Monday, September 30, 2019 at 3:14:58 PM Pacific Daylight Time Subject: Date: From: To: RE: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er Friday, February 22, 2019 at 3:32:49 PM Pacific Standard Time Cummins, Kenneth Avila-Mooney, Carrie, Carter, Rhonda, Tucker, Stephen, McNeil, Ann Snell, Arnold, Russell, MarNnez-Vasquez, Jackie CC: Todd, Bonnie, Khouri, Claire AHachments: image001.png, image002.png, image003.png, image004.png My recommendaNon is that we do not consider the use of Sound Transit transit faciliNes and vehicles for warming shelters. We have a long standing pracNce of using the Great Hall in Union StaNon for a warming shelter with a procedure around the Great Halls use as a warming shelter; I recommend that be our sole contribuNon to the regional effort. I have looked on the HUB and SharePoint for the procedures but I cannot locate the most updated procedure. I will take the lead on updaNng and publishing the Great Hall procedure for warming shelter. I likewise recommend that we conNnue to enforce fare during periods of inclement weather and not allow passenger to ride without appropriate fare. Last week, I opined on the “why” we conNnue our enforcement of fare during inclement weather: The scenario of a homeless individual riding the system in the middle of a winter storm system to get to shelter does not match reality. The locaNons of shelters, warming centers and hot food is wellknown to our housing challenged communiNes in the area. At the beginning of cold weather, those individuals who want the help go there for the help. The issue with shelters is they have rules – no alcohol, no drugs, and no convicted sex offenders. There is a percentage of this community that does not want to follow those rules and elect not to go to shelters or warming centers. These are the individuals, that in the middle of cold weather, seek warmth were they can find it. While it may sound humane to allow an individual to ride the system conNnuously as a warm place to stay; in reality it is quite the opposite. Many of these individuals have substanNal medical and mental health issues along with substance addicNons. We, Sound Transit, do not have the resource or experience necessary to provide the necessary care to folks. It is be;er that we deny them a warm place to stay and provide a ride to the nearest shelter or center that have the necessary resources to get these individuals the help that they need. People do not change unNl the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of changing. Perhaps the winter storms would be the Npping point for those who would normally not seek the shelters because of the rules to go and make the necessary change and get the help they need. My assessment remains the same. This is the reality of the situaNon that we face with the current homeless crisis and inclement weather exasperates the crisis. The use of Union StaNon sNll presents Sound Transit with the risk of having medical and mental health issues occurring along with the opportunity for substance abuse to occur; but within the confines of the Great Hall there is a be;er opportunity to monitor and quickly respond to a medical or mental health crisis by noNfying the appropriate aid. The Great Hall also isolates this acNvity away from our 68K daily light rail customers who are expecNng/demanding a safe, secure and comfortable ride. In our 2018 Sound Waves Personal Safety Survey 93% of our customers felt reasonably or somewhat safe at Sound Transit faciliNes or onboard our services. Yet 36% of those same respondents reported that they had at least 1 instance in the past 12 months where they felt concern for their safety. 52% of those instances were onboard vehicles and 32% were at a staNon or stop. AcNons and Behaviors of other passengers accounted for Page 1 of 12 61% ofthose total instances and the most frequent word score was "homeless" and "mental health". Sound Transit continuously posts annual ridership growth admit a national decreasing ridership trend. our public sarety practices, to include heavily on our fare enforcement, directly and greatly impact this growth. Our system is perceived safe and we should strive to continue reinforcing that perception and not encourage activities that detract from the public's perception or safety. There is increased cost to allowmg this activity to occur at transit facilities and particularly onboard transit vehicles. Our bus and light rail services are near