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County of Fairfax, Virginia
Student Free Fare Program UPDATE
Fairfax County TACApril 19, 2016
FCDOT Transit Services DivisionFCPS Transportation
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Student Free Fare ProgramProvide free trips on Fairfax Connector buses to Fairfax County high school and middle school students
• Developed in response to a Board Matter • FY2015 budget language requested the Department
of Transportation explore transportation partnerships with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
• County and FCPS LOBs intersection project
Department of Transportation 2
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Purpose• Provide Fairfax County students with
transportation options– Freedom to access before and after
school activities such as, tutoring, sports, clubs, community service, and employment
• Workforce commuter preparedness– Preparing the next generation of transit
riders for a more urban transportation and multi-modal environment
Department of Transportation 3
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Goals• Short Term
– Fill gaps for school transportation services impacted by new school hours for FCPS high school students
– Provide flexibility for students to travel on existing service
– Increase Fairfax Connector ridership
Department of Transportation 4
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Goals• Long Term
– As the County continues to grow more urban & densely populated; positions Fairfax Connector to be a vital and sustainable transportation option
– Establishes transit as an important component of the County’s transportation system -- especially with Millennials
– Reduces congestion on transportation network, by reducing the number of trips that parents must make to transport students
– Workforce commuter preparedness
Department of Transportation 5
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Pilot Program Requirements• Pass required to ride• Pass distribution and permission forms maintained and
distributed by FCPS• Passes valid on Fairfax Connector only
‒ Monday - Friday‒ 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Parent/guardian permission required• Adherence to Fairfax Connector rules of conduct• Provisions for home and private school students who
reside in Fairfax County
Department of Transportation 6
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax Connector Responsibilities• Outreach
– Public & School
• Pass production– Cost sharing with FCPS
• Operational readiness– Enhanced bus operator training– Farebox programming (ridership data)
Department of Transportation 7
County of Fairfax, Virginia
FCPS Responsibilities
• Pass distribution and tracking – 6,200 passes distributed to schools– Unique serial number
• allows schools to administratively track passes assigned to students
• Regular coordination with FCDOT on school outreach strategies and pass distribution
Department of Transportation 8
County of Fairfax, Virginia
In-School Outreach• Targeted 5 schools based on
– Fairfax Connector bus service access– Geographic distribution
• Schools– Chantilly High School (Chantilly) – Edison High School (Alexandria)– Madison High School (Vienna)– Mount Vernon High School (Alexandria)– South Lakes High School (Reston)
Department of Transportation 9
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Outreach
• Elizabeth’s Journey: How to Ride– Featured on Channels 16 & 21; in school media– Travel training– Bike & Ride training – Rules of riding
• “Give respect to get respect”
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Outreach• Web & social media
campaign • Pre-school Year Events/Open
Houses– On-site pass sign-up/
distribution– On-site Fairfax Connector
bus, operator & staff– Customized map with bus
stop and route information
Department of Transportation 11
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Student Participation Targeted 5 Schools
Department of Transportation 12
Location # of Passes Distributed
High School Population
% of Students with Passes
Chantilly HS
191 2,680 7%
Edison HS
814 1,936 42%
James Madison HS
81 2,109 4%
Mt. Vernon HS
314 1,963 16%
South Lakes HS 943 2,430 39%
TOTALS 2,343 11,118 students 22% (average)
County of Fairfax, Virginia
08/31-09/06/1509/07-09/13/1509/14-09/20/1509/21-09/27/1509/28-10/04/1510/05/10/11/1510/12-10/18/1510/19-10/25/1510/26-11/01/1511/02-11/08/1511/09-11/15/1511/16-11/22/1511/23-11/29/1511/30-12/06/1512/07-12/13/1512/14-12/20/1512/21-12/27/1512/28-01/03/1601/04-01/10/1601/11-01/17/1601/18-01/24/1601/25-01/31/1602/01-02/07/1602/08-02/14/1602/15-02/21/1602/22-02/28/1602/29-03/06/1603/07-03/13/1603/14-03/20/16
