Metrobus Transit Study.pdf - City of St. John's

St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus) 2011
Market Assessment and Strategic Directions Study – Part B: The Past and Present – Understanding Ridership Trends
5.0 INTERNAL FACTORS
A number of internal factors were assessed to determine their influence on the reported ridership
decline. Internal factors can be described as those that are largely within the control of Metrobus
and that influence passengers’ ability or desire to use the service.
While there are areas within the existing service that could be improved to influence ridership
growth, this section of the report only addresses areas that may have led to a decline. For example,
Section 5.1.4 identifies design issues with the transit terminals at Avalon Mall and Village Shopping
Centre, particularly for an aging population. Since these terminals have functioned in this way for a
number of years, they are not considered contributing causes of the reported ridership decline.
The two major internal changes that occurred in the system around the time of the ridership decline
are:
1. 2007 Service Changes; and
2. Introduction of the M-Card.
5.1 2007 Service Changes
In 2007, Metrobus implemented a number of changes to the service based on recommendations
from a Metrobus’ 5-year Transit Service Plan. While routing, service level and schedule adjustments
may be needed to reflect change in land use, activity generators, demographics, travel patterns, and
budget availability, transit users generally do not like to experience changes in service. Passengers’
commuting habits and schedule of activities often depend on the transit service hours and frequency
of operation on specific routes. When these factors are changed, passengers are forced to change
their daily habits. Overall, the long term effects of service changes may be positive, but in the short
term passengers tend to be opposed to them. The specific service changes that occurred in 2007 are
outlined in Section 5.1.4.
Three years have passed since the service was modified. This time period is generally sufficient for
existing passengers to get used to service changes and new passengers to understand the service
change and try the service where applicable. However, reported ridership has continued to decline.
One of the key questions of this study was whether or not the ridership decline was a direct result of
the 2007 service change. It is important to note that this ridership decline began between 2006 and
2007, before the service change. Nonetheless, the service change was put in place to help increase
ridership, and this result apparently was not achieved.
The study team probed this question in more detail through a number of different methods. This
included:
1. An on-board passenger survey;
2. An online community survey; and
3. A focus group of passengers that had used the service before and after the service change.
5.1.1 On-board Passenger Survey
The onboard passenger survey, queried passengers on their opinions about the 2007 service changes
and their use of Metrobus services since the changes. Of the 960 responses received for that
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