Support for & Suggested Improvements to the APS Transit Pilot (Arlington Transit APS Student Fareless Initiative)

  November 16, 2021

Good morning, Honorable County Board Members:

I enthusiastically support the Arlington Transit APS Student Fareless Initiative, to be considered under agenda item #34 at tonight’s meeting, however, have some concerns with the administrative details outlined in the Board Report for this item. I urge you to fund it either with authorization that requires improvements - to open up eligibility to all APS students and consider increasing the coverage to include regional bus passes - or with authorization that gives staff the flexibility to address these issues in administration.

Currently, Arlington County supports two transit systems - one for the general public and a separate transit system – school buses – only for APS students. Having a system that would have more APS students using transit to get to school and around the County would be both a more efficient use of the County’s funds and an improvement to the lives of Arlington’s children & families.

I enthusiastically support Arlington allocating part of its American Rescue Plan Act funding to the Arlington Transit APS Student Fareless Initiative. Enabling APS students to use ART buses for free and other transit for reduce fare will have many benefits:

• It will help reduce demand on the school bus system, which has seen difficulty recruiting drivers this year and is running out of space to store buses.

• It will reduce driving to schools, which will make our schools safer for everyone.

• It will teach children an essential life skill - navigating a travel system on their own - which builds confidence and independence.

• It will reduce families’ stress of getting kids around, especially for car-free and car-lite families.

Importantly, this program supports the County’s focus on equity, as providing free transit service addresses a significant cost born by many families in need. This program would do so in a way that avoids shame or stigma.

However, the success of this program will be determined by the details of how it’s administered. Unfortunately, the eligibility criteria outlined in the Board Report are unclear and seem to be needlessly restrictive. We discussed these concerns at the Advisory Committee on Transportation Choices and these concerns are reflected in the feedback provided by the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission.

It seems like the program would be limited to a subset of APS middle school and high school students. I think these limitations are a mistake. After the discussion at ACTC, I conducted an informal survey in Spanish and English, publicized through parent networks, to gage interest in the program. I heard a lot of enthusiasm for APS students on transit, even from families who couldn’t use this pilot program because the current ART bus routes do not serve their needs.

I also heard from a lot of families who would be interested in the program (including some students from private schools). As shown in the following tables, which summarize the survey results, I am confident that:

1. Students at all levels - elementary, middle and high - would use this program.

2. This program would reduce both driving to school and demand on the school bus system.

3. Most students using the program would use transit to get to school, but many would also use transit to get to sports and extracurricular activities, to social activities and, in the case of high school students, to jobs.

Instead of the eligibility criteria outlined in the Board Report, Arlington should allow all APS students to indicate interest in this program during a reasonable sign-up period. If there is more demand than supply in this initial sign up, then Arlington could give preference to high school and middle school students. Arlington should specifically work with the school counselors and other APS staff to ensure that students in need are signed up in the initial period (I heard from a number of APS staff who are aware of APS students who currently use transit to get to school, paying the fare out of pocket). 

This structure would have a number of benefits:

• Lower administrative costs, which is particularly important, because APS and county transportation staffs are already stretched so thin;

• Clearer and easier to understand; 

• Lower barriers to entry, which should make the application more equitable; and

• Likely to INCREASE farebox revenue, by expanding the benefit to younger children, because those children will be accompanied by adults paying full fare.

Also, I understand that the current plan for the program is to add $2 per school day to the iRide card of enrolled students. Students could then use those funds to entirely cover the cost of two ART bus rides per day, or to subsidize other transit expenses, like MetroBus or MetroRail rides. Interestingly, a regional bus pass costs $12 per week, which is not much more than what this program would add to students’ cards.

Arlington should consider adjusting the program to add $12 per week of school to iRide cards, which would allow students to either cover more trips or to purchase a bus pass, allowing them access to free bus rides throughout the DMV. As shown below, I estimate adjusting the program to cover a bus pass for every week school is in session would decrease the percentage of eligible students between 2-4% (depending on the school year and the eligibility criteria). This seems reasonable for a more beneficial program. Alternatively, I estimate that serving the same number of students with bus passes would cost an additional $144,604 for FY 2022 and an additional $263,400 for FY 2023.

 

If the program remains $2 per school day, I estimate that a student purchasing weekly bus passes would pay a total of about $65 out of pocket for the rest of this school year and $110 over next school year. Arlington should consider finding a way to provide that extra money for the students who need it.

Again, I enthusiastically support this program. I urge you to fund it with authorization that either requires these improvements to the program, or with authorization that gives staff the flexibility to address these issues in administration.

Thank you for your time and your service.

Gillian Burgess