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500252
5931,300
1,8452,218
2,5202,499
3,2073,277
2,6633,140
3,4742,346
3,2783,873
4,0041,1991,220
3,2843,484
1,515890
3,3863,634
2,5113,971
3,7124,233
2,211
Fairfax Connector Weekly Student Ridership
Major holiday
Severe weather
Spring break
Department of Transportation 13
75,739 Student Trips in 29 Weeks
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Department of Transportation 14
A total of 904 student trips taken on before 6AM or after 8PM
5 AM 6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM162
1,186
11,637
4,170
2,4851,876 2,108 2,359
3,351 3,611
15,157
10,940
7,575
4,226
2,487
1,034442 206 94
Weekday Student Ridership by Time of Day **Total weekday ridership since inception
County of Fairfax, Virginia
• Some student pass usage on weekends was recorded in our ridership data– Demonstrates demand for weekend service,
which was also noted in student survey responses
– Working with service contractor to monitor and address
Department of Transportation 15
Student Ridership
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Surveys: Assessing Opinions
• Program impact – Surveys
• Quantitative and qualitative data from students, parents, school officials, and bus operators
– Student surveys capture ideas for refining program • Increasing ridership
Department of Transportation 16
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Student Survey ResultsSurvey Participation Rate (94 responses in total)
– 3.9% overall South Lakes HS student pop.
– 10% of students with passes
– Near even distribution grades 9-12
Department of Transportation 17
1.1%
27.7%
23.4%25.5%
22.3%
What grade are you in?
8th grade
9th grade
10th grade
11th grade
12th grade
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Pass Data
Department of Transportation 18
Do you have a Free Student Bus Pass?
Yes No
20.5%
79.5%
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Program Information
Department of Transportation 19
If you heard about the free bus pass at school, can you be more specific?
Answer Options Response Percent
School announcement 52.40% Friends 22.00% School orientation event 13.40%
Teacher, counselor, or administrator4.90%
Parent or guardian 4.90%
School website 1.20%
Fairfax Connector flier 1.20%
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Pass Usage
Department of Transportation 20
How often do you use your free bus pass?
1-2 days a week 3-4 days a week
5 days a week Once every 2 weeks
Once a month Other (please specify)
50%
This category includes: don’t have a bus pass, everyday use, or use it when necessary
County of Fairfax, Virginia
When do you use the pass?
Department of Transportation 21
Morning Middle of the day Afternoon Evening Weekends
49.3%
12.3%
82.2%
37.0%
20.5%
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Where do you go with your pass?
Where do you typically travel with the free pass? (select all that apply)Answer Options Response Percent
To your home 45.6%To your school 32.3%To an after school job 11.8%To another school for a special program or activity 4.4%To an activity center (e.g. the mall, RECenter, parks, movie theater)
5.9%
Department of Transportation 22
County of Fairfax, Virginia
How would you improve the program?
Department of Transportation 23
Extend hours Include Saturday Include Sunday Other
60.3%
75.9%
62.1%
5.2%
What would you do to improve the program? (select all that apply)
“Because some students have to go
to school on the weekends.
We have practice and activities to attend and we don’t have a
ride.”
“Post flyers at every
single high school;
More bus frequency”
County of Fairfax, Virginia
What the students are saying…
Department of Transportation 24
“I think it’s a great idea to train kids to
ride the bus at an early age.” “It’s helpful to my
education because it provides me with
transportation when I stay after school with
my teachers to improve my expertise on a subject. Without the pass I would not
have transportation.”
“This Connector pass is VERY convenient and VERY helpful to me and so many other students. This makes my commute to and from school so much simpler and
has helped me so much especially when staying after school.”
County of Fairfax, Virginia
What Administrators are saying…
Department of Transportation 25
“Many of our students come from either dual income working families or single- low income working families. This makes transportation an issue for students who are involved with afterschool and extracurricular activities.
