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

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St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus) 2011 Market Assessment and Strategic Directions Study – Part D: Strategic Directions method of providing accessibility and building up ridership. Once ridership on the service reaches the minimum hourly target, it is replaced by a traditional transit service operated by a transit driver. Establishing and communicating this standard/policy can often help with the implementaiton of a TransCab service. 13.3 Service to Industrial Areas The survey that was administered to local businesses through the Board of Trade and the Downtown Development Commission, queried the business’ relationship to transit, the importance of transit to their success, and their willingness to partner with Metrobus in implementing various initiatives. The survey found that approximately 56 percent of employers agreed that transit is important to attracting and retaining employees. When asked about partnership opportunities with Metrobus to improve services, 73 percent of respondents replied that they would be willing to distribute Metrobus information to their employees. However, respondents were not very interested in other initiatives such as providing financial contributions for increased service and adjusting shift times to match Metrobus service. Respondents were also asked about their level of agreement with certain statements relating to transit service. The top three statements for which there was agreement are listed below: Transit services should be available throughout the greater St. John's area; Public transit is an important contributor to achieving environmental goals in our community; and Transit is an important part of the solution to downtown parking problems. Increasingly, industrial land developers and employers are looking for the availability of public transit services to accommodate employees and in some cases because of a corporate commitment to environmental sustainability. Unfortunately, fixed route, scheduled transit services have difficulty effectively and efficiently serving this type of market. Some reasons include: Low density industrial development means workers are not concentrated near fixed stops on bus routes. This often means long walks to and from the plant door (especially difficult in winter); Routes through industrial areas can become indirect and have poor pedestrian connections from bus stop to factory door; In large industrial parks, unproductive deadheading is usually required between industries to access major employers; Often there is not adjacent residential or commercial development along the route to assist with ridership and productivity; Workplace start and stop times are hard to match with bus schedules especially when a route passes several employers; Employees working shifts and weekends may find transit service hours are not always compatible; and Employees live in very dispersed areas and many reside outside the transit service area. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 84
St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus) 2011 Market Assessment and Strategic Directions Study – Part D: Strategic Directions In some cases industrial employers are located in close proximity to fixed route transit services which primarily serve residential or commercial areas (i.e. Harvey’s Industrial Area – Stavanger Drive Retail Area). When this occurs, Metrobus should continue to provide fixed route service in line with system performance targets and seek opportunities with these employers to encourage increased transit usage. In specific cases, local route adjustments can be made to better match shift times and reduce unproductive deadheading. For large industrial areas that are not close to residential areas, a unique service offering may be more effective. Two examples in Metrobus’ service area include the Donovan Industrial Park in Mount Pearl 6 and the O’Leary Industrial Park in St. John’s. There are two approaches suggested to provide transit service to these types of remote industrial areas. The first approach deals with modifications to the current fixed route structure. The second approach is to implement an industrial special service tailored to the specific needs of the industrial areas. One type of industrial special would involve a partnership strategy with employer(s) based on a financial target being achieved. The other industrial special strategy is based on establishing and monitoring minimum utilization targets. The various approaches are described below. OPTION 1 – MODIFICATION OF FIXED ROUTE TRANSIT The first option is to continue servicing large industrial areas with regular fixed route transit. It is apparent that there are periods of high demand, and other periods where ridership is much less. To address this situation, one option would be to maintain the fixed routes and short-turn buses before reaching the industrial areas during periods of low demand. For example, Route 10 and Route 16 could turn around at Avalon Mall, instead of running through O’Leary Industrial Park. The benefit of this strategy is increased efficiency for the operator. Short-turning the service would save the operator bus service hours during periods where there is little ridership. One of the challenges of this strategy is developing a route structure that could accommodate periodic shortturns while still maintaining schedules at the transfer points. It would be important to maintain the cycle and not deviate in other areas of the route during the off-peak. OPTION 2 – INDUSTRIAL SPECIALS Industrial Specials can be structured to provide more direct and specialized service to larger industrial areas. Designing such services typically involves conducting a survey of industrial employers, including shift times and employee’s residential locations and designing a tailored service to meet transit demands. The benefit of this strategy for the employer and employees is that they are provided a service that is uniquely tailored to fit their needs (i.e. matching shift times and providing more direct service right to the plant door). The industrial service can also be designed to operate during periods when conventional transit is not operating. Finally, specials can be designed to run express between collection points and the industrial area, thereby increasing the attractiveness of the service. For the operator, the operation of the service can be structured to match demand, thereby increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the service. Specific runs may also provide the opportunity to minimize split shifts for bus drivers and buses may be integrated into and supplement the base service when returning from the industrial trip. 6 A change in the service delivery model to this industrial park would need to be approved by the Town of Mount Pearl. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 85
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Metrobus Market Assessment and Stra
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Page 132: APPENDIX A Online Questionnaire Sam
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Contact Information 1. Please fill
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4. How many vehicles are available
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Metrobus Market Study and Strategic
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APPENDIX B CNA Student Survey and R
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Student Profile/Transit Use 1. Are
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Non Transit Users Off Campus 1. How
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Non Transit Users On Campus 1. What
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3. How do you normally pay for your
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Transit Users 1. What other trips d
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Universal Student Transit Pass One
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Introduction Metrobus is evaluating
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Student Profile/Transit Use 1. What
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Non Transit Users On Campus 1. What
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Transit Users 1. What other trips d
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Universal Student Transit Pass One
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Introduction Metrobus is evaluating
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2. Main type of business activity:
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Relationship to Transit 1. Does you
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8. Would you CONSIDER participating
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Survey Completion Thank you for you
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APPENDIX E Onboard Passenger Survey
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APPENDIX F Peer Review Municipaliti
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APPENDIX G Off-Street Terminal Desi
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Metrobus Transit Study.pdf - City of St. John's

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