M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E

To / Destinataire	Chair and Members, Transportation Committee / Présidente et membres du Comité des transports	File/N° de fichier: ACS2004-TUP-TRN-0006-IPD
From / Expéditeur	Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services Department / Directrice municipale adjointe, Services et Travaux publics	Contact / personne-ressource : G. Diamond 842-3636 ext. 2271 Gordon.diamond@ottawa.ca
Subject / Objet	Winterlude and Tulip Festival Shuttles / Navettes du Bal de neige et du Festival des tulipes.	Date: 6 August 2004/le 6 août 2004

BACKGROUND

Winterlude

The Winterlude Festival is organized by the National Capital Commission and occurs over three weekends in February. It focuses on activities in the central areas of Ottawa and Gatineau, as well as on the Rideau Canal between downtown and Dow’s Lake.

Before amalgamation, OC Transpo used to support the festival through the provision of a free shuttle (the Sno-Bus) between events in exchange for “in-kind” benefits, which were largely promotional. Since amalgamation, the City has continued to provide the service at no cost to the National Capital Commission, however, in 2004, fares were charged for the service for the first time. The fares were discussed at Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on 20 January 2004 and approved by Council on 28 January 2004.

A fare of $2.50, or two 85¢ tickets, was charged for a Winterlude Shuttle Day Pass. Children aged 11 and under were able to use the shuttle service free of charge, and all valid OC Transpo and STO fare instruments were accepted. Fares were also charged on the same basis by STO, which operates a Winterlude Shuttle from downtown Ottawa to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau.

The Tulip Festival

The Tulip Festival, organized by The Canadian Tulip Festival, is held each year in the first half of May. It covers three weekends with activities focussed in downtown Ottawa/Gatineau, around Dow’s Lake and Queen Elizabeth Driveway and at the Casino du Lac Leamy.

The festival is supported by transit shuttle services provided by OC Transpo and STO, with transfers taking place in downtown Ottawa. The OC Transpo shuttle operates between Major’s Hill Park and Dow’s Lake. Until this year, no charge has been made to either the customers or organizers for these services. This year, the same approach was taken to fares as for the Winterlude shuttle, although people who had purchased Tulip shuttle ‘Passports’ were allowed to ride free.

In approving the Corporate Services and Economic Development report on changes to City support for Winterlude and the introduction of a fare, staff were asked to monitor the situation and report back to Committee and Council next year on the impact transit fares have had on such things as usage, parking revenues and traffic in the area of popular events. This memo responds to that direction.

DISCUSSION

Winterlude

This year, as in the past, the Winterlude Shuttle was operated by OC Transpo from Major’s Hill Park to Dow’s Lake. STO operated a service from Confederation Square to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau. However, in discussion with the NCC and STO, OC Transpo took a different approach to service provision from that in previous years. More of the Winterlude attractions were centrally located, reducing the need for visitors to travel. In addition, it was assumed that the imposition of a fare would reduce ridership. Therefore, the operation was scaled back to a basic frequency of 10 minutes, on the understanding that extra service would be provided from the regular operator spare board, should it be required. This approach worked well and operating costs were significantly lower this year as a result.

Customers paid the fares with very little concern. OC Transpo Customer Relations received only three calls in the first weekend and after that heard nothing. In view of the fact that the service has been free for years, this is considered a remarkably smooth transition.

Operations also went well, with little concern being raised. It was not necessary to add more service to the shuttle, which handled passenger demand with occasional crowding but with no need to leave passengers behind at stops. Customer Relations received one complaint about the level of service from a customer who had a long wait on one of the very cold Winterlude days.

While there was some anticipation of increased vehicular traffic due to potential reluctance by patrons to pay for the Winterlude Shuttle service, no significant changes in comparison to previous years were observed by Safety and Traffic Services staff. Similarly, staff did not identify any additional areas where parking prohibitions should be implemented for public safety or to maintain traffic flows, and, Parking Control Officers did not observe any significant increase in the number of parking infractions over those experienced in recent years.

Overall, the net cost to the City of the Winterlude Shuttle in 2004 was reduced by $27,000 to $21,000. Operating costs were $36,000 and fare revenues were $15,000. Over the three weekends, it is estimated that 25,000 customer trips were provided.

A comparison of the service this year and last year is given in Exhibit 1. Passenger counts on this service have not been previously available.

