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1. New Articulated Bus Garage - Efficiency
Modifications And Cost-Saving Opportunities Nouveau Garage Pour Autobus
Articulés – Modifications Relatives À L’efficacité Et Possibilités
D’économies |
That Council:
1. Approve
increasing the scope of the construction of the new Articulated Bus Garage at
735 Industrial Ave. to increase the productive capacity of the facility from
147 to 210 articulated buses;
2. Approve
the additional funding to a limit of $15M for Account Number 903780 New Transit
Garage for a revised project authority of $80.36M; and
3. Direct
staff to undertake an industrial engineering study of existing transit
facilities to develop a long-term maintenance and operational plan and present
Transit Committee with options to rationalize facilities as part of the 10-Year
Transit Operating and Capital Plan for 2010.
4. Direct staff to hold a public
consultation session in collaboration with the ward Councillor and report back
to Transit Committee in the form of an IPD, which will outline the measures
being undertaken to address the publics’ concerns.
Que le Conseil :
1. d’approuve l’accroîssement l’envergure du nouveau garage pour autobus articulés du 735, avenue Industrial, afin de porter de 147 à 210 le nombre d’autobus articulés pouvant y être entretenus;
2. d’approuve
le financement supplémentaire, jusqu’à concurrence de 15M$, du numéro de compte
903780, Nouveau garage du transport en commun, pour une autorisation de projet
modifiée de 80,36 M$;
3. de donne instruction au personnel de réaliser une étude de génie industriel portant sur les installations de transport en commun existantes, en vue de l’élaboration d’un plan à long terme d’entretien et d’exploitation, et de soumettre des possibilités de rationalisation des installations au Comité du transport en commun, dans le cadre du plan décennal de fonctionnement et d’immobilisations pour le transport en commun de 2010.
4. de
donner instruction au personnel d’organiser une séance de consultation
publique, en collaboration avec le conseiller du quartier, et d’en faire
rapport au Comité du transport en commun sous la forme d’une information
distribuée auparavant (IDA), afin de présenter les mesures prises en vue
d’aborder les questions qui préoccupent le public.
Documentation
1. Deputy City Manager’s report dated 28
April 2009 (ACS2009-ICS-TRA-0005).
2. Extract
of Draft Minute, 6 May 2009
Comité des services de transport en commun
and Council / et au Conseil
28 April 2009 / le 28 avril 2009
Submitted
by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice
municipale adjointe,
Infrastructure Services and
Community Sustainability/Services d’infrastructure et Viabilité des
collectivités
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Alain Mercier, General
Manager/Directeur général,
Transit
Services/Services du transport en commun
(613-842-3636
x2271, alain.mercier@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
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NEW ARTICULATED BUS GARAGE - EFFICIENCY
MODIFICATIONS AND COST-SAVING OPPORTUNITIES |
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OBJET :
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NOUVEAU GARAGE POUR AUTOBUS ARTICULÉS – MODIFICATIONS RELATIVES À
L’EFFICACITÉ ET POSSIBILITÉS D’ÉCONOMIES |
That Transit Committee
recommend Council:
1.
Approve increasing the scope of
the construction of the new Articulated Bus Garage at 735 Industrial Ave. to
increase the productive capacity of the facility from 147 to 210 articulated
buses;
2.
Approve the additional funding
to a limit of $15M for Account Number 903780 New Transit Garage for a revised
project authority of $80.36M; and
3. Direct staff to undertake an industrial engineering study of existing transit facilities to develop a long-term maintenance and operational plan and present Transit Committee with options to rationalize facilities as part of the 10-Year Transit Operating and Capital Plan for 2010.
