlined by Oregon Department of Transportation.  Replacing vehicles which are past their useful life, such as these 2 new Gillig and STAR vehicles, is vital for a safe and efficient public transit service.

SAM provided 8,925 rides in December.  SAM fixed routes experienced a 13% reduction as compared to last December.  Similar to last month, there is a significant drop in SAM Gresham rides; we are exploring the possibility of inaccurate counting due to the drivers currently using the new tablets and paper and pencil.  As of January 2019, we will begin using tablets only for passenger counts.

Estacada increased by 9.7%.  Once again this month, the in-town dial-a-ride (STAR) and the Shopper Shuttle increased. STAR increased by 18% and the  Shopper Shuttle increased by 146%.

Transit staff are preparing new schedules and updates that will take place in January 2019 with the new STIF funding (employee-paid payroll tax).  Beginning January 1, 2019, SAM Gresham will add a 9:00 pm weekday run and SAM Estacada will add a 6:30 pm Monday – Saturday run.  Both expansions provide improved connectivity to other services.

The Shopper Shuttle will be rerouted, adding Bluff Rd, Green Mountain Rd and Jewelberry Rd.  The route will continue to begin at Fred Meyer at noon, however, it will run the new loop in the first half hour and then loop through Sandy’s southern neighborhoods during the second half hour.  The Shopper Shuttle will also be rerouted to run westbound (neighborhoods, then shopping districts).

Additionally, and with great excitement, we are adding two hours to the Shopper Shuttle.  The shuttle will run 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, then return to the route from 5:25 pm to 7:25 pm to give students and others transportation options during after-school activities.

SAM provided 9,177 rides in November.  SAM fixed routes experienced a 10% reduction as compared to last November, however due to a significant drop in SAM Gresham counts, we are exploring the possibility of inaccurate counting due to the new tablet system.  Estacada increased by 4.2%.  Once again this month, the in-town dial-a-ride (STAR) and the Shopper Shuttle increased. STAR increased by 18.6% and the  Shopper Shuttle increased by 165%.  No, that is not a typo, the Shopper provided 234 rides in December 2017 compared to 620 in 2018!!

SAM put out a a Request For Proposals to rebuild the wash bay at the Operations Center.  We continue to work with the state and federal governments to move forward on the construction of 2 new bus barns at the Operations Center.  Next month, transit will release Request For Proposals for 3 new medium sized vehicles and 2 new large transit vehicles for the SAM Gresham route.  All projects going forward have been awarded grant funding.

Staff attended the Oregon Public Transportation Conference in Bend as well as 3 Transit Advisory Board members and 2 RoJoy staff.  Sandy Transit staff were part of the Conference planning committee and all involved were impressed by the quality of sessions put forward at this Conference.

Transit staff are busy preparing for changes and updates that will take place in January 2019 with the new STIF funding (employee paid payroll tax).

SAM provided 10,506 rides in October.  SAM fixed routes experienced a 10% reduction as compared to last October, while Estacada increased by 6.6%.  Once again this month, the in-town dial-a-ride (STAR) and the Shopper Shuttle increased. STAR increased by 21.6% and the Sandy Shopper increased by 12.8%.