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System Description Access Scioto
County (ASC) is Scioto County, Ohio’s (76,587 est. 2008) public transit system. ASC
operates under the auspices of the Scioto County Commissioners and provides curb-to-curb, shared ride, demand response transportation
service to the city of Portsmouth, all of Scioto County and South Shore, KY. (612 sq. mi.). The service operates Monday through
Friday from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and service requires at least 24-hour advance reservation. The
mission of ASC is to provide safe, reliable, affordable and efficient public transportation throughout the Scioto County area
regardless of age, race, income or disability. ASC
is funded in part by grants from the Federal Transit Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT)
Office of Transit and from contract revenue from Scioto County Job and Family Services.
HistoryAccess Scioto County (ASC) grew out of a grass-roots effort in the early
1990's by concerned citizens, civic groups, social service and government agencies and others that came together to work
towards establishing a countywide public transportation system to provide transportation for those in Scioto County who did
not have a reliable means of transportation.
In September of 1993, the Scioto County Commissioners
and this group, which was called the Scioto County Transportation Committee, received from the Ohio Department of Transportation
(ODOT) a Coordinated Transportation grant.
This grant provided funding for capital and technical assistance
to facilitate the establishment of a coordinated transportation project in Scioto County and included funds for the hiring
of a transportation consultant to help guide the group.
In 1994 the Scioto County Commissioners appointed
a steering committee to work with ODOT officials and transportation consultants to continue to development the coordination
project that had been renamed Access Scioto County and to recruit a Transportation Coordinator to manage the project.
Members
of the committee included Dave Ross (Chairman) of Scioto County MRDD, Ruby Grant (Vice-Chairman) of Scioto County Dept. of
Human Services, Renee Ellis (Secretary), U.S.S.A, Inc., Jim Gerard of Scioto County Schools, Ann Sydnor of Portsmouth City
Council and Scioto County C.A.O., Sue Camp of Scioto County Children’s Services and Jeanie Miller of Portsmouth City
Schools. In 1995 the Scioto County Commissioners on the advice of the steering committee appointed Valerie Stamper as the
first ASC Coordinator. As a coordination project under ODOT’s Specialized Transit Program, ASC established partnerships with several
local agencies, including Scioto County MRDD, United Scioto Senior Activities, Inc., RSVP, and others that were already providing
transportation to provided transportation services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities. The
first passengers were transported by ASC as part of the coordination project in 1996. That year 6,139 passengers
were transported by ASC. In 1998 ASC
transitioned from a coordination project to becoming one of Ohio’s rural public transit systems under the Federal Transit
Administration’s (FTA) Rural Transit Program. Under this program,
which is administered by ODOT’s Office of Transit, ASC was eligible to receive not only capital and technical assistance,
but also state and federal funds for operating expenses. Up to this point funds to operate ASC had
been provided at the local level mainly from the Scioto County Commissioners. The
most significant change in moving from a coordination project and becoming a public transit system was ASC transitioned from
only providing transportation for the elderly and disabled to being open to the public and providing transportation services
available to anyone in Scioto County. Through the
continuing support of the public, FTA, ODOT and the Scioto County Commissioners ASC continues to grow and develop and today
provide service to the public through out all of Scioto County and South Shore, Kentucky. Everyday
hundreds of people from all over the area, of all ages use ASC to travel to work, school, shopping, medical appointments and
other destinations throughout the Scioto County area.
2009 Personnel ASC employed 16
people in 2009, which included 4 administrative staff, 2 operational staff and 10 drivers. This compares
to 19 employees in 2008. The 2009 ASC Staff members included: Leroy Hackworth, Transportation Specialist/Dispatcher,
employed since 1996 Penny Hubbard, Office Manager/Dispatcher, employed since 1999 Wanda Leedom, Administrative Assistant/Driver, employed
since 1996 Dave McNutt, Driver, employed since 2008 John McNutt, Driver, employed since 1999 Larry
Mullins, Coordinator/Driver, employed since 1998 Bill Potts, Driver, employed since 1999 Lisa Potts,
Operations Manager/Dispatcher, employed since 2000 Rick Potts, Lead Driver, employed since 1999 Brian
Setser, Driver, employed since 1999 Nathan Potts, Driver, employed since 2005 Robert Donahoe,
Driver, who rejoined the staff in 2006 after sick leave Tom Lancaster, Driver, employed since 2006 Barb
Setser, Driver/Maintenance, employed since 2006 New additions to the ASC staff in 2008 included Chris Hollis and Cody
Rankins Resignations in 2009 included Kelly Hatfield and Rachel Oppy.