Que le Comité des services de transport en commun recommande au
Conseil :
1.
d’approuver l’accroîssement
l’envergure du nouveau garage pour autobus articulés du 735, avenue Industrial,
afin de porter de 147 à 210 le nombre d’autobus articulés pouvant y être
entretenus;
2.
d’approuver le financement
supplémentaire, jusqu’à concurrence de 15M$, du numéro de compte 903780,
Nouveau garage du transport en commun, pour une autorisation de projet modifiée
de 80,36 M$;
3. de donner instruction au
personnel de réaliser une étude de génie industriel portant sur les installations
de transport en commun existantes, en vue de l’élaboration d’un plan à long
terme d’entretien et d’exploitation, et de soumettre des possibilités de
rationalisation des installations au Comité du transport en commun, dans le
cadre du plan décennal de fonctionnement et d’immobilisations pour le transport
en commun de 2010.
In the 2007 Capital Budget, Council approved $60M for the construction of a new Articulated Bus Garage Facility at 735 Industrial Road to provide an important piece of infrastructure for the expected growth of transit fleet. Once constructed, the garage will provide bus maintenance and storage facilities, as well as training resources.
In November 2008, Council approved an additional $4.7M to fund the difference between the estimated construction bid and the actual tenders ACS2008-PTE-TRA-0011. The City received seven bids from prospective companies. However, all the prices received from the proponents were higher than the pre-tender cost estimate provided by Giffels Associates Limited. The primary reason for the difference between the estimates and actual bids can be attributed to higher levels of activity in the construction industry at the time of the RFP, and escalating cost for material.
In 2008, Transit Services began work on a Strategic Branch Review (SBR) to determine potential efficiencies within the branch and to provide a framework with which to move forward. The SBR also provided the branch with clarity on required core outcomes and how to achieve those desired results.
As a result, on February 10,
2009, Transit Services tabled a report ACS2009-ICS-TRA-0001
outlining tools and procedures to increase the availability of the bus fleet
and achieve service efficiency and excellence.
The key objective to be achieved from this report is to increase the
availability of the fleet to best practice levels of 90 per cent. A modified design of the bus maintenance
garage will help achieve this goal.
Overall, the results of these reviews determined that an enhanced maintenance garage design would provide a better long-term solution, in terms of efficiency, capacity and cost savings, while increasing the quality and reliability of the bus fleet.
This report outlines why increased funding for the Articulated Bus Garage will provide Transit Services with a more efficient and effective resource, while providing residents with the most financially sustainable bus maintenance operation.
Over the past two years, Transit Services has undertaken a series of Council-directed reviews with the goal of making Ottawa’s transit system more effective and financially sustainable. The results of these reviews were presented to Council in the form of the 2008 Strategic Branch Review (SBR) report, the 2009 Review of Bus Fleet Maintenance Standards and Processes Report, and the 2009 Transit Capital Budget.
During the course of these reviews, and in consultation with Infrastructure Services, Transit Services determined that there was a significant opportunity to broaden the scope of the articulated bus garage at 735 Industrial Ave. Staff determined that within the original design of the garage, the facility could be modified to provide substantial long-term efficiencies and financial benefits to both OC Transpo and the residents of Ottawa.
The proposed modifications will eliminate the need for a new maintenance facility to be constructed until after 2031. And more importantly, Transit Services may have an opportunity to eliminate an older, less efficient facility at Pinecrest Rd.
Staff have completed an internal preliminary analysis of the financial benefits to the proposal and have concluded there are significant savings to be achieved, although at this time the figures are estimations.
There would be potential long-term cost savings of $80.8M (in 2009 dollars), which include:
· Eliminate the requirement of any new maintenance garage construction identified in the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP), estimated at $70M in capital savings;
· Eliminate the requirement to purchase land for a future garage estimated at $5M (one time capital savings); and
· Eliminate the need to operate the facility estimated at $4.3M in operating savings per year.
There would also be potential savings and revenues from the closure of the Pinecrest Road facility, which include:
The proposed design and construction changes are possible, at this time, because the garage is in the early stages of original construction. If the proposed modifications are incorporated immediately into the current design, it would be the most cost effective solution, while having the least impact on operations.
Deferring these modifications until the facility is complete will disrupt operational service delivery and significantly increase the capital and operating costs. Furthermore, a number of modifications would not be possible at a later date since there are no industrial facilities that can support these displaced buses during the renovations.
The original garage design did not include the proposed scope modification to increase the capacity since this facility was planned with a second garage construction to proceed immediately after this garage was operational. The original plan to build two maintenance garages was made in advance of the 2008 SBR report, the 2009 Review of Bus Fleet Maintenance Standards and Processes Report, the 2009 Transit Capital Budget, and the TMP.
After Transit Services completed the above noted reports it became clear that there was a unique opportunity to modify the existing design of 735 Industrial Ave. and incorporate those changes before the construction was completed.
The result of the proposed modifications will be increased capacity and more efficient maintenance operations. Furthermore, these changes will allow the garage to house 210 operational buses, compared to 147 in the current design. This is an important step in achieving the new service standards recently established by OC Transpo.
The present fleet size of OC Transpo is 1,025 buses. If LRT proceeds on schedule, according to the Transportation Master Plan, the City will actually reduce the bus fleet in 2017 and 2018. However, in 2019 and 2020, additional buses will be purchased to keep pace with growth. It is expected that by 2020, the City of Ottawa will have approximately 1,300 buses within its fleet. The modified maintenance facility will help accommodate this growth.
It has been concluded, that the improvements to the original design of the garage will have to be made at some point to provide the necessary capacity for the future growth of the transit fleet. Implementing these changes now will cost substantially less when compared to making the changes once the building is completed.
It is estimated at this time that the proposed modifications to the garage will cost up to, but not more than, $15M. This figure is based on discussions with Infrastructure Services and the contractor currently in charge of the project. The modified garage at 735 Industrial Ave. will not require any additional FTEs or operating expenditures. The improvements to the facility include:
As identified above, the improvements to the facility go well beyond simple maintenance issues and will result in efficiencies such as peak-period deployment of the fleet through improvements to the road intersections and traffic lights.
By adding additional inspection pits, storage areas and cleaning sections, maintenance crews will be able to increase the speed with which buses enter and leave the maintenance area, which will provide a quicker turnaround for the fleet as a whole. This improvement will result in a more effective system and provide residents with an enhanced service standard.
Moving forward, OC Transpo will require a central maintenance facility that is capable of responding to new fleet vehicles and advancing technologies.
In addition, future investment in garage capacity should be concentrated on expanding existing facilities where space exists, versus construction of additional smaller facilities to capture economies of scale. Previous studies identified the Merivale Garage as a potential preferred site for double-decker maintenance. Due to the residential placement of the Pinecrest Garage, limited land capacity and future Transitway expansion in this corridor, the engineering study will specifically examine the impacts of closing this facility.
Transit Services staff consulted extensively with Infrastructure
Services on this report. As this report is operational in nature there was no
public consultation. Upon approval of
the increased funding authority, Transit Services would consult with Corporate
Realty Services to assess the market value of the Pinecrest garage and
determine the implications of decommissioning the property.
There
are no Legal/Risk Management impediments to approving this report’s
recommendations.
N/A
Subject to approval of this report, Infrastructure Services and Transit Services project team will commence design changes for the Articulated Bus Garage.
Supply Management and Legal Services will negotiate and execute a scope change to the agreement with the contractor.
Transit Services will undertake an asset rationalization study of existing transit maintenance facilities.
Transit Service will update its 10-Year Operating and Capital Plan, currently under development, in light of additional capacity of this garage.
new articulated bus garage –
efficiency modifications and cost-saving opportunities
Nouveau
gage pour autobus articulés – Modifications relatives à l’efficacité et
possibilités d’économies
ACS2009-ICS-TRA-0005 CITY WIDE / À
L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Alain Mercier, General Manager, Transit Services provided a detailed presentation, a copy of which is held on file. Also in attendance were: Stephane Carbonneau, Program Manager, Transit Capital Projects; Wayne Newell, Director, Infrastructure Services; and, Paul Lessard, Infrastructure Services.
