PETITION IN SUPPORT OF RURAL PUBLIC TRANSIT – WARD 21-RIDEAU-GOULBOURN – ROUTE 245
Report to/Rapport au :
Transit Committee
Comité du transport en commun
and Council / et au Conseil
22 February 2010 / le 22 février 2010
Submitted by/Soumis par : Councillor/Conseiller Alex Cullen
Contact / Personne-ressource : Councillor/Conseiller A. Cullen
(613) 580-2477, Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT: | PETITION IN SUPPORT OF RURAL PUBLIC TRANSIT – WARD 21-RIDEAU-GOULBOURN – ROUTE 245 |
OBJET : | PÉTITION EN APPUI DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN RURAL – QUARTIER 21 – RIDEAU-GOULBOURN – TRAJET 245 |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That the Transit Committee suspend the Rules of Procedure, by a vote of three-quarters of the members present and voting, in order to consider this item;
2. That the Transit Committee consider recommending that Council suspend the Rules of Procedure to consider and approve the re-instatement of Route 245; and
3. That publication of this matter as an item in the Committee Agenda in the Friday advertisement in the newspapers be deemed to fulfil the requirements of the Notice By-law.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
1. Que le Comité du transport en commun suspende les règles de procédures, par un vote de trois quarts des membres présents exerçant leur droit, afin de considérer ce point;
2. Que le Comité du transport en commun considère recommander que le Conseil suspende les règles de procédures afin de considérer et approuver le rétablissement du trajet 245; et
3. Que la publication de cette question en tant que point à l’ordre du jour du Comité dans la section des annonces des journaux du vendredi soit jugée comme satisfaisant aux exigences du Règlement sur l’affichage public.
BACKGROUND
On 29 January 2010, during the 2010 Budget deliberations, City Council approved the following motion to discontinue Route 245 south of Century Road:
MOTION NO. 82/8
Moved by Councillor G. Brooks
Seconded by Councillor D. Thompson
WHEREAS the section of OC Transpo Route 245 south of Manotick is currently used by four customer trips each day;
AND WHEREAS the removal of this service would reduce the rural transit service budget by $25, 700 in 2010;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the portion of the Motion No. 82/4 related to Transit Cuts be amended such that the section of Route 245 south of Century Road be discontinued with the April transit schedule change, and that the budget increase be reduced accordingly.
MOTION NO. 82/9
Moved by Councillor M. Wilkinson
Seconded by Councillor J. Harder
That Motion No. 82/8 be referred to Transit Committee for consideration.
WITHDRAWN
Motion No. 82/8 was then put to Council and CARRIED.
On 12 February 2010, members of Council received an e-mail from Andrew Geraghty, a resident of Rideau-Goulbourn Ward, as well as a petition calling for the re-instatement of Route 245. These documents are attached as Documents 1 and 2 respectively.
As Chair of the Transit Committee, Councillor A. Cullen directed that this item be placed on the 1 March 2010 Transit Committee Agenda.
CONSULTATION
Transit Services comments
Ridership on this section of the route has declined substantially and is now at a level at which the subsidy required to operate the service is out of proportion to the benefit it provides for customers and for the City. The value of this service, when measured using standard techniques, is well below the value of any other part of the OC Transpo network.
Transit service from North Gower and Kars was introduced in September 2002. Originally, the service was operated by a contractor for OC Transpo as Route 796, a feeder route to Manotick. Since June 2003, the service has been operated directly, using OC Transpo buses, and has been designated as part of Route 296, Route 45, and currently Route 245. Over these years, the route has been extended within North Gower and changed within Kars and Carleton Golf and Yacht Club, in order to attract more customers and to reduce intrusion in residential areas. Ridership on this southern section of the route has never been high enough to justify the cost of a direct service to downtown, and so it has always been combined with the downtown service from Manotick and is now also combined with the downtown service from Riverside South.
As part of the budget process, staff prepared an option to remove this southern section of Route 245 for the consideration of Council. The ridership figures that were available at that time, collected during 2009, indicated that this section of the route was used by four customer-trips each day. Since the decision to remove this section was taken by Council, staff have been collecting more data. Ridership during February has been higher, in the range of 10 to 12 customer-trips each day.
