15. Tri-school area
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Summary
CUPERTINO
AGENDA ITEM
/5"
AGENDADATE 1Il1l1l~ :J..bl-<-D07
SUBJECT
Interim report on alternative considerations regarding the evaluation of Traffic Issues in the
tri-school area, including Monte Vista High, Kennedy Middle, and Lincoln Elementary
Schools.
BACKGROUND
At the City Council meeting of October 2, 2007, staff presented Council with a report on
transportation options relating to a school bus or shuttle service that would serve the three
schools in the tri-school area. Included in the report were the results of a transportation
survey directed at parents of Lincoln Elementary and Kennedy Middle School children,
details of current Palo Alto and past Cupertino Union School District shuttle/buses, and a
description of a proposed public shuttle to serve the schools. The full report can be found in
Attachment B.
At the meeting, Council requested that staff return with details of a more developed shuttle
proposal. Specifically, with respect to the De Anza-to-Foothill McClellan Road Shuttle
option presented at the October 2 meeting, Council requested that staff look at extending the
route to Kennedy Middle School, implement shorter wait times, determine bus stop locations
and the effect on bike lanes, and establish before- and after- metrics for the purpose of
measuring the success of the program. In addition, Council requested that staff evaluate the
feasibility of instituting a one- to three-month pilot program for under $100,000.
In response to Council's requests, stafInegotiated a contract with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting
Associates (N\N), a nationally respected transportation consulting firm, to provide the details
of such a shuttle program. N\N's scope of work included evaluating two scenarios, The fIrst,
Scenario One, is comprised of a set of routes only along McClellan Road between Foothill
and De Anza. The second, Scenario Two, is comprised of a set of routes that includes
McClellan Road segment from Scenario One~ plus Bubb Road between McClellan and
Rainbow, per Council's request. N\N also provided fixed schedules and determined the
number of shuttles required for each scenario. Finally, N\N looked closely at potential
operational issues including turn-around and drop-off locations, and the effect of the shuttle
operations on existing bike lanes.
Each of the two Scenarios and the corresponding routes are shown in Attachment A.
15-1
DISCUSSION
Shuttle Headwavs
In response to Council's desire for short wait times for passengers at the shuttle stops, the
routes were designed with five- to six-minute headways during the 15- to 20-minute period
immediately before and after school bell times. To ensure that these headways will be
achieved consistently and dependably, specific schedules were designed for each of the
routes, as opposed to merely running each shuttle on a continuous loop with approximate
waiting times at the stops between shuttle arrivals. Running the shuttles on a specific
schedule will also ensure that students are dropped off before bell times, since otherwise there
would be no guarantee that a shuttle wouldn't arrive at school, say, 3 minutes after the bell
time.
Shuttle stops
Shuttle stops were located approximately every three blocks. With the exception of the
shuttle stops located on McClellan east of Stelling and west of Byrne (seven out of 25 total
stops), all shuttle stops impact bike lane operations, Along Bubb Road, shuttle stops were
located to be coincident with existing VTA bus stops (Route 53 will be eliminated in January,
2008, therefore the existing bus stops will be vacant and available); however, bike lanes are
still impacted at each of the stops, Even at the locations where there are no bike lanes, the
narrowness of the vehicle lanes would generally require that bikes merge with vehicles to pass
a shuttle that may be stopped at the side of the road. Although the amount of time the shuttles
would spend at each of the stops would generally be minimal, the presence of the shuttles
stopping within the bike lanes or the narrow travel lanes would necessarily have the potential
to impact bicycle operations and safety along McClellan and Bubb Roads,
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that bus/shuttle stops be generally accessible to
people with mobility impairments. The stops were chosen with this goal in mind, Further
review of specific drop-off and pick-up locations at the schools themselves may be required to
ensure an accessible path is available from the school to the shuttle,
Performance Measures
Performance measures would need to be established by which the success of the program
could be determined. Possible measures include shuttle ridership, vehicle/bicycle/pedestrian
accidents, vehicle travel time, and vehicle traffic volumes. Because traffic congestion in the
vicinity of the tri-school area is the primary motivating factor for implementation of a school
shuttle, an appropriate performance measure would need to be capable of measuring traffic
congestion, or a reduction thereof
Since travel time is a direct measure of traffic congestion, staff recommends that, in the event
Council decides to move forward with a pilot shuttle program, travel time studies be
performed along McClellan and Bubb Roads both before and after implementation of the
program. The travel time studies would involve recording the actual time it takes to drive
from one end of the study corridor to the other during the peak school hours, essentially
15 - 2
mimicking the shuttle routes. A comparison of the "before" and "after" results would give a
direct indication of any reduction in congestion. A traffic consultant would be retained to
perform the travel time studies and to help define specific measures of success, for example,
perhaps specific percentage reductions in travel time,
Cost Proposal
Based upon the considerations outlined above, N\N determined that four shuttles would be
needed for Scenario One during each morning and afternoon period, and nine shuttles would
be needed for Scenario Two.
