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Transit Department TO: Community Services Committee

SUBJECT: Alternative Vehicle Acquisition Report

Report Number: TR-01-13 File Number(s): 770 / 465-11-3

Report Date: February 8, 2013 Ward(s) Affected: 1 2 3 4 5 6 All X

Date to Committee: February 27, 2013 Date to Council: March 18, 2013

Recommendation: Direct Burlington Transit to plan for the acquisition of up to 12 eight-metre cutaway buses and two (2) MV-1 vehicles in 2013 under Option B as replacement vehicles in the Transit Fleet. Direct Burlington Transit to review/implement the Alternative Service Deployment Plan. Direct Burlington Transit to review the life-cycle for all transit bus sizes before 2015. Direct Burlington Transit to develop service standards that include triggers to address capacity utilization and vehicle type, including the use of Dial-A-Ride.

Purpose: Address goal or action in strategic plan Establish new or revised policy or service standard Respond to legislation X Respond to staff direction Address other area of responsibility

Reference to Strategic Plan:

X Vibrant Neighbourhoods Prosperity X Excellence in Government N/A

The Alternative Vehicle Acquisition Report supports strategic directions: Vibrant Neighbourhoods: by increasing transit ridership, thereby reducing congestion and improving mobility; Excellence in Government: by operating a financially and environmentally sustainable transit service.

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Background: At the Community Services Committee meeting of May 30, 2012, council directed the Director of Transit to provide analysis of different operating options that would look at projected long term, total Burlington Transit financial and non-financial performance, addressing: • Current operating practices. • Use of smaller buses in different combinations (i.e. 40 foot buses

on arterial roads and small buses to act as community shuttles to arterial hubs, smaller buses on arterial roads with capacity utilization requirements of less than 24 seats).

• Use of Dial-A-Ride for : - very low demand areas of the city - off-peak hours to arterial hub destinations (presumably specific

malls relative to any particular district) with a maximum distance service standard. (i.e. two km)

• Impact on gas tax distribution requirements. • Social and environmental benefits; and

Council also requested that a ten-year business plan, outlining total financial and non-financial performance, be presented based on the information analysed by the above.

Discussion: Current Operations

The City of Burlington provides conventional transit service to its citizens through 15 scheduled bus routes and eight Dial-A-Ride routes. These services are governed by service standards that ensure a framework that governs level and quantity of service. The most recent service standards for Burlington Transit were approved by council, Report TT-47/08 (Appendix A), for the period 2009 to 2011. The most recent service standards addressed scheduled bus service only. They included characteristics on: route coverage/walking distance, service hours and frequency, vehicle loadings, transfer wait times, on-time performance, ridership levels and cost recovery targets. The most recent service standards did not address Dial-A-Ride service performance. They indentified the use of Dial-A-Ride services for new subdivisions that do not meet the minimum requirements of 400 households or 1,000 residents for new developments only. Scheduled Bus Service Burlington Transit operates a fleet of 52 transit buses, of which 46 are 12-metre heavy-duty buses and six (6) are nine-metre heavy-duty buses. The nine-metre heavy-duty buses are operated on selected routes to match capacity to demand. The nine-metre heavy-duty bus model is deemed to be very unreliable and compromises service quality. The experience with this bus model is shared across the public transit industry. For the 2011-2012 period, the average maintenance cost per kilometre for the nine-metre heavy-duty buses was $0.35/km versus $0.16/km for the 12-metre heavy-duty buses.

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The Transit Department evaluated the feasibility of introducing eight-metre cutaway buses to operate transit service. The following assumptions were made:

- Based on service effective September 2, 2012. - All costs, capital and operations, are annualized. - Current optimization of vehicle and operator use requires the matching routes

(i.e. Route 2 becomes Route 3, Route 11 becomes Route 15, etc.). This optimization requires using the vehicle best suited for the group of routes that are matched together (i.e. matched Routes 10, 11 and 15 all use 40 foot buses during the day, but this type of equipment is not required on Routes 11 and 15).

