Staff recommends that the City Council  adopt a resolution to enter into a grant award agreement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) for the microtransit pilot trip reduction program to Central Bay Business District (CBD) and appropriate $817,922 to facilitate the project. The $817,922 project total is comprised of $663,229 from BAAQMD Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant and $154,693 from Union City Transit's Transportation Development Act (TDA) Fund.  The funding will facilitate the acquisition of three (3) vehicles dedicated to the service, acquisition of hardware and software to operate the service, and contractor costs to operate and maintain the vehicles on a reimbursement basis.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District

The BAAQMD is the public agency entrusted with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine (9) counties that surround San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma counties.

The California State Legislature created the BAAQMD in 1955 as the first regional air pollution control agency in the country, recognizing that air pollution transcends political boundaries. The nine (9) counties of the San Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area) form a regional air basin, sharing common geographical features and weather patterns, and therefore similar air pollution burdens, which cannot be addressed by counties acting on their own.

Transportation Fund for Clean Air

Vehicle emissions contribute to unhealthful levels of ozone (summertime "smog") and particulate matter. On-road motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, and buses, constitute the most significant sources of air pollution in the Bay Area. In 1991, the California State Legislature authorized the Air District to impose a four dollar ($4) surcharge on motor vehicles registered within the Bay Area to fund projects that reduce on-road motor vehicle emissions. BAAQMD allocates these funds through its TFCA to eligible projects and programs. The statutory authority and requirements of the TFCA are set forth in California Health and Safety Code Sections 44241 and 44242.

Sixty percent (60%) of TFCA funds are awarded directly by BAAQMD to eligible projects and programs implemented directly by BAAQMD (e.g., Spare the Air) and through the Regional Fund. The remaining forty percent (40%) of TFCA funds are forwarded to the designated congestion management agency within each Bay Area county and distributed through the County Program Manager Fund.

For Fiscal Year 2018-2019 (FY2018-2019), approximately $10 million of the BAAQMD’s TFCA funding is reserved for trip reduction projects, of which up to $7 million is available for a pilot trip reduction grant program targeting microtransit services.

Central Bay Business District Service

Union City Transit has attempted to serve the Central Bay Business District through many different route configurations over the years with little success. The most recent version of fixed-route service, Route 6-Central, between BART and the Central Bay Business District, ceased operation in 2015. Union City Transit and Economic Development staff have been working on a strategy to address serving this vital part of Union City.

City Council Action

On March 26, 2019, City Council approved Resolution No. 5458-19 authorizing the City Manager’s designee to execute a grant funding application in conjunction with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) for a microtransit pilot trip reduction program serving the Central Bay Business District through the Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) regional funding program.

BAAQMD Award

On June 5, 2019, the BAAQMD Board of Directors approved Union City's grant application for the mictrotransit pilot project, Project 19R22 as part of Agenda Item 4 of the Consent Calendar. Union City Transit received the BAAQMD Agreement on September 20, 2019 and now have sixty (60) days to execute it.

Staff is seeking City Council authorization for Union City Transit to enter into an agreement to the BAAQMD in the amount of $663,229 to establish a twenty-two (22) month microtransit pilot program between the Union City BART Intermodal Station and the Central Bay Business District. BAAQMD requires a ten percent (10%) match and three (3) months of operating the service without grant assistance, this results in a total project cost of $817,922. Project costs associated with this project include the acquisition of three (3) vehicles dedicated to the service, acquisition of hardware and software to operate the service, and contractor costs to operate and maintain the vehicles on a reimbursement basis. Union City Transit will charge regular fare categories associated with fixed-route service enabling Clipper Card readers to be installed on the vehicles.

Union City Transit currently does not have a microtransit service outlined in its Short-Range Transit Plan (SRTP). Microtransit can take several forms including the use of subsidized Transportation Network Companies (TNCs; ride-hailing), on-demand agency vehicles that can pick-up or drop-off anywhere at any time, or, as Union City Transit proposed in its application, a fixed-schedule where the vehicle can travel anywhere between two (2) points within fifteen (15) minutes to make its next scheduled departure time. This type of service is expected to be a direct and convenient option for employees from several of the businesses that choose to use public transit instead of drive.

Through Union City Transit’s successful grant award in the full amount of funds requested for the program, it expects to begin service in September 2020; this will allow for the new service type to be included in the upcoming SRTP and for the new service to be bid as part of the upcoming Union City Transit operations and maintenance contract request for proposals (RFP). If the service proves successful for the Central Business District by the end of the pilot period in June 2022, Union City Transit may deploy this type of service to other difficult to serve parts of Union City.

In order to move forward with the grant award, City Council must authorize the City Manager to sign the agreement.

The City has assigned project number 20-25 for this project.

The estimated project costs are $817,922.  The project will be funded through a combination of BAAQMD TFCA Grant in the amount of $663,229 and Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds in the amount of $154,693. Union City Transit currently has sufficient TDA funds for this project and MTC will reimburse the Union City Transit after request for reimbursement through the invoice process. There will be no impact on the General Fund.

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution approving a grant award agreement for $663,229 with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) for the microtransit pilot trip reduction program to Central Bay Business District, authorizing a match of $154,693 from Transportation Development Act (TDA) Fund, and to appropriate funds for a total amount of $817,922.