Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
JANUARY 17, 2019
Subject
SUBJECT: MOTION 21.1 CLEANLINESS RESPONSE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the motion response regarding Metro system cleanliness activities, including Metro’s right-of-way and adjacent property, with full consideration to the customer experience.
Issue
ISSUE
During the October 2018 regular board meeting, Motion 21.1 was brought forward by Board Directors Garcia, Hahn, Ridley-Thomas and Bonin requesting an update on Metro cleanliness efforts regarding Metro vehicles, stations and rights-of-way, along with any opportunities for program improvement and internal/external coordination in support of enhancing the customer experience.
Background
BACKGROUND
With the rail system undergoing significant expansion and investments, and considering renewed interest in safety, cleanliness and homeless issues affecting Metro services, it is important that Metro stations, bus terminals, buses and trains, and rights-of-way present a clean and inviting environment to attract and retain our customers. The Motion directed the CEO return to the Board in January 2019 with the following information:
A. A review of current cleanliness measures and recommendations for possible improvements, with any associated costs if applicable, with full considerations of customer expectations;
B. Proposed coordinative efforts to help address cleanliness on-non-Metro property, along Metro-owned rights of way and adjacent to Metro bus rapid transit and rail stations, including graffiti abatement and trash pick-up;
C. Recommendations for improved coordination among Metro departments that are responsible for components of the customer experience at Metro bus rapid transit and rail stations, including cleanliness; and,
D. Recommendations for improved coordination with other public agencies with oversight over non-Metro property along Metro owned rights of way and adjacent to Metro bus rapid transit and rail stations.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
In October 2018, Metro reviewed and provided an update on existing cleanliness program activities. That update resulted in the following findings:
• Regular cleanliness activities exist (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) on vehicles, along the mainline, at divisions, and along shared areas where Metro operates service.
• Opportunity to strengthen station, terminal and vehicle evaluation tools and quality assurance programs
• Opportunity to collaborate with external and partner agencies in support of a better customer experience in terms of cleanliness throughout Los Angeles County
Cleanliness Program Scope
Metro’s cleanliness program includes maintenance activities handled on a continuous basis by several departments in support of a safe revenue operation that is clean and reliable. Responsible departments are involved in this effort, but are not limited to: Rail Fleet Services, Bus Fleet Services, Stops and Zones, Facilities Maintenance/Property Maintenance (including Wayside Systems, Custodial Services, and Contract Administration) and Regional Service Councils (RSC). Security and Law Enforcement provide security support to Metro personnel who perform specific cleanliness and maintenance activities throughout our system. Additional details regarding the responsibilities of departments who play critical roles in Metro’s overall cleanliness program at Metro are provided in Attachment B.
Cleanliness Evaluation Program/Quality Assurance
Metro monitors cleanliness activities performed on vehicles, at facilities, stations, terminals, stops, active rights-of-way, and at various park and ride lots through robust Quality Assurance programs and station evaluation programs. These evaluation programs have set criteria and requirements they inspect for and produce reports on so Metro is aware of overall system cleanliness performance and implement changes to cleanliness and maintenance activities accordingly. Bus and rail cleanliness program performance scores for the period of October 2017 through October 2018 can be found in Attachment C.
Cleanliness Enhancement Efforts
Rail Fleet Services Cleanliness Enhancements
In addition to the routine daily cleaning of the rail vehicles prior to revenue service, Rail Fleet Services allocates staff at strategic locations throughout the rail system to ensure that cleanliness activities are also performed efficiently, with the least passenger disturbance, during peak revenue service hours, when the highest amount of customers are riding our system. Staff is currently placed at the following locations: Union Station (Red and Purple Lines), 7th/Metro and Long Beach Transit Mall (Blue Line), Redondo Beach Station (Green Line) and Downtown Santa Monica (Expo). At this time, additional staff is not placed along the Gold Line mainline as Metro Quality Assurance staff continues to monitor cleanliness activities and scores. This is based on weekly Cleanliness Reports performed by Metro Quality Assurance Department on all lines. Gold Line staff is deployed to perform additional clean-up activities on an as-needed basis.
The Rail fleet Services team is completing A650 Option Vehicles (74) interior overhaul work which includes: replacing all fabric seat inserts with vinyl seat inserts, adding new flooring with ADA and illuminant stripping, refurbishing of interior ceiling, wall and hatch panels, rhino hardening of all seat frames, adding strap hangers and refurbishing of the cab area. To date, Rail fleet Services team has completed six vehicle married pairs and is targeting to complete one married pair every two months. The light rail vehicle fleet, with the exception of the new P3010 vehicles, is also undergoing interior and exterior renovation work. Exterior painting on the P2020 fleet (15 cars) and P2000 fleet (52 cars) has been completed, which includes all 23 Blue Line cars. In addition, Green Line vehicle exterior painting has commenced with 7 out of 29 cars completed to date. The P2550 fleet will be starting interior overhaul similar to the A650 fleet. Staff is finalizing the scope of work to include vinyl seat inserts for all light rail vehicles.
