By Representative Farrell

ADOPTED 6/29/2015

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  "The central Puget Sound is projected to grow considerably, in both population and jobs, over the course of the next several decades. It is thus critical that all its transportation infrastructure be well planned and coordinated, including its transit systems. It is the intent of the legislature to encourage this planning and coordination on the part of central Puget Sound transit systems in order to improve the user experience, increase ridership, and make the most effective use of tax dollars.

Sec. 2.  RCW 35.58.2796 and 2011 c 371 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) The department of transportation shall develop an annual report summarizing the status of public transportation systems in the state for the previous calendar year. By December 1st of each year, the report must be made available to the transportation committees of the legislature and to each municipality, as defined in RCW 35.58.272, and to individual members of the municipality's legislative authority.

(((2))) (b) To assist the department with preparation of the report, each municipality shall file a system report by September 1st of each year with the state department of transportation identifying its public transportation services for the previous calendar year and its objectives for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of those services. The system report shall address those items required for each public transportation system in the department's report.

(((3))) (c) The department report shall describe individual public transportation systems, including contracted transportation services and dial-a-ride services, and include a statewide summary of public transportation issues and data. The descriptions shall include the following elements and such other elements as the department deems appropriate after consultation with the municipalities and the transportation committees of the legislature:

(((a))) (i) Equipment and facilities, including vehicle replacement standards;

(((b))) (ii) Services and service standards;

(((c))) (iii) Revenues, expenses, and ending balances, by fund source;

(((d))) (iv) Policy issues and system improvement objectives, including community participation in development of those objectives and how those objectives address statewide transportation priorities;

(((e))) (v) Operating indicators applied to public transportation services, revenues, and expenses. Operating indicators shall include operating cost per passenger trip, operating cost per revenue vehicle service hour, passenger trips per revenue service hour, passenger trips per vehicle service mile, vehicle service hours per employee, and farebox revenue as a percent of operating costs.

(((4))) (d) To the extent that information is available, the department report must include descriptive information on any other modes of public transportation, the impact of public transportation on transportation system performance, and how public transportation helps the state meet the transportation system policy goals described in RCW 47.04.280.

Sec. 3.  RCW 47.66.030 and 2005 c 318 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) The department shall establish a regional mobility grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to aid local governments in funding projects such as intercounty connectivity service, park and ride lots, rush hour transit service, and capital projects that improve the connectivity and efficiency of our transportation system. The department shall identify cost-effective projects that reduce delay for people and goods and improve connectivity between counties and regional population centers. The department shall submit a prioritized list of all projects requesting funding to the legislature by December 1st of each year.

(2) The department may establish an advisory committee to carry out the mandates of this chapter.

(3) The department must report annually to the transportation committees of the legislature on the status of any grants projects funded by the program created under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 47.66 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The transit coordination grant program is created in the department. The purpose of the transit coordination grant program is to encourage joint planning and coordination on the part of central Puget Sound transit systems in order to improve the user experience, increase ridership, and make the most effective use of tax dollars. The department shall oversee, manage, score, select, and evaluate transit coordination grant program project applications, and shall select transit coordination grant recipients annually. A transit agency located in a county or counties with a population of seven hundred thousand or more that border Puget Sound is eligible to apply to the department for transit coordination grants.

(2) Projects eligible for transit coordination grants include, but are not limited to, projects that:

(a) Integrate marketing efforts;

(b) Align fare structures;

(c) Integrate service planning;

(d) Coordinate long-range planning, including capital projects planning and implementation;

(e) Integrate other administrative functions and internal business processes as appropriate; and

(f) Integrate certain customer-focused tools and initiatives.

(3) Transit coordination grants must, at a minimum, be proposed jointly by two or more eligible transit agencies and must include a description of the:

(a) Issue or problem to be addressed;

(b) Specific solution and measurable outcomes;

(c) Benefits such as cost savings, travel time improvements, improved coordination, and improved customer experience; and

(d) Performance measurements and an evaluation plan that includes the identification of milestones towards successful completion of the project.

(4) Transit coordination grant applications must include measurable outcomes for the project including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Impacts on service, such as increased service, improved service delivery, and improved transfers and coordination across transit service;

(b) Impacts on customer service, such as: Improved reliability; improved outreach and coordination with customers, employers, and communities; improvements in customer service functions, such as customer response time and web-based and other communications; and

(c) Impacts on administration, such as improved marketing and outreach efforts, integrated customer-focused tools, and improved cross-agency communications.

(5) Transit coordination grant applications must also include:

(a) Project budget and cost details; and

(b) A commitment and description of local matching funding of at least ten percent of the project cost.

(6) Upon completion of the project, transit coordination grant recipients must provide a report to the department that includes an overview of the project, how the grant funds were spent, and the extent to which the identified project outcomes were met. In addition, such reports must include a description of best practices that could be transferred to other transit agencies faced with similar issues to those addressed by the transit coordination grant recipient. The department must report annually to the transportation committees of the legislature on the transit coordination grants that were awarded, and the report must include data to determine if completed transit coordination grant projects produced the anticipated outcomes included in the grant applications.

(7) This section expires July 1, 2020.

Correct the title.

EFFECT: Creates a transit coordination grant program in the Washington State Department of Transportation, establishes criteria for the awarding of transit coordination grants, and requires various reports related to the program. Adds an emergency clause such that the entire bill takes effect immediately.