Staff forwarded this information to MY Transit and EI Paseo Limousine, two large providers
of public shuttle buses. Both companies indicated that, because the purchase of new shuttles
or buses would be required to accommodate the service requirements, short-term (one-to-
three month) contracts would not be an option, and a minimum one-year contract would be
required,
The average annual cost for each company, assuming 200 school days per year, are as
follows:
Scenario One (4 shuttles) Scenario Two (9 shuttles)
MY Transit $320,000 $720,000
EI Paseo Limousine $232,000 $470,000
Additionally, there would be miscellaneous start-up costs associated with any program,
These costs would be required in order to perform traffic and congestion studies, advertising,
and other miscellaneous tasks and would likely total around $12,000.
If Council desires to pursue a one- to three-month pilot program, only a smaller-scale program
such as that presented at the October 2 Council meeting would be feasible. Such a program
would run two 18-22 passenger shuttles along McClellan Road between Foothill and De Anza
Boulevards between the hours of 7:00 to 9:00 a,m, and 2:00 to 4:00 p,m. and would cost
$10,000 per month, not including the start-up costs. However, because of the large headways
that would necessarily exist between successive shuttles, the level of service would be
comparatively low and the likelihood of success, either in terms of ridership or congestion
reduction, would be limited,
Further Considerations
Prior to fmalizing route design and implementing a pilot shuttle program, it would be
advisable for the designated shuttle operator, school districts and the City to meet in order to
review details of the program and attempt to minimize the number of modifications that
would invariably be required following implementation, Such a meeting would also build
ownership among the interested parties and increase the likelihood of project success.
Further consideration of ADA issues would also be prudent prior to implementation, While
N\N outlined a program in general compliance with ADA, time constraints prevented a full
analysis of ADA regulations as they apply to public shuttles, A thorough analysis and
15 - 3
rationale for all decisions must be documented in order to protect the City from potential
discrimination litigation,
FUNDING AND FISCAL POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
Fiscal Impact
As mentioned previously, a short-term pilot program would not be possible for either of the
two scenarios presented in this report, Consequently, a one-year minimum contract would be
required, Implementation of such a program for Scenario One is estimated to cost at least
$232~000 per year~ and for Scenario Two at least $470,000 per year. Approximately $290~000
is available in the Traffic Safety Project Account in the adopted 2007-2008 Operating Budget,
Account # 110-8603-7014,
Additionally, if a program such as what the Cupertino Union School District provided before
the scaling back of its program proves necessary to achieve measurable reduction in traffic
congestion (the cost of such a program was estimated by Laidlaw and information presented
to Council at the October 2 meeting), the annual cost to the City General Fund is estimated to
be between $780,000 and $1,100,000.