By having access to free transportation, our students are able to participate and be able to get home and back to their events.
It also allows the students to be active participants in the school.”
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax Connector is Increasing Student Engagement
Department of Transportation 26
77.8%
22.2%
Have you seen increased student participation or their ability to engage in after school activities because the Fairfax Connector service is avail-
able?
Yes Don't know
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax Connector is Improving Student Tardiness/Absenteeism
Department of Transportation 27
44.4%
22.2%
33.3%
Do you feel that the Student Bus Pass Program has improved the rates of student tardiness or absen-
teeism?
Yes No
Don't know
County of Fairfax, Virginia
What Administrators are saying…
Department of Transportation 28
“Connector gives our
students more flexibility in
their ability to stay after
school for clubs
and activities
as well as extra help from teachers.”
“Connector allows students to stay late for remediation and
activities EVERY day.
Students who would ordinarily miss school
altogether end up coming tardy rather
than not at all.”
“With the early start times and lack of late buses in the afternoon, students are able to stay at school or come early to receive their education.”
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Assessing Challenges• 168 bus operators
surveyed – Student behavior on
buses• a NON-issue • Rated by our operators
as the SAME as other passengers
• Behavior description rated at “GOOD” or “VERY GOOD”
Department of Transportation 29
No Response11%
Better behaved than other riders
11%
About the same as other riders
65%
Not as well behaved as other riders
13%
Student Rider Behavior
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Assessing Challenges• Pass “Loss”
– Max 2 replacements per student to prevent abuse– School principals set their own policy for replacement– Administrator survey recommendation suggests charging a
“replacement fee” that increases with each replacement.
• Suspected Unauthorized Pass Use– Suspicious activity monitored
• Students boarding buses without pass• Bus pass sharing
– Friends– Older, non-eligible riders
Department of Transportation 30
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Assessing Challenges• Need for a photo-ID pass
– Based on bus operator and administrator input
– Prevent abuse– Requires further coordination
Department of Transportation 31
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Recommendations
Department of Transportation 32
Program Recommendations
BOS & School Board
Outreach Experienc
e
Program Data
Ridership & Survey
Data
Lessons Learned
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Data Driven Recommendations• Seek Board and FCPS feedback • Seek Board approval for revised 2015-2016 school
year program• Expand program days and time
– 5 am – 10 pm– 7 days a week (add use on Saturday & Sunday) – September 2016 – September 2017
• Add photo to Bus Pass/Universal Student ID’s
Department of Transportation 33
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Data Driven Recommendations (con’t.)
• Additional high schools for targeted outreach; plus middle schools
• Reinforce availability for all high school and middle school students
• Return recommendations to Board Transportation Committee on May 24, 2016
Department of Transportation 34
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Expanding & Continuing Partnerships
• Partner with other transit service providers – City of Fairfax CUE– Explore options for students and schools served only by Metrobus
• FCPS– The Department of Vehicles Services
• Buses, cars and service trucks are maintained at the four county garages.– Radio Systems and Services Center
• The radios for buses, cars and service trucks are installed and maintained by the radio shop. The entire system of repeaters and antennas are all part of the working relationship of the County and FCPS
Department of Transportation 35
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Refine & Engage • Parity
– Include bus pass information/forms along with school parking pass information
• Outreach – Create “toolkit” for administrators– Update “Elizabeth’s Journey” PSA video, as needed– Update outreach materials and pass; color code – Robust social media campaign– Increase in-school and other outreach opportunities
Department of Transportation 36
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Questions/Discussion
Department of Transportation 37
County of Fairfax, Virginia
Department of Transportation 38
A total of 633 student trips taken on Sat & Sun over 29 weeks
5 AM 6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 PM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM
14
5
2016
33
25
49
44
52
64
53
60 59
37 36
29
18
12
7
Weekend Student Ridership by Time of Day **Total weekend ridership since inception