Safety Awards The ASC Safety Award program was established in 2000 to recognize each driver that logs at least 1500 hours during
the year without a preventable accident, moving violation, unexplained damage to their bus or report of unsafe behavior reported
by the public. The program was established to promote safety consciousness among our
drivers and to reward those that demonstrate a commitment to safe driving.
Drivers that earned safety awards in 2009 included Rick Potts for 10 years of safe driving, Bill Potts and Brian
Setser for 4 years of safe driving, Robert Donahoe and John Mc Nutt for 3 years safe driving, Nathan Potts for 2 years of
safe driving and TH Lancaster for 1 year of safe driving. Each driver was recognized
for their dedication to safety by receiving a safety bonus based on the number of years of safe driving that they have achieved
recognized each driver.
Financial Report 2009 will go
down as one of the most financially challenging years in the existence of ASC. With the country facing the greatest economic challenges since the Great Depression and record budget deficits at
every level of government ASC received very disturbing news in May that the Prevention, Retention and Contingency (PRC) and
Title Twenty (TXX) contracts with the Scioto County Department of Job and Family Services (SCJFS) were being cancelled due
to funding cuts at the State level. Loss of these contracts meant that revenue for the
transit system would be cut by some $27,000 per month. Even though the loss
of contract revenue has been talked about as inevitable during the past 10-years the suddenness of the event was surprising
and not planned for. Only the reduction of staff through attrition, the service cuts that have been made in the previous two years, staff
vigilance in watching expenses and lower fuel prices staved off a total financial collapse for ASC. Expenses Operating
expenses were reduced over $130,000 from 2008 mainly because of a nearly $52,000 reduction in fuel costs and a $78,478 reduction
in payroll costs. The total operating costs for 2009 was $839,073 (including vehicle maintenance)* compared to $969,028 in 2008.
* Beginning in 2009
ODOT classified vehicle maintenance as a capital expense and not an operating expense. In the past vehicle maintenance was
reported on the quarterly invoice as an operating expense. It is now reported on the operating invoice as a non-eligible expense
and is reported as capitalized maintenance expense on a separate invoice and paid with American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds. The reimbursement rate is also higher since operating expenses
are only reimbursable up to 50% while the expense under the ARRA funding is reimbursable up to 100%. For the purposes of comparison
vehicle maintenance has been included in the operating expenses in this report. Operating costs in 2009 included $279,563 in administrative,
$46,358 in vehicle maintenance and $513,152 in vehicle operations costs compared to $282,495 in administrative, $42,020 in
vehicle maintenance and $644,513 in vehicle operation costs in 2008. ASC 2009 Vs 2008 Expenses | Expenses | 2009 | 2008 | Difference | % of
Change | Salaries | $ 394,778 | $
441,458 | $
(46,680) | -11% | Fringes
| $
257,875 | $
289,673 | $
(31,798) | -11% | Pro/Tech
Services | $
14,286 | $
10,177 | $
4,109 | 40% | Vehicle
Maintenance | $
43,402 | $ 39,678
| $ 3,724
| 9% | Fuel
| $
59,887 | $
111,735 | $
(51,848) | -46% | Tires
| $
2,956 | $
2,342 | $
514 | 22% | Other
Supplies | $
9,160 | $
9,639 | $
(479) | -5% | Utilities
| $
10,320 | $
9,715 | $
605 | 6% | Travel
& Meetings | $
283 | $
- | $
283 | 100% | Advertising | $
4,607 | $
4,530 | $
77 | 2% | Misc.
