White Paper |
A. |
Downtown Transit – How could the transit system be improved in the downtown core? |
B. |
Technology Choices – What type of rapid transit should the City use in the future? |
C. |
Direct vs. Feeder Routes – Should most routes continue to run direct to downtown, or should the bus system support feeder routes that pass passengers to downtown routes? |
D. |
Location of Rapid Transit Corridors – How should the location of future rapid transit corridors be determined? |
E. |
Financing Rapid Transit Expansion – How best should the City finance expansion of the rapid transit system, both capital investments and operating expenses? |
At a Glance |
Background
Transit ridership: The City of Ottawa’s transit ridership level per capita (see below) is the highest among mid-sized Canadian cities, and its innovative bus-based Transitway has allowed a cost-effective introduction of rapid transit services throughout the City.
The past decade has seen ridership grow from about 70 million annual trips in the mid 1990’s to nearly 92 million in 2006, a growth of more than 30% compared to a population increase of about 18% during the same time period.
While the population of Ottawa was approximately 877,000 in 2006 it is expected to grow to approximately 1,136,0001 by 2031. This growth will require significant expansion of the transit system, as well as road network expansion.
Transit fleet and infrastructure: In 2006, Ottawa operated an active fleet of 942 buses and three O-Train vehicles. Two thirds (66%) of the bus fleet is fully accessible (low-floor buses), up from 39% in 2003. The City’s present transit route network is structured around Ottawa’s rapid transit facilities (the four Transitway corridors and the O-Train line) with 34 km and 8 km respectively of dedicated right-of-way. The 2003 TMP was based on a 2021 planning horizon and contained an aggressive plan for expansion of the rapid transit network. The plan included construction of 100 km of double-track electrified rail, 42 km of Transitway extensions and 58 new rapid transit stations. However, primarily due to lack of sufficient funding over the years, progress has been slow in meeting those aggressive plans with only 3 km of Transitway constructed in the last four years (Southwest Transitway extension). Since 2000, three suburban Park and Ride lots were constructed and four were expanded to increase the number of available spaces from 2,280 to 5,100.
A. Downtown Transit
While buses are fed into and out of downtown on the Transitway, they operate on city streets in the downtown area, making use of exclusive bus-only lanes on Albert and Slater Streets and on the Mackenzie King Bridge. The downtown Transitway reached its maximum capacity by the late 1990s (estimated at 180 buses per lane per hour during PM peak due to boarding issues, whereas the AM peak can accommodate 225 buses per lane per hour). Since then, Transit Services Branch has been trying to limit/divert bus traffic from the downtown area. Some PM peak transit routes now start at Hurdman Station, requiring passengers to transfer from another downtown route, while some buses have been diverted to Queen Street and additional services have been added to routes that by-pass the downtown. Traffic signal optimization has also been implemented to improve the transit and traffic flow on Albert and Slater Streets. While a new smart card fare collection system may help to speed up boarding in the downtown over the next few years, the opportunity for a significant additional reduction in the number of buses on Albert and Slater Streets is very limited based on the existing operation.
In addition to the Transitway services operating on Albert and Slater Streets, both OC Transpo and the Société de Transport de L’Outaouais (STO) operate a substantial number of other bus services through the downtown. STO routes are concentrated on Rideau and Wellington Streets between the Portage Bridge and King Edward Avenue which add more than 100 buses per hour during peak hours (both directions combined). OC Transpo services operate all day and travel from the west on Scott, Preston, Somerset, Gladstone, Bank and Elgin Streets, come together on Rideau Street adjacent to the Rideau Centre and Byward Market, and then continue to the east/southeast using Sussex, St. Patrick, Rideau, Laurier and King Edward. These services represent 35 to 40 buses per hour in each direction during peak periods.
Determining the appropriate downtown transit solution to address the congested Transitway services on Albert and Slater Streets, and to mitigate the impacts of both the additional OC Transpo services and STO services in the downtown, will be a critical step in developing the City’s overall transit plan. There are a series of options that could be considered.
