2. 2007 TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN

PLAN DES SERVICES DE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN 2007

Committee Recommendation

That Council receive this report for information and consideration as part of the 2007 Draft Operating Budget.

Recommandation comité

Que le Conseil prenne connaissance du présent rapport à titre d’information et à être pris en considération dans le cadre du budget préliminaire de fonctionnement.

for the information of council

The Committee, at its special meeting held on 31 January 2007, approved the following direction to staff:

That Staff be requested to prepare a budget option that would increase bus fares by an inflationary increase of 2% as of July 1, 2007.

POUR LA GOUVERNE DU CONSEIL

Le Comité, à sa réunion extraordinaire du 31 janvier 2007, a approuvé la directive suivante :

Que l’on demande au personnel de préparer une option budgétaire reflétant une augmentation des tarifs d’autobus de 2 % à compter du 1er juillet 2007 pour tenir compte de l’inflation.

DOCUMENTATION

1. Deputy City Manager, Planning, Transit and the Environment report dated
23 January 2007 (ACS2007-PTE-TRA-0002).

2. Extract of Draft Minutes, 31 January 2007

Report to/Rapport au:

Transit Committee/Comité des transports

and Council/et au Conseil

23 January 2007/le 23 janvier 2007

Submitted by/Soumis par: Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe

Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme, Transport en commun et Environnement

Contact/Personne-ressource: H. Gault, Acting Director/Directrice par intérim,

Transit Services/Service du transport en commun

842-3636 ext. 2271, helen.gault@ottawa.ca

City-wide

Ref N°: ACS2007-PTE-TRA-0002

SUBJECT:	2007 TRANSIT SERVICE PLAN

OBJET :	PLAN DES SERVICES DE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN 2007

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That Transit Committee and Council receive this report for information and consideration as part of the 2007 Draft Operating Budget.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité du transport en commun et le Conseil prennent connaissance du présent rapport à titre d’information et à être pris en considération dans le cadre du budget préliminaire de fonctionnement.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Assumptions and Analysis

This report provides an overview of the 2007 Transit Service Plan as background for the 2007 budget consultation and deliberation process.

In 2006, system-wide ridership increased by 2.6 percent to an all-time high of 91.8 million customer-trips.

The 2007 Transit Service Plan is built on achieving a further three percent ridership increase, improving transit modal splits, while eliminating service that does not meet minimum financial standards as approved by Council. The report details the resources required to provide regular transit service in 2007 and also presents a projection of transit fleet requirements for the years 2007 to 2011.

The report also discusses fare increases for implementation in July 2007.

In addition, the report covers service for people with disabilities and discusses an increase in Para Transpo service and the implementation of a taxi voucher program for Para Transpo registrants. The continuation of the Community Pass program is discussed in a separate report.

Financial Implications

The total cost in 2007 for the growth, strategic network improvements and performance reductions as discussed in the report would be $3.5 million.

The cost of 26 articulated buses for delivery in 2008 would be $20 million.

Additional revenue from a 7.5 percent fare increase on July 1, 2007 would be $3.6 million. Additional fare increases in line with Council policy will net additional revenue and are being analyzed for presentation during budget deliberations.

Adding 10,000 trips to Para Transpo service would cost $250,000 in 2007. Implementing a taxi voucher program in July 2007 would cost $170,000 in 2007.

Public Consultation / Input

The Accessibility Advisory Committee and Seniors Advisory Committee discussed a proposed increase in Para Transpo service and the taxi voucher pilot program at their meeting of January 17, 2007. They support the increase in Para Transpo service and are also supportive of the taxi voucher program as long as the program does not necessitate a reduction of the Para Transpo budget.

A draft 2007 Transit Service Plan was presented to the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee on January 18, 2007. They support all elements of the plan with the exception of the proposed 7.5% increase in fares. They strongly opposed the recommendation and passed a motion that annual fare increases should not exceed the annual increase in the cost of living (CPI).

The normal Transplan consultation process would be followed for the route changes that form part of the 2007 Transit Service plan.

RÉSUMÉ

Hypothèses et analyse :

Le présent rapport donne un aperçu du plan des services de transport en commun pour 2007, dans le contexte du processus de consultation et de délibérations budgétaires pour 2007.

En 2006, la fréquentation du réseau a augmenté de 2,6 %, pour atteindre un sommet historique de 91,8 millions de passages.

Le Plan des services de transport en commun pour 2007 vise à faire augmenter encore de 3 % la clientèle et à améliorer le fractionnement du transport, tout en éliminant les services qui ne répondent pas aux normes financières minimales approuvées par le Conseil. Le rapport précise les ressources nécessaires aux services ordinaires de transport en commun pour 2007, en plus de présenter une projection des besoins du parc de véhicules de transport en commun pour les années 2007 à 2011.

Le rapport traite également la recommandation d’augmenter les tarifs à partir de juillet 2007.

En outre, le présent rapport couvre les services offerts aux personnes handicapées et aborde la question d’une augmentation du service Para Transpo et de la mise en place d’un programme de bons rabais de taxi pour les personnes inscrites à Para Transpo. La poursuite du programme de laissez-passer communautaire fait l’objet d’une recommandation dans un rapport séparé.

Répercussions financières :

En 2007, le coût total pour la croissance, les améliorations stratégiques du réseau et les réductions de rendement traitées dans le rapport s’élève à 3,5 millions de dollars.

L’achat de 26 autobus articulés qui seront livrés en 2008 représente 20 millions de dollars.

Les revenus supplémentaires provenant d’une augmentation de 7,5 % du tarif au 1^er juillet 2007 seraient de 3,6 millions de dollars. Des augmentations de tarifs supplémentaires conformes à la politique du Conseil généreront de nouvelles recettes. Elles font l’objet d’analyses qui seront présentées au cours des délibérations sur le budget.

À ces données s’ajoutent les 10 000 déplacements du service Para Transpo qui représentent un coût de 250 000 $ en 2007 et la mise en place d’un programme de bons rabais de taxi en juillet 2007 qui s’élèvera à 170 000 $ pour l’année.

Consultation publique / commentaires :

Au cours de leur réunion du 17 janvier 2007, les membres du Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité et du Comité consultatif sur les personnes âgées ont discuté d’une augmentation proposée des services Para Transpo et du programme pilote de bons rabais de taxi. Les membres des deux comités appuient l’augmentation des services Para Transpo et le programme de bons rabais de taxi tant et aussi longtemps que ce dernier ne nécessite pas une diminution du budget du service Para Transpo.

Une ébauche du plan des services de transport en commun de 2007 a été présentée au Comité consultatif sur les piétons et le transport en commun lors d’une réunion qui a eu lieu le 18 janvier 2007. Les membres du Comité appuient tous les éléments du plan à l’exception de l’augmentation proposée des tarifs de 7,5 %. Ils s’opposent fortement à la recommandation et ont même adopté une motion voulant que l’augmentation annuelle des tarifs n’excède pas l’augmentation annuelle du coût de la vie (IPC).

Le processus normal de consultation Transplan sera suivi en ce qui concerne les changements d’itinéraires qui font partie du plan des services de transport en commun pour 2007.

BACKGROUND

At its meeting of November 9, 2005, Council approved a transit network plan that would support the implementation of the North-South Light Rail Transit (LRT) and which would reduce the numbers of buses on Albert and Slater Streets.

Until Council’s decision not to proceed with the LRT project in December 2006, Transit Services staff had focussed service planning efforts on the smooth implementation of this plan and the mitigation of expected short-term impacts of the LRT construction (i.e. the closure of the O-Train in May 2007, and the removal of as many bus trips as possible from Albert and Slater Streets while the relocation of utilities and construction of LRT tracks was carried out).

Since Council’s decision not to proceed with the LRT project, staff have carried out an intensive review of service and have developed a new plan consistent with the Official Plan goal of a three percent ridership increase, improving modal splits, while maintaining existing service standards. The plan is described in this report and its implications for the 2007 operating budget are outlined.

In addition, the Transit Fleet Acquisition Strategy, approved by Council in August 2006, has been reviewed to enable the 2007 order for buses for delivery in 2008 to be confirmed, and amendments to that plan are recommended.

In June 2005, Council directed that transit fares be increased above the level of inflation to move the revenue:cost ratio to 55 percent. The first of these fare increases of 7.5 percent was brought forward from July 1, 2006 to December 1, 2005 by a Council decision in September 2005. There were no fare increases in 2006 but a 7.5 percent fare increase is included in the 2007 draft budget. This report provides detailed information on the proposed fare increase by fare type.

In May 2006, Council directed staff to report on the possibility of implementing a taxi voucher program and report back in the last quarter of 2006. A proposal for a taxi voucher pilot project is included in this report.

In August 2006, Council directed staff to develop a plan to improve Para Transpo services and to bring forward the budget implications to the 2007 budget process. The items from that plan that have implications for the budget are included in this report. A detailed report on Para Transpo service improvements will be brought forward to Committee in March.

DISCUSSION

2007 Service Plan

The plan that has been developed provides for:

· Growth, both on existing routes which are expected to be overcrowded and to provide new service into developing areas;

· Strategic network improvements to provide better service;

· Continued O-Train operation; and

· Services with unacceptable financial performance, according to the standards Council has adopted, will be removed.

The impact on operating costs for 2007 for these changes are summarized below.

	Buses	Hours	Cost in 2007
Growth	39	33,966	$3,090,000
Strategic Network Improvements	12	13,400	$785,000
Poor Performance	-2	-4,600	$-361,000
Total	49	42,766	$3,514,000

Increases for Growth

The continuing growth of the City affects the transit system in three ways:

· growth of the urban part of the city into new areas, which requires extensions of transit routes;

· growth of ridership on the current route network, which requires more trips to address crowding and to ensure that travellers are not left behind; and

· growth of traffic congestion on busy streets, which slows the operation of some bus routes and which thus requires more buses to provide the same level of service.

These three categories of growth are discussed in greater detail below.

Major route extensions into new and growing areas will be required this year in parts of Kanata and Barrhaven. In Kanata West, the developer of a new residential area has agreed to participate in the funding of a new limited-service bus route connecting the area with Terry Fox Station. This service will begin in April and will be increased in September and in future years. As the population grows and the normal City standards for the introduction of new service are met, the developer’s funding will be phased-out. In Barrhaven, modifications are expected to be required to bus routes to serve new areas west of Cedarview and southwest of Woodroffe and Strandherd. Staff will prepare proposals for service changes in these areas and will carry them through the normal Transplan consultation process, aiming for introduction of the changes in September. The additional ridership is expected to require increased service levels on the express routes that would serve the new areas. Other continuing new residential development in Barrhaven and Orléans is expected to be accommodated with only minor changes to the current route network.

Ridership on the current route network continues to grow very rapidly. In 2006, system-wide ridership increased by 2.6 percent to an all-time high of 91.8 million customer-trips. Staff expect that ridership will continue to grow in 2007 by approximately three percent. But this ridership growth will not be consistent across the whole network. Some routes have higher rates of growth because they serve areas of rapid residential development, employment increases, or traffic congestion. Document 1 lists the routes on which service increases are planned for 2007, based on current ridership data and expected rates of growth. Transitway routes 94, 95, 96, and 97 will all require service increases, as will direct-to-downtown routes from Orléans, Beacon Hill, Britannia, central Nepean, Kanata, Bells Corners, and Barrhaven, main line routes from Elmvale and Alta Vista, employment routes to Kanata North, and rural express routes from Cumberland and Goulbourn. These service increases would also accommodate the increasing use of park and ride lots, particularly at Terry Fox, Fallowfield, Strandherd, and Trim.

Additional operating resources – buses and hours of service – are required each year to compensate for slower transit operation on the road network. Increased use of the road network by motorists results from city-wide growth, and increases the number of points of congestion and reduces the overall speed of busy roads. Buses take more time to travel through these parts of the road network, and additional time must be scheduled to ensure that buses continue to have enough time to complete their trips. In some locations, transit priority measures such as queue-jump lanes and transit-priority traffic signals are being added to reduce delay and to increase the reliability of service.

All of these service increases will conform with the service standards approved by Council in 2005 as part of the Transit System Management Policies report. Expansion into new areas occurs according to the number of new transit customers expected. Increases to service levels are made in accordance with the service capacity standards, which define the number of customers that will be carried on each bus (for example, during peak periods, an average over the busiest hour of 45 customers on board each 40‑foot bus). Increases in scheduled trip time and in the number of extra buses assigned are made to ensure that there is no reduction resulting from increasing traffic congestion in the proportion of trips that are operated and that are on time.

The service increases resulting from growth will have a cost in 2007 of $3.09 million and require 39 additional buses.

Strategic Network Enhancements

In November 2005, Council approved a new route network concept to be introduced over the years leading up to the opening of the light rail line in 2010. That concept included elements such as a reduced number of bus trips operating through downtown in peak periods, a strengthening of east-west links bypassing downtown, and improved feeder bus routes to connect with the light rail line and the Transitway bus rapid transit network.

With the decision not to proceed with the light rail project, a new strategy for reorganization of the bus route network needs to be developed. Much of this will be based upon the decisions that Council makes on the future development of the rapid transit network. Staff will also continue to work on developing operating strategies to accommodate continuing ridership growth in downtown, where the Transitway network is under the greatest pressure, and will report to Committee on short-term and longer-term strategies.

There are elements of the approved new route network concept that remain beneficial for transit customers and for the city even without the construction of the North-South LRT. These are service changes that will lead to a transit system that is more convenient and more comfortable for customers, which will lead to ridership increases resulting not only from the continuing growth of the city but also from more travellers choosing to use transit in preference to driving a car. These are service changes that will increase the mode share of transit, moving towards the goals in the Transportation Master Plan.

Staff are recommending for 2007 that a small number of targeted service improvements be made to the transit route network, above those required to accommodate growth. The service changes are described generally here and are tabulated in Document 2. Some of these changes would affect current transit customers, and these would be planned and approved through the normal Transplan consultation process.

To accommodate customers who are travelling east-west across the City but not travelling to downtown, and to encourage more travellers to use transit for trips of this nature, two service changes are proposed. The major change recommended is to extend some peak-period trips on Route 118 to operate through from Orléans to provide direct service to Confederation Heights, Centrepointe/Constellation, and other destinations along Heron and Baseline. This link will become increasingly important as Agriculture Canada moves its offices to Baseline and Merivale. A second change supporting east-west travel is to extend more trips of Route 101 to operate the full length of the route between Orléans and Kanata North.

The new Transitway Route 94 was introduced in September 2006 to accommodate growth along Innes Road and in the southern part of Orléans and to serve as a precursor for the future Cumberland Transitway. In September, service was introduced in peak periods only, to downtown and Tunney’s Pasture in the morning, and home to Orléans in the afternoon. For 2007, staff are recommending the addition of two-way service in the midday and afternoon from Monday to Friday. Evening and weekend service would be added in future years.

The service reductions that were made in 2004 as part of the budget reductions for transit hit the local route network in Kanata harder than any other part of the transit route network. Since 2004, Kanata has continued to grow rapidly, and the local bus route network is now even less adequate for people who travel to points other than downtown or at times other than peak periods. Staff are recommending that funding be made available for a substantial improvement in local service in Kanata. The details of the route changes would be based on discussions through the normal Transplan planning and consultation process.

Staff are also recommending a strategic increase in transit service from Riverside South. Improvements to transit service from this growing area in advance of observed ridership growth will encourage the use of transit and will relieve pressure on the road network as the population grows. Several possible approaches to the way that more-frequent service would be offered have been suggested by residents and developed by staff. The details of the route changes would be based on discussions through the normal Transplan planning and consultation process.

Staff recommend reinstating Sunday service on Route 136 in Orléans. Saturday and Sunday service were removed in 2004 as part of the budget reductions that year. Saturday service was reinstated in 2006 based on the increasing population in the area and the resulting increase in transit ridership. On Sundays, when Route 136 does not operate, Route 135 operates on a modified route, to serve parts of the area normally served by Route 136. By reinstating Sunday service on Route 136, the service provision on both routes will be consistent through the whole week, leading to greater understandability of the service and ultimately to higher ridership at all times of the week.

Transitway Routes 95 and 97 operate almost entirely using high-capacity articulated buses. The current service capacity standard for a route operating with articulated buses is that the service is scheduled to carry an average of 75 customers on board each bus at the busiest point, as long as that level of crowding is not sustained for more than 10 minutes. As each bus has 54 seats, this means that there are 21 customers who need to stand, or 28 percent of the total number. On standard 40-foot buses, the service capacity standard is to carry an average of 45 customers, with at least 41 seats available (depending on bus model) and four customers who need to stand, or eight percent of the total. Staff are recommending that the service capacity standard for articulated buses be changed from 75 to 70, reducing the number of customers who need to stand from 21 to 16, and the proportion of customers who need to stand from 28 to 23 percent. With this change, Routes 95 and 97 would operate more frequently during peak periods, and there would be more room on board each trip to handle short surges in ridership demand and to accommodate growing ridership.

The recommended strategic improvements will have a cost in 2007 of $785,000 and require 12 additional buses.

Further improvements of this nature will be developed for consideration by Committee and Council in future years. In particular, staff will be developing plans for possible improvements in the section of Orléans east of Tenth Line, the Greenboro area, and the Westboro-Carlingwood area.

Service Removals for Unacceptable Financial Performance

A number of time periods of service on certain routes or sections of routes do not meet the minimum financial performance standard set as part of the Transit System Management Policies report and following the 2005 budget process. Ridership on these routes is too low to justify the funding that is required to operate them. These services are recommended for removal in June 2007, so that the operating resources can be re-allocated to reduce the net cost of the service increases necessary to accommodate ridership growth and the strategic improvements recommended to promote transit use.

None of the removals of service would affect the base route networks, and so 95 percent of the population would remain within a five-minute walk of transit service in peak periods and within a 10-minute walk at other times of the week. Also, none of the removals of service would result in overcrowding on the routes that remain.

Route 41, which connects the Uplands and Riverside areas with downtown via Bronson, would be removed entirely. These areas are also connected to downtown by Route 87, which operates via the Transitway through Billings Bridge and Hurdman stations, and which is used by the majority of customers making that trip. Service levels would be increased on Route 87 to accommodate the customers who now travel on Route 41. All customers would still have service available at their origin and destination stops, but customers who are travelling to or from points on Bronson would have an additional transfer to or from Route 4 at Confederation Station and customers who are travelling to or from the western part of downtown would have a longer travel time.

The following routes would have service removed at some times of the week, primarily evenings and weekends: Routes 123, 127, 141, 142, 149, 156, 165, 173, 178, and 316. Details and explanatory notes are in Document 3.

The recommended service reductions will free up $361,000 of costs in 2007 and two buses for reallocation toward the recommended service increases.

Transit Fleet Acquisition Strategy

With the decision not to proceed with the North-South LRT project, the transit fleet plan that was approved in August 2006 needed to be reviewed. The O-Train replacement service is no longer required and the approach to strategic network enhancements has been reviewed as described in the previous section.

The route-by-route review of current service shows that, if ridership increases by three percent over the year as targeted, four percent more peak period buses will be needed. The reason for this is that most of the new riders are travelling in peak periods and making long trips from the suburbs. So nearly all the new trips are significantly longer than the average peak period transit trip of about 10 km. The total length of the trips that need to be operated is growing more quickly than the number of customers is growing.

The revised Transit Operating Plan for 2007 calls for use of 49 of the 51 buses due for delivery this year. The other two will be used to retire two buses one year earlier than they would otherwise have been.

The recommended bus fleet acquisitions for 2008 and the following four years have also been revised in view of the current circumstances and are shown in the table below. While for the years beyond 2008 there will be opportunities to refine these numbers, based on actual ridership growth and on Council’s decisions on the rapid transit network, the number of buses for delivery in 2008 must be included in the 2007 capital budget.

For 2008, to accommodate three percent growth and allow some network improvements, 39 standard equivalent buses will be required. The order however will be for 26 articulated buses to support the service plan, to accommodate growth on Albert and Slater Streets, and to strengthen the rapid transit network..

Recommended Fleet Acquisition Plan

	GROWTH	REPLACEMENT	RECOMMENDED ACQUISITION
	Standard-Equivalent Buses Required	Standard-Equivalent Buses Required	Bus Type and Quantity
2007	49	38	87 40-foot buses
2008	39	46	57 articulated buses
2009	40	57	65 high-capacity buses⁽¹⁾
2010	42	63	40 40-foot buses and 43 high-capacity buses⁽¹⁾
2011	43	18	61 40-foot buses
Total 2007-2011	213	222	353 buses⁽²⁾

(1) To be determined whether articulated buses or double-decker buses based on winter study of double-decker buses and assessment of infrastructure requirements.

(2) Equivalent capacity to 435 standard buses.

Fare Revenues

The current transit fare structure is shown in Document 4, together with the revenue and ridership associated with each fare type. Concessionary fares are available to seniors and students through reduced-price passes, which account for approximately $14.5 million per year in lower revenues

Council’s policy is to increase the revenue:cost ratio to achieve a result of 55% by 2010. The last fare increase of 7.5% was implemented in December 2005. This resulted in a revenue:cost ratio of 51.7% in 2006, compared with 49.9% in 2005.

A fare increase of 7.5% has been thoroughly analyzed for the 2007 Transit Service plan (Document 4). While this is significantly higher than inflation, it is expected that, in combination with improved service, this fare increase will achieve a 3% ridership increase. However, the resulting revenue:cost ratio would be 49.9%, which is not moving towards Council’s 55% objective.

In order to reach a revenue:cost ratio of 52% in 2007, it would be necessary to generate an additional $5.4 million in revenue, or reduce costs by $10.4 million. This would require a fare increase substantially higher than 7.5% and/or a significant service cut, jeopardizing Council’s objectives of increasing transit ridership and improving modal splits. Notwithstanding this, staff will develop a range of fare increase and service cut options that move towards the 55% objective for discussion and consideration during budget deliberations.

Service for People with Disabilities

Regular Service

With the continuing acquisition of low-floor buses for both service expansion and fleet replacement, the OC Transpo system is rapidly becoming accessible to transit customers with disabilities. Currently, two-thirds of the fleet is made up of low-floor buses. That level will climb to 72 percent in 2007, and with the bus acquisition plan recommended in this report, to 77 percent in 2008, 83 percent in 2009, 89 percent in 2010, and 91 percent in 2011, leaving less than 100 high-floor buses to be replaced in the years from 2012 to 2015.

In 2007, the services that run in the midday from Monday to Friday and all day on Saturdays and Sundays will be covered 100 percent by low-floor buses. Service in peak periods will operate with low-floor buses at approximately the proportions of the total fleet, as above. A few trips in the evening from Monday to Friday will continue to run with high-floor buses, but the number of those trips will decline as the fleet conversion continues.

Para Transpo

Para Transpo provides transit service for people who cannot use the regular transit service. It is a shared-ride door-to-door service and carries approximately 700,000 trips per year.

The 2007 draft budget includes a recommendation of $250,000 to increase Para Transpo service by 1.5 percent, or about 10,000 customer trips, in 2007. There has been no growth in Para Transpo service since 1994. The additional service would be provided through the existing accessible taxi contract with Coventry Connections.

In 2006 there were 40,000 trip requests that could not be accommodated by Para Transpo, and so this will not provide for all the current demand. However, staff will continue to work with the GPS system that was installed last year to improve productivity and further increase capacity without additional costs.

Taxi Voucher Pilot Project

A taxi voucher program would give Para Transpo registered customers the option of purchasing taxi vouchers from the City at reduced prices. The program would provide additional service to customers requiring no advance booking. A taxi voucher program, which is a premium service, could attract customer trips away from the Para Transpo service, thus freeing up capacity.

Taxi voucher programs operate in several cities in Canada (Document 5). The largest program is in Vancouver where nearly 170,000 annual trips are provided through the program while the smallest program is in Burlington where 4,800 annual trips are provided. The discount offered by all programs is either 40 percent or 50 percent, and the price per booklet of taxi vouchers ranges from $20 in Kitchener-Waterloo to $40 in Vancouver. In all programs, no administrative fee is paid to the taxi firms providing the service.

The taxi voucher pilot project is described in detail in Document 5. If direction were received from Council to implement this pilot project, it would cost $170,000 in 2007 if it started on July 1, 2007 and would provide approximately 15,600 additional trips for Para Transpo customers.

Community Pass

A separate report is being provided to Committee on the Community Pass pilot project that was introduced in March 2006 and allows disabled people on low income to buy a monthly transit pass for the same price as a seniors’ pass. This pilot project is due to end in June and will have a cost of $1.1 million per year to continue.

CONSULTATION/PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

The main elements of the 2007 Transit Plan were presented to the Pedestrian and Transit Advisory Committee. The Committee passed a motion supporting the recommended service increases for both conventional transit and Para Transpo and endorsed the taxi voucher pilot program. However, the Committee strongly disapproved of a fare increase of 7.5 percent or higher and passed a motion that annual fare increases should not exceed the annual increase in the cost of living (CPI).

Further consultation or notification about conventional transit service changes would be carried out as follows:

· Ridership growth on existing routes – No consultation required; customers would be notified of the increases in the September 2007 transit schedules.

· Route extensions into new areas – Consultation would be carried out or has already been carried out through the Transplan planning and consultation process. Notification once details are firm would be carried out through the normal information process for the introduction of the September 2007 transit service changes.

· Strategic improvements – Consultation would be carried out through the Transplan planning and consultation process. Notification once details are firm would be carried out through the normal information process for the introduction of the September 2007 transit service changes.

· Service removals for unacceptable financial performance – Notification and an opportunity to comment would be provided through the City budget process. Notification would be carried out through the normal information process for the introduction of the June 2007 transit service changes.

The Transplan planning and consultation process was approved by Committee and Council in 2005 as part of the Transit System Management Policies

The proposed increase in funding for Para Transpo and the taxi voucher pilot program were presented to the Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Seniors Advisory Committee on January 17. The Committees endorsed both proposals with the proviso that the taxi voucher program is not provided at the expense of Para Transpo service.

TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN

The proposed plan for transit supports the objectives of the Transportation Master Plan to increase the use of transit in Ottawa. It is also consistent with the policies in the plan to increase the accessibility of transit services for people with disabilities.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The total cost in 2007 for the growth, strategic network improvements and performance reductions would be $3.5 million.

The cost of 26 articulated buses for delivery in 2008 would be $20 million.

The additional revenue in 2007 from a 7.5 percent fare increase on July 1, 2007 would be $3.6 million ($7.2 million annually).

Adding 10,000 trips to Para Transpo service would cost $250,000 in 2007. Implementing a taxi voucher program in July 2007 would cost $170,000 in 2007.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 – Service Increases Required in 2007 to Accommodate Expected Growth

Document 2 – Strategic Improvements

Document 3 – Services Recommended to be Removed because of Unacceptable Financial Performance

Document 4 – Transit Fares in 2006 and 2007

Document 5 – Taxi Voucher Pilot Project

DISPOSITION

Following the discussion of this report by Transit Committee, staff will continue to prepare information to inform the budget deliberations and to provide answers to questions raised during the Committee meeting.

