Report to/Rapport au :

Transit Commission

Commission du transport en commun

and Council / et au Conseil

12 October 2011 / 12 octobre 2011

Submitted by/Soumis par: Alain Mercier, General Manager/Directeur général

Transit Services/Services du transport en commun

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Pat Scrimgeour, Manager, Transit Service Design

Transit Services/Service de transports en commun

(613) 580-2424, ext. 2205

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Transit Commission recommend that Council approve the following two revisions to the transit tax areas, to be effective on January 1, 2012, and that Council enact an implementing by-law:

·         Expanding the Urban Transit Area to encompass all of the current Stittsville Town Transit Area, and abolishing the Stittsville TTA as a separate area; and,

·         Revising the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B so that it follows Century Road between the Rideau River and McCordick Road.

RecommandationS du rapport

Que la Commission du transport en commun recommande au Conseil d’approuver les deux modifications suivantes aux zones fiscales du transport en commun, qui entreront en vigueur le 1^er janvier 2012, et d’adopter un règlement de mise en œuvre visant :

·         l’expansion de la zone de transport en commun urbain afin qu’elle regroupe toute la zone de transport en commun actuelle de Stittsville et l’abolition de la zone fiscale de transport en commun de Stittsville à titre de région à part; et,

·         la révision de la limite entre le secteur de transport en commun rural A et le secteur de transport en commun rural B de façon à ce qu’elle suive le chemin Century, entre la rivière Rideau River et le chemin McCordick.

Background

Property taxes to fund the net operating and capital costs of transit service are now collected at different rates in four different areas, and different service standards apply in each of these areas. The four areas are:

·         Urban Transit Area (UTA) – Net operating costs of the conventional transit and Para Transpo service and capital costs of transit vehicles and facilities within the UTA boundaries, including all support costs;

·         Stittsville Town Transit Area (TTA) – Net operating costs of the conventional transit service within Stittsville and on express routes from Stittsville to downtown, plus the same share of Para Transpo costs and capital costs as in the UTA;

·         Rural Transit Area A (RTA-A) – Net operating and capital costs of the transit service within RTA-A and on rural express routes from RTA-A to downtown, plus the proportionate share of net operating costs of Para Transpo service in the rural areas (RTA-A and RTA-B together), plus a share of the maintenance costs of park and ride lots in the UTA;

·         Rural Transit Area B (RTA-B) – The proportionate share of net operating costs of Para Transpo service in the rural areas (RTA-A and RTA-B together), plus a share of the maintenance costs of park and ride lots in the UTA.

The recommendations in this report arise from two past decisions of Council:

·         At its meeting of October 31, 2008, Council approved the three-year transition of the Stittsville Town Transit Area to urban transit levels of service, with the aim that Stittsville would be included in the Urban Transit Area at the end of that transition period.

·         At its meetings of January 25 to 28, 2010, Council approved the removal in April 2010 of the section of OC Transpo Route 245 south of Century Road in Manotick. With this change, there is no OC Transpo service provided from North Gower, Kars, Carleton Golf and Yacht Club, or the surrounding areas.

DISCUSSION

Stittsville

The transition of the Stittsville Town Transit Area into the Urban Transit Area was approved by Council at its meeting of October 31, 2008. Fare reductions were made in 2010 so that fares to, from, and within Stittsville are now the same as in the UTA for both conventional and Para Transpo service. The network optimization that was carried out in 2011 across the OC Transpo system used the same measurements and standards for routes in Stittsville as were used for routes in the UTA. There remain three routes in Stittsville that are currently operating less frequently than UTA service standards would direct.

Starting in January 2012, with the approval of this report, service on Route 96 from Stittsville in the morning peak period (06:30 to 08:30) and to Stittsville in the afternoon peak period (16:00 to 19:00) will be increased to every 15 minutes. Service on Route 261 will be increased from four trips to five in both the morning peak period and the afternoon peak period.  Service on Route 263 will also be increased from four trips to five in the morning peak period. The additional costs of approximately $255,000 to provide these trips will be included in the 2012 transit service budget. A further $124,000 will be included to fund improved midday service within Stittsville starting in September 2012, with detailed recommendations to be developed through the Transplan planning and consultation process.

With the inclusion of Stittsville in the UTA and its equal participation in all transit funding, the equivalent 2011 transit taxes in Stittsville would have been approximately $545 instead of approximately $406 (for a typical house assessed at $304,800). The costs of the service increases on Routes 96, 261, and 263 and the increased midday service will be funded by using part of the increased tax revenue.

The UTA is currently defined by By-law 2009-395 and the Stittsville TTA by By-law 2005-529. With the approval of this report, a by-law would be prepared to expand the UTA to include all land that is now part of the TTA. Document 1, attached to this report, shows the current Stittsville TTA.

North Gower, Kars, and Carleton Golf and Yacht Club

The current boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B was established by Council in 2002 and generally reflected the areas that were or were not served by rural express routes to downtown. The extents of those services have not changed substantially since 2002, except for the removal of the section of Route 245 south of Manotick in April 2010.

With the removal of the section of Route 245 south of Manotick, there is no longer OC Transpo service available from North Gower, Kars, Carleton Golf and Yacht Club, and the surrounding area. It is recommended that this area be moved from RTA-A into RTA-B so that the taxes collected in this area are lower, to reflect the greater distance from transit service, and so that the taxes collected in this area no longer fund a share of the costs incurred in providing service from the other parts of RTA-A.

Map 2, attached to this report, shows the current and recommended boundary between RTA-A and RTA-B. The boundary would follow Century Road between the Rideau River and McCordick Road rather than McCordick Road between the Rideau River and Century Road. The two rural transit areas are currently defined by By-law 2009-409. With the approval of this report, a by-law would be prepared to enact the revised boundary.

With this change, the equivalent 2011 transit taxes in the affected area would have been approximately $50 instead of approximately $123 per year (for a typical house assessed at $304,800). As the costs of providing transit service in RTA-A would be funded from a smaller assessment base and as those costs would not change as a result of this decision (though they did decline slightly with the removal of that section of Route 245), equivalent 2011 transit taxes in the rest of RTA-A would have been approximately $134 instead of approximately $123.

Other urban and rural parts of the City

No other changes are recommended to the transit area boundaries for 2012. Staff examined areas where new development is currently or imminently occurring in urban areas, and they are encompassed within the current UTA boundary. Staff also examined whether any adjustments to the boundary between RTA-A and RTA-B were appropriate other than the one that is recommended, and there has been no substantial change in access to rural express service since the boundary was set in 2002.

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

The recommended change to the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B has the effect of reducing taxes in one area where transit service has been removed and making a small increase in taxes in the remainder of Rural Transit Area A. There are no changes to transit service or to total tax revenue collected by the City resulting from this recommendation.

CONSULTATION

The recommended inclusion of Stittsville in the Urban Transit Area follows a policy direction set by Council in 2008 and was the subject of no specific consultation in 2011. The recommended revision to the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B follows input that was received by the Transit Commission during the decision to remove the southernmost part of Route 245. Also, comments were provided by Councillor Moffatt and the former councillor for the ward.

Comments by the Ward Councillor(s)

The ward councillors have been consulted and understand the reasons for the staff recommendation.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal impediments in implementing the recommendations in this report.

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no risk management impediments to the implementation of this report’s recommendation.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The recommendation to incorporate Stittsville into the Urban Transit Area includes an extension of the standardized service level to the area. An incremental operating cost of approximately $379,000 per year will be incorporated into the 2012 Transit budget, which will be presented to the Transit Commission and Council separately from this report.  The costs of the service increases will be funded largely by increased tax revenue

The recommendation to change the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural Transit Area B has no overall implication to the total amount of property tax revenues levied.  However, there will be a reduction of approximately $73 (based on 2011 average residential assessment) to properties removed from RTA-A and an increase of approximately $11 to the remaining properties within the RTA-A (based on 2011 average residential assessment).   

Technology Implications

N/A

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 – Stittsville Town Transit Area

Document 2 – Recommended revision to the boundary between Rural Transit Area A and Rural              Transit Area B

DISPOSITION

Upon approval of the recommendations in this report, two by-laws will be presented for enactment. Those by-laws will replace the current By-laws 2005-529, 2009-395, and 2009-409.

STITTSVILLE TOWN TRANSIT AREA                                                        DOCUMENT 1

DOCUMENT 2

RECOMMENDED REVISION TO THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN RURAL TRANSIT AREA A AND RURAL TRANSIT AREA B