or at capacity we do not have the equipment to have vehicle either out of service ortaken out of service due to hygiene issues without a direct impact to our operations. Chicago Transit Authority provided just 5 buses and rail cars as warming locations during the last polar vortex. This is out or CTAs lleet or 1,879 buses and 1,190 rail cars. Sound Transit has 333 buses, 119 ofthose in King County and 51 Light Rail Cars. A5 tar as additional rare enrorcement occurring during the last period ofsevere weather -- we are getting the actual data together; but scheduiecwise there was the same level of rare enforcement as any given Friday through Tuesday. Lighter than usual train ridership may have caused the appearance of additional enforcement. These are my recommendations on the approach we should maintain. Regards Ken From: AvilacMaonev, Carrie Sent: Friday, February 12, 2019 1:32 PM To: Carter, Rhonda Tucker, Stephen Cummins, Kenneth McNeil, Ann Snell Arnold, Russell MartinepVasquez, Jackie Subject: RE: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twitter i wanted to follow up on this email from last week CM Mosquada's office has reached out with an email and phone call to see if there have been intemal ST conversations about her recommendations/questions below and added a request to see if ST personnel could help people by giving information on shelter resources (during upcoming inclement weather instead of fare enforcement or maybe even in general (on the information piece>> i told them i would inquire about this They said that CM Mosqueda may be interested in writing a letter to request these things more formally, but would Wit to see ifthay received a response from us by next week Please advise on next steps Carrie Avila-Mooney Government 8t Community Relations Manager Centrai Corridor Sound Transit Page 2 of 12 From: vilarMaonev, Carrie Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 3:59 PM To: Rogoff, Peter Carter, Rhonda CC: chahim, Leda ; navison, Craig Patrick, Geoff rg); Tucker, Stephen Cummins, Kenneth ; Gray, aruce (bruteggyfisoundtranslt rg>; Reason, Kimberly ; Arnold, Subject: RE: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement Via Twitter Greetings, I was able to connect with City council member Mosqueda this afternoon. First of all, she apologized for starting this conversanon via twitter. it was not her intent. She was told by KCM that they were not enforcing fares and she didn't realize that this would not apply to link. I shared with her that we instruct fare enforcement teams to use reasonable judgement during times like these and we never issue anything more than a warning for a first offense. She had a few responses to this: 1. She thinks that it would be best ifthere was "harmony" between KCM and ST procedures during extreme weather events and that we should consider aligning responses going forward. She was curious how the decision was made to continue enforcement was made within 51, while KCM made a different decision. Was there an opportunity to harmonize that was missed? 2. She was concerned that asking rare enforcement officers to use "reasonable judgement" puts them in a weird position to use some sort of discretion during this time. She thought it could lead to inconsistencies and that a more direct procedure would be betterfor enforcers. 3. She wanted ST to look at how Chicago's crA designated 5 buses as overnight warming centers during the iatest arctic blast. 4. Someone on twitter said that there was more enforcement that usual during this time. Can you supply me with some numbers on enforcement during this timeframe (Fridaeruesday). Let me know ifyou have any questions. Canie Avila-Mooney Government 8r Community Relations Manager Central Corridor Sound Transit Office: 206.903.7223 Mohiie-- From: Cummins, Kenneth Sen Wednesday, February 13, 2019 5:15 AM To: Gray, Bruce Reason, Kimberly AvilarMoaney, Carrie Page 3 of 12 Cc: Chahim, Leda ; Davison, Craig ; Patrick, Geoff ; Tucker, Stephen Subject: RE: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er There needs to be a discussion on why we conNnue to enforce fare on our system during inclement weather – I sent a response about our pracNces last week from media inquiries regarding the “what” we do. I did not state the “why” we do it. The scenario of a homeless individual riding the system in the middle of a winter storm system to get to shelter does not match reality. The locaNons of shelters, warming