Chair Cullen noted that Councillor Hume (ward councillor) had met with staff and Councillor Wilkinson put forward the following Motion on his behalf:
WHEREAS the site plan for the articulated bus garage at 735
Industrial Ave. was approved in consultation with the public;
AND WHEREAS the public has not had the opportunity to have a public
meeting to discuss the impact of the on-site operations due to the increased
number of buses;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to hold a public consultation session in collaboration with
the ward Councillor and report back to Transit Committee in the form of an IPD,
which will outline the measures being undertaken to address the publics’
concerns.
The following public delegations were received:
Charles Akben-Marchand, past President, Citizens for Safe Cycling spoke briefly about how the new bus garage impacts on the rack-n-roll service. They want to see the program expanded in the season as well as to more routes and he was seeking assurance that the new garage will be able to accommodate articulated buses with bicycle racks.
Mr. Mercier confirmed that the new garage would be built to accommodate the buses with bicycle racks.
David Gladstone emphasized that investment for maintaining the City’s bus fleet is consistent with the objective of having more people travel on light rail in the future. He maintained it is overdue for the City to expand the O-train on existing rail lines, rather then investing on increasing the articulated bus fleet.
David Jeanes demonstrated in an overhead slide of the Pinecrest garage, that the building and the surrounding land were originally the proposed route for the West Transit way to reach Lincoln Fields. He noted that the alternative (and longer) route via Roman Avenue was selected because of concerns of tunnelling under Connaught Avenue. He pointed out that if this garage is decommissioned, it may in fact make the routing of rapid transit through that particular tight corner much easier and better to do on the original EA route, thereby eliminating having to expropriate homes along Roman Avenue and providing a shorter and less curved route for buses and light rail (should the latter be extended farther west).
Also, before decommissioning and selling off this facility, Mr. Jeanes pointed out that it is ideally located as a minor maintenance and storage facility for light rail for the west end. If it is decommissioned, there will be no bus storage facility anywhere in the western portion of the Transitway, resulting in having to duplicate the facility between Lincoln Fields and Baseline, which he was not convinced was not required. He did not think Council could simply dismiss the future use of that property, when there could potentially be a much earlier extension of LRT to Bayshore.
With specific reference to the report before Committee, Mr. Jeanes was not comfortable with the recommendation to build a new facility that is somewhat temporary in nature, if the City does build light rail.
When asked to respond to the delegation’s comments, specifically with regards to the West Transitway route, Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager agreed it was a good point that merits examination.
Commenting on the delegation’s suggestions re the decommissioning the garage, Mr. Mercier indicated that staff had identified the potential for this garage and due to it’s limited nature, it was deemed not desirable as an expansion facility when looking at the lifecycle of the building and the options available. He concurred that the notion of having a garage facility in the west end is one of due consideration that staff would obviously examine, but he explained that such decisions would not be made for another eight to ten years. This report advises Council that if it were to put some money into the core operation, the facilities should be sized to avoid any future construction. Further, this facility is almost entirely surrounded on two sides by residential development, which makes it very difficult to consider expansion in this area. He agreed these were valid points made and staff would examine them over the next few years and bring forward any alternatives.
With regards to the general argument of increasing capacity in the short term, Councillor Legendre asked staff to explain why this report appears to focus on the long-term for the garage capacity. Mr. Mercier explained that several years ago, the need for a new garage was identified once the City had over 900 buses. There are currently 1027 buses in the system so therefore the City has already surpassed capacity to store buses. Further, the TMP indicates approximately 1250 buses required going into the period of 2021. The question is building a special purpose facility for the maximum fleet size above the current level today, even with rail.
The Chair referenced the current Environmental Assessment (EA) for the original route for the Southwest Transitway crossing the Pinecrest corridor, passing under Connaught Avenue and underneath the parking garage to arrive at the north side of the Queensway and suggested that if there is no need for the garage, the EA would examine the alternative of an at-surface route from the Southwest Transitway to the north side of the Queensway. Mr. Mercier confirmed that it would be the right approach to consider those alternatives that the long-term need for the garage would be in question and therefore it opens up those avenues to assess the corridors today. He confirmed there would be enough time to adjust the need for the garage in time with other needs for the corridor. He confirmed that the report before Committee does not make a recommendation to close the Pinecrest garage and that a report about the future of that facility would not be brought back for about two years.
