and Governance Study Guiding Principles Customer- Driven - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF NIAGARA

Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance Study

Guiding Principles

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Unconventional Solutions Customer- Driven Integrated Economically Responsible Fair

Niagara Region Transit Pilot Project will expire in May 2017

Service Design Service Delivery Service Structure

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

• Next evolution of NRT

routes, including integration with post-secondary and local services

• Ability of governance

structure to support the guiding principles of the service design and delivery plan

• Customer service aspects of service delivery,

including fare structure and technology integration, trip planning, customer service

Why is Inter-municipal transit important?

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

• Provides cross-boundary mobility (connecting residents that may not have access to an

automobile to places of work, school and health services within Niagara Region)

• Supports GO service in Niagara (inter-municipal connections to future GO Stations will

help build ridership and support future GO Rail to the Region)

• Facilitates youth retention and economic development (addressing unemployment

issues in the Region by providing access to jobs in adjacent municipalities)

• Contributes to a high quality of life for Niagara residents (including potential reduction
• f household income spent on the purchase and operation of automobiles)
• Provides service to a growing population and employment base (15% growth by 2023)
• Supports sustainable community development (by providing a sustainable travel option

for residents)

The Strategy

• Develop an Integrated Service Plan

– Increase service levels and overall transit ridership – Optimize and integrate local, inter- municipal, and post-secondary transit services

• Develop Integrated Fare Strategy

– Simplify and integrate fare structure in Niagara Region – Recommend appropriate smart-card technology – Integrate policies and procedures

• Develop Common Customer Service Tools

– Trip planning software – Customer service functions

• Identify Efficiencies

– Route optimization and consolidation – Dynamic transit solutions

• Identify Appropriate Governance Structure

– Shared vision / guiding principles – Fare sharing and revenue generation – Appropriate structure to support vision – Evaluate benefits of change – Recommend options

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Service Guidelines

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

• Basic set of parameters by which transit

agencies aim to provide service

• Uniform standards across all participating

systems

• Based on route typology, not operating

agency

• Not dependent on governance model

chosen

• Provides reliable, customer-focused service

Design Guidelines

Proximity/Walking Distance Service Hours Headway Service Integration Route Directness Transit Stops Fare Policy Customer Service Trip Planner

Performance Guidelines

Passenger Comfort Schedule Reliability Service Productivity Service Expansion

Existing Transit Service

Niagara Region Transit

• 4 Core Routes connecting St.

Catharines, Welland, Niagara Falls

• 2 LINK services connecting Fort

Erie and Port Colborne

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Post-Secondary IMT Shuttles

• Services connecting to Niagara

College and Brock University

• Significant duplication with NRT
• Not using existing resources to

full potential

Urban Area Niagara Region Transit Route Post-Secondary Route

Proposed 2019 Route Optimization

• St. Catharines – Niagara Falls
• Route 40/45 (via Niagara College)
• Route 50/55 (via Brock University)
• Expand evening and provide Sunday

service, increase weekday peak service

• St. Catharines – Welland
• Optimize post-secondary and NRT routes
• Route 70/75 (via BU and NC)
• Expand evening and provide Sunday

service, increase weekday peak service

• Maintain NOTL LINK (Welland campus –

Glendale campus) Niagara Falls – Welland

• Route 60/65 (reduced hours)
• Maintain Niagara College Shuttle

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Urban Area Niagara Region Transit Route Post-Secondary Route

Proposed 2019 Route Optimization (cont…)

Niagara Falls – Fort Erie

• New terminus at Municipal Centre
• Future stop at South Niagara Hospital

(2023) Welland – Port Colborne

• Integrate route at downtown Welland

terminal

• Route change to add 7th daily run

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Urban Area Niagara Region Transit Route Post-Secondary Route

Proposed 2019 Service Enhancements

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

GO Transit Route 12 Integration

• Fare integration between St. Catharines,

Beamsville, and Grimsby on existing GO service

• Only trips that actually occur are

subsidized West Lincoln (Smithville) LINK (2019

• New service connecting Grimsby GO to

Smithville

• Connections to Niagara, Hamilton, GTA

Wainfleet LINK and Crystal Beach LINK

• Dynamic service using taxis and/or

Niagara Specialized Transit Local Transit Integration

• Better integration with WEGO, Pelham

Transit, and Niagara-on-the-Lake Transit

Urban Area Existing NRT Route Proposed NRT Transit Route Proposed Dynamic Transit GO Transit Integration Local Transit Integration Post-Secondary Route

