Staff Report #8
August 28, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: 2024 Work Program – Planning – Second Quarter Update
Recommendation
The report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
The following report is provided as an update on major Planning projects as set out in the 2024 Work Program that are ongoing in nature and/or were scheduled to commence and/or be completed over the second quarter of 2024, with the lead on same being the primary responsibility of the Planning department.
1.2 C – 2024 Service Plan Implementation
Work has been completed for the implementation of the approved 2024 Service Plan changes. All changes including routing modifications, frequency improvements and enhanced reliability that were approved at the March 2024 meeting, will be implemented for September 1, 2024.
Updated Ride Guides have been prepared and distributed to community partners and advance notifications of changes has been provided on the London Transit website, social media, IVR phone system and at key stop locations along affected routes.
2.1 – Participate on the BRT Steering Committee and Technical Committee
As set out in Staff Report #13 dated August 28, 2024, construction continues along the Downtown Loop, East London Link and Wellington Gateway Rapid Transit corridors. While it was initially anticipated that Route 94 would be modified to operate along King Street between Ontario and Wellington utilizing both the eastbound and new contraflow westbound transit lanes for the start of the fall service (September 1, 2024) there is still outstanding construction work yet to be completed for both East London Link Phase I and II as well as additional regulatory signage and transit signal heads that need to be installed prior to operation commencing. Additionally, a significant education campaign is needed for both Operators as well as the general public on the operation of the contraflow lanes as this will be the first contraflow lane in London. At this time, it is anticipated that operations along King Street with Route 94 will not commence until spring 2025.
London Transit administration is continuing to work with the City of London on the implementation of the Transit Signals across the Rapid Transit projects, but specifically within the downtown loop in order to facilitate local routes being able to utilize the transit lanes throughout the loop. Technical criteria, regulatory signage requirements and signal phasing is being finalized. Updates on timing will be provided as details are known.
Service Planning Process- In Year Requests
The following provides an overview of the process utilized with respect to requests for service improvements as requested by a member of the Commission.
Requests for service improvements are received throughout the year, and all are recorded in the customer contact database and forwarded to the Planning department for consideration. Each request receives a follow up from a member of the Planning department to discuss the request and explain the service planning process. If the request relates to an on-time performance issue that may be rectified with an adjustment to a schedule which does not require additional service hours and the change is deemed warranted by the Planning department, a change will be implemented in the next possible sign-up period. If the request requires additional service hours, it is added to the list of considerations for the next Annual Service Planning Process. All of this information is shared during the discussion with the customer requesting the improvement.
During the Annual Service Planning Process, all service requests are assessed and prioritized for implementation, keeping in mind the budget limitations for a given year. The report presented to the Commission includes a summary of all requests that were included for consideration, and a recommended set of improvements that have been prioritized by the Planning department for implementation balancing competing demands for service within the annual service plan budget limitations.
The draft service plan report is tabled with the Commission in late fall of each year, noting the improvements are scheduled for implementation the following September. Subsequent to the Commission approval of a draft service plan, a period of public consultation is scheduled to provide the opportunity for stakeholder feedback. All feedback received through the consultation process is reviewed and assessed with final service change recommendations presented to the Commission in the first quarter. The changes approved at that time are typically implemented in September.
Given the manner in which the budget approval process works, once the annual operating budget has been set, there is no opportunity to seek additional funding within that year for requests and/or service issues that may arise. Using the current multi-year budget as an example, the budget that was approved included the addition of 18,000 hours of service in each of the years 2024 through 2027. The Five-Year Service Plan, recently approved by the Commission, provides a framework for service improvements in each year equaling approximately 18,000 hours. Given these plans are updated every five years, and are based on information available at the time, there is a need for flexibility with actual implementation to allow the ability to address new requests and/or service concerns. As described earlier, the annual service planning process allows for consideration of these issues.
The plan is approved early in the year to allow the required time to complete the work associated with the planned service changes including but not limited to the identification and preparation of new stop locations, the creation of new schedules and operator work assignments, the preparation of new/updated on-board announcement files, and the update and publication of new ride guides. Once an annual service plan has been approved by the Commission, there is no ability to add to it unless there is an equal subtraction given the need to maintain a balanced budget. In the event that a recommended cut to the service plan is presented with a new request, the ability to implement the change may still be limited given the timing of such request and administration’s ability to respond to same.
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager