ANNUALREPORT

2018

From OurLeadership

Dear Community Members, We are pleased to provide the 2018 Annual Report for SouthWest Transit. This report provides a brief overview of some of the important accomplishments from the past year, outlines the strong financial condition that has allowed the organization to provide both stable and quality services, and provides a glimpse as to where the organization is headed in the future. None of this would happen without a strong, dedicated and committed staff. We are blessed as an agency to have such a quality team working together to fulfill our mission, uphold our values and meet the goals that allow us to better serve our communities. As we look to the future, the word that comes to mind is change. No change will be bigger than the construction of the Southwest LRT line in Eden Prairie. While our administrative office and passenger waiting station will be relocating, the same great transit service we offer will continue to operate from the site (SouthWest Station). Other changes for 2019 include working with new people at all levels of the agency, including elected officials at the federal, state and local level, and in the makeup of our Southwest Transit Board. While saddened to see many of our partners move on, there are new opportunities and ideas waiting around the corner. We not only look forward to seeing what the future brings, but helping to shape the transportation landscape in the communities we serve.

Len SimichChief Executive Officer

Brad AhoChairman of the Commission

“ PROVIDING THE HIGHEST-QUALITY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS – AND ALWAYS WILL BE – AT THE CORE OF WHAT MAKES SWT WHAT IT IS TODAY AND INTHE FUTURE.

”

Who We Are: Expect the Best For decades, SouthWest Transit’s credo has been “Expect the Best.” This is not simply a catch phrase, but truly the ethos by which every professional working for SWT operates under. We dismiss the notion that public transit can’t be a first-class experience for its riders. On the contrary, proving that it’s possible to provide riders with the highest-quality service imaginable is what drives every aspect of what SouthWest Transit does every day. There are three words that encapsulate the SWT brand: Quality. Professional. Innovative. In order to live up to these words, we operate under the following core values: Commitment to Excellence: From drivers, to buses, to mechanics, to facilities, to management, every aspect of SWT is operated under the basic philosophy of providing reliable, safe, comfortable and customer-friendly transit service that increases customer confidence, while providing a positive customer experience. Some notable examples include operating some of the region’s highest-amenity, most comfortable and safest buses, while also providing the highest-quality facilities to our riders. Commitment to Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship:Every day, SWT staff looks for ways to strengthen the organization by advancing technology that improves performance, productivity and adds value to the overall customer experience. Examples include free Wi-Fi in all our stations and buses, a nationally recognized first-of-its-kind micro-transit service (SW Prime), and developing some of the finest Transit Oriented Developments in the region (SouthWest Station and SouthWest Village). Commitment to – and from – Our Employees: In order to provide the highest-quality service imaginable, every employee at SWT needs to feel empowered to do their part in making sure we are living up to our credo – Expect the Best. This means providing employees with the necessary training, equipment and skills to ensure our employees feel supported by the organization and, in turn, the employee will do their part in ensuring SWT’s customers truly can Expect the Best. Commitment to Financial Strength and Independence: Being a public agency, it is imperative that SWT secures and effectively manages its funding in a responsible fashion that ensures the agency’s long-term viability, while also providing the highest-quality services possible. This is achieved through tremendous financial discipline and innovation that starts with the SWT Commission, and is executed by the agency’s CEO and management staff. Commitment to Leadership: Ultimately, SWT cannot live up to its credo or maintain its brand without having leadership that creates a culture that inspires staff to achieve success. This starts with the SWT Commission establishing a mission, vision and core values that allow staff to operate and execute the services SWT riders have come to know and appreciate. From the top down, providing the highest-quality customer experience is, and always will be, at the core of what makes SWT what it is today and what it will continue to be in the future.

2018CommissionMembersBrad AhoEden Prairie – Chair

Denny LaufenburgerChanhassenSecretary/Treasurer

Jerry McDonaldChanhassen

Ron CaseEden Prairie

Jody Collis KingCommissioner At Large

Bob RoepkeChaska

Mark WindschitlChaska

DirectorsLen SimichChief Executive Officer

Dave JacobsonChief Operating Officer

2018 MajorEvent Highlights Minnesota State Fair

• New ridership record with 104,378 total riders served (4.6% increase).

• Highest single-day ridership ever on the second Saturday, transporting over 14,462 customers.

• Highest opening-day ridership, which was also our highest non-weekend ridership day,

transporting over 9,700 customers.

• Completely filled the Wooddale Church lot on four separate days (the first Thursday, Wednesday,

second Thursday and second Friday).

• Revenue increased 5.4% over 2016. Revenue generated per passenger: $6.22.

