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2. transit fares 2009 tarifs du transport en commun 2009 |
Committee
Recommendation
That Council
receive this report for information and consideration as part of budget
deliberations in December 2008.
Recommandation du comité
Que le Conseil prenne connaissance du présent rapport et l’examine dans le cadre des
délibérations budgétaires en décembre 2008.
Documentation
1. Deputy
City Manager’s report (Planning, Transit and the Environment) dated 7 October
2008 (ACS2008-PTE-TRA-0014).
2. Extract
of Draft Minute, 5 November 2008, to be distributed prior to the Council
Meeting
Report to/Rapport au
:
Transit Committee
Comité des
services de transport en commun
and Council / et au Conseil
07
October 2008 / le 07 octobre 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par: Nancy Schepers, Deputy City
Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe,
Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme, Transport en
commun et Environnement
Contact Person/Personne
ressource : Alain Mercier, Director/Directeur
Transit Services/Services
du transport en commun
613-842-3636 x2271, Alain.Mercier@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°: ACS2008-PTE-TRA-0014 |
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
That the Transit Committee recommend Council receive this report for
information and consideration as part of budget deliberations in December 2008.
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité du transport en commun recommande que le
Conseil prenne connaissance du présent rapport et l’examine dans le cadre des
délibérations budgétaires en décembre 2008.
BACKGROUND
For
conventional transit operations, Council has set a policy standard of 50 per
cent for the recovery of operating expenses from fares and other revenue. This is important because it ensures that
the city’s tax base is not overly burdened with transit operating costs.
The
proportion of transit operating costs covered by passenger fares has steadily lowered
over the last three years (Document 1).
A number of factors have contributed to this trend, including:
increasing fuel costs, investment in new vehicles and equipment, higher
maintenance costs for a more complex (and heavier) fleet, and longer average
passenger trip lengths. In fact, the average passenger trip length increased by
12 per cent in the last decade.
This increase is caused by the addition each year of a disproportionate
number of suburban commuter trips that are more costly to provide.
The
fare increases proposed for 2009 aim to achieve a better balance between
passenger fare revenue and overall transit cost (capital and operating). Unlike prior years however, the recommended
approach to setting transit fares in 2009 will be different. Setting transit fares will now be based on
an overall OC Transpo Marketing Plan that factors in various influences on
transit fare pricing, such as demographic and socio-economic trends, and
well-established transit fare pricing practices in Canada (Document 2).
Council
has agreed that an appropriate balance to cover transit operating costs is 50
per cent, half to be funded by customers, and half by tax payers. In 2008,
operational revenue covering transit cost has been forecasted at 48.8 per cent. This is largely due to dramatically higher
fuel costs experienced during the year, and has occurred despite Council’s
approval last December of a 7.5 per cent fare increase effective 1 July
2008. Further, it should be noted that
Council also approved a motion last year that the EcoPass discount be reduced
to 14 per cent on 1 July 2008, to 13 per cent on 1 July 2009 and 12 per cent on
1 July 2010; this concurrent with the discount on annual passes to increase 11
per cent in 2009 and 12 per cent in 2010.
While
the transit fare increase of 7.5 per cent established for 2008, 2009 and 2010
are significant, with the move towards gradually reducing the EcoPass discount
to 12 per cent, these actions when set, did not take into account the dramatic
rise in fuel costs that occurred in 2008, as well as the more pronounced
increase in the demand for transit which has also elevated the overall cost.
Consequently, there is currently a need to revisit transit fare pricing in the
context of a Transit Marketing Plan that has been developed so that the revenue
cost ratio of 50 per cent can be achieved and maintained.
DISCUSSION
The
financial performance mix of pricing and ridership is a key ingredient towards
achieving the targeted level of revenue needed in 2009 to achieve the revenue
cost ratio of 50 per cent. The 2009 OC Transpo Marketing Plan has prepared
specific and interrelated service, communication and pricing strategies to
address customer needs, operational issues and the achievement of the 2009
transit revenue budget. Highlights of the Transit Marketing Plan include:
· An increase in service hours of
five per cent to meet increasing demand for peak-period service as well as less
costly off peak service.
· New OC Transpo ticket price of $
1.15 per ticket effective 1 January 2009 in order to position pass pricing more
favourably, and in line with other pass and ticket prices in Canada. This early
introduction of new ticket pricing will help reduce pass price increases that
would have been required 1 July 2009 to achieve budget revenue.
· Pre-purchased day pass vouchers
will be eliminated in 2009, with the price of day passes purchased on the bus
falling from $ 7.25 to $ 7.00.
· In addition to new pricing
established for EcoPass in 2009, the discount would be advanced to 12 per cent;
the same discount that will be advanced for all adult and senior annual passes
on 1 July 2009. These discounts will give most monthly pass purchasers an
option to reduce or deflect price increases.
· The student transit pass price
increase in 2009 will be lower than other groups of transit pass holders, and
will be even lower if annual or semester student passes are purchased. Full
time students, less than 25 years of age, will continue to be eligible for a
transit pass concession fare.
·
The
price of photo ids will increase only marginally from $7.75 to $8.00. This will
apply to adults, seniors and students. However, a discount pricing option will
be offered whereby students can pay for their student photo id for a reduced
half price of $4.00, provided they acquire their new student photo ids between
April and July.
CONSULTATION
Consultation will be done as part of the 2009 Budget Process.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The
2009 OC Transpo transit fare prices will be increased, on average, by 7.5 per cent,
as previously directed by Council.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 – Transit Operating Revenues (2006 to 2008)
Document 2 – Average Passenger Fare By City
Document 3 – 2008/2009 Transit Fares
Transit
Operating Revenues (2006 to 2008) DOCUMENT 1
AVERAGE PASSENGER FARE BY
CITY DOCUMENT 2
|
Transit System |
Average Fare For
2007 |
|
Montreal (STM) |
$1.13 |
|
Edmonton |
$1.21 |
|
Calgary |
$1.27 |
|
Ottawa |
$1.30 |
|
Hamilton |
$1.37 |
|
Winnipeg |
$1.39 |
|
Gatineau (STO) |
$1.48 |
|
Toronto (TTC) |
$1.68 |
|
Vancouver |
$1.85 |
|
Source: Canadian
Urban Transit |
Note: The average fare is the passenger revenues divided by customer trips, and is used to compare different fare structures.
2008/2009 TRANSIT FARES DOCUMENT 3
|
2008 and 2009
Transit Fares |
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|
Fare Type |
July 2008 |
July 2009 |
Riders |
Revenue |
||
|
Price |
Price |
% Increase From
2008 |
(Thousands) |
(Thousands) |
||
|
Adult Regular Pass |
$ 81.00 |
$ 84.75 |
4.6% |
17,946 |
$ 27,379 |
|
|
Adult Express Pass |
$ 101.00 |
$ 106.00 |
5.0% |
3,715 |
$ 7,829 |
|
|
Student Regular Pass |
$ 62.65 |
$ 65.25 |
4.2% |
22,109 |
$ 22,847 |
|
|
Student Express Pass |
$ 73.40 |
$ 76.50 |
4.2% |
1,311 |
$ 1,625 |
|
|
Senior Pass |
$ 30.40 |
$ 31.75 |
4.4% |
4,629 |
$ 3,135 |
|
|
Adult Rural Pass |
$ 126.00 |
$ 131.75 |
4.6% |
238 |
$ 625 |
|
|
Student Rural Pass |
$ 98.75 |
$ 103.00 |
4.3% |
49 |
$ 79 |
|
|
Ecopass (Regular Adult) |
$ 69.66 |
$ 74.58 |
7.1% |
9,406 |
$ 12,526 |
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|
Ecopass Plus (Adult Express) |
$ 86.86 |
$ 93.28 |
7.4% |
6,297 |
$ 11,648 |
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Ecopass Senior |
$ 26.14 |
$ 27.94 |
6.9% |
31 |
$ 18 |
|
|
Ecopass Rural |
$ 108.36 |
$ 115.94 |
7.0% |
343 |
$ 804 |
|
|
Annual Student Regular Pass |
$ 601.44 |
$ 626.40 |
4.2% |
3,035 |
$ 2,610 |
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|
Annual Student Express Pass |
$ 704.64 |
$ 734.40 |
4.2% |
435 |
$ 421 |
|
|
Annual Adult Regular Pass |
$ 874.80 |
$ 895.00 |
2.3% |
423 |
$ 635 |
|
|
Annual Adult Express Pass |
$ 1,090.80 |
$ 1,119.00 |
2.6% |
75 |
$ 152 |
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|
Annual Senior Pass |
$ 364.80 |
$ 335.25 |
-8.1% |
33 |
$ 21 |
|
|
Semester Pass: Regular |
$ 232.25 |
$ 242.00 |
4.2% |
4,190 |
$ 4,291 |
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Semester Pass: Express |
$ 271.90 |
$ 283.50 |
4.3% |
646 |
$ 745 |
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|
Community Pass |
$ 30.40 |
$ 30.40 |
0.0% |
2,592 |
$ 1,716 |
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Cash: Child |
$ 1.50 |
$ 1.50 |
0.0% |
3,596 |
$ 9,944 |
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Cash: Regular |
$ 3.00 |
$ 3.00 |
0.0% |
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Cash: Express |
$ 4.00 |
$ 4.00 |
0.0% |
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Cash: Rural |
$ 5.00 |
$ 5.00 |
0.0% |
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Ticket: Child Price in Jan./09 |
$ 1.00 |
$ 1.15 |
15.0% |
21,153 |
$ 44,855 |
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Ticket: Regular Price in Jan./09 |
$ 2.00 |
$ 2.30 |
15.0% |
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Ticket: Express Price in Jan./09 |
$ 3.00 |
$ 3.45 |
15.0% |
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Ticket: Rural Price in Jan./09 |
$ 4.00 |
$ 4.60 |
15.0% |
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O-Train Ticket |
$ 2.25 |
$ 2.50 |
11.1% |
192 |
$ 458 |
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Daypass (Purchased on the Bus) |
$ 7.25 |
$ 7.00 |
-3.4% |
804 |
$ 861 |
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Daypass (If Pre-purchased) |
NA |
- |
||||
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Other |
NA |
NA |
NA |
1,628 |
$ 73 |
|
|
Total |
NA |
NA |
NA |
104,876 |
$ 155,297 |
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