Operations Telephone (905) 468-4261 Facsimile (905) 468-4555 1565 Creek Road P.O. Box 190 Virgil, Ontario L0S 1T0 Report: OPS-15-026 Committee Date: May 04, 2015 Due in Council: May 11, 2015 Report To: Subject: Operations Advisory Committee Expanding Transit Service to St. Davids and Queenston 1. RECOMMENDATION It is respectfully recommended 1. 2. That staff be directed to add 11 hours of transit service per day (Monday to Saturday, excluding holidays) to the communities of St. Davids and Queenston as a pilot between July and October 2015 at an estimated cost of $63,000 plus any applicable fuel surcharge. That written authorization to increase "Revenue Service Hours" be given to the Operator pursuant to Section 6.11 of the Public Transportation Agreement. 2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL To secure Council approval for a pilot expansion of Transit service to the villages of St. Davids and Queenston. 3. BACKGROUND Council approved a motion at the February 9, 2015 Council meeting that the Operations Department investigate and report on the feasibility of adding transit service to the communities of Queenston and St. Davids, including an estimate of costs associated with this initiative. 4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS The Town's existing transit routes provide hourly service to the communities of Old Town, Virgil and Glendale from 7:45 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., Monday to Saturday excluding statutory holidays. Ridership on this 36 kilometre route has doubled since the launch of Transit service in 2012 and requests for service to St. Davids and Queenston have grown steadily. The 2015 Transit budget included monies for both a modest expansion of service Report : OPS-15-026 Page 1
and for a consultant to assist with evaluating the options for expansion. Accordingly, Wally Beck of the Transit Consulting Network was engaged to provide advice regarding a low-cost strategy for the provision of service to St. Davids and Queenston. Mr. Beck was the former Director of Transit for the City of Kitchener, and his broad Canadian and international consulting expertise includes transit route and network planning as well as sustainable growth management for small municipalities. The geographic layout of the Town's 5 hamlets makes it challenging to provide transit service within the accepted parameters of efficient operations. Long stretches of rural roads between our urban areas skew conventional transit models by increasing travel time without contributing significant ridership as illustrated below: Service Guideline Existing NOTL Transit Route St. Davids - /Queenston* (11 hrs/day, service) Maximum annual service hours per capita (of route catchment) 0.30 0.49 0.81 Residents per km. of route 1,000 276 131 Maximum average speed of travel 20-25 (including stops) km/hr 39.4 km/hr 31.6 km/hr * Based on 304 days of service per year, 31.6 km route, 4,137 catchment population Although the Glendale urban area has been included in the catchment population of the proposed Glendale-St. Davids-Queenston route, it is not anticipated that Glendale will be a significant generator of ridership in the direction of St. Davids and Queenston. Alteration of the existing Transit route to incorporate St. Davids was initially considered, and it was on this premise that 2015 budgeting for expansion was based. However, modification of the existing route would create several undesirable conditions including: Longer travel times on the return trip between Glendale and Virgil than passengers currently experience. Creation of an undesirably long one-way loop whereby riders wishing to travel in the opposite direction must travel the entire loop to return to their point of origin. Modification of the existing schedule from 60 minute to 80 minute service. These modifications could serve to discourage existing riders on the Old Town-Glendale route, or inhibit future ridership growth. Although the metrics of a Glendale-St. Davids-Queenston route fall below Report : OPS-15-026 Page 2
conventional standards for the provision of transit, there are several offsetting considerations to the implementation of transit service: St. Davids is experiencing a period of growth with new development targeted at seniors, young families and middle-income households. The provision of transit facilitates an improved quality of life for individuals who can no longer drive, families without a car or two-income families sharing one vehicle. There are limited essential services in St. Davids and Queenston. Vehicle ownership or expensive taxi fares are the only options for residents of those communities to connect with services in Niagara-on-the-Lake or in neighbouring municipalities. Extension of transit and the provision of connections to Niagara College, Niagara Regional Transit and other urban areas of Niagara-on-the-Lake will help attract new residents to St. Davids. Growth in new St. Davids subdivisions is expected to facilitate a corresponding growth in potential student ridership Transit ridership is more readily encouraged by providing transit to a new development before occupancy. It is more challenging to shift travel preference from private vehicle to public transit after a development is complete. Many requests for transit to St. Davids and Queenston are made by callers requesting parity of service with the other urban areas of Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was therefore recommended by Mr. Beck that the existing Old Town-Glendale route continue without modification, and a linear Glendale-St. Davids-Queenston route added as a pilot to confirm that sufficient demand for this service exists. (draft route attached as Appendix A). Two service options for the recommended route were considered, both providing coverage Monday through Saturday excluding statutory holidays. A full-service equivalent to the Old Town-Glendale route would run 11 hours per day, 304 days per year for a total of 3,344 hours. A more limited schedule of 5 hours per day for 304 days would total 1,520 hours. A limited schedule is not the preferred option as while it would accommodate trips for shopping and connections to essential services, it would not effectively serve student or commuter passengers. A 4-month trial of full service would both capture summer and fall demand on the proposed expansion route, and align with the amount budgeted for transit expansion in 2015. This trial would encompass 103 days (1.133 hours) of additional service. Based on first-year ridership of the Old Town-Heritage route scaled to the population of the proposed expansion route, it is estimated that ridership for a 4-month, 11-hour/day pilot would be would be 500 passenger trips, while a full year would generate an estimated 1,700 trips. Riders on the Heritage-Old Town and Glendale-Queenston routes would connect in Glendale with a free transfer to NOTL Transit, with Niagara College Student Transit Report : OPS-15-026 Page 3
(NCSAC) to Niagara Falls, Welland and St. Catharines for a $3 cash fare, or with Niagara Regional Transit Route 50/55 to Niagara Falls and St. Catharines for a $6 fare. Both NCSAC and Niagara Regional Transit connect to the Downtown St. Catharines bus terminal and to the Niagara Falls Transit hub at the Zehrs/Target plaza where connections to those municipal systems are available. It should be noted that Queenston currently has a seasonal connection to Old Town and NOTL Transit via the Niagara Parks Commission WEGO service (Victoria Day to Thanksgiving). It is possible that WEGO passengers from Niagara Falls wishing to access the Outlet Collection at Niagara could be a seasonal source of ridership for the proposed Glendale-St. Davids-Queenston route, however this connection would require negotiation with WEGO. Should ridership for the proposed pilot prove unsustainably low, reducing daily service hours or exploring a shuttle-based transportation model will bear consideration. Mr. Beck advises that other communities have successfully used fixed-route shared taxi or dial-a-ride programs, and that 6-passenger vehicle contracts in Ontario average $45/hour. Due to the limited number of taxi/paratransit taxicab licences assigned to Niagara-on-the-Lake and the requirement for Police Services Board consent for a licensed shuttle route, this option would require further investigation. Provision of taxi or shuttle-based service would be subject to a "Request for Proposal" procurement process. 5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The 2015 Transit budget includes $58,000 for potential route expansion. A 4-month, 11 hour/day pilot, Monday to Saturday excluding statutory holidays is estimated to cost $63,000 exclusive of any fuel surcharge. To provide 11 hour per day service for a calendar year beginning in July would cost an estimated $189,000 spanning two budget years. There would also be capital costs estimated at $2,400 for the necessary bus stop signage, and advertising and print media expenses estimated at $2,000. With projected ridership for the proposed pilot estimated at 500 passengers, the $3.00 fare will not provide a significant offset to operating expenses. Mr. Beck also recommends offering the initial month of service fare-free to encourage ridership. Provincial Gas Tax funding for transit is based 70% on ridership and 30% on municipal population, and is calculated annually using transit data from the previous year. Ridership on a Glendale to Queenston pilot route would not likely be sufficient to alter the current funding level of NOTL Transit, and any funding which may result from the pilot would not be reflected in our allotment until 2016. Report : OPS-15-026 Page 4
Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance can be met by using the scheduled accessible bus on a fixed-flex route strategy where an additional time allowance is built into the route scheduling to accommodate door-to-door service for passengers unable to access a bus stop. It is therefore anticipated that there will be no additional Specialized Transit costs associated with the pilot expansion. It should be noted that Niagara-on-the-Lake Transit unsuccessfully applied for the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) Community Transport Pilot Grant for service expansion to St. Davids. A total of $1 million in grants were available for the two-year pilot, with 56 agencies applying and 11 agencies qualifying for funding. If the MTO pilot is successful it will be followed by a permanent grant program for which the Town may be eligible. 6. COMMUNICATIONS Communication regarding NOTL Transit route expansion to St. Davids and Queenston will be disseminated through press releases. Schedule and route maps will be distributed through newspaper advertisements, print materials and the Town's website. Creekside Senior Estates was a partner in application for the MTO Community Transport Pilot Grant, and information regarding any route expansion will be provided to the Co-operative, to the sales office of Cannery Park, through St. Davids condominium associations, the St. Davids Lions Club and St. Davids and Queenston churches. NOTL Transit will also offer escorted familiarization rides and travel training targeted to seniors in conjunction with the fare-free month noted above. Familiarization rides will help establish confident use of the expanded route and associated connections within and without Niagara-on-the-Lake. Riders will be surveyed periodically throughout the trial period to determine how well the expanded transit is meeting their needs, and whether route and/or timing adjustments are necessary. Boardings and rider demographics will be recorded on an ongoing basis as they are on the existing transit routes. 7. CONCLUSION Given the current demographic of St. Davids and Queenston there will not likely be significant student or commuter demand during the proposed pilot. To remain within the amount budgeted for Transit expansion in 2015 while demonstrating that there is sufficient core ridership for a Glendale-St. Davids-Queenston route it is recommended that the pilot first be based on 11 hours of service per day between July 1 and October 31, 2015, with ridership and community response to be assessed and a report provided by staff in September 2015. Report : OPS-15-026 Page 5
Prepared by, Approved by, Marci Weston Engineering Technologist Doug Kerr, C.E.T. Manager of Public Works Respectfully submitted, Sheldon Randall Director of Operations Mike Galloway, MBA, CMO Chief Administrative Officer ATTACHMENTS First Capital of Upper Canada - 1792 Report : OPS-15-026 Page 6