ccctadev – Page 2 – County Connection

Core Service Area – 2019 Service Restructure Proposal

Core Restructure Concepts

Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek

Core Service Proposed Map

  • Streamline Route 19 to use Concord Ave. instead of going to Concord BART via Sun Valley Mall.
  • Streamline Route 9 by eliminating routing to JFK, Patterson Blvd., and Oak Park Blvd.
  • Realign Route 18 to service Patterson Blvd., and Oak Park Blvd. and adjust trip times to meet school bell times; consider routing along Taylor Blvd. instead of Viking Dr.
  • Create a new alignment for Route 10 to turn around at Washington/Michigan instead of the Ayers Rd./Kirker Pass loop. End 50% of peak trips at this loop that currently continues on to Marsh Creek Rd. in Clayton. Only one quarter of the ridership rides past Kirker Pass
  • Extend Route 14 to Walnut Creek BART to expand access to jobs from the Monument Corridor. Increase frequencies to every 30 minutes.
  • Terminate Route 15 at Pleasant Hill BART (it will no longer service Walnut Creek BART, this will be covered by Route 14
  • Eliminate Route 1M and Route 2 due to low ridership and poor efficiency
  • Realign Route 95X to exit Hwy. 680 at S. Main St., to provide direct access to Downtown Walnut Creek from the south and avoid congestion
  • Eliminate Route 301 to Rossmoor due to low ridership
  • Extend 311 to John Muir Hospital to cover the Ygnacio Valley Rd. portion of 301
  • Increase frequency on Route 4 from 15 minutes to 12 minutes
  • Adjust times, where possible, on local routes to meet school bell times in the Pleasant Hill area
  • Eliminate Route 315 due to low ridership

 

 

Notice of Public Hearings

Scheduled Public Hearings

Subject: Proposed Service Restructure and Fare Modification

More Information

All meetings will be held from 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m. except San Ramon which will be held 4:30p.m. to 6:30p.m.

June 25, 2018 – Martinez: Council Chambers, 525 Henrietta St

June 26, 2018 – Lafayette: Supervisor Andersen’s Office, 3338 Mt. Diablo Blvd

June 27, 2018 – Concord: Council Chambers, 1950 Parkside Dr

July 9, 2018 – Pleasant Hill: Large Community Room, 100 Gregory Ln

July 24, 2018 – Walnut Creek: Council Chambers, 1666 N. Main St

July 25, 2018 – San Ramon: Community Center – Fountain Room, 12501 Alcosta Blvd

The deadline to submit comments is July 31, 2018.

Contact Customer Service:

925-676-7500

Customerservice@countyconnection.com

2019 Fare Proposal

Proposed Fare Modification

The last time fares were increased was in 2009, nearly ten (10) years ago. The current proposal will increase the one-way cash fare to $2.50 (for local and express routes) and eliminate paper passes.  However, a one-way fare on Clipper will remain at $2.00 and passengers will continue to benefit from the $3.75 Day Pass and Monthly Local/Express Passes, all available on Clipper.  For complete details of all changes, follow the link below.

Fare Proposal

 

 

LINK Gives Back

LINK Gives Back

When the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) became law, it meant that all public transit operators were required to provide special service to persons whose disabilities prevent them from using fully accessible public transit. At County Connection we call this ADA service LINK, which offers demand response location-to-location service for seniors and those with disabilities. A person’s ability to use LINK for all or for some of their transit trips is based on an individual’s specific condition(s). You may or may not know that County Connection contracts out the operation and maintenance of our LINK paratransit services to a private transportation company known as First Transit. This includes approximately 50 First Transit employees assigned to work according to a County Connection contract with First Transit. These hard working folks have been doing a great job for us for years. They have consistently maintained an excellent safety record, while providing a high level of customer service.

In addition to the regular work these First Transit employees do for us, many of them are involved in our community in other ways outside of work. While it is springtime at County Connection now, a great example of the dedication First Transit employees have to their community comes from this past holiday season, specifically on Christmas Day. To be sure I get the facts correct, I’m going to share with you what County Connection’s First Transit Site Manager Tim McGowen wrote about this particular event.

“Christmas is a special time when most of us get together with our loved ones. For many people, enjoying Christmas dinner with family and friends is a tradition that goes back through the generations. For some; however, the dinner table may be set for just one.

