Staff Report #2
November 12, 2024
To All Members of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee
Re: 2024 Work Program Third Quarter Update
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
The following report is provided as an update on significant projects as set out in the 2024 Work Program that were scheduled to commence and/or be substantially completed in the third quarter and which fall within the scope of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee.
1.4 – 2024 Specialized Service Improvements
The outstanding growth hours for 2024 were added to the service beginning September 1, 2024. Three additional vehicles have been scheduled during the highest period of demand from 8:00am to 6:30pm Monday through Friday.
The contractor was successful with the implementation of the approved hours with respect to vehicle availability however, following the service improvement implementation the contractor experienced significant manpower shortages resulting in service hours not being delivered and available for trip assignment. Recently the contractor has made improvements with respect to ensuring available manpower to operate the service as scheduled, which is expected to continue going forward.
Administration will continue to monitor service delivery and report on same monthly as part of the regular financial update reports.
4.4 – Implementation of Smart Card Readers on Specialized Service
The final software issue identified during round three of user acceptance testing has been rectified and all hand-held units have been updated with the current software version. Training materials for drivers and hand-held units will be delivered to Voyago the week of October 28 for installation on each of the vehicles utilized for delivery of the specialized service. On-board posters advising customers of the new equipment and ability to utilize both monthly pass and stored value options on their smart card will also be delivered to Voyago for installation. Barring any unforeseen issues, all vehicles should be equipped with hand-held smart card readers by November 10.
5.5 – Expect Respect Program
The London Transit Mutual Respect Policy states that all customers of the services and others that are in contact with the LTC and its employees in the course of business/work are in turn expected to be respectful of employees and of other customers of the service. The Expect Respect Program was established to raise awareness of this policy to both London Transit employees and customers of the expectations of respectful interactions between all parties; whether that be employee to employee; employee to customer or customer to customer.
The initial element of the program was to provide enhanced training for London Transit employees. Programs for all front-line employees were enhanced to ensure more focus is dedicated to the expectations of respectful dialogue between employees and rolled out across the organization. The management group participated in a training program focused on this in 2023.
As has been communicated in previous reports, the rates of incidents of Violence in the Workplace and Mutual Respect complaints continues to be high. Customer frustrations with the service are often taken out on front-line employees, in many cases, in a manner which is unacceptable. In an effort to clearly establish the expectations of everyone delivering or utilizing London Transit services, a two-pronged communications campaign has been created which focusses on London Transit’s expectations of a respectful workplace.
The campaign element directed at London Transit riders includes an internal bus card that is double wide, which will be installed on every bus in the fleet as well as all of the vehicles utilized by Voyago for the delivery of the specialized service. An image of the bus card is set out below.
External Messaging – Bus Cards
In addition to the internal bus cards, signage in LTC public spaces, website and social media posts will be utilized to share the campaign.
The second element of the campaign will focus on LTC employees and will be communicated internally. The following image depicts the posters that will be placed on bulletin boards and internal screens.
Internal Messaging – Bulletin Boards/Screens
Both elements of the campaign will be rolled out November 1 and messaging relating to the program will continue into 2025.
10.1 – Voice of the Customer
The annual Voice of the Customer surveys, undertaken by a third party on behalf of the Commission, have been scheduled and will take place as follows:
- Specialized Transit survey (via telephone) will begin on October 27 and run for approximately two weeks
- Conventional Transit survey (on-board) will begin on November 7 and will run for approximately one week
Results of the surveys will be included in the annual Customer Service Reports tabled with the Commission in February each year.
12.7 Bus Stop Lighting Program
Installation of the 150 solar powered bus stop lights is underway and scheduled to be completed by the end of November. The 150 bus stop locations that were selected for solar light additions were assessed to determine areas where lighting levels at the stop are less than desirable. The locations were also then assessed by Urban Solar to ensure that adequate sunlight would reach the lights for charging. A communications campaign will be rolled in the coming days to advise passengers, Operators and Customer Service staff of the new lights and how they operate. Communications will include internal screens and memos along with information on the corporate website and instructions at all light locations.
12.9 – Specialized Booking System replacement
As recommended and approved in the Commission’s Staff Report #1 dated February 28, 2024, administration is working on the system upgrade process with the vendor. As indicated previously, until such time as the Operational Review was completed, estimated timelines for implementation could not be established.
The Operational Review Document, which establishes the baseline parameters for the system, has been completed and the project plan for each of the subsequent steps is being prepared. Additionally, server set up and software install for the new Novus system has been completed and the work to prepare Novus with Client files as well as common destination information has also been completed. Driver facing software has been installed in a test environment on a singular tablet and results have proved positive for implementation to the rest of the fleet tablets.
Based on progress to date, it is anticipated that the first phase of the implementation, which includes Novus (scheduling system), DriverMate (turn by turn instructions for drivers on tablets), and Notifications (customer activated notifications relating to their specific bookings) will go live sometime in January. In the interim, testing will continue and all LTC staff will be trained on all aspects of the new system. Voyago drivers will also receive training on the new system as it pertains to their use. Additionally, a customer communication plan will be prepared and distributed which will provide instructions for use on the new system from the customer’s perspective.
Following the successful launch of the first phase of implementation, the second phase will be launched. This phase consists of the Passenger Portal, which provides for the ability to make booking requests online as well as allows customers to manage their trip bookings. This implementation is anticipated to take approximately one month following the go live date for phase one.
Recommended by:
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager