1.
CITY OF OTTAWA
TRANSIT RIDERSHIP GROWTH PLAN PLAN DE CROISSANCE DE L’ACHALANDAGE DU TRANSPORT EN
COMMUN DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA |
commITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONs as amended
That Council:
a. Approve in principle the City of Ottawa
Transit Ridership Growth Plan.
b. Direct staff to submit the Transit
Ridership Growth Plan to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to fulfill the
condition of the gas tax transfer to the City.
c. Direct staff to incorporate a trip-time
indicator as a measure of system service quality; the indicator to incorporate
at least three major trips from the outer edges of the Urban Transit Area (one
each from east, south, and west) to the core and have one
transfer.
Que le Conseil :
a. Approuve
en principe le Plan de croissance de l’achalandage du transport en commun de la
Ville d’Ottawa.
b. Demande
au personnel de présenter le Plan de croissance de l’achalandage du transport
en commun au ministère des Transports de l’Ontario afin de respecter la condition
prévue pour le transfert de la taxe sur l’essence à la Ville.
c. Dirige
le personnel de manière à incorporer un indicateur de durée d’itinéraire comme
mesure de la qualité du service du système; l’indicateur doit incorporer au
moins trois itinéraires importants qui partent de la limite extérieure de la
zone de transport urbain (respectivement de l’est, du sud de l’ouest) vers le
centre et qui comprennent un transfert.
The Committee approved the following direction to staff, to come
back to Transportation Committee before June:
Whereas
the greatest challenge OC Transpo has is to move ridership towards 30% modal
split;
Whereas
projecting out from the growth rate from 1996-2004 will achieve only one third
of that increase;
Whereas
projecting out from 1990-2004 will achieve zero increase;
Be It
Resolved that OC Transpo prepare an annual information report that updates the
Transportation Committee in a brief but practical way on:
a. What parts
of the system are growing the fastest;
b. What parts
of the system are costing us the most, and what are costing the least;
c. What is on
time, and what is not;
d. What
riders are saying they like and do not like; and
That this
annual report be associated with a public outreach week dedicated to listening
to the public during a ‘Security and Quality of Service’ Week, wherein all
members of the Transportation Committee will commit to riding transit during
this week.
Le Comité a approuvé la directive
suivante à l’intention du personnel, qui
doit exprimer ses commentaires à ce sujet au Comité du transport avant le mois
de juin :
Attendu
que le plus grand défi auquel OC Transpo fait face est d’accroître le taux
d’achalandage du transport en commun pour qu’il se rapproche de 30 p. 100
de la répartition modale;
Attendu
qu’une projection à partir du taux de croissance connu entre 1996 et 2004 ne
permettra d’atteindre que le tiers de cette augmentation;
Attendu
qu’une projection à partir des chiffres de 1990 à 2004 nous indique qu’il n’y
aura aucune augmentation;
Il est
résolu qu’OC Transpo prépare un rapport d’information annuel qui met le Comité
du transport à jour de façon brève mais pratique sur :
a. Quelles
sont les parties du système qui croissent le plus rapidement;
b. Quelles
sont les parties du système qui nous coûtent le plus cher et quelles sont
celles qui coûtent le moins cher;
c. Qu’est-ce
qui est à l’heure et qu’est-ce qui ne l’est pas;
d. Qu’est-ce
que les conducteurs prétendent aimer et ne pas aimer; et
Que ce
rapport annuel soit rattaché à une semaine de rapprochement avec le public
consacrée à écouter ce que celui-ci a à dire dans le cadre d’une Semaine de la
« sécurité et de la qualité du service » au cours de laquelle tous
les membres du Comité du transport s’engageront à utiliser le transport en
commun.
Documentation
1.
Deputy City Manager, Planning and Growth Management and Acting
Deputy City Manager, Public Works and Services report dated 24 January 2006
(ACS2006-PGM-POL-0016)
2. Extract of Minutes, 15 February
2006.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Comité des transports
and Council / et au Conseil
24 January 2006 / le 24 janvier 2006
Submitted by/Soumis par : Ned Lathrop, Deputy City Manager/Directeur
municipal adjoint,
Planning and Growth Management/Urbanisme et Gestion de la croissance
Richard Hewitt, Acting Deputy City Manager/Directeur municipal adjoint
par intérim,
Public Works and Services/Services et Travaux publics
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Vivi Chi, Manager, Transportation and
Infrastructure Planning
Planning, Environment and Infrastructure
Policy/Politiques d’urbanisme, d’environnement et d’infrastructure
(613) 580-2424 x 21877,vivi.chi@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
PLAN
DE CROISSANCE DE L’ACHALANDAGE DU TRANSPORT EN COMMUN DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That the Transportation Committee recommend Council:
1.
Approve in principle the City of Ottawa Transit Ridership Growth
Plan.
2.
Direct staff to submit the Transit Ridership Growth Plan to the
Ontario Ministry of Transportation to fulfill the condition of the gas tax
transfer to the City.
RECOMMANDATION DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité des transports recommande au Conseil :
1. D’approuver en principe
le Plan de croissance de l’achalandage du transport en commun de la Ville
d’Ottawa.
2. De demander au personnel
de présenter le Plan de croissance de l’achalandage du transport en commun au
ministère des Transports de l’Ontario afin de respecter la condition prévue
pour le transfert de la taxe sur l’essence à la Ville.
BACKGROUND
In May 2004, the provincial government announced that two cents per litre of the existing provincial gas tax would be transferred to municipalities to assist in expanding and renewing their public transit system with the objective of increasing the overall transit ridership. The provincial gas tax funding is being phased in, starting with one cent per litre in October 2004, increasing to 1.5 cents per litre in October 2005, and capping at two cents per litre in October 2006.
Ontario’s funding allocation formula is based on a ratio of 70 per cent ridership and 30 per cent municipal population. So far, the City has received $4.7M in gas tax funds for 2004 and expects to receive about $21M for 2005, $30M in 2006 and $35M in 2007.
The Gas Tax Agreement between the City and the Province of Ontario requires the City to develop and adopt a Transit Ridership Growth Plan and an Asset Management Plan. These plans need to be submitted to the Province of Ontario prior to 31 March 2006 as a basis for receiving any future dedicated gas tax funds.
This report deals with the Transit Ridership Growth Plan only. When the Asset Management Plan is completed by the Public Works and Services Department, it will also be presented to Committee and Council for approval.
DISCUSSION
To assist municipalities in preparing their ridership
growth plans, the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Transportation,
developed a “best practice’ guide (Document 1) outlining general strategies to
achieve ridership growth and suggesting commonly used initiatives that municipalities
may wish to consider. The guide was
developed jointly by the Province, the Canadian Urban Transit Association
(CUTA), the Ontario Community Transportation Association (OCTA), the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Transport Canada, and
representatives of municipal transit systems and planning departments.
The Province requires initiatives to be set for the short, medium
and long term and to address both conventional and specialized transit. Performance measures must be identified to
evaluate how each municipality is implementing its plan and meeting its
ridership growth targets. Furthermore,
each municipality is also required to annually report to the Province on how it
is using the dedicated tax funds to build transit ridership.
Staff have put together the
required Transit Ridership Growth Plan (Document 2). The main objective of the plan is to identify initiatives and
strategies that the City will implement to achieve the 30% transit modal split
target by 2021.
It should be emphasized that the strategies contained in the Transit
Ridership Growth Plan (TRGP) represent Council’s stated policies and direction
as identified in various documents including the City’s Official Plan (May
2003), Transportation Master Plan (September 2003), and Transit Service and
Fare Policy Manual (October 2005).
The are six major initiatives included in the TRGP:
Initiative A - Growth Management: Implementation of the City’s Official Plan
and Transportation Master Plan policies that encourage compact mixed-use
development throughout developing areas and a stronger series of urban centres
to anchor the transit system.
Initiative B - Urban Design & Site Planning: Actions to make new
development or redevelopment projects more supportive of public transit.
Initiative C - System Capacity: Actions to enable transit operations to
carry substantial increases in passenger volumes over time.
Initiative D - Service Design & Delivery: Actions to make
conventional transit service delivery more effective, efficient, accessible,
safe and secure.
Initiative E – Marketing & Education: Actions to strengthen transit demand through
customer information, engagement, education and promotion.
Initiative F - Specialized Transit: Provision of Para Transpo service to meet
the needs of customers with disabilities who are unable to take advantage of
the increasing accessibility of conventional transit service.
It has to be noted that while Initiatives F deals specifically with
specialized transit, Initiatives A through E include strategies that support
the important role of conventional transit in serving the growing demands of
customers with disabilities.
Each of these major initiatives includes several distinct
strategies, as listed in the table below:
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Initiative A — Growth Management A.1 Official Plan A.2 Transportation Master Plan Initiative B - Urban Design & Site Planning B.1 Community design plans B.2 Zoning by-law B.3 Development approval process B.4 Development around rapid transit stations Initiative C - System CapacityC.1 Bus rapid transit C.2 Light rail C.3 Park & Ride C.4 Fleet expansion |
Initiative D - Service Design & Delivery D.1 Service quality D.2 Route network D.3 Operations management D.4 Transit priority D.5 Interprovincial service D.6 Accessible service D.7 Intermodal connections D.8 Safety & security D.9 Fare technology D.10 Fare structures & levels Initiative E - Marketing & Education E.1 Customer service, information & amenities E.2 Marketing programs & partnerships E.3 Promotion, outreach & education E.4 Market research Initiative F - Specialized Transit F.1 Fleet F.2 Service standards F.3 Booking, scheduling & dispatching F.4 Fares |
Details of individual strategies (e.g. rationale, actions and performance indicators) are described in Annex A of Document 2. In accordance with the Provincial guideline, actions are identified for three distinct time frames, namely short term (2009), medium term (about 2016) and long term (about 2021).
Some key actions to be taken in the short term include:
1. Reduce the minimum parking requirements for some types of developments, set maximum parking limits near rapid transit stations, and provide for mixed-use development in the vicinity of transit stations;
2. Construct the West Transitway from Pinecrest to Bayshore;
3. Construct the North-South LRT Corridor from downtown to Woodroffe Avenue;
4. Construct four new Park & Ride lots: Berrigan lot on the Southwest Transitway, and Leitrim, River Road, and Woodroffe lots on the North-South LRT Corridor;
5. Restructure bus routes to accompany new light rail and Transitway links;
6. Install global positioning systems (GPS) units on buses to enable operational efficiencies and improved customer service;
7. Implement transit priority measures in a number of key corridors;
8. Undertake Interprovincial Transit Integration Environmental Assessment Study;
9. Strengthen safety and security programs;
10. Implement a smart card system for fare payment, including enhanced integration with STO fares;
11. Promote new and expanded rapid transit services, and reach out through employers and schools to build key transit markets.
Other planning studies will also be completed in advance of project implementation such as the Environmental Assessment studies for the East-West, Carling Avenue and Rideau-Montreal LRT Corridors.
Once the Transit Ridership Growth Plan is submitted to the Ministry of Transportation, it will be reviewed on a regular basis and updated as necessary.
CONSULTATION
Most of the Transit Ridership Growth Plan strategies and initiatives are already included in other approved documents (e.g. Official Plan, Transportation Master Plan that have already been subjected to extensive consultation). Despite this fact, and despite a very tight project deadline, staff have endeavoured to conduct supplementary consultation on the draft Transit Ridership Growth Plan.
Staff invited several key transit stakeholders to a presentation on 5 December 2005, provided them with a copy of the draft plan, and encouraged them to provide comments by early January 2006 for consideration prior to the plan’s submission to Committee and Council. The following Committees and Groups were consulted:
· Pedestrian & Transit Advisory Committee
· Roads & Cycling Advisory Committee
· Accessibility Advisory Committee
· Federation of Citizens’ Associations
· Transport 2000
Only one written response received that primarily questions the TRGP objective since it is based on the 2003 OP that remains under appeal to the OMB.
Further consultation will be undertaken on a project-specific-basis such as through regular Environmental Assessment and TransPLAN processes, and the development of a new Zoning By-law and Community Design plans.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
This report responds to a provincial requirement for receiving the gas tax funding. The initiatives and strategies contained in the TRGP will be implemented over time subject to funding availability.
Many of the actions called for in this plan are reflected in the City’s Transportation Master Plan, which also contains estimated costs for major transit capital works (e.g. rapid transit facilities, fleet) and transit operations, as summarized in the following table:
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Future
public transit costs estimated in Transportation Master Plan (2003-2021, $ millions) |
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Cost element |
Total cost (revenue) |
Average annual cost |
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Operating costs |
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Operating and maintenance
costs |
5,572 |
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Fare revenues |
(3,390) |
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Net operating and
maintenance costs |
2,182 |
121 |
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Capital costs |
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Transitway and light rail
construction |
2,555 |
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Fleet expansion — Light
rail |
630 |
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Fleet expansion — Buses |
810 |
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Light rail maintenance and
control facilities |
100 |
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Bus maintenance facilities |
280 |
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Park & Ride lots |
50 |
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Total capital costs |
4,425 |
246 |
The LRFP2 identified that a substantial funding gap exists in the City’s ability to pay for these projects. Federal and provincial gas tax transfers and infrastructure grants will help to partly overcome the funding gap but they will unlikely eliminate it completely.
The annual budget process will remain the City’s principal forum for deciding which projects will proceed according to available capital and operating funds.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 A Guide to Preparing a Transit Ridership Growth Plan (Province of Ontario – June 2005) - previously distributed and held on file with the City Clerk
Document 2 Transit Ridership Growth Plan for the City of Ottawa (January 2006) - previously distributed and held on file with the City Clerk
DISPOSITION
Upon approval of the Transit Ridership growth Plan (TRGP) by Committee and Council, staff will:
· Finalize the TRGP for formal submission to the Ministry of Transportation before 31 March 2006.
· Review the TRGP on a regular basis and updated as necessary.