The Tulip Festival

Arrangements for transit services for the Tulip Festival were also changed this year to reduce the net cost to taxpayers in Ottawa and Gatineau. As for Winterlude, a fare of $2.50 was charged by OC Transpo and STO for a Tulip Festival DayPass. However, as well as exempting those with a valid STO or OC Transpo fare instrument, people with a Tulip Festival ‘Passport’ were not charged. The Tulip Festival ‘Passport’ was introduced this year by the Festival organizers. For a charge of $15, Passport holders were allowed access to many Festival attractions, and could use the Tulip Festival Shuttle without charge. The Passports were widely distributed through hotels and Loblaws stores.

OC Transpo and STO entered into an agreement with the Festival organizers that they would receive $2 per Passport for every passport sold in excess of 10,000. This would be divided between OC Transpo and STO in proportion to the hours of service provided. The organizers’ estimated that 15,000 passes would be sold.

The amount of service provided by OC Transpo this year was reduced significantly from the previous year (607 hours compared with 1,108 hours). While this reduced costs, there was overcrowding at busy times and staff will recommend adding more service at these times next year, which will add about $10,000 to the operating costs.

There was very little concern expressed about charging fares but there were a few problems resulting from overcrowding, particularly during the second weekend.

The Queen Elizabeth Driveway was not closed for the Festival, which caused delays and increased transit operating costs. The Tulip Festival Shuttle also ran into difficulties at the traffic circle at the Dow’s Lake Pavilion, which needed greater control by the NCC and Festival organizers. These issues will need to be addressed for next year.

Traffic and Parking Operations staff suggest that next year Queen Elizabeth Driveway should be closed between Queen Elizabeth Place (immediately west of Bank Street) and Dow's Lake Pavilion as a condition of providing the service. Closing Queen Elizabeth Driveway in this section to limited service related Festival traffic and the Shuttle would bring the dual benefits of minimizing vehicular traffic and enhancing pedestrian safety in the area. Such a closure should include the turn around loop in front of the Pavilion in a manner similar to the Winterlude closure.

While there was some anticipation of increased vehicular traffic due to potential reluctance by patrons to pay for the Tulip Festival Shuttle service, no significant changes in comparison to previous years were observed by Safety and Traffic Services staff. Similarly, staff did not identify any additional areas where parking prohibitions should be implemented for public safety or to maintain traffic flows, and, Parking Control Officers did not observe any significant increase in the number of parking infractions over those experienced in recent years.

The financial results for the Tulip Shuttle are also shown in Exhibit 1. The net cost of the operation was $17,700 this year. However, as discussed above, in future years the amount of service supplied should be increased, which would add approximately $10,000 to the costs. The information that we have received from the Festival organizers is that approximately 10,200 Passports were sold, and a small payment of about $300 will be made towards the transit service.

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

As part of the 2004 Budget, Council approved a policy of providing special transit services only when costs are fully covered. As a result, the City is discussing sponsorship, fare and other options with festival organizers to ensure there will be reasonable transit support to these major events in 2005. The Winterlude and the Tulip Festivals account for the majority of the $130,000 identified for elimination. These cost $48,000 and $61,000 respectively.

In the 2004 Draft Budget, it was assumed that in 2004, during the year of transition to full cost-recovery, the cost of special transit services would be reduced by $20,000. Charging a fare and scaling back service for the Winterlude this year reduced the net cost to the City to $21,000.

Taking the same approach to the Tulip Festival shuttle reduced its net cost this year to $17,700, for a total of $70,300 saved in 2004.

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:

R.T. Leclair

cc: Director, Traffic and Parking Operations

Director, Transit Services

Coordinator, Transportation Committee

Chief Communications Officer, Corporate Services

Traffic Inquiry Management System

EXHIBIT 1

COMPARISON OF SHUTTLE SERVICE

WINTERLUDE
	2003	2004
Hours of Service	806	541
Cost	$48,000	$36,000
# OF Passengers Carried	N/A	26,000
Revenue	0	$15,000
Net Cost	$48,000	$21,000

TULIP FESTIVAL
	2003	2004
Hours of Service	1,108	607
Cost	$61,000	$35,000
# OF Passengers Carried	N/A	40,000
Revenue from fares	0	$17,000
revenue from passports	N/A	$300
Net Cost	$61,000	$17,700