If the shuttle program achieves a measurable, or at least observable, reduction in traffic
congestion during the school commute so that it becomes desirable to continue the program,
sources of long term funding would need to be identified. This is especially important if the
conclusion is that an acceptable reduction of traffic congestion can only be achieved with a
program similar to that formerly run by the District. Based on the survey results from CUSD,
it appears that such a conclusion is very likely,
Fiscal Policy Considerations
During discussion of this issue, Council had mentioned methods of ongoing funding of the
program, such as a parcel tax, Although the Palo Alto Unified School District apparently
contributes an unspecified amount to help operate Palo Alto's shuttle, the Cupertino Union
School District has indicated that it is not in a position to fund ,a busing program beyond what
it already provides with its scaled back program,
Finally, it should be noted that the City contributes nearly $700,000 annually in school
playfield maintenance to the CUSD in exchange for use of the fields for intramural sports. It
should be further noted that the City contributes over $100,000 annually for crossing guards at
CUSD schools, which the City is under no obligation or mandate to provide.
As a policy matter, staff believes that it would not be a good precedent to further extend the
City's general fund support for activities and services that should be provided by the school
district. The main contributing causes to the traffic issues in the tri-school area are the
location of the schools themselves, the lack of s~hool district funding, and tl),e driving
behavior of the parents dropping the children at school, and the City has no control over any
of these causal factors.
15 - 4
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
For several reasons noted throughout this report, Staff does not recommend that the Council
proceed with any kind of a busing or shuttle program at City expense to serve the tri-school
area.
Submitted by:
~(;I.U.V
Director of Public Works
Approved for submission:
~
David W. Knapp
City Manager
15.5
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ATTACHMENT B
OCTOBER 2.2007 STAFF REPORT
PUBLIC WORKS DEP ARlMENT
CUPERTINO
Summary
AGENDA ITEM
AGENDA DATE October 2. 2007
SUBJECT AND ISSUE
Interim report on alternative considerations regarding the evaluation of Traffic Issues in the tri-
school area, including Monta Vista High, Kennedy Middle, and Lincoln Elementary Schools.
BACKGROUND
During Budget discussions on June 4, June 5, and June 19, 2007, the City Council discussed
traffic issues regarding commute congestion in the tri-school area (Monta Vista High, Kennedy
Middle, and Lincoln Elementary Schools). A number of issues were raised, including, among
other things, the possibility of some kind of commute transportation system that would be aimed
at reducing traffic congestion during the school pickup and dropoffhours.
The Council considered a budget proposal by the City Manager to fund a red light running
program at $250,000 a year over a three-year period. The Council instead approved a budget
amount of $300,000 for FY 07-08 for unspecified traffic safety around schools. The consensus
of the Council, while not approving any specific direction, was for staff to engage consultant( s)
as necessary and to report back to Council with recommendations for the Mid-Year Budget
discussions and adjustments as may be necessary and appropriate.
In order to address the issues in an orderly and expeditious way, this interim report has been
prepared for the Council's consideration in advance of the mid-year budget discussions, Staffhas
conducted some preliminary research with the assistance of the Cupertino Union School District
(CUSD), conducting a survey of parents relating to this topic. .
This interim report is presented to Council ahead of the Mid-Year Budget discussions in an effort
to narrow the focus on what area and alternatives the study should include and to assist the
Council in developing more specific direction based on alternative considerations. Staff also
approached the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) to conduct a similar survey of
interest among the High School parents, but the district did not proceed with that effort.
Staff has reviewed the current situation with respect to traffic in the tri-school area and has
evaluated several suggested courses of action for consideration and discussion by the Council.
15 - 8
DISCUSSION
Tri-school Traffic Congestion Issues
As noted on several occasions, most recently by Council on February 20,2007, there have been
many activities related to the traffic safety around the school and many meetings between the
school district, City and Sheriff's representatives, as well as neighborhood area residents and
parents, These meetings have been going on for some time, resulting in many of the efforts and
achievements described in Attachment "A." In summary, the City and the Sheriff's Office have
devoted a great deal of time, effort and money addressing congestion in the tri-school area.
These efforts have been and continue to be focused on the main problems in the area. These
include:
1. Traffic congestion converging at McClellan and Bubb Roads during drop-offs at
Monta Vista High School, Kennedy Middle School and Lincoln Elementary
School.