Expenses | $
440 | $
1,511 | $
(1,071) | -71% | Rent
| $
19,200 | $
19,061 | $
139 | 1% | In
Kind Expense | $
21,879 | $
29,509 | $
(7,630) | -26% | Total | $
839,073 | $
969,028 | $(129,955) | -13% |
As
in previous years employee payroll and benefits made up the largest percentage of the ASC operating budget in 2009 followed
by fuel costs and vehicle maintenance. The total payroll in 2009 was $652,653
including $394,778 in salaries and $257,875 in fringe benefits (PERS, Insurance, Unemployment and Medicare).
The payroll accounted for over 78% of the total ASC Operating Budget. This
compares to a payroll totaling $731,131 in 2008. Revenue In
2008 contract revenue set an all time record making up over 58% of the total revenue collected by ASC. In
2009 it was a very different story. For the first time in eleven years contract revenue
did not make up the largest portion of revenue to operate ASC. Instead in 2009 Federal assistance made
up over 48% of the total revenue while contract revenue only accounted for roughly 41%. Because
of the loss of the PRC and Title XX contracts with SCDJFS in May contract revenue dropped from $556,905 in 2008 to $323,924
in 2009. The majority of contract revenue (nearly 68%) for 2009 was generated from the Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
(NEMT) contract. The NEMT contract was the only SCDJFS contract that was renewed in 2009 and provides transportation to those who
have a medical card to and from medical related activities. Increases in
Federal and State revenue in 2009 helped offset some of the lost contract revenue, however ASC suffered an overall loss of
over $173,000 in operating revenue in 2009. Operating revenue in 2009 included $382,393 in Federal
assistance, $49,965 in State assistance and $4,058 in State elderly and disabled fare assistance, $323,924 in contract revenue,
$30,885 in general public fares and $4,446 in miscellaneous revenue. This compares to $323,316
in Federal assistance, $35,651 in State assistance, $5,592 in State elderly and disabled fare assistance, $556,905 in contract
revenue, $46,164 in general public fares and $1,400 in miscellaneous revenue in 2008.
The funding for ASC in 2009 consisted of approximately 41% contract revenue,
48% Federal funds, 6% State funds, 4% general public fares, 1% State elderly and disabled (E&D) funds and 1% miscellaneous
revenue. This compares to approximately 58% contract, 33% Federal funds, 4% State
funds, 4% general public fares, less than 1% State E&D funds and miscellaneous revenue respectfully in 2008. Due to the loss of contract revenue ASC did a much better job of utilizing
the available State and Federal funds in 2009. ASC
was eligible for $396,875 in Federal funds and $58,744 in State funds in 2009 and used over 96% of the available Federal funds
and 85% of the available State funds. In
2008 ASC was eligible for $363,875 in Federal funds and $61,114 in State funds of which only 89% of the available Federal
funds and 58% of the available State funds were utilized. It should be kept in mind that ASC received an additional $43,402 in Federal funds in 2009 for capitalized maintenance.
If the vehicle maintenance expenses would have been reported as an operating expense, as it was in 2008, ASC would
have utilized all of the available Federal and State funds, however ASC would have had to come up with an additional $20,141
in local revenue. Because the vehicle maintenance
was capitalized and paid for using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 funds the expense was reimbursed
at 100% compared to the 50% reimbursement rate under the operating grant. Given the lack of available additional funds from local sources ASC would have been hard pressed to come up with
the additional $20,141. This example shows how advantageous
the capitalized maintenance program is to the rural systems in allowing them to take advantage of more Federal funds. The capitalized maintenance program is scheduled to continue in 2010,
which will help stretch the available federal funds which is a good thing given that for the ninth year in a row ASC received
no financial support from the Scioto County Commissioners. In addition Scioto County was declared to be in Fiscal Emergency in 2009 (the first County in Ohio History) by the
Auditor of State’s Office so it is not likely that the Commissioners would be in any position to lend any financial
support to ASC, if they be so inclined, in the foreseeable future. In 2008 ASC was eligible
for $363,061 in Federal and $61,114 in State grant funds and received only $323,651 and $35,651 in Federal and State grant
funds respectfully. Traditional end of the year conditions such as increased expenses, low cash flow and appropriation and cumbersome
year end bill paying procedures by the County hamper the ability to incur enough expenses by the end of the year to take full
advantage of the available funds.
