Ontario Public Transit Association Business Member Webinar Series Innovative Access and Mobility: The ‘Mash-Up’ of Micro-Transit and Paratransit August 2, 2018
Conventional transit is hemorrhaging… • We are challenged to keep our riders • New mobility providers yet to make a profit • Both better served by working together • Personalize the travel experience • Keep loyalty of those riding today but also attract those that don’t ride
…yet paratransit demands are unsustainable • Aging population • Demand for service rising • Industry average 8% of agency’s service cost but only carrying 2-3% of ridership • Necessary and mandated service • Investments into accessible infrastructure not being leveraged
Pivot the mindset Moving vehicles to moving people • Accommodate individual transportation choice • Establish culture of universal inclusivity • Improve the travel experience more direct and faster • Internal frontline education is a necessity • Services become more equitable, efficient, and sustainable • Agency is future-proofed
Some strategies that realize objectives • Comingling para and non-para customers • Maximize productivity of a sunk cost • Family of Services Concept • Optimize use of all transportation resources • Personalized trip planning • Public education • Travel training • Ride ambassadors • Microtransit • Technology is the enabler
Study of Best Practices for Alternative Service Delivery Bakersfield, CA • Like others, GET had been losing ridership for nearly a decade • Different best practices, risks and opportunities, and legislation for strategies like: ◦ Bike share ◦ Car share ◦ Ride share ◦ TNCs ◦ Comingled service (home to hub) ◦ Walking clubs • Provided targeted recommendations based on: ◦ Areas or neighborhoods with low ridership routes ◦ High levels of GET-A-Lift service ◦ Demographics with transit propensity
Service substitution: home to hub Candidates: Bakersfield, CA • Routes 21, 22, 61, 82 and 84 Route 82 • Option 1 : Eliminate route 84 and replace with home-to-hub services west of Coffee Rd. and north of Rosedale Hwy. • Option 2 : Also eliminate the portion of route 82 in between Walmart and CSUB, and extend the home-to- hub services south, as far as the Kern River. • Option 3 : Also eliminate the remainder of route 82 east of Walmart, and extend the home- to-hub services east, as far as Low density, low ridership routes & Highway 99. overlapping travel patterns with paratransit
There’s a customer experience business case … Bakersfield, CA • Higher level of service • Pick up customers at their ‘front doors’ • No hour-long wait for fixed route • Promotes universal inclusivity • Comingling riders with and without disabilities and mobility challenges • Enables spontaneity of travel leveraging resources and assets the agency already has
There’s an agency business case… Bakersfield, CA
Bus Network Redesign (BNR) Project First/Last Kilometre Challenge Edmonton, AB • ‘Rebooting’ entire route network to eliminate unproductive fixed routes and focus on high quality service ◦ 200 routes 100 routes • Locate ‘hot pockets’ or areas throughout Edmonton that would be orphaned or customer experience worsened under the new route structure • Toolbox of service alternatives and how they can be adapted for different neighborhoods, based on geography, residential makeup, and land use • Solutions tailored for different areas, saving ETS operating costs and offering a better level of service for some residents
Top ‘hot pockets’ emerging post BNR D Edmonton, AB F E G B A C
Options are only limited to one’s creativity Edmonton, AB All alternative service delivery (ASD) being explored for ETS
What ASD for what area? ASD Scoring Tool Edmonton, AB Stop style - No stops/fixed stops - Community density - Barriers to access Service Profile - Service hours - Previous ridership patterns Schedule - On demand - Subscription based - Fixed schedule
Oakville Transit An OPTA Member Success Story The Pioneer of Home-To-Hub Oakville, ON • Introduced in July 2015 during Transit Service Review • Delivered with the care-A-van fleet, comingling with specialized transit users • Initially subscription based-only but recently transitioned to an on-demand service • Piloted only N of Dundas and at peak travel times, in lieu of fixed route service (Route 5A) • 80% increase in home-to-hub ridership over and above existing Route 5A ridership o Route 5A reintroduced due to heightened demand without ridership loss home-to- hub rolled out to other neighbourhoods
Five Takeaways 1. Siloed traditional delivery models are antiquated, inefficient and unsustainable 2. Our customers are asking for more 3. Pivot the mindset • Moving vehicles Moving people 4. Look inward before looking outward • TNCs are only one option • Maximize underutilized capacity in existing transit agency assets first 5. There are risks to embracing ASDs • Fear of the unknown is natural • However, biggest risk is NOT doing anything
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