The following table presents the vehicle capacities for a 12-metre heavy-duty bus and eight-metre cutaway bus:

Vehicle Type Seated Standees Total 12-metre heavy-duty bus* 38 19 57 9-metre heavy-duty bus* 33 17 50 8-metre cutaway bus** 19 6 25

*12-metre and 9-metre heavy-duty buses capacity as per Report TR-05-12 **8-metre cutaway bus capacity as per the Hamilton Street Railway (Hamilton) An evaluation of all routes, for each period, was undertaken to identify where smaller transit vehicles could be used based on utilization. The following table presents the routes and periods where each vehicle type can be used:

Route

Weekday

Saturday Sunday AM Peak Midday PM Peak Evening Late Evening Night

0500 - 0859

0900 - 1459

1500 - 1759

1800 - 2159

2200 - 0159

0200- 0459

1 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre N/A 12-metre 12-metre 2 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 12-metre 8-metre 3 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 12-metre 8-metre 4 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A N/A 8-metre 8-metre 5 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A N/A 8-metre 8-metre 6 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 8-metre 8-metre 10 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 12-metre 8-metre 11 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 12-metre N/A 12 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A N/A 8-metre 8-metre 15 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 8-metre 8-metre N/A 12-metre N/A 21 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre N/A 12-metre 12-metre 61 8-metre N/A 8-metre N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 62 8-metre N/A 8-metre N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 80 12-metre 12-metre 12-metre N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 81 12-metre N/A 12-metre N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 101 12-metre N/A 12-metre N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

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Based on the current use, eight-metre cutaway buses could operate approximately one (1) million revenue service kilometres or 22% of revenue service kilometres. The revised Burlington Transit fleet would see an introduction of 12 eight-metre cutaway buses. Dial-A-Ride Service The objective of the Dial-A-Ride service delivery model is to provide a cost-effective means of providing public transit by linking customers to scheduled bus service to access their destination. The Dial-A-Ride services are provided by Burlington Taxi and charged as per the current meter rate. Customers can request Dial-A-Ride service within the identified areas and times from transit stop to transit stop to access a destination or transfer point (Appendix B). The current Dial-A-Ride network is composed of eight routes defined as:

- Route 50D: service removal alternative - Route 51D: schedule bus service replacement during certain periods - Route 52D: alternative service delivery - Route 53D: service removal alternative - Route 54D: schedule bus service replacement during certain periods - Route 55D: schedule bus service replacement during certain periods - Route 57D: service removal alternative - Route 59D: alternative service delivery

The following challenges are currently faced with the current delivery model. Possible solutions to these challenges are listed below.

• The current delivery model used by the City of Burlington is not optimal as multiple trips can be booked within minutes for the same origin and destination. In December 2012, over 600 trips were made with an average capacity utilization of 1.2 passengers. Only 15% of the trips were multi-occupants (two +).

- Review and make changes to model to increase capacity utilization and duplication.

• Dial-A-Ride service is deployed inconsistently throughout the city as current

services exist within 500 metre walking distances from existing bus routes and is not always used as a service delivery alternative as intended.

- Develop service standards for Dial-A-Ride services to ensure consistent deployment.

• The requirements set out by Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act for

customer service and vehicle accessibility would require training all taxi drivers and additional accessible vehicles.

- Make requirements as part of service contract with Burlington Transit.

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• The integration of the Dial-A-Ride service with the Presto fare payment system must be addressed. Dial-A-Ride services accept the Presto card, but payment is not received as card readers are not available on-board taxi vehicles. This may lead to fares not being received. To ensure that Presto can be used on Dial-A-Ride, all 54 taxis would require Presto readers at a cost of $12,500 each, since the closest taxi is dispatched for the call. Transit systems using the Presto system have requested that a mobile reader be developed, but there is no commitment to its development by Presto.

- Continue talks with service provider and Presto to determine less costly solution. Current capital costs are estimated at $675,000 and are unbudgeted.

• The City of Burlington currently does not have a contract with its Dial-A-Ride service provider, Burlington Taxi.