The situation has been made better by using the accrual method of accounting,
which ODOT began requiring in 2009 for all systems to report their operational expenses. It
is a balancing act each year to try to anticipate financial problems and make adjustments in order to keep the system operating
and avoid going into the whole by the end of the year. Ideally ASC would use
all of the available grant funds by the end of the year, however I believe it is better to have some available money left
over than have to close down the service due to lack of funds. Hopefully the coming
year ASC will be able to take full advantage of the available grant funds. Given that the full economic
impact of the loss of the two SCDJFS contracts will be felt in 2010 ASC will need every extra dollar to make ends meet. ASC
saw a 27% decrease in State E&D funds that it received from the previous year dropping from $5,592 in 2008 to $4,058 in
2009.
Operating Data
ASC traveled 207,988 revenue miles and logged 14,851 revenue vehicle
hours and transported 47,829 passengers in 2009. This compares to 252,951 revenue miles, 20,524 revenue
vehicle hours and 69,991 passengers in 2008. Ridership declined for the second year in a row dropping
some 32% from 2008 and slightly over 49% from 2007. The decline in ridership
is a result of the lost of the PRC and TXX contracts in May and the service cuts that have been made in the past two years
to reduce operating cost. The drop in contract ridership was over 50% from last year dropping from 41,137 to only 20,450 this year.
General public ridership decreased only slightly this year from last dropping just over 5% declining from 28,854 to
27,379 this past year. The decline in general public passengers seems to be leveling off after starting to decline following the elimination
of the same day Instant Access service that was part of the service reductions that took place in 2008 in order to help balance
the operating budget. While
overall contract passengers dropped dramatically passengers transported for SCDJFS under the and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
(NEMT) contract increased slightly for the second year in a row this year by nearly 10% going from 13,282
in 2008 to 14,609 in 2009.
It had been long anticipated that there would
be a significant decline in E&D ridership when TXX funding was eliminated. The rational for this thinking
was that many of the elderly on fixed income that have been at no cost to themselves would not be able to afford to travel
on the bus when they would have to pay out of their own pocket.
This
prediction seems to have been true as E&D ridership declined nearly 20% in 2009. The
total number of E&D passengers transported in 2009 was 13,299 including 4,079 contract and 9,220 general public E&D
passengers. This down from 16,569 in 2008 and included 7,948 contract and 8,621general public E&D passengers.
While the number of Elderly and Disabled passengers continued to decline in 2009 they comprised a larger percentage
of the overall ridership. In 2008 E&D passengers accounted for approximately 23% of all passengers,
however in 2009 that percentage had increased to nearly 28%. Pickup and Drop-off Demographics The majority of passenger trips continued to either
originated or terminated in Portsmouth and New Boston again this year. Pick-up and drop-off locations
in Portsmouth accounted for slightly over 67% of all trips, while New Boston locations accounted for slightly over 11% of
all trips taken by our passengers in 2009.
