METROLift, CAF cars, and FLEX, oh my! METRO Board Meeting 18 Dec 2014

METRO this past 18 December held its regular monthly Board meeting.  Thanks to a lengthy presentation on METROLift as well as an Executive Session lasting over an hour, the whole of this meeting was almost four hours.  Video, agenda, and minutes of same can be found as-always at http://www.ridemetro.org/AboutUs/BoardVideoStreaming.aspx

0:41 Chairman Gilbert Garcia does not yet have a quorum.
1:15 The Chairman gets his quorum.

Public Speakers

1:52 Mark Hogue is the first speaker of the day.  Predictably, he talks about the Westheimer corridor current routes, continuing to lament the seeming-demise of his much-ridden-by-him 53 Briar Forest Ltd.

3:23 Member Christof Spieler to Mark: "I realize 'not to you', but we're not going to plan the system around you, specifically."

Our Mark Hogue rides the 53 to literally everywhere he goes: groceries, church (Lakewood), METRO, and everywhere else.  Specifically, he is lamenting the demise of the direct connection from Westheimer to Richmond and Greenway Plaza, avoiding the Richmond Strip entirely and the denizens who populate that area of town and give it its colorful reputation.

With System Reimagining, this direct connection is gone.  Mark is not happy.

3:43 Gilbert diplomatically tries to get Mark to leave the podium, but Mr. Hogue is not yet budging.  He wants his Briar Forest Ltd. kept the way it is.

Mark is not going to get his way on this, and he has been told in so many words he is not going to get his way.  As Jarrett Walker has put it, with processes like what we are going through, there are winners and there are losers.  With the legions of winners all along the Westheimer corridor, there will be a number of people along the Briar Forest-Westheimer-Richmond-Greenway Plaza-Downtown current routing who will lose their direct no-need-to-ride-more-than-one-bus service.

5:13 Marisol Rodriguez with AARP in Houston has brought her boss, Tina Tran, and thanks METRO for its recent work with Sheltering Arms.

7:55 Benjamin Broadway is not happy with the proposed METROLift fare increase.  1991 was the last time METROLift's fare was changed in any way.  He also has questions regarding what recourse customers have for when METROLift is not on-time.

14:19 Noe Ramirez comes representing the Living Hope Wheelchair Association which helps those lower-income individuals with spinal cord injuries get medical supplies.  He thanks METROLift for its work and the taxpayers who let it go ahead.

Mr. Ramirez requests more bi-lingual staffers (English-Español, specifically).

The Board asks questions of METRO staffers of the extent of our bilingual competence.

30:11 Otis Robinson on Reimagining's FLEX zones and how they will not work in Houston.  He and his friends have also done their own routes and schedules, and he gives his findings to the Board.

There is discussion here on System Reimagining, which tells me there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes.  It will be very interesting to see what what I know will be a future revised map will look like.

FLEX...is still in flux!

"Fix what needs to be fixed.  Don't try to do it all.", says Otis.

40:00 Dominic Mazoch celebrates the Northline Red Line extension's 1st birthday (21 December).

Mr. Mazoch agrees with the idea for the Reimagining, but wonders if what we need to do crunch numbers and get second or third opinions on what a Reimagined system would look like.

He then goes on to talk about marketing System Reimagining in that most people don't know our bus system exists.

44:00 Mr. Mazoch wonders if it might be good for the 2016-20?? Board to finish up System Reimagining.  Board Member Dwight Jefferson nixes that idea citing the need to have the courage to make necessary changes.

21:29 Mark Smith is always a poet.  And he waxes against System Reimagining, citing certain instances in which the Reimagining seems to not work.  He will be getting a car.

CEO's Report

53:15 METRO's CEO and President, Thomas 'Tom' Lambert gives the public the first peep from all-things-System Reimagining since September.

55:45 Well, well...  Looks like we are going to have a final map to be considered by the Board at this month's meeting and not in May as I had feared.  Very good news, indeed!!

I sure hope Board Member Jim Robinson is having a look-see ere this 'consideration' comes to pass!  We don't need him hemming and hawing at the last.

There has been an enormous amount of work behind-the-scenes, says Board Member Christof Spieler, in getting detailed schedules made and field-testing the new routes, turning them from just lines on a map to living, breathing things.

57:30 CEO Lambert recognizes a number of METRO employees for community service: METRO's Blue Santa program, Operator Patricia Moon who has supported for many years a Sock Drive, METRO's garage superintendents who work with schools to identify families and children who are in need.

1:02:00 METRO General Counsel and Assistant Board Secretary Alva Treviño is congratulated on her receiving the Magna Stella Award from the General Counsel Forum.

Tom Lambert will be performance-reviewed next meeting.

Working Commitee Reports

Nothing much out of the ordinary from Customer Service and Finance/Audit save that Houston's economy continues to be strong.  Nothing big from Strategic Planning save System Reimagining, which we'll see plenty of next month.

1:08:00 Public Safety: METRO's new police chief, Vera Bumpers, is doing very well and being proactive as to gauging how the public sees METRO's Police Department.  Board Member Dianne Lewter says it's been a very safe year on METRO buses and trains.

1:09:45 CAF Update: All is on-schedule.  As of this writing, at least one CAF rail car has been put into revenue service.

1:14:50 Mark Smith tries to chime in, but Gilbert diplomatically cuts him off.

METROLift

1:16:10 Linda Charrington from TTI and Andy Skabowski discuss METROLift at length, answering questions posed by the Board at earlier meetings.

This presentation is far too long, detailed, and complex to discuss here.  I strongly encourage you to look up the video of this meeting and watching it for yourself.

Items for Separate Consideration

2:22:00 Julie Fernandez gives a short presentation on METRO's proposed pilot program for Bus Operators to distribute Q-Cards on buses.  METRO staff also wants to make a rail ticket a valid fare item for transfers onto buses.

After that was Executive Session which when it occurs gives us who attend said METRO Board meeting a chance to visit with the many METRO staffers who usually attend these things.  I met at this meeting Chief Bumpers and the Director of METROLift, a very nice man who has worked for METRO for twenty-five years.

The January METRO Board Meeting stands to be very interesting.  Perhaps we will get that long-awaited real vote to approve System Reimagining in more than just 'in-principle'?

Happy new year, everyone!!