Proposed Transit Plan – Annual Service Hours

Overall IMT ridership change:

+16% by 2019 (compared to 2015) +19% by 2023 (compared to 2015)

Service Base Year (2015) Existing (2016)* Year 1-3 Year 4-7 Core Urban Area of St. Catharines/Thorold, Niagara Falls and Welland Route 40/45

• 9,800

12,500 12,500 Route 50/55 8,500 9,300 12,500 12,500 Route 60/65 8,500 8,500 4,000 7,000 Route 70/75 8,500 8,500 12,500 12,500 Post-secondary services 17,500 14,000 9,000 9,000 Sub-Total 43,000 50,100 50,500 53,500 Inter-municipal Connections to Urban Niagara Port Colborne LINK 2,000 2,000 2,100 2,100 Fort Erie LINK 2,100 2,100 2,100 2,100 Grimsby / Beamsville Inter-Municipal LINK

• **

** West-Lincoln Inter-Municipal LINK

• 2,900

3,200 Wainfleet Inter-Municipal LINK

• ***

*** Crystal Beach Inter-Municipal LINK

• ***

*** Sub-total 4,100 4,100 7,100 7,400 TOTAL 47,100 54,200 57,600 60,900

*Note: New services that were implemented in September 2016 have been annualized for comparative purposes. **Note: Service hours not indicted as the plan makes use of existing service provided by GO Transit ***Note: No defined annual service hours as service provision is dynamic and based on demand

Integrated Fare Strategy

Local Trip (within one municipality) –

Move towards standardized local fares to improve simplicity for customers

Develop an Integrated Fare Strategy for the following IMT Trips (all include fare integration with local transit): Zone 1 IMT Trip (flat fare) – Flat fare for

• ne IMT Trip within Zone 1 (e.g. Welland to St.

Catharines)

Zone 2 IMT Trip (flat fare) – Flat fare for

• ne IMT Trip within Zone 2 or connecting to /

from Zone 1 (e.g. Fort Erie to Niagara Falls)

Zone 1 to/from Zone 2 IMT Trip using 2

• r more IMT routes – Fare supplement on

top of flat fare for passengers taking two or more IMT routes to complete a trip between Zone 1 and Zone 2 (e.g. Beamsville to Welland)

Zone 2 Zone 1

IMT Trip = Inter-municipal Transit trip between two municipalities Local Trip = Transit trip within one local municipality

Fare Payment Technology Implementation Alternatives

• 1. Upgrade current NFT Trapeze/Fare Logistics

stored value smart card system

• 2. Implement PRESTO
• 3. Implement a Smart Card system from a

different provider

Recommendation

Solicit budget proposals from smart card system vendors including Trapeze and PRESTO

Integrated Trip Planning

1. Metrolinx’s Triplinx – triplinx.ca

Integrated trip planning platform providing information on schedules, fares, connections, ridersharing, and paratransit throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

2. Google Maps – maps.google.ca

Some Niagara Region transit systems already provide information to Google, only effective if all systems provide timely data that reflects system changes

Recommendations

– In order for trip planning tools to be effective, data needs to be up-to-date and reliable – Transit agencies are responsible for providing accurate information to both platforms

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Challenges of Delivering Service Plan Under the Status Quo Model

• Different priorities between each local municipality and the Region
• Distribution of U-Pass revenue for post-secondary services (also

supports local transit)

• Gas tax reporting (ridership allocation between local municipalities and

the Region)

• Difficult to track ridership and which system ridership should be

allocated to

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Assessment of Service Delivery Models

Status Quo Consolidation Regional

• Local transit funded by

each municipality

• Inter-municipal transit

services funded by the Region (post-secondary services provided by local transit)

• Some coordination takes

place between all involved

• St. Catharines, Niagara

Falls and Welland Transit combine services into one consolidated transit system

• Region continues to

participate and fund inter- municipal services (including partial funding for IMT routes outside of the core service area)

• Advisory Committee

established to represent municipal interests outside the service area

• Region plans, funds and

delivers all local and inter-municipal transit, with the absorption of the multiple local municipal transit systems throughout Niagara

• Minimal local municipal

involvement, except through special service requests

Business Case Evaluation

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Principle Measure

Customer Driven

Ability to continuously improve rider experience and understand customer needs Ability to create a culture of customer service among transit employees Provides efficient service to areas outside of the traditional transit service area within Niagara Respects the importance of local services and responsiveness to local service requests Improves service to Post Secondary educations institutions