Rail Fleet Services is also piloting a new disinfecting product, Monofoil, on the Red/Purple and Blue Lines. This deodorizer and disinfectant is already being used on a variety of Metro fixed assets and staff is now utilizing it on rail vehicles in an effort to enhance deep cleaning activities and improve the overall customer experience. Staff will monitor customer and employee feedback and test the efficacy of the product via the pilot program.
Station Cleanliness Program Coordination
As of October 2018, RSC staff has been directed to coordinate the overall cleanliness program, provide appropriate reports, creating greater accountability in ensuring that reported issues are addressed by the proper departments. RSC will pursue a contractor to perform station inspections at all bus and rail terminals, and work with Facilities Maintenance staff and ITS to automate the reporting process and facilitate the tracking of incident reports to their completion. It is anticipated that the surveillance bench will be presented to the Board for adoption in the spring of 2019, allowing Metro to engage firms that can field survey teams to perform customer surveys as well as these inspections. In the meantime, the current snapshot inspections covering 36 stations will continue.
Automation of the Inspection Process
Currently, tablet-based computer programs are being field tested to record, and report information collected from these inspections. Metro is working to extend the utility of the program to directly report a summary of the scores of each station as well as a summary of those elements of the inspections needing the greatest amount of work. Further, staff is pursuing the capability of direct creation of incident reports in the current Facilities Maintenance tracking program (M-3) so that progress towards completion of identified issues can be easily tracked and reported.
Partnering with Cities, the County, and Other Entities
Metro staff uses existing avenues and leverages relationships with partner agencies to report and resolve issues that are the responsibility of other external entities. While Metro will ensure that its facilities are maintained in a clean and acceptable condition, maintenance required by other entities will continue to be performed through Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) that apportion responsibilities and costs. One MOU exists between the City of Los Angeles and Metro for the Chatsworth Station. In that case, both the City and Metro are partial owners of the site. An MOU exists between Metro and Metrolink for maintenance activities performed along the shared right-of-way throughout LA County.
Challenges
Metro recognizes that some issues lie outside of Metro control; specifically, some trash removal activities are performed by other non-Metro entities. For example, the current terminal at the South Bay Galleria (Mall) bus terminal is maintained by Mall staff. RSC staff contact Mall management whenever issues arise that need repair or extra maintenance. Similarly, at the Green Line Long Beach Boulevard Station, Caltrans, Metro, and the City of Lynwood each have different responsibilities that contribute to station’s maintenance.
Cleanliness along the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) right of way adjacent to the Metro Blue Line must be well-coordinated and continuous to ensure a positive customer experience for customers. Because the UPRR retains its own security to ensure that rights-of-way are clear in support of train movements, Metro and UPRR must maintain constant communication so that any issues can be addressed in a timely and collaborative manner.
In specific cases, Metro must work with private property owners of non-Metro property where Metro facilities are adjacent to in order to address cleanliness issues in a timely manner. Metro maintains relationships with various Cities and entities to ensure that a collaborative approach to cleanliness is being followed, however a formal agreement for continuous support from the various stakeholders and agencies, outlining specific roles, responsibilities, costs, and overall expectations must be considered in order to require governmental entities to maintain their properties according to the same standards.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Approval of this item will have a positive impact on the safety of our customers and employees.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
All costs relative to ongoing maintenance activities, an enhanced cleanliness evaluation program, and any necessary additional MOUs will be approved during the regular budget process. The Department project managers will be responsible for budgeting projects and programs relative to cleanliness activities, contracts and necessary agreements with external agencies.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Recommendation supports the following Metro Strategic Plan Goals: 2) to deliver outstanding trip experiences for all users of the transportation system and 4) Transform Los Angeles County through regional collaboration and national leadership. The evaluation and reporting on the cleanliness and functionality of our stations and terminals is significant in promoting and maintaining customer use of the network.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to review and improve current cleanliness program activities, measures and evaluation activities to ensure that all customers are experiencing quality transit service that is safe, reliable and clean. Also, Metro will continue to improve coordination efforts with partner agencies to help address cleanliness on-non-Metro property, along Metro-owned rights of way and adjacent to Metro bus rapid transit and rail stations, including graffiti abatement and trash pick-up. This includes, but is not limited to engaging for direction of appropriate City and County departments to work with Metro to maintain the public’s investment in public transit, and to establish maintenance schedules for non-Metro owned public properties that are adjacent or are directly related to Metro facilities.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 21.1 Cleanliness
Attachment B - Cleanliness Program Overview
Attachment C - Bus and Rail Cleanliness Program Scores (Oct 2017 - Oct 2018)
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Nancy Saravia, Sr. Manager, Transportation Planning (213) 922-1217
Gary S. Spivack, Deputy Executive Officer, Regional Service Councils, (213) 418-3234
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: James T. Gallagher, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3108