Christmas for Everyone (CFE) is non-profit volunteer organization with the goal that no one in Contra Costa County should go hungry; be without a present, or be alone on Christmas. CFE has been serving people in need during the Christmas season for the past 30 years! Through the generosity of local businesses, associations, churches, and others in the community, CFE has provided a Christmas experience for about 2,500 people per year.

For the past 15 years, First Transit’s Concord, California location, in collaboration with County Connection, has partnered with Christmas for Everyone to transport Contra Costa County residents for a Christmas celebration that includes dinner, gifts, entertainment, and great fellowship.

First Transit drivers Sonia Craig, Tyree Barnes, and John Higashi volunteered their time this past Christmas Day to transport more than 50 guests to the event. I have to say that it’s incredible to work with such great people. My team really believes in giving back to the community. It truly shows through this project.

CFE Executive Director, Mary Perez acknowledged the work and resources provided by First Transit and County Connection and said, “First Transit and County Connection have been so generous to us in the past, contributing the use of vehicles and amazing drivers who picked up those who cannot drive to CFE. We are blessed to have them as partners on this project.”

As the General Manager for First Transit in Concord, I extend my personal thank you, to our drivers Sonia, Tyree and John, for spreading some heartfelt Christmas cheer to many people who otherwise would have spent time alone on Christmas. This is a great example of the dedication and commitment to the community that our First Transit operators give on a daily basis and it is greatly appreciated. 

I join Tim in acknowledging this volunteer work, and add our appreciation for the work that County Connection LINK drivers do to make better access to our community possible for our LINK customers.

FOR MORE

About LINK: Download an application to assess your eligibility for the County Connection LINK paratransit service.

About Christmas for Everyone: Visit their Facebook page or call 925-228-2233.

Mobility

Mobility Management

Buses, Trains, Pods, Shuttles, Bikes, Pathways, Planes, Autos….It’s All About Mobility!

With the New Year comes resolutions, and one of my resolutions is to return to writing this blog. I am committed in 2018 to more regularly post about County Connection and about the public transportation industry in general.

I believe 2018 will be an exciting year for the public transportation industry. Across the country we are seeing a growing interest in public transportation. But not just any public transportation. The growing interest is in how we can leverage and take advantage of transportation technologies to deliver more sustainable and effective forms of public transportation that not only uses technology where it makes the most sense, but also in ways to best keep pace with our rapidly changing world. I agree we should benefit from technology advances, but we also must make sure that our core mission remains intact. To me, that core mission is providing an opportunity for those who can’t or do not want to drive with a basic level of service to get around.

In fact, I would say that this core mission needs to broaden beyond traditional public transportation. Public transportation should be about providing efficient bus, rail, or paratransit* services, but it also should play a role in ensuring that ALL people in our society have full mobility. Mobility is the ability to be where you need or want to be when you want or need to be there. I would say that mobility is necessary for complete freedom and is necessary for a more fulfilling life.

Mobility is served by walking, bicycle riding, running, driving, sharing rides, buses, trains, boats, planes, phones, the internet, etc. Throughout our history, mobility in all of its forms (even horses!) has been challenged by congestion and pollution. If we do not want congestion or pollution to overtake our mobility, and thus our freedom, we need to continue to find better ways of creating and supplying mobility. This is where the pursuit for autonomous zero-emission vehicles is capturing the imagination of so many people. Ensuring we all have mobility is why public transportation needs to be working hand-in-hand in these innovative areas. As an industry, public transportation will be needed well into the future and it is vital we transition to where the technology is going, not for the sake of the technology itself, but for the sake of optimal mobility through flexible transportation options.

With these transition challenges in front of us, County Connection has put into service four all electric buses and plans to introduce four more into service later this year. While battery-electric propulsion buses are still not developed to the point where they need to be, these eight buses will give County Connection a good foundation to build upon as we pursue electrification in the future.

In addition, early this spring, County Connection will introduce a small pilot project in the Alamo Creek area just east of Danville. This project will test the introduction of shared mobility transportation concepts used in public transportation. In short, we will be using a smartphone app that will allow customers to schedule a curbside pickup using a small County Connection vehicle. This demand response type service will be available within the Alamo Creek defined area to take users back and forth to the Walnut Creek BART Station. Thus, this service will have many of same features as an Uber or Lyft service. As we get closer to implementation of this pilot project, I will dedicate a blog to this topic alone.

These are just two new ways in which County Connection – like many public transit operators across the country – will be adapting, updating, and evolving their services in order to continue to provide mobility to a society that is built around good and accessible mobility options.

* Paratransit is transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to use regular, fixed-route transit services.