2, Congestion spilling over the entire area including the side streets off of Bubb and
McClellan Roads. McClellan Road also backs up as far east as Stelling Road
when De Anza students are present.
3. The problem is further compounded by traffic congestion on Rainbow Drive
between Stelling and Bubb Roads for drop-offs at Regnart Elementary School.
It is important to recognize some fundamental facts over which the City of Cupertino has very
little control. These are:
· Parents and high school student drivers' continuing practice of driving kids to school
one student at a time.
· School District(s) inability to provide busing services to elementary and high school
destinations.
· Continuing perception by many that the tri-school traffic problem is the City's sole
responsibility,
In other words, during the morning and afternoon student weekday commutes, the primary traffic
problem stems from the fact that over 4,500 students need to arrive at three schools within an 80-
minute window. Almost half of those students need to arrive within a 35-minute window. All
this notwithstanding, the fact remains that this condition, while severely concentrated in a short
window of time remains a very localized congestion condition and is short-lived, i,e., occurring
over a 25-35 minute period in the morning pre-school hour. While many people perceive
otherwise, the inescapable fact is that, in the overall scheme of things, this condition, while
frustrating for drivers and residents in the area during this moming peak period, is a minor
congestion condition when considering the entire traffic and roadway system as a whole.
15 - 9
2
INFRASTRUCTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Over the past few years it has been suggested from various sources that modifying the traffic and
roadway infrastructure facilities would be a legitimate option for easing the congestion in the tri-
school area, These have ranged from traffic signal modifications (which have been made to then
extent practicable) to closing cross streets into residential areas or even extreme proposals such
as widening McClellan and Bubb Roads, which would require millions in property acquisitions,
lfthe City were to consider extreme measures to ease the congestion under its present conditions,
it would be an enormous undertaking and extremely expensive. More importantly, in the end it
would be addressing a congestion problem, even if it endured for 45 minutes a day, five days a
week during the school year that is only 2% of the annual traffic hours on this roadway system.
Therefore, the only other possibility is to either change the driving habits of parents and teens or
consider alternatives and more efficient modes of transportation. Since, neither the school
districts, including many dedicated people working in parent-teacher groups nor the City or
Sheriff's Office have had much success with efforts to change driving habits, the only option
remaining is alternative transportation, including some localized effort at mass transit in the area.
Before proceeding with the discussion on mass transit options, it should be noted that, except
during inclement weather, many middle and high school students do walk or ride bicycles to
school. lfthey did not, the problem would be even worse.
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
From the foregoing discussion, it seems clear that the primary objective of a transportation
service would be to carry a sufficient number of the commuting students to have a measurable,
or at least observable, impact on reducing traffic congestion during' the school commute hours.
It should be noted that Busing and Shuttles are not necessarily the same thing:
· Buses usually run on a prescribed route with established stops and well defined
schedules.
. Shuttles generally run a continuous loop from an origin to a destination and
return with stops in between but without a specific schedule except an
approximate waiting time, as "every fifteen minutes".
Measures for Success of a Busing ( or Shuttle) Program
In considering the establishment of any busing program, a coherent statement of goals and
measurements for success should be established. As mentioned above~ among the things to be
considered would be:
. Measurable reduction in congestion
. Significant ridership (may also be an indicator of congestion reduction)
. Long term funding source(s)
15.10
3
Transportation Demand I Route Design Survey
At staffs request, the Cupertino Union School District ran a transportation survey directed at the
parents of Lincoln Elementary and Kennedy Middle schools to help determine the level and
nature of interest in a shuttle. A same or a similar survey was to be conducted at Monta Vista
High School, but the high school opted not to run the survey.
Among the CUSD's survey results are the following:
. 95% of parents would be interested in using a free bus service to transport their children
to school.
. 72% of parents, however, would not allow their students to use the shuttle if it were
available for use by the general public.