- Tender service contract through an RFP process or direct negotiations to ensure best value.

An analysis comparing the cost of mobility of Dial-A-Ride and bus service over distance was undertaken to determine the most efficient use of each service. The exhibit below presents the cost comparison of the service types over distance.

The analysis indicates that the cost of providing Dial-A-Ride is optimized during periods where the average number of passengers per trip is two or less. For periods where the average number of passengers per trip is three or more, scheduled bus service should be provided.

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An evaluation of all routes, for each period, was undertaken to identify where Dial-A-Ride service could be expanded. The findings indicated that none of the routes could be operated based on utilization. Based on the current capacity utilization rate of the transit network, the Dial-A-Ride service would not be expanded to replace current scheduled transit service.

Alternative Service Deployment

To address the ongoing and future challenges identified previously, an Alternative Service Deployment Plan was developed. The alternatives are proposed as:

- Scheduled Bus Service Expansion: conversion of high demand Dial-A-Ride routes to scheduled bus service;

- Dial-A-Ride Replacement: conversion of Dial-A-Ride routes to demand responsive routes using MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles;

- Discontinued Dial-A-Ride Service: cancellation of low demand Dial-A-Ride routes.

Scheduled Bus Service Expansion

Introduction of Sunday service and extension of Saturday service to 10:00 p.m. on Walkers Line and the Orchard and Alton areas. Expenses would be minimized from optimizing route alignments and operating an eight-metre cutaway transit bus. This would require an investment of 500 new service hours at a cost of $34,000. This new service would replace Dial-A-Ride Routes 51D, 52D and 55D and generate approximately 6,100 riders. The proposal would also reduce Dial-A-Ride costs by approximately $35,000. Targeted marketing of the service to residents and leveraging of the BTYA (Burlington Transit Youth Ambassador) program would be used to promote and maximize ridership.

Dial-A-Ride Replacement

A first route would be implemented to provide transit service to the employment areas in the area bounded by Appleby Line, Harvester Road, Burloak Drive and Mainway. This would require an investment of 1,600 new service hours at a cost of $138,000, which would generate 10,200 new riders. The proposal would reallocate $34,000 of annual expenses from Dial-A-Ride services. The service would replace existing Dial-A-Ride Route 54D and be operated with an MV-1 accessible mobility vehicle to maximize route performance. Scheduling would offer connections to the Appleby GO Station and Burlington Transit. Targeted marketing of the service with SmartCommute would be undertaken to promote and maximize ridership on this service. A second route would be implemented to provide transit service to the employment areas on the western part of the North Service Road and the residential area of Tyandaga. This would require an investment of 1,000 new service hours at a cost of $86,000. Conversion of this service is expected to generate positive impacts on ridership. The service would replace existing Dial-A-Ride Route 57D and be operated with an MV-1 accessible mobility vehicle to maximize route performance. Scheduling would offer connections to the Burlington GO Station and Burlington Transit. Targeted marketing of the service with SmartCommute would be undertaken to promote and maximize ridership on this service.

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Discontinued Dial-A-Ride Service The remaining Dial-A-Ride routes would be discontinued for the following reasons:

- Route 50D/53D – Spruce Avenue / Hampton Heath o Less than two boardings per day1

- Route 59D – Lakeshore Road o Less than one boarding per day1

Financial Matters: The introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles into the Burlington Transit fleet would impact operational and capital budget requirements. The eight-metre cutaway buses could operate approximately 725,000 revenue service kilometres or 22% of revenue service kilometres. The fuel consumption savings of an eight-metre cutaway bus over a 12-metre heavy-duty bus are estimated to be 50%, based on experience from the Hamilton Street Railway. The estimated annual fuel costs savings would be $198,000 if all identified routes were operated by eight-metre cutaway buses. The following table presents the estimated annual fuel consumption savings and estimated annual fuel costs savings:

Bus Type Estimated Fuel Consumption (L)

Estimated Fuel Costs

Fleet of 12-metre heavy-duty buses and nine-metre cutaway buses 1,695,978 $1,831,657

Mixed fleet of 12-metre heavy-duty buses and eight-metre cutaway buses 1,513,021 $1,634,063

Estimated Savings 182,957 $197,594 Diesel fuel costs estimated to be $1.08/L in 2013.