The information that staff provided in December was that the removal of this section in April 2010 would allow savings of approximately $25,700 in 2010, based on 2009 ridership, expected 2010 transit operating costs, an estimate of the resources saved, and an estimate of the proportion of the full costs that can be achieved as savings in 2010.
The service costs approximately $44,000 per year to operate. At a ridership level of four customer-trips each day, the value of the service is measured at 0.02 customers gained per net dollar spent (this is the standard measure used for comparisons of the value of service). At a ridership level of 12 customer-trips each day, the value is 0.09 customers per net dollar. There is no set minimum standard below which OC Transpo services are removed, but staff do not recommend the introduction of new services or the continuation of existing services that are below 0.20 customers per net dollar, because this is the level at which Council decided to fund in 2005 the restoration of services that had been removed in 2004. With higher ridership, the measured value of a service is greater. It would require that the service be used for 20 customer-trips each day to be as valuable as the least-valuable other service in the system.
With Council’s decision, the last day of service on the southern part of Route 245 will be on Friday, April 16. Starting on Monday, April 19, Route 245 will start in the morning and end in the afternoon at Century Road, at the south end of Manotick.
There are some alternatives available for customers who now use the southern part of Route 245. They are not as convenient as the current service, but they will allow continued access to public transportation for some customers. Customers who have use of a car could use the OC Transpo park-and-ride lots in Manotick, Richmond or at Eagleson, Strandherd, Fallowfield, or Riverview Stations. Customers in North Gower could use the bus services operated by Howard Bus Service (at the carpool lot at Brophy Road/Cedarview Road and Highway 416) or Kemptville Transportation Services (at stops in North Gower). Customers in Kars and Carleton Golf and Yacht Club could use the bus service operated by South Mountain Stagecoach Transit (at a stop in Osgoode).
The removal of the southern section of Route 245 allows the possibility of changes to the areas within which taxes are levied to support rural transit services. Taxes collected in Rural Transit Area A support the conventional rural services from Cumberland Village, Sarsfield/Navan, Vars/Carlsbad Springs, Manotick, Munster/Richmond, and currently North Gower/Kars, as well as Para Transpo service throughout the area. Taxes collected in Rural Transit Area B support only Para Transpo service throughout that area. Once there is no conventional service operated from North Gower and Kars, Council may choose to change the boundaries so that that area is part of Rural Transit Area B rather than the current Rural Transit Area A. Staff will prepare a report on this for the consideration of Transit Committee later in 2010 in time for changes on January 1, 2011.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal/risk management impediments to the implementation of this Report’s recommendations.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Re-instatement of Route 245 south of Century Road would require additional operating funding of $25,700 in 2010 and additional funding of $40,320 on an annual basis.
Pursuant to the Notice By-law, amendments to the budget require notice to be given in the newspapers by two insertions, at least one week apart, the first advertisement being at least 14 days in advance of the meeting. The third recommendation in the report to Committee provides that the listing of this agenda item in Friday’s newspapers will be deemed to comply with the Notice by-law.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Document 1 - E-mail from Andrew Geraghty dated 12 February 2010
Document 2 - Petition for the re-instatement of Route 245
DISPOSITION
City staff to respond to the direction of Committee and Council.
DOCUMENT 1
-----Original Message-----
From: andrew.geraghty
Sent: February 12,2010 9:36 AM
To: Bedard, Georges; Bellemare, Michel; Bloess, Rainer; Brooks, Glenn; Chiarelli, Rick; Cullen, Alex; Deans, Diane; Desroches, Steve; Doucet, Clive; El-Chantiry, Eli; Feltmate, Peggy; Harder, Jan; Holmes, Diane; Hume, Peter E; Hunter, Gord W; Jellett, Rob; Kitchissippi Ward; Legendre, Jacques P; McRae, Maria; Monette, Bob; Qadri, Shad; Thompson, Doug; Wilkinson, Marianne; O'Brien, Larry; info@octranspo.ca; Mercier, Alain
Cc: srosidi; Allen.Holtz; MMckelvey; SGRAHAM; wendy-anne.jones; John.Cree; creefamily
Subject: Petition in Support Rural Public Transit - Ward 21 Rideau-Goulbourn - Route 245
Dear Councillor Cullen,
On January 29, 2010, city council agreed with a motion put forward by Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Glenn Brooks to scrap Route 245 south of Manotick. This despite the fact that Councillor Brooks had never so much as made an attempt to consult with the citizens of Ward 21 on this matter, including the riders of the bus in question, prior to putting forth this motion. Also, the information regarding the proposed cancellation of this was not made available on the City of Ottawa's website prior to the budget meetings.
If we accept the fact that OC Transpo service is vital to the Rideau-Goulbourn community, what sense does it make to scrap Route 245? We believe that this flies in the face of the substance and spirit of the city's own plan: "Ottawa 20/20 Growth Management Strategy <http://www.ottawa.ca/city_services/planningzoning/2020/transpo/toc_en.shtml> " a plan which itself states we must strive, "...to manage growing transportation demand in ways that reinforce its residents' values and aspirations." Clearly, now is the time to develop transit services that encourage the people of Ottawa to reduce their dependency on cars, rather than the opposite. If putting more emphasis on public transportation is to pay more than lip service to the issue of transport, we must plan transit into our communities.
The continued growth of our city and the changing demographics of its population are already generating an increased demand for better public transit. This should be reason enough for us to encourage the residents of Manotick, Richmond, Kars, North Gower, Munster, Stittsville, Ashton, and Fallowfied (all of Ward 21) and their surrounding areas, to use transit - not take it away. If, as is argued in the case of Route 245, it is believed that not enough of us are using the transit provided, hadn't we better ask why that is, and consider how to improve ridership, rather than simply throwing up our hands and saying, " it doesn't work, chop it."?
Attached are the names, addresses and comments of citizens in our Ward who have signed our online petition to date, the online petition interface can be found here: http://bit.ly/w21petition <http://bit.ly/w21petition> A growing groundswell of community members have created and now maintain an online group to protest this error in judgment and to discuss and monitor this matter in an open forum: http://bit.ly/Ward21 <http://bit.ly/ward21>
We propose that residents, the Transit Committee, council members, and OC Transpo staff work together to address the future shape of rural transit - in a cooperative and forward-looking manner. Open consultation is called for where options are discussed and solutions crafted.
As of this writing, we have collected over 130 signatures for our petition and have 77 Facebook group members. We believe this provides tangible evidence of strong support in Ward 21 for restoring Route 245. We therefore respectfully request that city council delay the cancellation of Route 245 and provide us with a chance to have our say at city hall at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Andrew (on behalf of concerned petition signers)
Below is the petition text (also found in the document properties attached); we expect to collect more signature over the upcoming weeks.
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`Support Rural Public Transit - Ward 21 Rideau Goulbourn Route 245
Public Transit provides all Ottawa communities with an essential service. We recognize there is room for improvements to the logistics of many of our bus routes (their frequency and speed to downtown). This is why it is extremely important, with the city of Ottawa's Municipal elections fast approaching, to speak up now and reinforce our support for the city transit commission's (OC Transpo) continued, critical service of our neighbourhoods in Ward 21 (Rideau/Goulbourn).
Public transit provides our community with accessibility, convenience and choice. It increases our property values. It reduces traffic congestion, noise, air pollution and associated public health risks. Public transportation also supports the municipal goals of mixed land use and sustainable development to combat sprawl.
We therefore request that, as part of an ongoing commitment by OC Transpo and the City of Ottawa to all of the above, continued improvements to the public transportation service in Ward 21 be provided, and that the proposed cancellation of Route 245 that services Manotick and communities to the South including CG&YC, Kars and North Gower (Councilor Glenn Brooks recommendations to make cuts to the service and bus 245 notwithstanding) not be allowed to move forward.
This petition will be mailed (in snail and e format) to OC Transpo, Councilor Glenn Brooks and the City of Ottawa’s Mayors office.
DOCUMENT 2
1. Name: Andrew Geraghty on Oct 21, 2006
2. Name: Lisa Geraghty on Oct 21, 2006
3. Name: John Rudzinski on Oct 21, 2006
4. Name: Claire Toplis on Oct 22, 2006
5. Name: Loreto Urquiza-Drechsler on Oct 22, 2006
6. Name: John Cree on Oct 22, 2006
7. Name: Leslie Beckett on Oct 23, 2006
8. Name: Lynn Menard on Oct 23, 2006
9. Name: Rachelle Trudel on Oct 23, 2006
10. Name: Justin Calow on Oct 23, 2006
11. Name: Anonymous on Oct 24, 2006
12. Name: Cheryl Barrett on Oct 24, 2006
13. Name: Allen R. J. Holtz on Oct 24, 2006
14. Name: Anonymous on Oct 24, 2006
15. Name: Chris Plewes on Oct 24, 2006
16. Name: Iain McCallum on Oct 24, 2006
17. Name: Danna Munro on Oct 24, 2006
18. Name: Jamie Munro on Oct 24, 2006
19. Name: Vivian Dwyer on Oct 25, 2006
20. Name: C H Ryan on Oct 25, 2006
21. Name: Susan Rosidi on Oct 25, 2006
22. Name: Lianne Joliffe on Oct 25, 2006
23. Name: Marie-France Bernier on Oct 25, 2006
24. Name: Cheryl Calow on Oct 27, 2006
25. Name: Stephen Check on Oct 31, 2006
26. Name: Stephen Check on Oct 31, 2006
27. Name: Michael Quinn on Oct 31, 2006
28. Name: Anonymous on Nov 1, 2006
29. Name: Fern Mackenzie on Nov 2, 2006
30. Name: Patricia Slight on Nov 2, 2006
31. Name: Anonymous on Nov 2, 2006
32. Name: Lesley Cree on Nov 2, 2006
33. Name: Janet Downey on Nov 2, 2006
34. Name: Bernard Chandler on Nov 2, 2006
35. Name: Sean Hinds on Nov 4, 2006
36. Name: Sean Hinds on Nov 4, 2006
37. Name: Anonymous on Nov 5, 2006
38. Name: Anonymous on Nov 5, 2006
39. Name: Anonymous on Nov 5, 2006
40. Name: Karen S. Brawley on Nov 5, 2006
41. Name: Allan Haan on Nov 7, 2006
42. Name: Nancy Fletcher on Nov 7, 2006
43. Name: Anonymous on Nov 7, 2006
44. Name: Shelley Peake on Nov 7, 2006
45. Name: Mariam Adshead on Nov 7, 2006
46. Name: Yuri Amelin on Nov 7, 2006
47. Name: Wendy-Anne Jones on Nov 7, 2006
48. Name: Anonymous on Nov 7, 2006
49. Name: Anonymous on Nov 7, 2006
50. Name: Christine Linden-Potoczny on Nov 7, 2006
51. Name: Sandra Plewes on Nov 7, 2006
52. Name: Treena Masson on Nov 7, 2006
53. Name: Anonymous on Nov 7, 2006
54. Name: Rosaleen Geraghty on Nov 8, 2006
55. Name: Chris McKelvey on Nov 8, 2006
56. Name: Susan Allen on Nov 8, 2006
57. Name: Yohan Rodericks on Nov 8, 2006
58. Name: Anonymous on Nov 8, 2006
59. Name: AMELIA GIAMBERARDINO on Nov 8, 2006
60. Name: Anonymous on Nov 8, 2006
61. Name: Andrew McCallum on Nov 10, 2006
62. Name: Tom Levasseur on Nov 12, 2006
63. Name: Anonymous on Dec 18, 2007
64. Name: John Cree on Jan 24, 2010
65. Name: Lesley Cree on Jan 24, 2010
66. Name: Stuart Moffatt on Jan 29, 2010
67. Name: Dayanys Perez Abad on Jan 30, 2010
68. Name: Joaquin Rodriguez on Jan 30, 2010
69. Name: Scott Millar on Feb 1, 2010
70. Name: Julie Seaborn on Feb 2, 2010
71. Name: Roben Archibald on Feb 2, 2010
72. Name: Sandra Parmelee on Feb 2, 2010
73. Name: Todd Winterhalt on Feb 2, 2010
74. Name: Sandra Winterhalt on Feb 2, 2010
75. Name: Diana Pratt on Feb 2, 2010
76. Name: Chris Plewes on Feb 2, 2010
77. Name: Andrea Moser on Feb 2, 2010
78. Name: J. S. Graham on Feb 2, 2010
79. Name: Rachelle Trudel on Feb 2, 2010
80. Name: Susan Rosidi on Feb 2, 2010
81. Name: Emmanuelle Goodier on Feb 2, 2010
82. Name: Emily Alguire on Feb 2, 2010
83. Name: Shelley Peake on Feb 2, 2010
84. Name: Wendy-Anne Jones on Feb 2, 2010
85. Name: David Blaikie on Feb 2, 2010
86. Name: Sue Allen on Feb 3, 2010
87. Name: Alasdair Mark Czyrnyj on Feb 3, 2010
88. Name: Yohan Rodericks on Feb 3, 2010
89. Name: Rosaleen Geraghty on Feb 3, 2010
90. Name: Amanda Page on Feb 3, 2010
91. Name: Graham Cree on Feb 3, 2010
92. Name: Jessica Bryson on Feb 3, 2010
93. Name: Melissa McKelvey on Feb 3, 2010
94. Name: Brian MacDonald on Feb 3, 2010
95. Name: Cathy Caldwell on Feb 3, 2010
96. Name: Caroline Ives on Feb 3, 2010
97. Name: Michelle O'Brien on Feb 4, 2010
98. Name: Kaitlin Wainwright on Feb 4, 2010
99. Name: Jaya Levy on Feb 4, 2010
100. Name: Samantha Shone on Feb 4, 2010
101. Name: Daelan Davies on Feb 4, 2010
102. Name: Jeff Serneels on Feb 4, 2010
103. Name: Andrew Gall on Feb 4, 2010
104. Name: Anonymous on Feb 4, 2010
105. Name: Jenn on Feb 4, 2010
106. Name: Jacqueline Fortier on Feb 4, 2010
107. Name: Anonymous on Feb 4, 2010
108. Name: Anonymous on Feb 4, 2010
109. Name: Graham Dewar on Feb 4, 2010
110. Name: Tanya Slight on Feb 4, 2010
111. Name: Louise Dewar on Feb 4, 2010
112. Name: Anonymous on Feb 4, 2010
113. Name: Treena Masson on Feb 4, 2010
114. Name: Ann Milks on Feb 5, 2010
115. Name: Justin Calow on Feb 5, 2010
116. Name: Cassandra Fortier on Feb 5, 2010
117. Name: Monique Lanouette on Feb 5, 2010
118. Name: Greg Payne on Feb 7, 2010
119. Name: Anonymous on Feb 8, 2010
120. Name: Angela Blaikie on Feb 8, 2010
121. Name: Laurie Fenton on Feb 8, 2010
122. Name: Frank Geraghty on Feb 9, 2010
123. Name: Anonymous on Feb 9, 2010
124. Name: Dorothy Laplante on Feb 9, 2010
125. Name: Paul De Bold on Feb 9, 2010
126. Name: Pascale Mazarei on Feb 10, 2010
127. Name: Michelle Hibler on Feb 10, 2010
128. Name: Mike Nemesvary on Feb 10, 2010
129. Name: Mary Anne McPhee on Feb 10, 2010
130. Name: Jason Dewar on Feb 11, 2010
131. Name: Amy Foss on Feb 11, 2010
132. Name: Josephine Geraghty on Feb 11, 2010
133. Name: Jimmy Watkins on Feb 11, 2010
134. Name: E. M. Foss on Feb 11, 2010
135. Name: Julien Braun on Feb 11, 2010
136. Name: Gerald Geraghty on Feb 11, 2010
137. Name: Anonymous on Feb 16, 2010
138. Name: David Sims on Feb 16, 2010
139. Name: Martin on Feb 18, 2010
140. Name: Alison Grant on Feb 18, 2010
141. Name: Dr Ben Taylor on Feb 21, 2010