Objective 5.6.2. - Level of Service Standards for Paratransit.

Establish and use the following infrastructure standard to maintain current levels of service through appropriate capital and operating expenditures on the paratransit (demand-response) bus system.

Policy 5.6.2.1. Continue to provide and fund, subject to limitations described in Policy 5.6.2.3 below, a demand-response paratransit system which is designed to provide service at a projected level of 16.03 Annual Passenger Miles per Elderly and Handicapped (E&H) Person. As used in calculating this per unit infrastructure standard, E&H population shall be based on a constant percentage (32.2 percent) of total resident and seasonal population for Manatee County, within both incorporated and unincorporated areas. New projections of E&H population may be derived from appropriate data and may update the 32.2 percent factor adopted for projecting total E&H population.

Implementation Mechanism:

(a)

Annual calculation by Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) of total projected demand (number of passenger miles) on the demand-response paratransit system within any one-year, current or future using:

Demand = Projected Annual Passenger Miles = (Projected Total E&H Population) x (16.03)

Policy 5.6.2.2. Project total annual capital and operating expenditures necessary to address the demand projected using the adopted infrastructure standard, contained in Policy 5.6.2.1 above. Demand shall be projected by calculating Annual Projected Passenger Miles, and by using this Annual Projected Passenger Mile total for any year to project annual operating and capital costs.

Policy 5.6.2.3. Address the increased demand for demand-response paratransit service which is projected to occur concurrent with increase in total E&H population by budgeting, and expending as necessary, local funding to address the projected annual operating and capital costs, as calculated pursuant to Policy 5.6.2.1 above.

Implementation Mechanism(s):

(a)

Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) calculation of projected one- and five-year capital and operating costs, as described in this policy, and submittal to the Financial Management Department as part of the annual County budget process. Also, determine local share of the one-year projected capital and operating expenditures, and estimate projected local share of capital and operating expenditures for years two (2) through five (5).

(b)

Manatee County Planning Department providing MCAT with annual total population, and percentage of E&H persons to facilitate MCAT calculation of capital and operating expenditures.

Policy 5.6.2.4. Maintain the following performance standards for design and operation of the demand-response paratransit system. These performance standards shall be used to evaluate the quality of paratransit service, and shall be utilized to review proposed capital expenditures for the effect which these expenditures are (or are not) having on maintenance of a quality paratransit service:

(1)

Availability of Service: Entire Manatee County Future Transit Service Area and any other area west of I-75.

(2)

Door-to-door service.

(3)

Minimum advance notice required for pick-up: twenty-four (24) hours.

(4)

Schedule pick up time within sixty (60) minutes of requested pick-up time.

(5)

Comply with Americans with Disabilities Act service standards.

Implementation Mechanism:

(a)

Manatee County Area Transit action to ensure policy compliance.