REPORT. RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the report on Pilot Results Free Transit for Seniors, dated October 25, 2012, from Oakville Transit be received.

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1 REPORT MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2012 FROM: Oakville Transit DATE: October 25, 2012 SUBJECT: Pilot Results - Free Transit for Seniors LOCATION: Town Wide WARD: Town wide Page 1 RECOMMENDATION: 1. That the report on Pilot Results Free Transit for Seniors, dated October 25, 2012, from Oakville Transit be received. 2. That, in accordance with the Council disposition of June 18, 2012, the 2013 Budget Committee consider formalizing a one day per week program, providing free transit for seniors 65 years and up, and any related financial implications be referred to the Budget Committee s deliberation meeting on December 13, KEY FACTS: The following are key points for consideration with respect to this report: Council approved a motion that, subject to the impact on ridership and revenue during the trial period, the 2013 Budget Committee consider formalizing a one day per week program providing free transit services for seniors 65 years and up. On Monday, July 2, 2012 a 13 week pilot program commenced providing seniors with free transit all day on each Monday of the trial period. The pilot program was communicated through a variety of means including newspaper ads, websites, Twitter, handouts, posters, digital display signs and information sessions. For the 13 Mondays during the pilot period, senior ridership increased by 578% or 12,917 trips for the same Mondays in Senior ridership was higher post pilot than it was pre-pilot and senior ridership also increased on revenue generating days (i.e. the rest of the week) throughout the pilot. Senior ridership increases were not confined to a few routes but appeared on all routes except two which are rush hour only.

2 Page 2 The revenue impact of the pilot was less than expected at $11,300 which translates to an annualized projected cost of $45,200. BACKGROUND: On September 22, 2010 the Seniors Advisory Committee made a recommendation that consideration be given to establishing a transit use incentive program for seniors. Specifically, this recommendation was That staff be requested to prepare a report to Council with options for transit fare discounts for youth and seniors, and that consideration also be given to the recommendation of the Seniors Advisory Committee to offer free Oakville Transit bus fares for seniors age 65. On August 15, 2011 Oakville Transit reported to the Community Services Committee that the total annual cost of providing free transit for seniors would be approximately $330,000. If free rides were restricted to the period from10:00 am to 4:00 pm the lost revenue was estimated at $264,000. In light of this, staff recommended that free transit for seniors not be approved and that we offer our support to the Low Income Transit Subsidy program (SPLIT) which was being developed by Halton Region. Although the Seniors Advisory Committee no longer exists, other senior support groups continued to advocate for reduced fares. It was generally accepted that reducing or eliminating fares for seniors would increase their use of transit. However there was no means of determining the degree to which ridership might increase. In addition, staff was only able to project an approximate loss of revenue. There was only limited ability to determine the extent to which the actual revenue experience would be influenced by all factors. Given the degree of on-going support for a reduction or elimination of transit fares for seniors it was determined that a pilot program may be appropriate. This would allow for an assessment of actual experience over a defined period of time thereby providing the opportunity for a more informed decision on the merits of such a program. As a result, Council approved the following motion at its June 18, 2012 meeting. WHEREAS, our seniors have made significant contributions to our community and it is important to recognize this contribution; WHEREAS, many seniors in our community live on a fixed income; WHEREAS, the Metrolinx Big Move report identifies that Without access to variable alternatives to driving, many seniors may become isolated, limiting their access to the services and social connections they need. ; WHEREAS, it is important for our seniors to be able to maintain their dignity in their sunshine years;

3 Page 3 WHEREAS, a study in the United Kingdom looked at the impact of the introduction in April 2006 of free travel on local buses for all residents 60 years and older, and concluded that The introduction of free bus travel for older residents of England appears to have increased public transport use and may have conferred a protective effect against obesity. ; WHEREAS, municipalities such as Moncton, New Brunswick, and Ottawa, Ontario, have successfully offered free seniors transit during select days of the week; WHEREAS, a pilot program by the Region of Halton to subsidize transit fares for low income households has not been able to keep up with demand by seniors in Oakville; WHEREAS, free public transit for seniors would likely promote transit use in Oakville and enhance the lives of our valued older population; and WHEREAS, the impact of a one day per week program for Oakville s seniors would likely not be sufficient to cause a shift in senior ticket and pass purchase patterns and, as such, would have minimal impact on Oakville Transit s annual revenue; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Oakville Transit offer free public transit for a trial period of three months commencing July 1, 2012, for seniors aged 65 and up one day per week, on a day to be determined by Oakville Transit; THAT when the trial program ends on September 30, 2012, the results of the trial be provided to the 2013 Budget Committee for consideration; and THAT subject to the impact on ridership and revenue during the trial period, the 2013 Budget Committee consider formalizing a one day per week program providing free transit services for seniors 65 years and up. Subsequent to this direction, Oakville Transit established that Monday would be the day on which free service for seniors would be offered. This day was selected for two reasons. First, there was a need to ensure that the day of free transit did not conflict with the schedule for the existing Seniors Special service (dedicated, once a week bus service for each of three senior residences). Secondly, there was a desire to minimize expected revenue loss to the extent possible. It was felt that there would be less trip migration on a Monday than on a day of the week with a weekday on either side. On Monday, July 2, 2012 the 13 week pilot program commenced. Seniors were provided free transit all day for each Monday during the trial period.

4 Page 4 Every effort was made to ensure that senior residents throughout the town were made aware of this pilot program. Notification of the availability of free transit service for seniors on Mondays was communicated by the following means: Advertisements placed in the Oakville Beaver, Oakville Today & Forever Young Posters were placed on all the Oakville Transit buses during the pilot period Posters were hand delivered for posting at senior residences in town Information was made available on the Town of Oakville website and the Oakville Transit website for the entire pilot period Staff hosted an information session for senior resident multicultural groups Regular weekly tweets were sent out through the Oakville Transit Twitter account and reminder Tweets were also sent by followers Paper copies of the survey were available at Town Hall, Oakville Transit, and each of the Library/Community Centre locations An on-line survey was advertised and made available during the pilot period. Hard copies were made available to seniors with no access to the Internet Staff attended the Senior Centre Open House sessions in September to provide information and assist with the completion of surveys Staff attended the three major senior residences to speak about the pilot Digital display screen postings were prevalent at all community centers A full page advertisement was placed in the seniors newsletter Information post cards were distributed at community centers and libraries COMMENT/OPTIONS: The results and analysis of the pilot are provided in detail in Appendix A to this staff report, and they can be summarized as follows: Ridership Impact The use of Oakville Transit services by seniors increased substantially exceeding staff expectations with a 578% increase on the thirteen days observed in this pilot see Figure 1 Figure 1

5 Page 5 It was observed that senior ridership on the two Mondays immediately following the pilot (average of 692 rides) was higher by 20% than it was on the two days immediately preceding the pilot (average of 575 rides) It was also observed prior to the pilot program that senior ridership on Tuesdays averaged 531 rides per day. The average senior ridership on Tuesdays after completion of the free Monday pilot was 651; a 22.5% increase, indicating that free transit did translate into retention of senior ridership post pilot. During the pilot, rather than a decline in ridership on Tuesdays as a result of free transit on Mondays, there was in fact an 8.6% increase and an indication that seniors were using transit more often even on days when a fare was required. Total senior ridership to end of September 2012 was 147, ,917 of these rides occurred on Mondays from July to September (directly related to the pilot), resulting in actual paid ridership (net of the free rides) being 134,425, which is a 14.9% increase (17,418 senior rides) over the same period in Assessing the trends in 2012 senior ridership independent of the free Monday pilot, in the first six months of 2012 (pre-pilot) ridership was 88,907; or 11.4% higher than the 2011 total of 79,789. When factoring out of the analysis any increasing trend in senior ridership prior to the pilot period, we calculate the ridership growth by seniors for the July, August and September period in 2012 as 8,300 rides over 2011, resulting in paid ridership among that group increasing by 22.3%. Ridership Distribution With the exception of two rush hour only routes, the increase in senior ridership was realized across the system.

6 Page 6 Six routes were identified as being the most utilized by seniors in absolute numbers, and five other routes experienced the largest percentage increase in senior ridership. Revenue Impact Overall, to the end of September 2012, Oakville Transit has seen a $361,081 or 7.9% increase in revenue from fares, however the revenue from senior ridership has declined by $11,306 or 13.1% which represents the cost associated with delivery of a free service This amount is well below what was expected. The retention of senior ridership post pilot, the lack of expected migration from Tuesday to Monday, and the additional paid rides taken by seniors on other days during the pilot all combine to account for the less than expected lost revenue. A review of Oakville Transit senior ticket sales through the period shows a year over year decrease in sales of approximately 18.9% through the months of July, August and September. In addition to this, cash fares paid by seniors are estimated to have declined by $2,311 or 15.8%. Partially offsetting this decline in revenue was a 5.7% increase in Senior Pass sales and an additional 4,050 paid rides occurring on other days during the pilot. The net cost of providing free transit for seniors on Monday between July 2 nd and September 24 th is estimated to be $11,300. Therefore, expansion of this program to a full year would result in an annualized net reduction in revenue from fares of approximately $45,200. Survey Results During the Free Mondays for Seniors pilot, customers were asked to provide feedback via a survey. Oakville Transit received 219 survey results. The following is a summary of the survey results: 62% indicated that they had used Oakville Transit prior to the pilot 75% confirmed that the cost of transit prevents them from using the service although many respondents (77%) skipped this question The majority of respondents used transit between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm The main purpose for travel was for shopping and/or medical appointments The greatest number of respondents 26.1% selected Monday as the day they would prefer to have should this program continue; Wednesday was second at 23.9%

7 Page 7 Appendix B provides the survey results as well as a summary of all the additional comments which were received from survey respondents. Other Benefits Anecdotally, we have heard from both seniors and transit drivers throughout the period of the pilot. We have been told by seniors of the days they have spent exploring the town, visiting friends and shopping when they otherwise would have stayed home. From our drivers we have heard of groups of seniors travelling together for day outings. Some have also reported that groups of seniors would board their bus and simply go wherever it took them. More than 30,000 additional transit trips have been taken to date this year by seniors. It would be fair to assume that there are social, health and economic benefits associated with this increase. Summary While overall transit ridership in 2012 has increased by less than 3% year to date, it has increased by 25.9% among seniors. Even if the additional non-revenue generating rides which occurred on the Mondays of the pilot are removed, senior ridership is still up 14.9% over the same period in The two major factors influencing this outcome are the SPLIT program and the Free Transit on Mondays pilot. The annual cost of continuing this program is estimated to be $45,200. CONSIDERATIONS: (A) PUBLIC This program primarily benefits the senior residents within the community. The availability of free travel by public transit one day per week for seniors may assist in removing the financial barrier to their use of transit. There are also social, health and economic benefits associated with this program. (B) FINANCIAL The ongoing cost associated with this program is the revenue lost as a result of providing free trips. Based on the results of the three month pilot, annual lost revenue would be approximately $45,200. Accordingly, for this program to become a permanent, full year offering by the town, the Oakville Transit operating budget for 2013 would need to be increased by $45,200. (C) IMPACT ON OTHER DEPARTMENTS & USERS This program has no impact on any other department. In addition, there was no noticeable increase in demand for care-a-van services during the period of the pilot.

8 Page 8 (D) CORPORATE AND/OR DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC GOALS This report addresses the corporate strategic goal to: continuously improve our programs and services be fiscally sustainable enhance our social environment have accessible programs/services be the most livable town in Canada (E) COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY This program impacts on social sustainability by helping to break down barriers to use of public transit for senior residents, and results in them being more active, involved and engaged members of the community. APPENDICES: Appendix A Pilot Results and Analysis Free Transit for Seniors Appendix B Senior Survey Results Prepared and Submitted by: Barry Cole Director, Oakville Transit