Report to/Rapport au :

Transportation and Transit Committee/

Comité de transport & des services de transport en commun

and City Council / au Conseil

1 March 2001 / Le 1 mars 2001

Submitted by/Soumis par: Rosemarie T. Leclair General Manager/Directrice général,

Transportation, Utilities and Public Works/Transport, services et travaux publics

                                                                        Ref No: ACS2001-TUP-TRN-0002

SUBJECT:     SERVICE STANDARDS - REGULAR TRANSIT AND PARA TRANSPO OUTSIDE THE URBAN TRANSIT AREA

OBJET:          NORMES DE SERVICE POUR LE TRANSPORT EN COMMUN RÉGULIER ET PARA TRANSPO À L’EXTÉRIEUR DU SECTEUR DU TRANSPORT URBAIN

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Transportation and Transit Committee recommend Council approve an action plan for the review and development of service standards for Transit and Para Transpo services outside of the Urban Transit Area.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le comité de transport et des services de transports en commun recommande au Conseil d’approuvé un plan d'action ayant trait à la révision et à la mise en oeuvre de normes de services pour les services de transport en commun et de Para Transpo à l'extérieur du secteur de transport urbain.

BACKGROUND

The Department of Transportation, Utilities and Public Works is currently reviewing service standards in a number of areas due to changes resulting from amalgamation of the previous municipalities.  With respect to transit services, the issue of varying service standards relates primarily to regular transit and Para Transpo services outside of the Urban Transit Area (UTA). Within the UTA, transit services were already an amalgamated service of the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton, operated by OC Transpo and paid for by a combination of user fees (fares) and property taxes charged against the UTA. 

The UTA was created by the Region of Ottawa-Carleton to define the area where OC Transpo would provide service.  Local taxation was arranged so that only ratepayers inside the UTA directly contribute to transit services through the transit levy.  This arrangement remains in place today, although the UTA boundary has changed a number of times over the years to reflect the growing community. 

Outside the UTA, transit service provision was largely at the discretion of the local municipalities.  As a result, different service models were put in place, including municipal chartering of services from OC Transpo or the private sector and charging any resulting deficit to the local property taxes.  Services included some commuter runs, “shopper” services and para‑transit service to and from the urban area.

At the end of 2000, Goulbourn Township was contracting with OC Transpo to provide six trips to downtown in the morning with return trips in the afternoon. Goulbourn Township also supported the operation of an all-day rural connector service, ‘The Stittsville Shuttle’, operated by a private contractor.  Rideau Township was supporting a shoppers’ shuttle that was operated under contract by OC Transpo.

As well, a number of private bus companies operate peak period commuter services from outlying areas, both within and beyond the current City boundaries, to downtown Ottawa.  To date, no research has been done on these services to determine the actual number of operators or the extent of the services provided. These privately operated services are not supported by property taxes.

Para Transpo service is organized along the same lines as the conventional OC Transpo service.  Within the UTA, all registered Para Transpo customers are able to use the service for the standard fare.  At the end of 2000, Para Transpo had agreements with six of the local municipalities to provide service to their residents when either the origin or destination of the trip was within the UTA but the other end of the trip was outside the UTA.  The municipalities concerned, which included some urban municipalities who allow their residents to travel to the rural areas, paid the net cost of the service. Fares were much higher than the standard fare, and increased with distance from the UTA.  No service was provided if both the origin and destination were outside of the UTA.

Where services were provided outside the UTA, OC Transpo policy provided that the municipalities could charter OC Transpo to provide an agreed upon service and the municipality would agree to assume any net deficit associated with the service.  Extra zone charges and/or municipal surcharges on fares would make up most of the deficit and balance the variability in seasonal ridership that most transit service experiences. 

DISCUSSION

With the amalgamation of OC Transpo, the Region of Ottawa-Carleton, and the local municipalities, there is a requirement to revisit the provision of transit services outside of the UTA to develop an appropriate service delivery model for these areas of new City. In the interim, the services that were in place at the end of 2000 have been continued into 2001 to avoid disruption to residents and to allow time for staff to undertake the required review and provide appropriate recommendations for Council consideration.

Within the UTA, a comprehensive set of service design guidelines enables OC Transpo to effectively allocate available resources.  These guidelines were developed in 1997 with wide-spread public consultation and were adjusted in 1999 during the OC Transpo Comprehensive Review.  They are used to determine where, when and how frequently transit routes will run.

In the rural areas, there is a need to develop a set of service design guidelines if decisions are to be taken on a rational basis about what services should be provided.    The development of service standards must take into account the level of available funding as well as an assessment of impact on the customer resulting from service fares.

It is also necessary to consider under what circumstances rural residents may be entitled to use Para Transpo services and whether trips within the rural area, as well as trips between urban and rural areas, will be provided.  As in the case of regular transit, the establishment of service standards needs to consider how costs can be covered, through fares or through subsidies.

Action Plan for the Development of Service Standards

In order to resolve these important issues as expeditiously as possible, an action plan must be in place. This action plan will include the following elements:

1.                  Establish a technical project team to develop proposals for service standards applicable to rural areas and to propose a public consultation plan.

2.                  Analyze the current rural transit services, both regular and Para Transpo, in terms of population served, quality of service, cost, ridership and fare revenues.

3.                  Using this experience, develop options for service standards for the rural area, exploring the implications in terms of accessibility, fare levels and cost.

4.                  Develop a public consultation plan to be approved by the to Rural Issues Committee.

5.                  Consult rural residents and develop a report documenting feedback from the public and making recommendations to the Transportation and Transit Committee for service standards for rural areas. (June)

6.                  Obtain Council approval of service design guidelines.

Timing

The proposed Action Plan would develop service design guideline options during April and early May, and seek the approval of the Rural Issues Committee for a public consultation plan by the end of May.  This would allow consultation to take place during the month of June so that recommendations could be presented to the Transportation and Transit Committee in early July.

Any budgetary implications could be included in the preparation of the 2002 budget.

CONSULTATION

A full consultation process for residents outside the Urban Transit Area will be developed and carried out.  As well, stakeholders inside the UTA will be identified and consulted during the process.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The issue of area specific taxation for transit services is included in the “Financing Methods for City Services” report tabled with Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on March 6.  One of the principles for area specific taxation is access to service, ie if some level of service is provided there should be an appropriate level of taxation.  Based on past service levels this would differ between the former rural municipalities. The total transit funding in municipal budgets in 2000 is in the new City’s base budget.  However it may be required to be redistributed based on any changes to services.

The following chart identifies the funding which was provided by area municipalities for Transit Services outside the UTA, prior to amalgamation.

Area Municipalities – 1999 Actual Expenditures

DISPOSITION

Upon the approval of Council, the Department to proceed with the implementation of the approved action plan.