Over the 2013-2022 period, under a planned introduction in 2014, the total fuel savings are estimated to be 1,646,613 litres or greater than $1,778,342.2 A maintenance cost comparison between 12-metre heavy-duty buses and eight-metre cutaway buses was not available. It is anticipated that the smaller vehicles would yield lower maintenance costs than their 12-metre counterparts. The operational, fuel consumption and maintenance costs for the nine-metre heavy duty buses do not present savings versus the 12-metre heavy-duty buses. For the 2011-2012 period, the average maintenance cost per kilometre for the nine-metre heavy-duty buses was $0.35/km versus $0.16/km for the 12-metre heavy-duty buses. Fuel costs,

1 Average number of boardings per operating day from September to December 2012. 2 Minimum savings achieved through the introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses at a fuel cost of $1.08/L and no increased efficiencies in fuel consumption.

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for the same period, were $0.25/km for nine-metre heavy-duty buses and $0.30/km for the 12-metre heavy-duty buses. Burlington Transit proposes two implementation options to achieve the operational and capital savings.

Option A

This option proposes the purchase of 12 eight-metre cutaway buses and two (2) MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles in 2013 to complement the current heavy-duty transit buses.

Capital

The smaller transit buses have different life-cycles and annual depreciation than the 12-metre heavy-duty transit buses, as presented in Appendix E. The cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles would be purchased in 2013 for introduction in early 2014. The nine-metre and 12-metre buses, purchased in 2003 and 2006, would be replaced at a 12-year life-cycle due to their current age and condition. All other heavy-duty buses would have their life cycles extended to 14 years. The planned life-cycle of the cutaway buses is five (5) years, but the buses would be evaluated at this time to determine if their useful life could be extended. Under this option, the capital requirements (Appendix E) for the next ten (10) years would decrease by $4,465,107, and present negative balances in five (5) reporting years. Under a scenario where the federal gas tax distribution would be changed to 70% to roads and 30% to transit, only one (1) reporting year would be negative.

Operational

Operational cost impacts are expected with the implementation of the Alternative Service Deployment Plan and the introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles in 2013. Over the 2013-2022 period, under a planned implementation in 2014, the total annual increase to the operational budget is estimated to be $108,056, as presented in Appendix C. The service proposal would replace existing externally contracted services and as such, would require an additional 2.8 FTEs (2 FT FTE and 0.8 PT FTE) transit operators to operate them internally. The addition of 12 eight-metre cutaway buses and two (2) MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles to the current fleet and extension of the life-cycle of heavy-duty transit buses to 14 years (2007 and after) will require an additional 2.0 FTE mechanics.

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Option B

This option proposes the purchase of 12 eight-metre cutaway buses and two (2) MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles in 2013 as replacement vehicles in the transit fleet.

Capital

The smaller transit buses have different life-cycles and annual depreciation than the 12-metre heavy-duty transit buses, as presented in Appendix E. The cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles would be purchased in 2013 for introduction in early 2014. Due to significantly higher maintenance costs, six (6) nine-metre heavy-duty buses and three (3) 12-metre heavy-duty buses would be retired once the smaller buses are introduced. All other heavy-duty buses would continue to have life cycles of 12 years. The planned life-cycle of the cutaway buses is five (5) years, but the buses would be evaluated at this time to determine if their useful life could be extended. Under this option, the capital requirements (Appendix E) for the next ten (10) years would increase by $1,055,422, and present negative balances in three (3) reporting years. Under a scenario where the federal gas tax distribution would be changed to 70% to roads and 30% to transit, only two (2) reporting years would be negative.