- More Downtown Transit Lanes/ Streets
While transit carries more than 40% of trips destined to downtown in the AM peak period, most of the transit services are concentrated on Albert/Slater and Wellington/Rideau Corridors (four lanes of the 18 east-west lanes between Wellington and Laurier).
These services could be distributed over more lanes or streets in the downtown core - for example, additional bus lanes on Albert and Slater Streets and designating Mackenzie King Bridge for transit use only. While this option might improve transit operations, it will result in considerable traffic and access impacts for businesses/residences on Albert and Slater Streets and other downtown streets. Given the projected growth of transit ridership into downtown, this is not a long-term solution and may only delay the need to build a tunnel.
- By-pass Downtown
To remove transit trips that don’t need to be routed through the downtown core, transit services that by-pass the downtown would have to be faster, frequent and more convenient. Measures to improve this service could include transit-only lanes on arterial roads (e.g., Baseline Road). While this option will improve service for transit customers, it will slow the flow of other vehicles competing for the same road space.
- Build a Tunnel Downtown
The Rapid Transit Implementation Plan adopted in the mid 1970’s had suggested the eventual need for a tunnelled Transitway through the downtown. This option will have a price tag of several hundred million dollars but will remove most of the real and/or perceived negative consequences of too many transit vehicles travelling on the surface through the downtown.
Depending on the rapid transit technologies chosen, the tunnel would have to be designed for either bus or rail or both. In addition, this option would require major construction investment at street level to accommodate the surface aspects of three to four underground stations (e.g. stairs, escalators, elevators and required ventilation shafts).
Questions for Discussion
- With respect to a transit solution in the downtown, should a transit tunnel be implemented now or be deferred until sometime in the future? Why?
- Should the City designate more lanes for transit in the downtown area and on other east-west roads as means of deferring a transit tunnel? Why?
B. Technology Choices
The existing rapid transit system (except for the O-Train) is based on bus rapid transit (BRT) technology that utilizes exclusive Transitways. For every proposed major rapid transit initiative there is always a discussion over the appropriate transit technology to use, and in particular between bus rapid transit and light rail rapid transit (LRT). Underground subways (heavy rail) are the most expensive transit mode and tend to be used in locations where projected transit ridership volumes are over 20,000 persons per peak hour. Ridership demands in Ottawa for any one corridor are not expected to be that high for the foreseeable future. Ottawa’s expected rapid transit demands are estimated to range from 3,000 to 15,000 passengers per peak hour per corridor depending on the exclusivity of right-of-way provided. Both LRT and BRT can adequately accommodate this range of transit ridership. There is no definitive answer to the technology question of bus versus rail as it depends on the corridor characteristics, the anticipated ridership, the network implications, the available funding, and the political will of the local community.
BRT and LRT can carry similar levels of ridership, with LRT favoured as the demands increase. There is a perception that LRT is more attractive to riders while BRT offers more flexibility in routing because it is not tied to rails. However, while BRT can work effectively in suburban corridors leading up to the downtown, it can result in negative operational and environmental consequences in the downtown as ridership volumes grow and all services end up concentrated in one main corridor (Albert/Slater).
The Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation suggested constructing all future rapid transit lines as electric LRT and eventually converting all of the Transitways corridors to LRT. Others have advocated using BRT for all rapid transit lines. Several Canadian cities such as Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver are adding BRT to complement their existing light rail systems. The answers to the question of technology choice will have to be determined in arriving at a recommended rapid transit network for Ottawa. Options include converting the Transitway to light rail and building a mix of BRT and LRT transit system.
- Convert Transitway to Light Rail
The Transitway (BRT) has been tremendously successful. Going to an all-electric LRT system and converting all of the Transitways to LRT would be a very expensive undertaking with a relatively small benefit in relation to its costs. BRT and LRT can carry similar ridership levels, so the additional cost of installing rails, overhead power and signalling systems to convert an existing Transitway to LRT would not likely result in a significant growth in ridership on an already successful corridor.
- Build a Mix of BRT and LRT
Ottawa’s current plan for rapid transit technology includes BRT (either hybrid diesel-electric or other cleaner propulsion buses) and LRT. The question arises as to whether the future rapid transit system should be all BRT, all LRT or some combination of the two.
Question for Discussion
- What criteria should be used to guide technology choices (e.g., travel time, ride quality, comfort, capital and operating costs, environmental impacts, frequency, reliability, having a seat, etc.)?
C. Direct vs Feeder Routes
Currently, the Ottawa transit network is designed to provide relatively direct bus service from suburban neighbourhoods to downtown for as many people as possible with a minimum of transfers. These services are provided by a combination of local bus services, feeder-line-haul bus services (Transitway routes) and express bus services using the exclusive right-of-way bus Transitways. In peak periods, the direct-to-downtown express network supplements both the Transitway and the local bus services that operate all day. The express buses have proven to be very popular and have resulted in an increase in transit ridership as they provide faster and no-transfer services.
However, as the number of buses continues to increase, this direct service can cause congestion problems, street ambiance impacts, boarding confusion and transit delays on Albert and Slater Streets in the downtown core. Reduction of transit delays in the downtown may have to be traded off against an additional transfer required by a bus feeder to a line-haul system. The operational option chosen will, in part, depend on technology choices as well as on potential solutions to the transit congestion problem in the downtown.
As ridership and the transit network in Ottawa increase to accommodate population and employment growth to 2031, both types of operation will have to be considered in developing an effective long-range plan. One option includes shifting routes from direct to downtown toward a feeder system.
- Shift Routes from “Direct to Downtown” toward a “Feeder System”
In developing the TMP infrastructure plan, choices are going to have to be made about express services to the downtown. Consolidating some of the express routes and further expansion to the feeder-line-haul service will result in an additional transfer for those destined to the downtown, but may be partly compensated by the additional service speed and efficiency in the downtown core and the reduced confusion in waiting and boarding in the afternoon. Reducing direct services would simplify waiting and boarding downtown in the afternoon but could affect transit ridership if the service is not designed appropriately and the need to transfer buses results in significant inconvenience.
Question for Discussion
- Should the City consolidate express routes and expand feeder-line-haul service in order to improve speed and reliability through the downtown? Why?
D. Location of Rapid Transit Corridors
The City has a policy of acquiring abandoned railway rights-of-way for possible use as future transit corridors. There are a number of existing or abandoned railway corridors throughout the city that provide potential solutions for the location of new or extended rapid transit corridors. However, these corridors, while available, may not be the best located corridors to serve existing or future population and employment nodes.
In addition, rapid growth is occurring in the suburban areas in Ottawa, as it is in virtually every city, yet the development of rapid transit has, to date, concentrated on serving the large employment base in the downtown. Commuting within a suburb, and from suburb to suburb, is becoming more prevalent and growth in regional growth centres is creating pockets of concentrated employment. Today, these areas are served primarily by automobiles, with transit carrying only a small fraction of the trips.
While the Transitways have been successful, a substantial amount of transit service continues to be delivered on roads in a mixed traffic environment. Increasing traffic congestion on arterial roads has increased delay and reduced the reliability of transit services. The City has been implementing transit priority measures at intersections and along congested corridors to minimize delays to buses and ensure a faster commute time for passengers. These measures range from traffic signal priority and queue jump to bus-only lanes. Implementing these measures has been challenging with all modes of transportation competing for the same road space, and it is the lack of transit priority or separate bus only lanes that result in slower transit services.
In considering the development of new rapid transit corridors, choices will have to be made between available corridors (existing or abandoned rail corridors and hydro corridors) that may bypass population and employment areas versus possibly more accessible corridors located within the developed or developing communities. While some corridors may be more intrusive, they may provide much better walking access and integration with major existing or future development nodes thereby resulting in higher transit ridership.
Questions for Discussion
- Which criteria should be used to guide corridor location choices (e.g. ridership, cost, accessibility, integration with development, etc.)?
- Should the development of rapid transit continue to focus on connections to downtown or should connections to all regional job centres be encouraged? Why?
E. Financing Rapid Transit Expansion
While new and extended rapid transit infrastructure, including supporting fleet and facilities, will be required if the City is to continue to prosper and accommodate future population and employment growth, this all requires significant financial investment. In addition to the one-time capital funding required at initiation, continuous and sustainable annual funding is required to both operate and maintain the service. Public transit requires some level of public funding, and various mechanisms have been used to address both the capital and operating costs.
Currently the gas tax rebate programme returns a portion of the government revenue raised through fuel sales to municipalities. The City is directing this revenue to public transit. The City has four Transit Areas that provide a dedicated portion of property tax to assist in paying for public transit. The levy is based on level of urbanization and access to services. Currently residents of the Urban Transit Area pay on average $481 per year, and residents in the Town Transit Area (Stittsville) pay $303 per year. Rural Area A residents pay $95, and Rural Area B residents pay approximately $25 for Para Transpo service only. While specific transit services may not be provided within all rural areas, many residents outside of the Urban Transit Area drive to Park and Ride lots to use transit in the urban area and into the downtown. The question arises as to whether the transit levy should be common across the entire City.
Capital (construction and implementation) costs are approved separately from the day-to-day operating costs. When the Transitway system was originally constructed in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Province had a capital investment program that paid 75% of the capital costs, with the City (or Region then) contributing 25%. Projects were all funded at that rate, but approvals for the project still had to be sought through the Province. That relationship is no longer in place with more recent investments tending to be shared (approximately one-third for each of the three levels of government).
Today there is no set level of predictable capital funding and the case for each new project has to be justified individually for the required investment from the two senior levels of government. While contributions from both Provincial and Federal levels of government through special funding programs have improved over recent years, those contributions are still not sufficient for the level of investment required. Even if an agreement can be reached on government cost sharing, the City still has to come up with its portion of the capital costs from the property tax base and development charges.
Transit operating costs are presently funded 48% by customers' fares and 52% from property taxes. The average fare per passenger today is $1.23 based on an average operating cost of $2.54 per passenger and is similar to other Canadian cities of a similar size. Larger cities are able to achieve higher revenue to cost ratios because of economies of scale. Toronto (for example) is able to have passengers contribute 72 % of the operating costs.
New Rapid Transit facilities are costly to build and also have continuous operating and maintenance costs. It is essential that a long-range rapid transit infrastructure plan shows how those services can be financed from both the capital side and on a sustainable operating basis. A plan that cannot be reasonably afforded over the planning period is a plan that will not likely be implemented.
Cost-shared funding from both the Provincial and Federal governments must be attained in order to consider these major investments. However, the City must also be able to afford its financial share. To follow are three possible options the City could consider.
- Increase Fares
The transit fares could be increased to offset additional costs – both operating and capital. The increases could be designed to match the increase in costs (maintaining the current 48-52 split) or could be increased relative to the total cost of providing the service (e.g., moving closer to Toronto’s roughly 70-30 split) or Council’s approved 50-50 split) However, fare increases can impact ridership and access to the transit system, which can offset the intended gains.
- Increase Property Taxes
Roughly half of the current operating funding for transit is derived from local property taxes – and an increase in property taxes is the principal alternative to funding expansion through fare increases.
- Special Capital Levies
Special levies can be issued by the City to support capital investment projects, but do not address the additional operating costs that result.
Questions for Discussion
- How should the City fund rapid transit infrastructure capital costs?
- How should the City fund increases in transit operating costs?
- What are the alternative options to increasing fares, increasing property taxes or special capital levies those listed above?
How to Provide Input
Send comments by phone, regular mail, e-mail or by visiting the City’s Web site before December 9, 2007.
Contact the author by phone, in writing or by e-mail:
Mona Abouhenidy
Transportation Strategic Planning Division
Planning, Transit and the Environment Department
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1
613-580-2424 ext. 26936
mona.abouhenidy@ottawa.ca
Go to: ottawa.ca/beyondottawa2020 and register your comments using the on-line discussion tool Ottawa Talks. Register your e-mail address at the same time to receive notification of upcoming public consultation events.
Send your comments to: plan@ottawa.ca
White Paper Endnotes for: Moving Forward with Rapid Transit
Draft projection only. To be confirmed during current City forecasting exercise