Integrated

Delivers seamless transit with less transfers to key destinations (work, school, healthcare, etc.) Provides an integrated and standardized fare structure, customer service, trip planning and fare systems Supports GO Train service in Niagara

Economically Responsible

Delivers service more cost-effectively Reduces number of staff required to operate transit within the Region Reduces the likelihood of duplication of service Facilitates unconventional transit solutions and technology for more cost-effective solutions Provides advantages for accessing capital funding from more senior levels of government Increases provincial gas tax revenue collected

Business Case Evaluation

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Principle Measure

Equitable

Respects existing investments made by communities that now have transit services Ability to easily facilitate expansion of services to existing, growing communities outside the traditional transit service area Respects collective labour agreements Ensures local municipalities have a say in local services and funding allocation

Ease of Implementation

Agreement can be easily achieved on the structure of the Service Delivery Model Ease of transition from one service model to another Ongoing decision making looks at the big picture and is not hampered by local interests

Business Case Results

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Principle

Option 1 Status Quo Option 2 Consolidated Option 3 Regional

Customer Driven MEDIUM MEDIUM-HIGH HIGH Integrated LOW MEDIUM-HIGH HIGH Economically Responsible MEDIUM HIGH MEDIUM-HIGH Equitable HIGH HIGH MEDIUM Ease of Implementation MEDIUM HIGH LOW-MEDIUM

Adherence to Principles: LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH

Business Case Summary

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Option 1 Status Quo Option 2 Consolidated Option 3 Regional

MEDIUM HIGH MEDIUM - HIGH

How well do the proposed service delivery options adhere to the guiding principles?

• Option 2 (Consolidated Transit System) best adheres to the guiding principles
• Consolidated Transit System covers 99% of transit ridership in Niagara Region
• Additional inter-municipal routes can be added
• Extensions to service area are possible as other transit systems mature
• Region should continue to be a funding partner

Proposed Consolidated Transit System Model

• Peripheral trips via U-Pass, local

area contracts with regional subsidy New Consolidated Corporation

Proposed Consolidated Transit System Model

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Governance Service Area Cost/Funding

• New public corporation
• 3 municipalities transfer

assets to corporation

• Consolidated corporation

creates organization to deliver services to consolidated area

• Routes are modified to

reflect inter-municipal trips within consolidated area

• Services beyond 3

municipalities are contracted directly with adjacent local municipalities

• Region could financially

support connecting links to neighbouring municipalities

• Costs are allocated to each

municipality based upon service miles/hours

• Revenues can be pooled or

allocated to each municipality based on boardings

Roles and Responsibilities

Government Roles Funding

Core Municipalities

(St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland)

• Have “ownership” of consolidated

system through representatives on Commission

• Approve service level and funding

modifications

• Call centre, apps, driver training,

vehicle procurement, etc.

• Capital and operational costs of

consolidated transit system (except connecting LINK routes)

• Fully fund all local services within

consolidated service area

• Receive all operating revenues

Region

(Regional Municipality of Niagara)

• Act as facilitator in discussions

between outer municipalities and consolidated system

• Provide planning support for inter-

municipal routes

• Fund core inter-municipal routes
• Partially fund connecting LINK routes

to outer municipalities

• Partially fund new technologies and

external start-up services

Outer Municipalities

(Grimsby, Fort Erie, Wainfleet, etc.)

• Present business case for connecting

LINK routes into consolidated system

• Operate local transit service within

communities

• Sit on Advisory Committee to

Commission for future inter-municipal issues

• Partially fund connecting LINK routes

to outer municipalities (Region to fund remainder)

• Fully fund their local transit service

Proposed Consolidation Model Governance

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

Consolidated Transit System Commission

1 - Regional Representative 3 - St. Catharines Representatives 2 - Niagara Falls Representatives 1 or 2 - Welland Representatives 2 or 3 - Unelected officials

3 Local Councils + Region Other Municipalities Advisory Committee

Summary The concept would see a board/commission of the new transit entity, made up

• f representatives from St.

Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and the Region with an additional Advisory role for other municipalities that receive inter-municipal transit service from the new entity

Next Steps

• Develop operating and capital cost estimates for the preliminary service

plan

• Identify next steps to implement the Consolidated Transit Model
• Continue with public consultation of the preliminary service plan and

proposed Consolidated Transit System service delivery and governance model – seek input and feedback

• Based on feedback from the public, refine recommendations and

finalize report

• Request Council approval of recommended service plan and service

delivery and governance strategy

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance

QUESTIONS?

Regional Municipality of Niagara: Niagara Transit Service Delivery and Governance