2023/08/23 Council Agenda Packet

Everett Transit 2023 TDP DRAFT 5 Action Strategies 2023-2028 From 2023 through 2028, the following action strategies will be pursued to meet the five State Policy Objectives listed below. While the six-year plan has every intention of preserving and improving transit service in the City of Everett, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to rethink our transit priorities. Service is being restored strategically with focus on underserved communities, access to schools, health services and major employers. The impact of the pandemic has created the need to establish a new base line from which to build. At council’s direction, 2022 began with a new, 18-month study of a consolidated system with Community Transit. The joint study should be completed by Q3 2023. Should council decide to take the issue to a public vote, that action is not anticipated before Q2 2025. 1) Preserve and improve existing public transportation service levels. a) Continue implementing strategic service adjustments. i) Continue to monitor post pandemic ridership patterns and modify fixed route service, where possible, to maximize service relevance and effectiveness. ii) Establish new baseline performance indicators to better understand mid and long-term impacts of the pandemic to public transportation usage. iii) Continue coordination with Community Transit for both local and Swift (BRT) services. iv) Begin the update to ET’s Long-Range Plan with the impacts of the pandemic and a potential sales tax increase to the legal limit of .09ths of 1% in mind. This plan is anticipated to be updated before Q2 2024. v) Study and if applicable, include micro-transit solutions as part of the available service options. vi) Support the council’s steering committee to identify and detail what a potential merger with Community Transit would look like. b) Develop and implement a marketing and outreach campaign to stimulate consumer confidence in public transportation and Everett Transit specifically. i) Identify and address real and perceived concerns about safety and health issues among the public in the aftermath of the pandemic. ii) Strategically engage current users, former users, and potential users of Everett Transit’s services to demonstrate transit’s safety, ease of use and affordability. iii) Work with regional partners conducting similar marketing campaigns to present a consistent collective narrative. iv) Continue to gather public comments and information from online open forums and public meetings to optimize route and schedule effectiveness. c) Improve customer information. i) Continue interagency schedule coordination, develop and update transit schedules, and electronic products, create timely and effective information materials to improve customer engagement.