Operational

Operational cost impacts are expected with the implementation of the Alternative Service Deployment Plan and the introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles in 2013. Over the 2013-2022 period, under a planned implementation in 2014, the total annual decrease to the operational budget is estimated to be $65,944, as presented in Appendix D. The service proposal would replace existing externally contracted services and as such, would require an additional 2.8 FTEs (2 FT FTE and 0.8 PT FTE) transit operators to operate them internally.

Environmental Matters: Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions GHG3 emissions are calculated for carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) and then reported in CO2 equivalents (CO2e) based on their respective global warming potentials. GHG emissions are directly linked to the amount of fuel, diesel, gasoline or other, consumed. 3Environment Canada, Table 12: Emission Factors for Energy Mobile Combustion Sources, http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/default.asp?lang=En&n=AC2B7641-1#section5

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The acquisition and operation of eight-metre cutaway buses in Burlington would directly impact emissions created by the transit fleet. From the information provided by the HSR regarding expected fuel consumption and GHG emission factors from Environment Canada, the operation of eight-metre cutaway buses could yield an 11% reduction or 487 tons. Over the 2013-2022 period, with an introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses in 2014, the total GHG emission savings are estimated to be 4,383 tons.4 Information provided by Environment Canada would suggest that MV-1 vehicles, where feasible, would reduce Green House Gas emissions by at least 14%5 on a fuel consumption basis.

Conclusion: The evaluation of transit services in Burlington indicates that there is an opportunity to acquire and operate up to 12 eight-metre cutaway buses. Development of service standards are required to ensure monitoring of the transit network and should include triggers to address capacity utilization for vehicle types. Over the 2013-2022 period, under a planned introduction in 2014, the total fuel savings are estimated to be 1,646,613 litres or greater than $1,778,342. The operation of the eight-metre cutaway buses would also impact GHG emissions in Burlington, a reduction that is estimated to be 11%, or 4,383 tons for the period 2013-2022. The Alternative Service Deployment plan would eliminate the current and future challenges linked to the current Dial-A-Ride operations. The plan would capitalize on the addition of eight-metre cutaway buses and MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles to expand scheduled bus service and replace or cancel the existing Dial-A-Ride operations. Two (2) options are proposed for the introduction of the 12 eight-metre cutaway buses and two (2) MV-1 accessible mobility vehicles. Option A proposes their introduction in addition to the current transit fleet and Option B proposes their introduction as replacement of certain heavy-duty transit buses. The table below summarizes the capital and operational impacts of both options over the 2013-2022 period. Both options would require changes to the current federal gas tax distribution.

2013-2022 Period

Option A Option B Addition Replacement

Capital ($4,465,107) $1,055,422 Operational $972,504 ($593,496) TOTAL ($3,492,603) $461,926

4 Minimum savings achieved through the introduction of eight-metre cutaway buses at a fuel cost of $1.08/L and no efficiencies in fuel consumption. 5Diesel Heavy Duty: 2,663gGHG/L, Gasoline Light Duty: 2,289 gGHG/L , Environment Canada, Table 12: Emission Factors for Energy Mobile Combustion Sources, http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/default.asp?lang=En&n=AC2B7641-1#section5

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Respectfully submitted, Christopher Norris, P.Eng. Mike Spicer Supervisor of Planning and Scheduling Director of Transit 905-335-7869 ext. 7797 905-335-7869 ext. 7845

Approvals: *required

*Department

City Treasurer General Manager City Manager

To be completed by the Clerks Department Committee Disposition & Comments

01-Approved 02-Not Approved 03-Amended 04-Referred 06-Received & Filed 07-Withdrawn

Council Disposition & Comments

01-Approved 02-Not Approved 03-Amended 04-Referred 06-Received & Filed 07-Withdrawn

Appendices: A. 2009-2011 Burlington Transit Service Standards B. Current Burlington Transit Dial-A-Ride Service C. Option A Summary D. Option B Summary E. Capital Investment Summary F. Current and Alternative Transit Vehicle Pictures

Notifications: (after Council decision)

Name Mailing or E-mail Address