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File Number: 17-648 <br />Francisco, Oakland, San Jose), as part of its review of the annual report. <br />On November 13, 2017, the Advisory Board met to complete the annual review of the LINKS <br />Shuttle. The FY 2017-18 Annual Report is attached to the Resolution. <br />Analysis <br />The Annual Report includes a review of the LINKS shuttle’s performance, planned operations, <br />budget, and a recommendation for the 2018 BID assessment. Following is a summary of the <br />Annual Report. <br />Current Operations <br />The free LINKS shuttle operates Monday - Friday during peak commute hours (5:45 - 9:45 am <br />and 3:00 - 7:00 pm). LINKS provides critical “first and last mile” connection between BART and <br />employers in West San Leandro, serving major employers including Coca Cola Bottling <br />Company, Federal Express, Walmart, and Costco, as well as small employers. There are over <br />600 employers and almost 17,000 employees in the LINKS service area, which is defined as the <br />area within a quarter mile of the shuttle route. LINKS also provides transportation to retail centers <br />and the Davis Street Family Resource Center, which services 10,000 low-income people each <br />year. <br />Participation in the BID helps businesses comply with the Bay Area Air Quality Management <br />District (BAAQMD) Commuter Benefits program. In 2014, the BAAQMD implemented the <br />Commuter Benefits Program that requires all employers with 50 or more full-time employees to <br />provide commuter benefits to their employees. To comply with the Program, employers must <br />select one (or more) of four commuter benefit options and register with BAAQMD. Participation <br />in the LINKS BID satisfies Option 3 (“Employer Provided Transit”) under the requirements, <br />allowing businesses to save time and money when compared to creating their own in-house <br />program. <br />A new rider survey was conducted in 2016. The survey showed significant improvement in rider <br />satisfaction, which is most likely due to the expanded service. Overall satisfaction with the <br />service increased with 90% of riders rating the service good to excellent. Schedule satisfaction <br />improved significantly moving from a 64% good to excellent rating to 81%. If LINKS were not <br />available, 23% of the LINKS riders surveyed indicated that they would drive alone demonstrating <br />that LINKS significantly reduces single occupancy vehicle trips. Rider comments included “Great <br />Service, “Drivers are always so kind” and “Thank you!” <br />LINKS Shuttle Ridership <br />The expanded LINKS service started in March 2015. The updated north and south loops provide <br />more frequent service with shorter wait times, shorter round-trip rides and connections to <br />businesses that previously could not access LINKS. Ridership for the “old” LINKS service <br />averaged 165,000 rides per year with an average of 674 rides per day. In 2016-17 LINKS <br />provided 205,000 rides and averaged 800 rides per day. Staff and the SLTMO anticipate that <br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 11/28/2017 <br />195