. Even if the service were not available to the general public, 54% of parents would have
their students use the shuttle only if a stop were less than two blocks away from home,
. Fewer than 35% would have their students use it if the stop were 2 to 4 blocks or further
away.
The survey also yielded location information on the respondents to make it possi,ble to plot
preliminary routes. This location information indicates that a significant portion of the
respondents are not sufficiently close to McClellan Road and Bubb Road that, according to the
survey, they would not have their students use bus service that had stops only along those streets.
CUSD officials told staff that the previous District-operated school bus routes did indeed go into
the neighborhoods, with the stops having to be closely tailored to the locations of the students
who took the buses, Le., within a few blocks as the survey confirmed.
Summaries of the experiences in busing programs operated by the City of Palo Alto and CUSD
are described below. Detailed narratives of these experiences may be found in Attachment B.
Palo Alto Experience with Public Shuttle - Summary (Details in Attachment B)
The City of Palo Alto funds and operates free shuttles that are open to the general public, but
which serve the significant purpose of transporting students to and from school. Because the
shuttles are open to the public, the requirements of operating a school bus are avoided. The
shuttles serve the two high schools and three middle schools. Palo Alto's general experiences
include:
. The shuttle drivers aren't used to dealing with school children
. Middle school children tend to be destructive to the shuttles
. High school ridership is generally limited to freshman and sophomores
. Staff resource time approaches 8 hours per week
. The shuttles are often very crowded at commute times and students frequently have'
trouble getting aboard
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Cupertino Union School District School Busing Program - Summary (Details in Attachment B)
The Cupertino Union School District eliminated its school busing program approximately 13
years ago. The program was eliminated because of its cost impact, and the fiscal needs of other
school programs that the District considered a higher priority. Surprisingly, there was no general
opposition or complaint raised by the parents of the District's students over the scaling back of
the program.
In the District's experience, parents of students are not willing to pay the cost of busing directly,
nor is the District in a position at this time to contribute to funding a busing program. A public
bus shuttle program such as that run by the City of Palo Alto in cooperation with Caltrain would
not be acceptable to the District. This echoes the results of the survey: the parents are
overwhelmingly opposed to a school shuttle being available for general public use.
Bus Transportation Consultant - Tri-school School Bus Proposal
Staff asked Laidlaw Transit, Inc., the largest contract provider of educational busing service in
North America, to provide a bus transportation proposal for the tri-school area. In order for the
program to have a reasonable chance of success, the parameters that staff set were based on the
type of school bus service that the District had provided prior to scaling back, and the
experienced input of Laidlaw.
A goal of carrying 20% of the Lincoln and Kennedy students and 10% of the Monta Vista High
School students, about 660 of the three-school population of 4,550 students was set. To run
morning and afternoon school day commute bus service would take 10 to 13 62-passenger
buses, and would have an annual cost of between $780,000 and $1,100,000. The carrier would
want a minimum 3-year contract.
Although staff does not yet have a detailed route proposal~ Laidlaw indicated that the routes
would be tailored in a fashion similar to what the District provided prior to the scaling back of its
busing program and would be a student only service.
De Anza to Foothill McClellan Road Shuttle Proposal- Pilot Program
Staff requested proposals from several bus transportation companies on providing a public bus
shuttle operation that would offer weekday service to stops along McClellan Road between
Foothill and De Anza boulevards. The service would operate two18-22 passenger buses running
continuous weekday loops along this route between the hours of 7:00 to 9:00 am and 2:00 to
4:00 pm.
Initially, this service would be offered during the month of November 2007. The proposals
submitted indicated that such a service would have an average monthly cost of $10,000. If
Council decided to take this option, a traffic consultant would be needed to measure the relative
success of the program in achieving the program goals, i.e. congestion relief along with other
expenses.
