Regional Transit System Advisory Board

City of Gainesville Regional Transit System Advisory Board Meeting MINUTES July 23, 2025, 5:30 p.m. Regional Transit System, Administration Building 34 SE 13th Road, Gainesville, FL Members Present: Sarah Erekson, Logan Ladnyk, Michael Lim, Oscar Santiago Perez, Dennis Underwood Members Absent: Adriel Genao, Christy Haven, Harrison Scoville, Casey Werner _____________________________________________________________________ A. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:43 pm. B. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA Moved by Sarah Erekson Seconded by Dennis Underwood Motion: The Regional Transit System Advisory Board adopt the agenda. Approved C. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Moved by Sarah Erekson Seconded by Michael Lim Recommendation: The Regional Transit System Advisory Board approve the minutes from the March 26, 2025 meeting. Approved D. BUSINESS DISCUSSION ITEMS Millie Crawford, ADA Paratransit Coordinator Paratransit Service: likely bringing door-to-door service for disabled passengers in-house rather than contracting with vendor due to rising costs; MV Transportation is the current contractor.

Charles Moore, Customer Service Supervisor Customer service report reflects usual assortment of complaints; no pattern deduced which might indicate a particular, real problem. Prediction App: text bus stop number to toll-free 1-844-899-1556 and system will return bus number(s) and time(s) it will arrive at the stop; for phones with no internet access, not a smart phone, it’s a text-based option; this prediction information is available on the RTS web site, too; no “short-form code,” a 6 digit number rather than a phone number, because that alone costs about $1,000 per month; RTS Customer Service figured out a way to offer this service for $1,200 per year. Krys Ochia, Transit Planning Manager Fall 2025 Service Change Presentation: changes going before commission August 7; the members discussed proposed changes and the effect it would have on the community. RTS Staff described at length all the variables that were evaluated to determine the best service that could be provided with the funds available, realizing that the “usual” service was not an option anymore. Moved by Dennis Underwood Seconded by Michael Lim Motion to accept the service changes with the condition that if there are increases to the budget we consider reverting to the original routes. Approved Moved by Sarah Erekson Seconded by Dennis Underwood Motion and strongly recommend that UF Campus Connectors be available to all potential route users regardless of UF affiliation. Approved Title VI Equity Analysis: going before commission August 7; will be part of the Title VI 2025-2028 Program Plan update; when a transit agency has 50+ fixed routes and makes a “major service change,” which is defined as => 5% at RTS, an analysis is required by the Federal Transit Administration to show how the agency will mitigate any adverse and disproportionate effects to disparate groups in the community. Summary of Mitigating Impact: 1) Routes aren’t disappearing entirely; UF is taking over routes on campus; 2) parts of eliminated or rearranged routes are covered by other, overlapping routes Title VI 2025-2028 Program Plan Presentation: going before commission August 21; the last plan update was performed in 2022. Every three years, recipients of public transportation funding from FTA and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) are required to develop policies, programs, and practices that ensure federal transit dollars are used in a manner that is nondiscriminatory, as required under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Moved by Sarah Erekson Seconded by Michael Lim The board endorses Title VI Analysis and Program Plan Update as presented today. Approved Tom Idoyaga, Transit Marketing & Communications Specialist  Job Fare August 6: continuing to recruit for new drivers  Bus Schedules for Santa Fe College and University of Florida: working on hard-copy book containing useful information on service, including schedule, to familiarize students with the bus system benefits  New web site will be completely ADA-compliant ahead of schedule: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has established deadlines for digital accessibility, requiring public entities to ensure their web content and mobile apps are accessible to people with disabilities. For entities serving 50,000 or more people, such as Gainesville/RTS, the deadline is April 24, 2026. Roy Darnold, Operations Manager  New kiosk installed at Santa Fe College  New validators on buses: part of negotiation with UF to add this equipment onboard buses Jesus Gomez, Transportation Director  East Side Transfer Station: project continuing; next step is to hire construction management firm; bid closing, getting ready to sign contract E. PUBLIC COMMENT None F. MEMBER COMMENT None G. NEXT MEETING DATE – Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 5:45 pm H. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:19pm.