SERVICE INCREASES REQUIRED IN 2007 TO ACCOMMODATE EXPECTED GROWTH DOCUMENT 1

Route	Day	Time Period	Description of Increase	Customers per Year with Benefit	Buses	Hours in 2007
8	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase northbound service between 7:30 and 8:30 from 12 min to 10 min, between 8:30 and 9:30 from 15 min to 12 min; increase southbound service between 7:30 and 8:30 from 15 min to 12 min	174,000	3	605
8	Mon-Fri	Midday	Increase southbound service between 13:30 and 15:30 from 15 min to 12 min	99,000	–	419
8	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase southbound service between 15:30 and 16:30 from 15 min to 12 min	62,000	–	242
15	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 30 min to 20 min	23,000	–	242
20	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	50,000	–	242
22	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 20 min to 15 min	33,000	–	242
24	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	46,000	–	242
27	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 7 min to 6 min	99,000	1	202
29	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	47,000	–	242
31	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 12 min to 10 min	60,000	–	242
32	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	46,000	1	202
33	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 8 min to 7 min	80,000	1	202
33	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 8 min to 7 min	81,000	–	242
35	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 7 min to 6 min	95,000	–	242
50	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	45,000	–	242
51	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 20 min to 15 min	27,000	1	202
55	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 30 min to 20 min	27,000	1	202
60	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	48,000	–	242
62	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	46,000	–	242
64	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 20 min to 15 min	38,000	–	242
68	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 10 min to 8 min	71,000	1	202
69	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	46,000	1	202
70	Mon-Fri	Morning	Extend route west of Cedarview and increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	10,600	1	202
70	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Extend route west of Cedarview and increase service in the peak hour from 10 min to 8 min	10,600	–	242
71	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	43,000	–	242
73	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	50,000	–	242
76	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 9 min to 7/8 min	92,000	–	242
77	Mon-Fri	Morning	Extend service west of Woodroffe along Cresthaven/Beatrice and increase service in the peak hour from 10 min to 7-8 min	91,300	2	403
77	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Extend service west of Woodroffe along Cresthaven/Beatrice and increase service in the peak hour from 10 min to 7-8 min	84,400	–	484
82	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 12 min to 10 min	53,000	1	202
86	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase westbound service in peak hour by extending supplemental trips to start at Elmvale	103,000	2	242
94	Mon-Fri	Morning	Additional trip at 06:33; started in November 2005; budgeted from January 2007	11,000	–	302
94	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 12 min to 10 min and in the peak half-hour from 6 min to 5 min	71,000	1	403
94	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Additional trip at 16:06; started in October 2005; budgeted from January 2007	11,000	–	353
94	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase eastbound service in the peak hour from 12 min to 10 min and in the peak quarter-hour from 6 min to 5 min	59,000	–	484
95	Mon-Fri	All day	Extend service to Strandherd Station and Marketplace; started in January 2007	250,000	–	6,300
95	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase eastbound service in the peak hour from 3 min to 2-3 min; increase westbound service in the peak hour from 3 min to 2-3 min	832,000	7	1,758
95	Mon-Fri	Midday	Increase service in the midday from 4 min to 3-4 min	5,742,000	–	3,209
95	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase eastbound service in the peak hour from 3-4 min to 3 min; increase westbound service in the peak hour from 3-4 min to 3 min	837,000	–	1,411
95	Saturday	Morning	Increase service in both directions by starting the transition to 7-8 min service an hour earlier at 08:30	30,000	–	175
96	Mon-Fri	Morning	Extend all morning D96 trips to start at Terry Fox Station; starts in April 2007	13,000	–	358
96	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase eastbound service in the peak hour from 5 min to 3-4 min	184,000	3	798
96	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase westbound service in the peak hour from 6 min to 3-4 min	168,000	–	1,000
97	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase westbound service for a two-hour window from 10 min to 7/8 min; increase eastbound service in the peak hour from 6 min to 5 min	408,000	–	1,210
111	Mon-Fri	Midday	Additional trips at 11:15, 11:46, and 13:01; started in January 2007	30,000	–	504
163	Mon-Fri	Peak periods	New limited-service route to Fairwinds subdivision in Kanata West, net cost recovered from area developer; starts in April 2007	14,600	1	716
163	Mon-Fri	Peak periods	Increase service from two trips in each peak period to three, net cost recovered from area developer	7,300	–	161
176	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase northbound service in the peak hour by adding two supplementary trips	28,000	1	202
182	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	51,000	1	202
182	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service in the peak hour from 15 min to 12 min	42,000		242
232	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 60 min to 45 min	24,000	1	137
283	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service in the peak hour from 45 min to 30 min	30,000	1	169
–	–	–	Standby buses to address traffic congestion increases	–	–	1,500
–	–	–	Additional scheduled time to address traffic congestion increases	–	1	5,900
–	–	–	Spare buses for fleet maintenance	–	6	–
Totals	–	–	–	10,401,500	39	35,574

Note: Service increases planned to start in September 2007 except as noted in the table.

STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENTS DOCUMENT 2

Route	Day	Time period	Description of Increase	Customers per Year with Benefit	Buses	Hours in 2007
94	Mon-Fri	Midday	New two-way midday service (30 min interval).	120,000	–	2,419
94	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	New westbound afternoon service (30 min interval)	60,000	–	726
95	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase service to reduce the number of standees on board buses	2,767,000	3	605
95	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase service to reduce the number of standees on board buses	4,024,000	–	968
97	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increasing service during peak periods to reduce the number of standees on board buses	982,000	1	202
97	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increasing service during peak periods to reduce the number of standees on board buses	1,714,000	–	484
101	Mon-Fri	Morning	Extend late morning trips to start at Place d'Orléans	80,000	–	268
101	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Extend all afternoon trips to Place d'Orléans	160,000	–	161
118	Mon-Fri	Morning	Extend peak period trips from Place d’Orléans in the morning and to Place d’Orléans in the afternoon (15 min interval)	12,600	2	323
118	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Extend peak period trips from Place d’Orléans in the morning and to Place d’Orléans in the afternoon (15 min interval)	12,600	–	484
136	Sunday	Daytime	New Sunday service (30 min interval), reinstating service that was removed in 2004 to an area which has grown since then and continues to grow	31,000	–	346
South Kanata	Mon-Fri	All day	Extension of Route 164 to provide new two-way service along Stonehaven, retaining current peak period service from Hope Side Road for 30 min service at all times and 15 min service in peak periods on Eagleson and Campeau; new evening and Sunday service along Campeau, Eagleson, and Stonehaven	120,000	2	2,258
South Kanata	Saturday	All day	Extension of Route 164 to provide new two-way service along Stonehaven, retaining current peak period service from Hope Side Road for 30 min service at all times and 15 min service in peak periods on Eagleson and Campeau; new evening and Sunday service along Campeau, Eagleson, and Stonehaven	16,000	–	390
South Kanata	Sunday	All day	Extension of Route 164 to provide new two-way service along Stonehaven, retaining current peak period service from Hope Side Road for 30 min service at all times and 15 min service in peak periods on Eagleson and Campeau; new evening and Sunday service along Campeau, Eagleson, and Stonehaven	5,000	–	538
Kanata Lakes	Mon-Fri	All day	New route (30 min interval) to serve Kanata Lakes area and connect to Terry Fox Station, allowing Route 160 to be changed to operate via Eagleson and Katimavik	180,000	1	1,572
Kanata Lakes	Saturday	All day	New route (30 min interval) to serve Kanata Lakes area and connect to Terry Fox Station, allowing Route 160 to be changed to operate via Eagleson and Katimavik	24,000	–	331
Kanata Lakes	Sunday	All day	New route (30 min interval) to serve Kanata Lakes area and connect to Terry Fox Station, allowing Route 160 to be changed to operate via Eagleson and Katimavik	8,000	–	374
Riverside South	Mon-Fri	Morning	Increase peak period service to 15 min to promote transit ridership within and from Riverside South.	85,000	1	484
Riverside South	Mon-Fri	Afternoon	Increase peak period service to 15 min to promote transit ridership within and from Riverside South.	123,000	–	484
–	–	–	Spare buses for fleet maintenance	–	2	–
Totals	–	–	–	10,551,200	12	13,415

SERVICES RECOMMENDED TO BE REMOVED BECAUSE OF UNACCEPTABLE

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE DOCUMENT 3

Route	Day	Time Period	Description of Service Removal and Notes	Customers per Year with Inconvenience	Buses	Hours in 2007
41	Mon-Fri	Peak periods	Remove peak period service; increase service on Route 87	36,000	-2	-578
123	Mon-Fri	Midday	Remove service between 10:00 and 15:30; alternative service available for some customers on Routes 2 and 124	6,000	–	-524
127	Mon-Fri	Evening	Remove service east of Blair after 19:00; alternative service available on Routes 2, 124, 125, 128, and 131; no change to service west of Blair at this time period	2,500	–	-64
127	Saturday	Evening	Remove entire route after 18:00 on Saturdays; alternative service available on Routes 2, 124, 125, 128, 129, and 131	7,900	–	-223
127	Sunday	All day	Remove service east of Blair on Sundays; alternative service available on Routes 2, 124, 125, 128, and 131; no change to service west of Blair before 18:00 on Sundays	13,400	–	-278
127	Sunday	Evening	Remove service west of Blair after 18:00 on Sundays; alternative service available for some customers on Route 129	4,400	–	-60
141	Mon-Fri	Evening	Remove service after 18:30; alternative service available on Routes 1, 8, and 111	14,900	–	-368
141	Saturday	Morning	Remove service before 10:00 on Saturdays; alternative service available on Routes 1, 8, and 111	1,500	–	-37
141	Saturday	Evening	Remove service after 18:00 on Saturdays; alternative service available on Routes 1, 8, and 111	1,800	–	-35
142	Sunday	Morning	Remove service before 11:00 on Sundays; alternative service available to some customers on Route 144	1,300	–	-52
149	Mon-Fri	Peak periods	Remove peak period service south of Elmvale on Russell, Walkley, and St. Laurent; alternative service available on Routes 84, 86, 111, and 148	12,100	–	-398
149	Sunday	Morning	Remove service before 11:00 on Sundays; the next-nearest services would be on Routes 8, 85, and 148	800	–	-37
156	Sunday	Evening	Remove service north of Carling (on Lockhart, Ambleside, McEwen, etc.) after 18:00 on Sundays; buses would connect with Lincoln Fields Station from Carlingwood directly via Carling; alternative service available on Routes 2 and 18	2,800	–	-107
164	Mon-Fri	Evening	Service after 18:30 currently has unacceptable financial performance, but service at this time is recommended to be retained and improved as part of the strategic improvements	4,500	–	-223
164	Saturday	All day	Service on Saturdays currently has unacceptable financial performance, but is recommended to be retained and improved as part of the strategic improvements	12,700	–	-492
165	Saturday	All day	Remove service on Saturdays; the next-nearest service would be on Route 160 and the proposed new Kanata Lakes route	1,900	–	-141
173	Saturday	Morning	Remove service before 10:00 on Saturdays; alternative service would be available on Route 170	9,800	–	-359
173	Sunday	Morning	Remove service before 11:00 on Sundays; alternative service would be available on Route 170	6,300	–	-181
178	Sunday	All day	Remove service on Sundays; the next-nearest service would be on Routes 95 and 118	3,100	–	-122
316	Mon-Fri	Peak periods	Remove 15:50 trip from LeBreton to Rideau Centre; remove 16:02 and 17:02 trips from Rideau Centre to LeBreton; alternative service available on Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 14; no change to other trips; no change to service east of Rideau Centre	12,300	–	-283
Totals	–	–	–	156,000	-2	-4,561

Notes:

None of the removals affect the base route network.
The time periods listed here on Route 164 currently have unacceptable financial performance, but with the improvements in local service in Kanata that are recommended as part of the strategic improvements, the service would be made more convenient and attractive and higher ridership would be expected.