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The estimated costs for operation of a pilot shuttle program in November 2007 would be:
. Operation rental of 2 shuttle buses
. Route Planning
. Traffic and congestion studies
· Advertising and miscellaneous start-up costs
$ 10,000
2,000
7,000
5.000
Total Pilot Project Cost Estimate
$ 24,000
FUNDING AND FISCAL POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
Fiscal Impact
Implementation of the McClellan Shuttle Pilot program for one month is estimated to cost
$24,000 and funding is available in the Traffic Safety Project Account in the adopted 2007-2008
Operating Budget, Account # 110-8603-7014.
However, this program in any form could have a significant long term fiscal impact. If the De
Anza to Foothill McClellan Road Shuttle Proposal is adopted, the annual cost to the City General
Fund is estimated to be approximately $130,000.
If a program such as that designed by Laidlaw and similar to what the Cupertino Union School
District provided before the scaling back of its program proves necessary to achieve measurable
reduction in traffic congestion, the annual cost to the City General Fund is estimated to be
between $780,000 and $1,100,000.
If the shuttle program achieves a measurable, or at least observable, reduction in traffic
congestion during the school commute so that it becomes desirable to continue the program,
sources of long term funding would need to be identified, This is especially important if the
conclusion is that an acceptable reduction of traffic congestion can only be achieved with a
program similar to that formerly run by the District and recommended by Laidlaw. Based on the
survey results from CSUD, it appears that such a conclusion is very likely.
Fiscal Policy Considerations
During discussion of this issue, Council had mentioned methods of ongoing funding of the
program, such as a parcel tax. Although the Palo Alto Unified School District apparently
contributes an unspecified amount to help operate Palo Alto's shuttle, the Cupertino Union
School District has indicated that it is not in a position to fund a busing program beyond what it
already provides with its scaled back program.
Finally, it should be noted that the City contributes nearly $700,000 annually in school playfield
maintenance to the CUSD in exchange for use of the fields for intramural sports. It should be
further noted that the City contributes over $100,000 annually for crossing guards at CUSD
schools, which the City is under no obligation or mandate to provide.
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As a policy matter, staff believes that it would not be a good precedent to further extend the
City's general fund support for activities and services which should be provided by the school
district. The main contributing causes to the traffic issues in the tri-school area are the location of
the schools themselves, the lack of school district funding, and the driving behavior of the
parents dropping the children at school, and the City has no control over any of these causal
factors.
STAFFRECO~NDATION
For several reasons noted throughout this report, Staff does not recommend that the Council
proceed with any kind of a busing or shuttle program at City expense to serve the tri-school area,
Should the Council wish to proceed with a transportation system option for the tri-school area,
staffwould suggest implementing the De Anza-Foothill McClellan Road shuttle service for a one
month period during the month of November, 2007 with an estimated cost of $24,000.
Submitted by:
Approved for submission:
Ralph A, Qualls, Jr.
Director of Public Works
David W. Knapp
City Manager
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ATTACHMENT A
TRI-SCHOOL TRAFFIC SAFETY ACTIVITIES
1. The Monta Vista High School, Kennedy Middle School, and Lincoln Elementary School
Safe Routes to School (SR2S) project that
· Designed and constructed a drop-off area in the high school's parking area
adjacent to McClellan Road and a special accessible sidewalk ramp along the
westerly commute to the tri-schools destination
· Established a school safety zone along the McClellan Road frontage of Mont a
Vista High School and Lincoln Elementary School that included a warning
beacon to the west and enhanced crosswalks with pedestrian-activated in-
pavement lights
. Installed other access improvements;
2. Preferential parking zones and the student parking program in the adjacent Monta Vista
neighborhood, and provision of seasonal parking privileges for Monta Vista High School
students at Blackberry Farm near the high school;
3. Installation of road bumps along Byrne Avenue to help calm the traffic along the street,
much of which is generated by' the tri-school commutes;
4. In concert with the school administration, adjustment of the Lincoln Elementary School
drop-off area and connecting McClellan crosswalk, and provision of a crossing guard;
5. Periodic upgrading of signing and striping in the McClellan Road and Hyannisport,
Presidio, and Ft. Baker Drives school areas;
6. Periodic deployment of the radar wagon;
7, Traffic enforcement around the schools, including speed, traffic controlled intersection,
