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File Number: 15-642 <br />Ridership for the new service (April - June 2015) averaged 16,329 rides per month and 742 <br />rides per day. It is anticipated that LINKS will eventually serve 1,000 riders per day. <br />Over the last year, LINKS experienced ongoing impacts related to prolonged and extensive <br />construction along the LINKS route. Construction impacts combined with the new service <br />changes impacted on-time performance throughout the year. LINKS riders have persevered <br />through the new service hiccups and construction delays. <br />Budget <br />Funding for LINKS comes from the BID, grants, the City of San Leandro, partnerships and <br />advertising. The BID funds approximately one-half of the LINKS service. Over 30% of the <br />budget is funded by grants. In 2015, the SLTMO was awarded a two-year Lifeline Cycle 3 <br />grant totaling $370,000. Two major grant applications are pending, including a two-year <br />Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant totaling $74,000 and an Alameda County <br />Transportation Commission Measure BB application that could provide up to one million <br />dollars ($1,000,000) over the next five (5) years. The City of San Leandro contributed <br />$75,000 in FY 2014-15 to the operation of LINKS. <br />An agreement with Kaiser Permanente to run the Kaiser Shuttle and Transit Demand <br />Management (TDM) program for the new Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Medical Center <br />continues to provide additional funding to the SLTMO. In an effort to further diversify funding, <br />in early 2015 the SLTMO entered into an agreement with Marina Square to advertise on the <br />LINKS buses. <br />The SLTMO continues to pursue a variety of grant funding. However, grant funding is <br />unpredictable. For example, the current Lifeline Cycle 3 grant will expire in two years. LINKS <br />is not eligible to apply for Cycle 4 funds because the funding priority has been diverted to <br />large fixed route providers. In addition, grant reimbursements can only be drawn as a <br />percentage of the total expense for the reporting period. The reimbursement process creates <br />a cash flow problem making it necessary to have a strong reserve balance at all times. <br />BID Recommendation <br />Proactive measures taken to generate new revenue and secure grants have helped to <br />stabilize funding for LINKS. The cash flow gap resulting from the grant reimbursement <br />process will continue to pose a challenge for LINKS. In order to ensure that funding for <br />LINKS stays current with operating costs, it is recommended that the BID rate be adjusted by <br />the Consumer Price Index. <br />Per the approved Ordinance, the BID may be increased annually by the Consumer Price <br />Index, San Francisco - San Jose - Oakland, All Urban Consumers. The annual change in CPI <br />from October 2014 to October 2015 is 2.6 percent. This results in the BID per <br />owner/employee rate increasing from $21.00 to $21.55. Businesses with three (3) or fewer <br />owner/employees, landlords, and non-profits will continue to be exempt from the BID <br />assessment. <br />After reviewing the Annual Report, the BID Advisory Board made the following <br />recommendations: <br />Page 3 City of San Leandro Printed on 12/15/2015