Student Free Fare Program Update and Recommendations
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The document provides an update and recommendations on the County of Fairfax, Virginia Student Free Fare Program. It summarizes ridership data showing growth in the program. Surveys of students, administrators, and bus operators found majority support extending hours to include weekends. Recommendations include expanding hours to 5 AM-10 PM daily including Saturdays and Sundays, and increasing outreach to more schools. An enhanced student pass design and inclusion of Metrobus may further grow the successful program.
Student Free Fare Program Update and Recommendations
- 1. County of Fairfax, Virginia Student Free Fare Program Update & Recommendations Board Transportation Committee May 24, 2016 Nick Perfili & Kala Quintana Department of Transportation
- 2. County of Fairfax, Virginia Student Free Fare Program Update • Interagency and Interjurisdictional Coordination – Continued FCDOT and FCPS coordination – NEW partner: City of Fairfax CUE • Ridership and Utilization • Survey Results and Feedback • Recommendations: School Year (SY) 2016-17 and Future Department of Transportation 2
- 3. County of Fairfax, Virginia Coordination • FCDOT and FCPS – Provide program information at high school and middle school principal annual meetings – Arrange SY 2016-17 targeted school outreach – Develop more standardized pass and permission form distribution/maintenance process – Program and permission form availability online Department of Transportation 3
- 4. County of Fairfax, Virginia Coordination • City of Fairfax CUE Bus Integration – City of Fairfax approached FCDOT about participating; Fairfax City Council is supportive – Supports program goals – Will provide outreach support at city schools – Will allow Fairfax Co. students to ride CUE; City of Fairfax students to ride Connector • CUE System Enhances Service Availability – Connections with Fairfax Connector and service proximate to additional schools: Fairfax HS Oakton HS Woodson HS George Mason University Paul VI Department of Transportation 4
- 5. County of Fairfax, Virginia Student Participation (5 Targeted Schools) Department of Transportation 5 School Passes Distributed School Population Percent of Students with Passes Chantilly HS 233 2,680 9% Edison HS 885 1,936 46% Madison HS 98 2,109 5% Mount Vernon HS 427 1,963 22% South Lakes HS 943 2,430 39% TOTAL (5 Targeted Schools) 2,586 11,118 24% (average) TOTAL (MS/HS/SS System-wide) 4,241
- 6. County of Fairfax, Virginia • Majority of pass utilization is travel to or from school • High evening utilization, suggesting travel home from after school activities and programs • No student behavior problems on buses • Limited crowding (reported in Reston, standard length bus assigned to mitigate) • Limited weekend utilization continues Department of Transportation 6 Student Ridership
- 7. County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Transportation 7 5,330 12,357 12,161 12,947 9,263 14,245 16,724 18,944 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000 Sep 2015 Oct 2015 Nov 2015 Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Feb 2016 Mar 2016 Apr 2016 Major Holiday and/or Snow Events Monthly Student Ridership
- 8. County of Fairfax, Virginia Surveys: Assessing Opinions • Quantitative and Qualitative Feedback – Students (Edison and South Lakes) – School Administration/Faculty (Edison and South Lakes) – Bus Operators • Results Were Consistent and Informed Recommendations Department of Transportation 8
- 9. County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Transportation 9 11% 55% 14% 13% 4% 2% 1% 14% 46% 26% 6% 5% 3% 1% Walked School bus Connector bus Dropped off Carpool (with friend or parent) Drove myself Other TO school FROM school Student Surveys Current Student Travel Behavior To/From School Comparison by Mode • Student pass use is reducing vehicle trips in school parking lots and on nearby streets
- 10. County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Transportation 10 1-2 days a week 15% 3-5 days a week 49% Once every 2 weeks 6% Once a month 9% Other 21% Student Surveys Frequency of Student Pass Use
- 11. County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Transportation 11 Smart Phone App (e.g. Moovit, Transit, Apple Maps) 55.4% Fairfax Connector website (fairfaxconnector.com) 30.5% Paper/printed schedules on the bus 26.8% Paper/printed schedules at school 21.6% From friends or other people 16.4% Metro’s online regional Trip Planner 9.9% Paper/printed schedules at another location 6.1% Fairfax Connector Telephone Information Center (703-339-7200) 4.7% Fairfax Connector Twitter 4.2% Other 5.1% Student Surveys How Students Get Information
- 12. County of Fairfax, Virginia How Students Would Improve the Program Department of Transportation 12 Extend hours 60.1% Include Saturday 69.6% Include Sunday 47.3% Other 6.4% Student Surveys
- 13. County of Fairfax, Virginia What Students Are Saying… Department of Transportation 13 “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.” Student Surveys
- 14. County of Fairfax, Virginia Have Administrators Noticed… Department of Transportation 14 Yes 85% No 5% Don’t Know 10% An Increase In Student Participation At School Administrator Surveys Yes 34% No 26% Don’t Know 40% An Improvement In Student Tardiness or Absenteeism
- 15. County of Fairfax, Virginia Department of Transportation 15 Extend hours 42.9% Include Saturday 42.9% Include Sunday 14.3% Other 14.3% How Administrators Would Improve the Program “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 after school 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.” Administrator Surveys
- 16. County of Fairfax, Virginia What Administrators Are Saying… Department of Transportation 16 “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.” Administrator Surveys
- 17. County of Fairfax, Virginia Enhanced Pass Design • Design improvement based on feedback and to facilitate program growth – Additional identifying student information – Streamlined “flash pass” design based, in part, on bus operator input – Duplication prevention • SY 2016-17 implementation Department of Transportation 17
- 18. County of Fairfax, Virginia Recommendations: SY 2016-17 • Increase Span – From 6 AM-9 PM (SY 2015-16) to 5 AM-10 PM • Include Saturday and Sunday – Expands options for school activities, work & more • Parity – Include program information with enrollment, back-to- school, and parking pass distribution system-wide – Program information and permission forms at fcps.edu, with links from other websites, including Fairfax Connector and City of Fairfax CUE Department of Transportation 18
- 19. County of Fairfax, Virginia Recommendations: SY 2016-17 • Outreach – Create program tool-kit for schools – Update PSA video (as needed); robust social media and outreach campaign – Additional targeted outreach (passes available to all County/FCPS MS and HS students): Fairfax HS * Jefferson HS Hayfield SS Lanier MS * Herndon HS Lee HS Hughes MS West Potomac HS * Outreach: City of Fairfax CUE/transportation staff Department of Transportation 19
- 20. County of Fairfax, Virginia Recommendations: Future • Include Metrobus – Expands the program to areas of Fairfax County with Metrobus service; will have cost implications • FCPS universal student photo ID/pass (bus pass, school library card, cafeteria account, etc.) – Eliminates the need for separate ID’s/passes – One ID/pass could support multiple county programs (transit, public library, RECenter, etc.) – Consider integrating with next generation SmarTrip system Department of Transportation 20
- 21. County of Fairfax, Virginia Questions/Discussion Department of Transportation 21