The third most popular pick-up and drop-off location
again in this year was Wheelersburg accounting for nearly 7% of all trips. Rosemount
with 3% of all trips and Sciotoville with 2.8% rounded out the top- five pickup and drop off locations this year. 2009
Passengers by Zone | Zone | Total
Passengers | General
Public | Contract | GP % | Contract % | Total % | Portsmouth | 32119 | 16004 | 16115 | 65.0% | 69.4% | 67.2% | New Boston | 5346 | 3081 | 2265 | 12.5% | 9.8% | 11.2% | Wheelersburg | 3149 | 1868 | 1281 | 7.6% | 5.5% | 6.6% | Lucasville | 601 | 122 | 479 | 0.5% | 2.1% | 1.3% | Valley Twp | 289 | 159 | 130 | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | Northwest | 830 | 379 | 451 | 1.5% | 1.9% | 1.7% | West Portsmouth | 1204 | 473 | 731 | 1.9% | 3.1% | 2.5% | South Webster | 291 | 137 | 154 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | Franklin Furnace | 124 | 68 | 56 | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | Buena Vista | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.004% | Friendship | 121 | 52 | 69 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Sciotoville | 1316 | 703 | 613 | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.8% | Minford | 612 | 401 | 211 | 1.6% | 0.9% | 1.3% | Rosemount | 1421 | 966 | 455 | 3.9% | 2.0% | 3.0% | Morgan Twp | 273 | 97 | 176 | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.6% | South Shore | 96 | 73 | 23 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | Other | 35 | 35 | 0 | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | Total | 47829 | 24619 | 23210 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Most of the people using ASC in 2009 were traveling to medical appointments; for work, to run personal errands and to go
to school or shopping.
Approximately 37% of all trips scheduled in
2009 were related to medical purposes, while 26% were related to employment, followed by 7% for personal reasons and approximately
4% were related to education or shopping respectively.
Performance Quantity of Service:Quality of Service:Infrastructure:Safety and Reliability:Service Effectiveness:Cost Efficiency: Cost Effectiveness: Local Commitment to Transit:PTI Level Service Rating ScalesQuantity of Service:Quality of Service: Infrastructure: Safety and Reliability:Service Effectiveness:Cost Efficiency:Cost Effectiveness:Local Commitment to Transit:
ASC PTI Ratings 2008 vs. 2009 Here are the PTI ratings
for Access Scioto County comparing 2008 vs. 2009: Quantity of Service:-
2008 = County-wide service
= C -
2009 = County-wide service
= C -
2008 = 252,951 miles/74,441
pop. = 3.4 = E (Needed Improvement) -
2009 = 207,988 miles/76,581
pop. = 2.7 = E (Needs Improvement) ASC Quantity of Service Rating: - 2008 = 4.3 = D
- 2009 = 4.0
= D
Quality of Service:Infrastructure:Safety and Reliability:Service Effectiveness:ASC
Service Effectiveness Rating: Cost Efficiency:ASC Cost Efficiency: Cost Effectiveness: -
2008 = $14.09 = C -
2009 = $16.70 = D - 2008 = $46,164/$969,027 = 4.8% = F (Unacceptable) -
2009 = $30,885/$795,671
= 3.9% = F (Unacceptable) ASC Cost Effectiveness Rating: - 2008 = 4.5 = D
- 2009 = 5
= E (Needs Improvement)
Local Commitment to Transit: - Percentage of Total Expenditures from Local Cash (Line 409 Operating
Invoice)
-
2008 = 0% = F (Unacceptable) - 2009 = 0% = F (Unacceptable) Local
Commitment to Transit Rating: - 2008 = 6 = F (Unacceptable)
- 2009
= 6 = F (Unacceptable)
Service Rating Criteria | 2008 | 2009 | Needs Improvement | Unacceptable | Quantity
of Service - Span of Service
- Service
Area Coverage
- Miles per Capita
| D | D | | | Quality of Service | C | C | | | Infrastructure - % Beyond
Useful Life
- Accessibility
| B | B | | | Safety and Reliability - Accidents
per 100,000 miles
- Road calls per 100,000 miles
| A | B | | | Service Effectiveness | D | D | | | Cost Efficiency | F | F | | X | Cost Effectiveness - Cost per
Passenger
- Farebox Recovery Ratio
| D | E | | X | Local Commitment to Transit | F | F | | X |
ASC Overall PTI Profile Rating: - 2008
ASC Overall PTI Profile Rating = C (3.5)
- 2009 ASC Overall PTI Profile Rating =
C (3.5)
Capital Improvements In 2009 ASC
was awarded $175,270 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for capital projects. The funds are to help in funding
the purchase of a light transit vehicle, bus security systems, roof replacement, installation of accessible doors and ceiling
rehab at the ASC office building and capitalized vehicle maintenance. The only project that was completed in 2009 was the capitalized
maintenance, which totaled $43,402. The remainder
of the capital projects hopefully will be completed in 2010.