• Moved more people through our gate at the State Fair compared to any of the other non-free gates.

• Over 500 people purchased their tickets on our new mobile app (which only went live a couple of days before the Fair started).

• Had a total of 90,071 views on the SW Snapchat Filter, which was something new for us this year

Super Bowl Weekend ServiceSaturday was by far the busiest day, where 2,074 rides were provided. The plan was to operate 30-minute headways. The second trip on Saturday morning should have been a clue and required, as many others required double headers (two buses) due to large loads. This crush of people caused several operational plans to kick in, including the CEO and the COO marshalling Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis due to the chaos. Marquette Avenue and due to snow, cars, charter buses, Ubers and Lyfts, Ford sleigh ride, rickshaws, army, police and people, was not operated in the typical way as one would imagine. It took First Transit a while to understand and react to the busloads that were occurring. The original plan called for seven buses. At the end of the night, the service was using the original seven, plus an additional 11 buses, for a total of 18 buses in operation including the SWT Facility Manager, IT manager, First Transit management and Prime drivers coming off Saturday Prime shifts. Sunday’s service was different when two pre-game runs at 1 p.m. and again at 2 p.m. happened. The bus’s destination was Gateway. Return buses left when filled, but no later than one hour after the game. Sunday’s service provided 206 rides. Carver County Transportation SummitThe Carver County Transportation Summit, sponsored by SWT, took place on Friday, February 16. The event was emceed by Chair Rohe and presentations were provided by Carver County; the cities of Chanhassen and Chaska; the 212 Corridor Coalition/Transportation Alliance; the Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce; SWLRT Project Office; SouthWest Transit; and Representative’s Joe Hoppe and Jim Nash. Over 50 individuals attended the summit. Concert Service This year, we sought to provide service to large concerts throughout the year. Between May and October, we took just under 2,000 passengers to seven different concerts in the Minneapolis area, including performances by Kenny Chesney, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Journey.

SouthWest TransitBuilds Strong Relationshipsin the Community

SouthWest Transit works hard to maintain a strong and active presence in the communities we serve, and has developed positive relationships with both the cities and various agencies within. Transit Assistance Program (TAP) – SouthWest Transit participates in the TAP program, which is designed to help make public transit more affordable for low-income residents. This program offers low-income residents access to $1 fares for a full year. In addition to SouthWest Transit express buses, SW Prime also participates in this program. SWT has collected over $75,000 worth of toys over the past three years for the Toys for Tots organization. SouthWest Transit, in partnership with the Chaska Police Department, provides information, special events and special transportation services to the Chaska senior community. In 2018, SWT partnered with several organizations in the southwest suburbs, including the SouthWest Chamber of Commerce and the City of Chaska, to gather nearly 800 pounds of food donations for the local community.

The Technology Department at SWT saw a very busy year with the addition of new systems. Customer Service Kiosks have been added to the lobbies at SouthWest Village, East Creek Station and Chanhassen Transit Station. Riders can use these kiosks to navigate the system and speak to a customer service representative. Bus Wi-Fi saw a change after our data usage exceeded affordability. Filters were implemented to reduce excess data usage and provide a stable connection to all riders. Also new this year was the addition of our Mobile Ticketing Application for iOS and Android. Riders can purchase passes for our special events before boarding the bus, including for the State Fair, and Vikings and Gopher games. Security enhancements were also made to the park-and-ride locations. Surveillance cameras were upgraded for better image quality, and other areas had cameras added to increase coverage. We are looking forward to a busy 2019!

SouthWest TransitRelocates Administrative Office inPreparation for Southwest LRT

With the introduction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project at SouthWest Station, progress continues. The site has been designed as a multi-modal transit hub, supporting both the existing SouthWest Transit bus service and LRT service. To accommodate the LRT platform and the expansion of parking for LRT, SouthWest Transit’s administrative office building needs to be removed from the property, and several other existing functions will be reconstructed to better integrate co-location of SWT bus service and LRT service. As a result of the project, SWT administrative offices will be functionally replaced off-site. Since 2015, SouthWest Transit has worked to form a strong partnership with the Metropolitan Council. At the end of 2018, SouthWest Transit closed on the sale of SouthWest Station after the SWLRT received a letter of No Prejudice from the FTA, giving the project the green light to proceed.