The Chair presumed that the EA would have to factor in the timing of all these things because if the City should decide to decommission the garage, there is an at-surface route that may be considered instead. Ms. Schepers confirmed this understanding.
David James echoed the comments made by the other delegation with regards to the Pinecrest garage and further suggested that if that facility is decommissioned, the property could be used for a station, and there may be an opportunity for a transit-oriented development on this site as well.
In considering the report, and following a series of questions posed to staff on the need for bus garages, Councillor Leadman asked whether there would be a cost associated with decommissioning the property where the Pinecrest garage is located. Mr. Mercier explained that there would be, but until an alternative use of the land has been identified, he was not in a position to provide the cost details.
Councillor Wilkinson suggested that moving to light rail would reduce the number of buses required to service the system and remove a lot of the pressure on the main routes. Therefore, she wondered why there would be a requirement for more garages. The General Manager responded by stating that what is being recommended will serve the modest growth to support the rail base infrastructure. As the City moves into the second phase of the rail project with more expansion of the rail system, it will be looking at how many buses will be avoided; what the long-term bus fleet size will be; and, will that require another garage? He offered that the current thinking is to concentrate on and optimize the three major industrial sites, which should bring the City to approximately 1300 buses of capacity. He added that if growth is beyond that, another garage facility should be considered.
Councillor Wilkinson noted that on top of that, there is a need for a garage and maintenance yards for light rail and she wondered that if there were streetcars, would they go to the same maintenance yard or require one of their own. Mr. Mercier indicated that should there be more displacement of the bus network that would cause a downsizing and is the reason why staff wants to be conservative and only invest in the three core sites. By increasing this garage now, it postpones, at least until light rail is in place, what the next steps are going to be.
Councillor Desroches considered the fact that double-decker buses have been added to the fleet and wondered what the future fleet is going to look like and whether or not this report is based on the assumption that the City is moving forward with articulated buses when in fact there could be a possibility (or a risk) to rely more on double-decker buses. The General Manager explained that each bus design serves different parts of the market, i.e., articulated buses will operate in high density routes, whereas the double-deckers best serve the commuter and suburban market. He believed the sizing was correct for the future and if double-deckers are a chosen technology, they will be accommodated in the Merivale facility, which will be converted for that type of bus.
Staff confirmed the Motion would not have an impact on the staff report. Mr. Mercier further stated that staff would continue as planned to not affect the infrastructure project; there would be a public consultation for the phase of adding a second exit and the traffic impact on the site. Councillor Legendre noted that the Motion refers to the site plan for this bus garage and since this is not the Committee that approves site plans, he presumed it is still under the delegated authority of staff. He maintained this would allow for the consultation to occur prior to the approval of the site plan and Ms. Schepers confirmed this understanding.
Moved by M. Wilkinson
WHEREAS the site plan for the articulated bus garage at 735
Industrial Ave. was approved in consultation with the public;
AND WHEREAS the public has not had the opportunity to have a public
meeting to discuss the impact of the on-site operations due to the increased
number of buses;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to hold a public
consultation session in collaboration with the ward Councillor and report back
to Transit Committee in the form of an IPD, which will outline the measures
being undertaken to address the publics’ concerns.
CARRIED
That Transit
Committee recommend Council:
1. Approve
increasing the scope of the construction of the new Articulated Bus Garage at
735 Industrial Ave. to increase the productive capacity of the facility from
147 to 210 articulated buses;
2. Approve
the additional funding to a limit of $15M for Account Number 903780 New Transit
Garage for a revised project authority of $80.363M;
3. Direct staff to undertake an industrial engineering study of existing transit facilities to develop a long-term maintenance and operational plan and present Transit Committee with options to rationalize facilities as part of the 10-Year Transit Operating and Capital Plan for 2010
4. That staff be directed to hold a
public consultation session in collaboration with the ward Councillor and
report back to Transit Committee in the form of an IPD, which will outline the
measures being undertaken to address the publics’ concerns.
CARRIED,
as amended