lane, and crosswalk encroachment violations;
8. Safe Moves Comprehensive Traffic Safety Program;
9. Altrans program to explore commute alternatives;
10. Sheriff's deputy traffic instruction in the schools;
11. Hyannisport, Presidio, and Ft. Baker Drives parking restrictions;
12. Sheriff's Office Kennedy traffic circulation plan;
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ATTACHMENT B
CITY OF PALO ALTO I CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT BUSING
Cupertino Union School District School Busing Experience
Approximately 13 years ago, the Cupertino Union School District eliminated its school busing
program, except for that mandated by law for special needs students and that provided for
occasional field trips. The busing program was eliminated because of its cost impact on the
District's general fund, and the fiscal needs of other school programs that the District considered
of higher priority. According to District officials, there was no general hue and cry raised by the
parents of the District's students over the scaling back of the busing program. Had there been,
they say, they would have had to consider responding to the budgetary necessities ina different
way,
Currently, the District buses approximately 500 students daily for fee based busing, English
Language Development (ELD) programs and overflow students, and another 350 students daily
who are in special education programs. The fee based busing is fully or partially subsidized
busing for students of DeVargas, Eisenhower, Montclair, and Stevens Creek elementary schools
who would otherwise have to walk over one mile and cross an expressway to get to school.
Most of the busing that the District continues to provide is mandated by law, and it is worthy of
note that the District currently spends around $1 Million annually from its general fund on this
busing alone,
Officials of the Cupertino Union School District informed the City that in the District's
experience, parents of students are not willing to pay the cost of busing directly. Neither would
the District be in a position to contribute to the funding of a busing program. In addition, the
District would not support a busing program for its students that would be run as anything other
than a strictly school bus operation.
A public bus shuttle program such as that run by the City of Palo Alto in cooperation with
Caltrain would not be acceptable to the District. This echoes the results of the survey: the
parents are overwhelmingly opposed to a shuttle being available for general public use. A
school bus is required to operate in specific ways, with driver, equipment, and other
certifications and specifications set by state law that do not apply to other forms of public bus
transportation
Palo Alto Experience with Public Shuttlebuses
The City of Palo Alto operates two free shuttles that are open to the public, but which serve the
objective of transporting students to and from school. A consultant was hired by Palo Alto
during the development stage to assist City staff in the significant decision-making, since staff
does not have expertise in transit or school bus planning. Because the shuttles are open to the
public, the requirements of operating a school bus are avoided, Palo Alto contracts the shuttle
service through Caltrain, whose downtown station stop is served by the shuttles, and who
contracts with Parking Company of America to operate the program.
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The crosstown shuttle runs along and around Middlefield Road between Arastradero Road and
University Avenue from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. It has stops at Gunn High School, Terman and
JLS Middle Schools in the morning and afternoon and at Jordan Middle School throughout the
day. The Embarcadero shuttle runs along Embarcadero Road and serves Palo Alto High School
and Jordan Middle School.
Palo Alto's experiences with the shuttles include:
. The shuttle drivers aren't used to dealing with school children
. Middle school children tend to be destructive to the shuttles
. High school ridership is generally limited to freshmen and sophomores
'. Staff resource time approaches 8 hours per week
. The shuttle buses are often very crowded at commute times, and students frequently have
difficulty getting aboard.
According to Palo Alto City staff, the annual cost of running the Palo Alto shuttle system is
$370,000. This does not take into account City resources and staff used. The shuttles carry
approximately 60 of the 1680 students at Gunn High School. The effect of the shuttle on. traffic
congestion appears to be minimal, since as of last year, traffic on Arastradero between E1
Camino Real and Gunn High School continues to experience stop-and-go traffic for a IS-minute
period prior to the beginning of the school day. According to Palo Alto's website, shuttle service
is made possible in part by contributions from the Palo Alto Unified School District, and the City
of Palo Alto invites corporate sponsorships to help support and expand the Palo Alto Shuttle.
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