TRANSIT FARES IN 2006 AND 2007 DOCUMENT 4

Transit Fares in 2006 and 2007
Fare Type	Price	Ridership (2006)	Revenue (2006)	Price	Percent Increase	Additional Revenue
Fare Type	(2006/07)	(Thousands)	(Thousands)	(2007/08)	Percent Increase	(Thousands)
Regular Adult Pass/month	$ 71.25	17,290	$ 22,645	$ 76.50	7.4%	$ 597
Express Adult Pass/month	$ 87.00	4,148	$ 7,367	$ 95.00	9.2%	$ 256
Rural Adult Pass/month	$ 110.50	164	$ 370	$ 120.00	8.6%	$ 11
Regular Student Pass/month	$ 58.25	22,228	$ 20,925	$ 62.50	7.3%	$ 569
Express Student Pass/month	$ 67.75	1,447	$ 1,586	$ 72.75	7.4%	$ 44
Regular Student Semester Pass	$ 216.00	1,976	$ 1,706	$ 232.00	7.4%	$ 149
Express Student Semester Pass	$ 251.00	254	$ 256	$ 270.00	7.6%	$ 23
Rural Student Pass/month	$ 88.50	41	$ 59	$ 95.25	7.6%	$ 2
Senior Pass/month	$ 28.25	4,286	$ 2,637	$ 30.50	8.0%	$ 87
Day Pass	$ 7.25	872	$ 924	$ 7.75	6.9%	$ 24
Cash Adult/trip	$ 3.00	2,618	$ 9,183	$ 3.25	8.3%	$ 155
Cash Express Route/trip	$ 4.00	100		$ 4.25	6.3%	$ 6
Cash Rural Express/trip	$ 5.00	8		$ 5.25	5.0%	$ 1
Cash Child (6-11 yrs.)/trip	$ 1.50	598		$ 1.50	0.0%	$ -
Ticket Adult/trip	$ 1.90	14,740	$ 32,650	$ 2.00	5.3%	$ 558
Ticket Express Route/trip	$ 2.85	562		$ 3.00	5.3%	$ 33
Ticket Rural Express/trip	$ 3.80	47		$ 4.00	5.3%	$ 4
Ticket Child (6-11 yrs)/trip	$ 0.95	3,369		$ 1.00	5.3%	$ 66
Regular Student Annual Pass	$ 559.25	3,058	$ 2,183	$ 600.00	7.3%	$ 80
Express Student Annual Pass	$ 650.50	406	$ 337	$ 700.00	7.6%	$ 14
Adult Regular Annual Pass	$ 769.50	181	$ 215	$ 828.00	7.6%	$ 8
Adult Express Annual Pass	$ 939.60	42	$ 67	$ 1,010.00	7.5%	$ 3
Adult Regular Ecopass/month	$ 60.56	5,987	$ 7,045	$ 65.03	7.4%	$ 331
Adult Express Ecopass/month	$ 73.95	4,023	$ 6,429	$ 80.75	9.2%	$ 424
Rural Ecopass/month	$ 93.93	177	$ 359	$ 102.00	8.6%	$ 25
Community Pass	$ 28.25	1,484	$ 913	$ 30.50	8.0%	$ 48
O-Train Ticket/trip	$ 2.25	173	$ 390	$ 2.50	11.1%	$ 22
Other	NA	1,560	$ 65	NA	NA	NA
TOTAL	NA	91,839	$ 118,311	NA	NA	3,541

TAXI VOUCHER PILOT PROJECT DOCUMENT 5

TAXI VOUCHER PILOT PROJECT

The proposed taxi voucher pilot project would allow Para Transpo registered customers to purchase taxi vouchers and reduce the cost of using taxis for some of their transportation requirements. The proposed taxi voucher discount provided by the City for the pilot is 40 percent. Customers would be limited to purchasing two voucher booklets per month, and each would have a value of $40 of taxi travel and be priced at $24. Vouchers in each booklet would be printed in $1, $2, $5 denominations and would have built-in printing security features. Customers who wish to use the service will be required to obtain a Para Transpo photo identification card. Cards would be provided free of charge and would be available at OC Transpo’s four Sales and Information Centres. Customers would order taxi vouchers by calling the City and placing an order. The vouchers would then be distributed to customers via mail every month and payment will be via personal cheque only.

Customers would be able to call and receive service from any taxi company in Ottawa willing to sign a taxi voucher service contract with the City. The contract would stipulate the special services that the taxi drivers must provide to the customers as well as the financial reconciliation requirements of the program. Service would include both accessible and non-accessible taxis. Taxi drivers would be required to assist customers as needed and would include helping customers to get from their door to the vehicle and from the vehicle to the door of their destination.

The pilot project would run for one year and commence in July 2007. In the event that the demand for the program were stronger than budgeted, the pilot project would end before the one-year period.

It is estimated that the taxi voucher program would provide approximately 31,250 additional trips per year to be made by Para Transpo customers assuming an average taxi ride fare of $20.

An evaluation of the pilot project would be carried out and would include a survey of customers to determine their frequency of use, what type of trips do they use the service for, how the program has affected their mobility and quality of life. As well, the evaluation would determine the financial impact of the program and make recommendations whether the program should be made permanent.

Following approval of the taxi voucher program, staff would invite taxi companies to participate and develop appropriate administrative procedures. A temporary position would be staffed to administer and evaluate the program. The program would commence on July 1, 2007.

The pilot project would cost $320,000 annually to operate. This includes $250,000 in subsidization of taxi fares, $60,000 for a contract FTE to coordinate the program and assist in the program evaluation, and $10,000 for printing and mailing expenses. The contract FTE would be retained six weeks prior to the start of the pilot to assist in the program start-up activities.