New TechnologyAdditions ImproveRider Experience

SouthWest Transit Debuts New Buseswith Comfort, Technology Upgrades

SouthWest Transit had the good fortune of receiving several new replacement buses this past year. As is usually the case, SWT once again brought in a new vendor, like Motor Coach Industries (MCI) over 15 years ago, for the first time into the region. The first five new coaches came from Prevost. Prevost, like MCI, has the same 57 seats, but comes at a slightly lower price. SWT also received 10 MCI buses. Finally, SWT received two new 16-passenger cut-away style Prime vehicles. All of the new vehicles have innovative-styled seats, 110 and USB outlets for charging technologies and, of course, all buses are accessible, allowing our customers to ride in style.

Successful SW PrimeProgram to Expand WithLaunch of Prime MD

SWT’s pioneering shared-ride micro-transit service,SW Prime, has now been operating for over three years. The service has been highly successful, seeing an over 800 percent increase in ridership since it started operation in 2015. Compared to traditional dial-a-ride services, SW Prime has proven to be the most efficient demand-response service in the Twin Cities region, serving over 400 riders a day while using only one dispatcher/reservationist to manage the entire system.

SouthWest Transit envisions its SW Prime services to greatly expand in the future as the world of new mobility evolves. In 2019, SouthWest Transit will be launching a non-emergency medical trip service, SW Prime MD, using its micro-transit technologies. Future SW Prime plans include service along the I-494 corridor to Mall of America and the airport, as well as increased first mile/last mile services with the coming of SWLRT. Ultimately, the vision for SW Prime micro-transit services is to have a fully autonomous electric fleet, meeting both the first/last mile and local trip needs of our communities.

During 2018, SouthWest staff partnered with the Transit Security Administration (TSA) for several key accomplishments. The RMAST program involves random monthly observations by Transit Security Inspectors at our SW Transit Facilities to spot behaviors and identify risks during peak services. The TSA has also undertaken and completed a formal risk assessment of our Eden Prairie garage facility so we can enhance our risk mitigation efforts on behalf of our customers and staff. In addition to addressing physical infrastructure needs, the TSA and staff partnered in doing a SETA program exercise to monitor pre-trip activity on morning pull out, by randomly placing plain black bags in several buses to see if operators found and reported them properly. Follow up to this program will provide vital training and monitoring to enhance our security efforts, before we even start service. The TSA also is undertaking a major review of the SW Transit Emergency Preparedness Plan, by reviewing all aspects of the plan through a BASE assessment. The program will compare SouthWest with best practices around the nation, and provide us a score and recommendations to make our security posture second-to-none in the nation in training and in preventing and responding to security issues. SW Transit sees this activity as a primary component of our “Expect the Best” promise to our customers and employees. SW Transit updates its emergency plans each year to keep them current and proactive, and based on national best practices as we learn from our great partners in police, fire, emergency medical and national security professionals.

SouthWest Transit Partners withTransportation Security Administration on Infrastructure, Emergency Plans

Ridership

Miles Between Breakdowns2018 average through November Customer Satisfaction Ratingsatisfied or very satisfied On-Time Stats2018 average through November99.7%

99.9% 70,148

128,661Special

102,511Prime

981,675Fixed

40,219Flex

“SOUTHWEST TRANSIT WORKS EVERY DAY TO ENSURE THAT EVERY MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY CAN THRIVE.

”

Friend of SouthWest TransitFormer State Representative Joe Hoppe, Congressman Erik Paulsen and Carver Mayor Mike Webb

Outstanding Political ChampionsState Representative Jenifer Loon and State Senator Steve Cwodzinski

Career/Distinguished ServiceOutgoing SouthWest Transit Commissioners:Jody Collis King, Jay Rohe, Ron Case, Denny Laufenburger, and former CommissionMember/Chair Craig Peterson

Staff Leadership AwardThe Staff Leadership Award is given to the employee(s) whose actions demonstrate leadership, passion and a commitment towards our customers and their fellow staff members. This year, the award was given to the Facility Maintenance Team for their hard work and dedication this past winter season. As snow flew all the way into April, the facility maintenance crew exemplified SouthWest’s Motto “Expect the Best.”

BEST Performance Reward ProgramThe Commission recognizes drivers who have achieved a perfect score on the performance reward program first established in 2002. The BEST program, which stands for Better Employees Succeeding Together, had eight individuals post a perfect score in 2018.

GFOA AwardThe Government Finance Officers Association has once again honored SouthWest Transit with their “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. This is the 12th year in a row SWT has received this honor. A big thanks goes out to all staff, but especially to our finance division (Souriyong Souriya, Gary Groen and Abbi Colby) who do an outstanding job year after year. Human Rights AwardThis year, SouthWest Transit was awarded the Humanitarian Award by the Eden Prairie Human Rights Commission for our Prime service. The following statement was read by a member of the Human Rights Commission prior to presenting the award: “SouthWest Transit upholds the values of the Eden Prairie Manifesto by striving to provide accessible transportation to all of Eden Prairie’s residents. Through the SouthWest Prime program, SouthWest Transit allows residents to maintain their independence and access to our community. The program offers ADA-compliant vehicles, discounted fares for seniors and disabled veterans, and provides customers with various ways of arranging transportations, therefore reducing the barriers that residents face as they navigate through the community. SouthWest Transit works every day to ensure that every member of our community can thrive.”

The BEST program encourages operators to provide top-quality service to our customers. Eligibility requires that the operator:

• Be with us at least one full year

• Have zero chargeable accidents

• Have zero missed routes

• Maintain professional behavior in the workplace by following all policies and procedures

• Maintain on-time performance

• Make all required public announcements

• Have zero at-fault customer complaints

• Maintain perfect attendance and punctuality

2018 SouthWest Transit Leadership AwardsThe SouthWest Transit Commission was pleased to approve the following award recipients:

Description

Inter-GovernmentalPassenger Fares

Other Local RevenuesTotal Revenue

Final Amended Budget

8,834,7373,269,272219,44012,323,449

72%27%2%100%

2018 Revenue

Description

AdministrationOperations

Vehicle MaintenanceFacility Maintenance

Total Revenue

Final Amended Budget

1,437,9006,865,1462,046,9701,239,85511,589,871

12%59%18%11%100%

2018 Operating Budget

General FundSummary of Revenueand Expenditures

swtransit.org | customerservice@swtransit.org13500 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344952-949-2BUS (2287)

The Future of SouthWest Transit1 Looking to the future, SouthWest Transit will continue to provide the high-quality service we are

renowned for, while maintaining our innovate approach to service delivery. In 2019, we will also continue to make “our brand” a top priority throughout the agency. This includes making sure our vehicles and facilities remain in top operating condition and appearance; stressing the importance of system reliability and safety; ensuring a high level of customer service remains at the core of our operations; and providing a first-class riding experience to our customers.

2 494 Corridor – In 2019, SouthWest Transit will continue to develop its plan for providing a new type of transit service along the 494 corridor connecting the SouthWest Transit service area to the major business, medical and entertainment areas between Eden Prairie and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. In doing this, SouthWest has invited other regional transit partners in its quest to provide this new/innovative service approach. SouthWest plans to complete the service plan in 2019, with service starting later in the year or early in 2020.

3 SWLRT – On December 14, 2018, all major agreements related to the SWLRT were finalized between SouthWest Transit and the Metropolitan Council. By year’s end, the administrative staff was moved into temporary offices at both the Eden Prairie garage and SouthWest Village site in Chanhassen. While our Administrative functions have relocated, the same great transit service that we offer operate from the SouthWest Station site will continue long after LRT begins operating in Eden Prairie. In 2019, SouthWest Transit Staff will be pursuing options for permanent office and meeting accommodations. In this pursuit, the agency is evaluating options to expand the current garage facility to house more vehicles and offices; building a multi-use building to not only address its administrative needs, but to generate an additional revenue stream from rental space; and/or purchasing a warehouse/office building in conjunction with other government agencies to fulfill multiple needs in the area.

4 Prime MD – SouthWest Transit planning to expand its SW Prime services mobility needs continue to evolve in its service area. In 2019, SouthWest Transit will be launching a new non-emergency medical trip service – “SW Prime MD.” SouthWest Transit is planning to take a new approach for this initiative by: providing service outside its current service area, allowing pre-booking two weeks in advance of any medical appointments/trip, and utilizing the micro-transit service technology it has perfected to provide an “on-demand” platform for the return trip home. This approach allow SouthWest to get customers to their appointments on time, while having the flexibility on the return trip for the uncertainty that comes with when you will be done with the medical appointment. This service has bene embraced by both the medical and the SouthWest Transit community.

5 Autonomous Vehicles – In 2019; SouthWest Transit will continue to work with the City of Eden Prairie and the State of Minnesota’s Department of Transportation to plan and hopefully demonstrate autonomous vehicle service in our operating area. Two areas in Eden Prairie are being considered for a potential demonstration: SouthWest Station to the Eden Prairie Center area, and the Golden Triangle business area. Both are under consideration given that they have high reverse-commute transit ridership with the need for first/last mile transit service options, and both areas will have future LRT service operating in close proximity. With SouthWest Transit’s experience using and developing micro-transit technology, and given the geographical layout of the demonstration areas and the support of the local jurisdiction controlling the roadway network, we believe SouthWest Transit is well-suited to demonstrate future AV technology.