AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY AND SANTA CLARA COUNTY FOR THE TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) This Agreement, dated August 13 th, 2013, is entered into by and between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the County of Santa Clara (County). RECITALS 1. In response to requests from advocates and representatives of the low-income community, and with the support of several VTA Directors and County Supervisors, VTA in 2012 considered several options for providing a discounted fare to low-income residents of Santa Clara County. 2. In support of the initiative referenced above, VTA applied for and was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to promote transit ridership by providing free or low-cost transit passes to low-income persons not currently receiving other forms of transportation assistance. NOW THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows: 1. Program Title: The program will be known as TAP (Transit Assistance Program). 2. Scope and Approach: VTA monthly transit passes will be provided using Clipper electronic fare cards. VTA will provide a total of 24,000 monthly passes over a period of 24 months, for an average of 1,000 passes per month. Passes will be provided to the Santa Clara County Social Services Department (Department) and, through the Department, to member agencies of the Emergency Assistance Network (EAN) for distribution to eligible clients. 3. Administration of the TAP Program: a. County will administer the TAP program, including coordination with the EAN members, and disbursement of administrative funding to member agencies. b. VTA will coordinate with MTC for administration of program funding and with Cubic, the contractor for the Clipper regional fare card system, for configuration of the program in the Clipper back end system, for supply of Clipper cards, and for reporting. VTA will also develop and maintain a web site (the Intake Tool) for EAN agencies to use for client intake, program administration, and reporting. TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) Page 1 of 6
4. Payment: c. VTA will provide funds to County over the duration of the program to be disbursed equally between the EAN agencies for administration or staff support of the program. At the end of each calendar quarter, the County shall invoice VTA $50,000 per quarter for program administration up to a maximum of $400,000 over the duration of this contract. VTA shall pay no later than 30 days after receipt of invoice. County shall distribute these funds between the EAN agencies. Funds for program administration shall be prorated for any quarter which includes fewer than three months. Also at the end of each quarter, VTA will invoice the EAN agencies $25.00 for each monthly pass distributed during the quarter. EAN agencies will remit payment to VTA within 30 days of receipt of invoice. Full payment of $25.00 per pass will be due to VTA regardless of the amounts actually collected from clients by the agencies. Term of the Agreement: This agreement is effective as of the date it is fully executed by the parties until August 31, 2015, with an option to extend the program 6 months to February 29, 2016, if the 24,000 passes have not been provided by August 31, 2015, unless earlier terminated as provided in Section 12. 5. Allocation of Monthly Passes: a. County has determined the initial allocation or availability of discounted monthly passes to each of the EAN agencies, considering the target of distributing 1,000 passes per month. b. Initial allocation of passes shall be as follows: The Salvation Army, a California corporation 200 Sacred Heart Community Service 200 Innvision Shelter Network 200 Sunnyvale Community Services 175 Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, 75 and Los Altos Hills West Valley Community Services 75 St. Joseph s Family Center 75 Total 1,000 TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) Page 2 of 6
c. County may change the allocation of passes by providing notice to VTA of the revised allocation no later than 60 days prior to the start of the pass month for which the revised allocation is to be effective. 6. Intake Tool: a. VTA will provide and maintain a SharePoint collaboration site (the Intake Tool) to enable each EAN agency to assign, track and cancel clients use of TAP passes. VTA and the County will have universal access to information from all EAN agencies for oversight purposes. b. VTA will provide training in use of the Intake Tool to member agency users. 7. Acceptance of TAP Passes: Passes shall be valid for full fare on all VTA Community, Local and Limited Stop bus services, and on Light Rail. They shall be valid for local fare credit on VTA Express bus services. Passes shall not be valid on Highway 17 Express, Caltrain, ACE, Monterey- Salinas Transit or paratransit. 8. Passenger Conduct: VTA will supply, and the County through EAN member agencies will distribute, a copy of VTA s Traveling Tips brochure as well as a TAP program brochure to each individual at the time the individual is initially qualified for TAP. VTA may deny service to any individual who does not abide by VTA regulations and guidelines as detailed in the Traveling Tips. The County will develop a process with the EAN member agencies to intercede with individuals that repeatedly violate VTA s rules and regulations. In case of serious or repeated violations of regulations, VTA may request the County to deny further issuance of passes to non-compliant individuals. The County shall establish a procedure to implement any such requests by VTA. 9. Non-discrimination: In administering the TAP program, the County shall not discriminate or permit discrimination against any person or group of persons on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, medical condition, mental or physical disability or veteran s status, or in any manner prohibited by federal, state or local laws. TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) Page 3 of 6
10. Program Representative: To manage the relationship between VTA and the County, each party shall designate one individual as primary program representative. Initial program representatives shall be as follows, and any changes shall be made in writing: For VTA: Jim Lawson Executive Policy Advisor Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority For County: Denise Boland Director, Department of Employment and Benefit Services County of Santa Clara (408) 321-5516 (408) 755-7735 Jim.Lawson@vta.org Denise.Boland@ssa.sccgov.org 11. Indemnification: The County agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless VTA, its directors, officers, employees and volunteers from any and all liability or damages arising from distribution by the County and EAN agencies of VTA monthly transit passes and Clipper electronic fare cards under this Agreement. This indemnification survives termination of this Agreement. 12. Dispute Resolution and Termination: a. The parties agree to meet promptly as needed to address any issues arising in connection with the TAP Program. In the event the parties cannot satisfactorily resolve issues, either party may terminate this Agreement upon sixty (60) days written notice to the other party. b. Either party may terminate this Agreement, for convenience, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the other party. TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP) Page 4 of 6