centers and hot food is well-known to our housing challenged communiNes in the area. At the beginning of cold weather, those individuals who want the help go there for the help. The issue with shelters is they have rules – no alcohol, no drugs, and no convicted sex offenders. There is a percentage of this community that does not want to follow those rules and elect not to go to shelters or warming centers. These are the individuals, that in the middle of cold weather, seek warmth were they can find it. While it may sound humane to allow an individual to ride the system conNnuously as a warm place to stay; in reality it is quite the opposite. Many of these individuals have substanNal medical and mental health issues along with substance addicNons. We, Sound Transit, do not have the resource or experience necessary to provide the necessary care to folks. It is be;er that we deny them a warm place to stay and provide a ride to the nearest shelter or center that have the necessary resources to get these individuals the help that they need. People do not change unNl the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of changing. Perhaps the winter storms would be the Npping point for those who would normally not seek the shelters because of the rules to go and make the necessary change and get the help they need. Ken From: Gray, Bruce Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:56 AM To: Reason, Kimberly ; Avila-Mooney, Carrie Cc: Chahim, Leda ; Davison, Craig ; Patrick, Geoff ; Cummins, Kenneth ; Tucker, Stephen Subject: Re: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er Great. I've replied on Twitter that someone would be in touch today. Get Outlook for Android From: Avila-Mooney, Carrie Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:47:50 AM To: Reason, Kimberly Cc: Chahim, Leda; Gray, Bruce; Davison, Craig; Patrick, Geoff; Cummins, Kenneth; Tucker, Stephen Subject: Re: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er I am happy to facilitate a call with her once I hear about our procedures during this time. I can text her that we will be in touch Page 4 of 12 Carrie Sent from my iPhone On Feb 13, 2019, at 7:37 AM, Reason, Kimberly wrote: Adding Ken and Steve. Kimberly M. Reason Senior Public Information Officer Sound Transit (206) 689-3343 From: Chahim, Leda Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:18 AM To: Gray, Bruce; Davison, Craig; Patrick, Geoff; Reason, Kimberly; Avila-Mooney, Carrie Subject: Re: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er Adding Carrie. Thanks Bruce. Carrie, any concerns? Get Outlook for iOS From: Gray, Bruce Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2019 7:15 AM To: Davison, Craig; Patrick, Geoff; Reason, Kimberly; Chahim, Leda Subject: Councilmember asking about ST Fare Enforcement via Twi;er There have been some ongoing questions about Fare Enforcement on Link during the recent weather. We have not engaged on the issue via Twitter. Last night Councilmember Mosqueda entered the conversation. She initially asked KCM to connect with her, and has now asked ST about aligning our Fare Enforcement protocol with KCMs during winter weather. Below are her Tweets and a separate tweet about fare enforcement for some context. I think I should respond to the Councilmember saying someone will be in touch with her office this morning. Please confirm. Page 5 of 12 0 Gordon Just got fare enforced 4? 1:10 .8 0 Teresa Mosqueda @GordonWerner Hey office was told that then to be enforcement of th storm. Can you follow policy is? Thank you. .36 4? 136 King County Metro_ @TeresaCMosqueda @kcmetrobus @Gordon @kcmetrobus 2 10 7:02 Page 7 12 I bl @GordonWerner Hey of?ce was told that then to be enforcement of th? storm. Can you follow policy is? Thank you. .36 4? 136 Teresa Mosqueda @GordonWerner @kcm< inquired about busses @SoundTransit would Ic harmonizing the policies such storms. 4" 1:12 .19 2.329 SKCHomelessCo @HomelessZHoused @TeresaCMosqueda @Gor @kcmetrobus @SoundTrar w/ great interest, esp. wan' @SoundTransit reply. We'v? should be able to take tran weather shelters even w/o @SoundTransitCEO @Tran @SeattIeTRU @PugetSoun @weareoneamerica Page 9 of 12 Leah Naccarato @naccalah q. Hey @SoundTransit why ar enforcement during a wint? greenarchist @greenarchist This is cruel @SoundTransit far collared two obviously homeles want to show their IDs. Saying 1 police. Page 10 of 12 Page 11 of 12 Get Outlook for Android Page 12 of 12