Goals for 2009
The following goals have been established by ASC
to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the transit system:
1.
Maintain Trip Denials below 3-percent of total annual trips. ASC met this goal with Trip Denials accounting for .1% of the total
annual trips in 2009. 2. Maintain
No Show rate below 3-percent of total annual trips. ASC did not meet this goal as the No Show rate for 2009 was 3%. 3. Increase
the average number of Passengers per Hour by 3-percent from 2008 total of 3.45 passengers per hour. ASC
did not meet this goal because the average was 3.24 passengers per hour in 2009. 4. Maintain the Average
Ride time near or below 17-minutes per passenger. ASC did not meet this goal because the average ride time in 2009
was 18.63 minutes.
Goals for 2010
The following goals have been established by ASC
to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the transit system:
1. Maintain Trip Denials below 3-percent of total annual trips.
2. Maintain No Show rate below 3-percent of total annual trips.
3. Increase cost effectiveness by lowering the cost per mile to $2.60 or below.
4. Increase cost effectiveness by reducing the cost per
passenger to $15.00 or less.
5. Increase cost effectiveness
by increasing the farebox recovery ratio to at least 5%.
6. Reduce
the average ride time below 18-minutes per passenger.
Conclusion
While 2009 was the most financially challenging year in the history of ASC 2010 may prove to be even more of a struggle
as the financial outlook is uncertain at best. There will be very little margin for error in 2010
as the operating budget was cut to the bone in order to attempt to maintain service at its current level with the available
funding. The 2010 operating budget is $780,296 including $52,500 for vehicle maintenance. That
is quite a reduction when you consider the operating budget just two years ago in 2008 was over $969,000. The
line item of most concern is that of fuel. In 2009 $59,887 was spent on fuel and it is predicated that
fuel prices could increase between 20 and 28% in 2010. The 2010 ASC budget
contains $74,850 for fuel which falls within the predicated cost increase, however if the cost of fuel skyrockets like it
did in 2008 it would spell economic disaster for ASC. Federal funding of ASC has substantially increased during the past decade increasing from $110,456 in 2001 to $396,875
in 2009. While the Federal allocation for 2010 is only $349,434 ASC will also be eligible for $55,920 in Federal funds for
capitalized maintenance. Thanks to the generosity of ODOT officials ASC will
receive a large increase in the availability of State funds for 2010. ASC
will be eligible for up to $90,217 in State funds in 2010 compared to $58,744 in 2009. ODOT understands
the situation ASC will be in having lost a large portion of its revenue and this increase should afforded ASC a little breathing
room to help adjust to the lower revenue levels in 2010. For
the first time ever, ASC had to compete for the contracts to transport passengers for SCJFS with other transportation providers
in 2009. ASC will have to apply again in May of 2010 to SCDJFS for renewal of the NEMT Contract that will run from July 1,
2010 to June 30, 2011. Failure to gain renewal of the NEMT contract would be devastating for the transit system and would result in more
service cuts and possibly the shutdown of the system. The continued lack of
local financial support and the absence of a long-term strategy to provide such support will continue to be a threat to the
survival of the transit system in 2010. This situation will undoubtedly continue in the future
due to the fact with the County in fiscal emergency it is not reasonable to assume that the Commissioners will be in a position
to help fund ASC anytime soon. Many service cuts were made in 2008 and 2009 that
adversely affected the level of service provided by ASC. It
is clear that because of these cuts ASC is not doing as good of a job of meeting the transportation needs of the citizens
of Scioto County as it had in the past. Hopefully no additional service cuts will be necessary
in 2010, however given the precarious status of ASC more cuts in service may have to be made in 2010. The
most likely next cut will be to eliminate another day of service. The most likely day would be Friday since
it is currently the day of fewest trips. It is hoped that this service cut can be avoided
at all costs due to the long term ill effects and ramifications it would have for the transit system.
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