RECEIVE update on the SURF! busway project along the Monterey Branch Line.

Lisa Rheinheimer, Assistant General Manager, Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), will present an update on the the SURF! busway project along the Monterey Branch Line.

Preliminary engineering and environmental document phase of work of the busway project will be paid for with Measure X funding and MST's share of SB 1 gas tax funding under the Local Partnership Program for FY 2018/19. Funding for all phases of the project is identified in TAMC’s Measure X sales tax ($15 million) and as a part of the Highway 1-Del Monte-Fremont-Monterey Branch Line Project identified in the Fort Ord Reuse Authority’s Capital Improvement Program ($14.56 million). This project is also eligible for SB 1 gas tax funding through multiple grant programs.

TAMC purchased the Monterey Branch Line in 2003 to preserve the right-of-way for future transit needs.

In 2009, the TAMC Board adopted light rail as the preferred use for the Branch Line. As of 2011, the cost of Phase 1 (light rail service with 15 min headways between Monterey and Marina) was estimated to cost $165 million. Phase 2 (extended light rail service with 15 minute headways from Marina to Castroville) was estimated to cost an additional $40-50 million. The project was put on hold due to federal and local funding constraints.

Per TAMC Board action, light rail remains the long-term plan for the use of the Monterey Branch Line. Bus rapid transit was identified in TAMC's service alternatives analysis as another viable alternative use for the Branch Line in the near term, as it would improve regional transit service along the Monterey Peninsula and provide ridership data along the corridor that can help make the case for future light rail service. Attached is a short summary of the key TAMC milestones over the past several years that have led to the Board position in support of both a short-term busway and a long-term plan for light rail along the Monterey Branch Line. 

In 2018, MST completed the Monterey Bay Area Feasibility Study of Bus Operations on State Route 1 Shoulders and the Monterey Branch Line (web attachment). The study analyzed seven alternatives and concluded that implementing a one-way bus rapid transit corridor on a segment of the Monterey Branch Line was the best option due to a cost-benefit assessment. It estimated the cost of implementing this service at $33.4 million. At the August 6, 2018 RPC meeting, MST staff presented an overview of the feasibility study, including next steps.

Currently, MST is initiating the environmental review and preliminary design phase of work. Attached is a memo from Ms. Rheinheimer, who will attend the meeting to present an update.

• Monterey Bay Area Feasibility Study of Bus Operations on State Route 1 Shoulders and the Monterey Branch Line