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Unmet Transit Needs

Whether you ride the bus regularly, occasionally, or haven’t tried transit yet, you have an opportunity to share your thoughts about Humboldt County’s bus and paratransit services annually during the Unmet Transit Needs (UTN) process. Although comments are accepted year round, those received by December 31st of each year will be considered in the fiscal year UTN Report of Findings for the following year.

NEW! See the updated Unmet Transit Needs Synopsis which explains how the annual process relates to administering the Local Transportation Fund, and why there are limited opportunities to fund additional transit services through the Unmet Needs process. See the hearing invite letter to jurisdictions.

Opportunities for Public Comment on Unmet Transit Needs

Submit comments online at 2023 UTN Comment Form
Utilize Social Services Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC) members for information sharing among the community;
Participate in a public hearing specific to UTN beginning in September/October
Comment submittals by email, letter, telephone or in-person: stephen.luther@hcaog.net/444-8208

Ultimately, HCAOG and transit agencies regionwide would like to hear your realistic thoughts on:

What changes to the existing transit service would get you to ride more or ride for the first time?

Would you ride more often if the bus ran more frequently? Time specific details and identification of the transit system are key in determining if the request meets the criteria of “reasonable to meet”.

Would you choose transit for your transportation needs if the bus went to locations that are currently not accessible by transit? If so please provide details regarding frequency, time of day, days of the week that would serve your needs.

Do the current transit times meet your transportation needs? If not, what times and days would you realistically ride transit if it was provided? Most transit system schedules are provided on the Humboldt Transit Authority website: https://hta.org/

Comments submitted will be analyzed by the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council (SSTAC). The SSTAC will first determine if the request meets the adopted definition on an unmet transit need:

Trips requested from residents who do not have access to public transportation,specialized transportation,or private transport services or resources for the purpose of traveling to medical care, shopping, social/recreational activities, education/training, and employment; or
Proposed public transportation,specialized transportation,or private transport services that are identified in the following (but is not limited to) a Transportation Development Plan, Regional Transportation Plan, Coordinated Public Transit–HumanServices Transportation Plan.

Additionally, the HCAOG TDA Rules stipulate that, for this process, unmet transit needs do not include the following:

Improvements funded or scheduled for implementation in the next fiscal year.
- There are two unmet transit needs that will be automatically considered as they were not implemented due to the Coronavirus pandemic:
  - Late night weekday service on the Redwood Transit System
  - Express bus service between McKinleyville and Eureka during peak hours

Minor operational improvements or changes such as bus stops, schedules, and minor route changes. Minor operational improvements are changes to service which do not affect the operating cost of the transit service either by requiring additional staff and/or additional vehicle hours of service or miles of service.
- All minor operational improvements that do not meet the definition of an unmet transit need are forwarded to the appropriate transit operator.
Trips for primary or secondary school transportation
Sidewalk improvements or street and road needs

Unmet Transit Needs are then subject to the adopted criteria to determine if the need is “reasonable to meet”:

1. To be considered reasonable to meet, a service must be operationally feasible and financially sustainable,as defined below:

a. To be considered operationally feasible,the service must have adequate running time, adequate roadways, and must be safe to operate.

b. To be considered financially sustainable,enough money should be available from identified sources of funding to pay for the marginal operating cost of the service continuously for three years.

For instance, comments that request transit 24 hours, seven days a week in not considered financially sustainable in Humboldt County.

2. Additionally,to be considered “reasonable to meet” the service must be projected to meet a minimum “marginal farebox return ratio” of 10 percent within two years. If multiple competing services are requested,other factors such as estimated subsidy per passenger trip and passengers per vehicle hour of service may also be considered. Ridership and farebox return ratio thresholds will also be considered for continuing newly-introduced services.

3. Pursuant to the requirements of Transportation Development Act (TDA) Statutes (Public Utilities Code Section 99401.5 (c)), a determination of needs that are reasonable to meet shall not be made by comparing unmet transit needs with the need for streets and roads, for the allocation of TDA funds.

4. Once a service is determined to be “reasonable to meet” and is implemented, it can be expected that the ridership in the first 1-2 years of the new service will be less than the projected optimal ridership. Ridership should be evaluated at 6-month intervals to determine if service is meeting performance standards adopted by the transit provider, and specifically whether the service meets a minimum 10 percent marginal farebox ratio. If the service is being adequately promoted and fails to be within 60 percent of the identified standards after six months, 90 percent within the first year, or 100 percent within two years, the service may be cancelled and deemed “no longer reasonable to meet.” An exception to this rule is when a community or group is willing to participate in sharing the ongoing cost of the new service.

After considering all available information compiled pursuant to the Unmet Transit Needs public participation process, the SSTAC forwards a recommendation to the HCAOG Board to one of the following findings:

(1) there are no unmet transit needs;

(2) there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet; or

(3) there are unmet transit needs, including needs that are reasonable to meet.

If HCAOG adopts a finding that there are unmet transit needs,including needs that are reasonable to meet,then the unmet transit need shall be funded before any allocation is made for other (non-transit) uses within the jurisdiction. Local jurisdictions may decide to voluntarily fund needs that are determined not to be“reasonable to meet ”from the jurisdiction’s TDA funds or other revenue sources.

Links and Resources:

Adopted FY 23-24 Unmet Transit Needs Report of Findings (adopted May 18, 2023)