Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - 2015 Update REPORT

TRANSIT SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORT FAQs

REPORT Transit Service During Confederation Line Construction - Transitway Closure Hurdman to TITLE Blair DIVISION: Customer Systems and Planning BRANCH Service Planning REPORT Pat Scrimgeour, Assistant General Manager, Customer Date: AUTHOR Systems and Planning April 8, 2015

SCHEDULED DATES FOR REPORT GM’s REVIEW OF REPORT TRANSIT COMMISSION COUNCIL March 25, 2015 April 22, 2015 N/A

FAQs:

Q1. What are the highlights of service adjustments planned for 2015?

A1. The below points are highlights of the transit services during Confederation Line Construction:

 On June 28, 2015, the Transitway will be closed between Blair Station and Hurdman Station, to allow for O-Train Confederation Line construction.  This section of the Transitway will remain closed until May 2018 when the Confederation Line officially opens for service.  For customers who are affected, Council has invested $74 million in mitigation measures to minimize the impacts.  We’re aiming to maintain key connection points as well as keep transit routes as close as possible to current routes.  The level of service is set to match projected ridership demand and ensure sufficient capacity is provided.  Transit service along this section of the Transitway will be relocated to reserved bus lanes on Regional Road 174 / Highway 417 and other parallel corridors.  The goal of the transit service adjustments is to maintain good transit service for customers with bus routes serving customers’ destinations and maintaining key connection points.  There are 340,000 customer-trips made on OC Transpo on a typical weekday, and approximately 84% of these customer-trips will not be affected by the service adjustments.  The journey time for most customers travelling between Blair Station and Hurdman Station will range from 1 minute faster to 7 minutes longer than today.  Many customers travelling to downtown from the east will have a longer travel time, and some customers will have changes to the locations of their connections between routes.

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 Some routes will bypass Train, Hurdman, and Lees Stations and shorten the travel time for some customers travelling to and from downtown. Some routes will also bypass St. Laurent Station in the eastbound direction.  Cyrville Station will be closed during construction; however, transit service will continue to be provided nearby.

Q2. How many customers will be affected and how will their travel times be affected?

A2. There are 340,000 customer-trips on the transit system on a typical weekday and approximately 16%, or 54,000 customer-trips per day, will be impacted by these transit service adjustments.

Approximately 84%, or 286,000 customer-trips, will not be affected by the construction.

Travel time impacts on customers:

 14% of customers will have a longer travel time of up to 7 minutes . 3% of the above-noted customers will have an additional transfer  1% will have a longer travel time of 8 minutes or more  1% will have a shorter travel time of 1 minute

Q3. Which routes will be affected?

A3. The below-listed routes will be affected during Confederation Line Construction:

East-end Express Routes

 Will operate on Regional Road 174 and Highway 417 bus lanes  Will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman, and Lees Stations to provide more direct service to / from downtown  Will serve St-Laurent Station in westbound direction only, with customer off-loading by request only  Service levels will be the same  Under normal conditions, travel time to downtown will increase by approximately 5 minutes in the morning and 7 minutes in the afternoon

New Route 91

 New Route 91 will provide faster service than Route 95 along a similar route  Route 91 will be faster because it will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman, and Lees Stations to provide more direct service to / from downtown  Many customers who now use Route 95 will be better-served by new Route 91  Route 91 will serve St-Laurent Station in the westbound direction only  Route 91 will operate Trim / Place d’Orléans Stations to / from Baseline Station  Route 91 will operate Monday to Friday from about 06:00 to 19:00

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 Route 91 will have additional capacity added to accommodate customers transferring from other routes

Route 94

 Will bypass Cyrville, Train, Hurdman and Lees Stations to provide more direct service to / from downtown  Service west of downtown to / from Barrhaven and Riverside South will not be affected

Route 95

 Route 95 will be the main route for customers traveling to Hurdman Station  Many customers who now use Route 95 will be better-served by new Route 91  Route 95 will run 24 hours, seven days a week  Service to / from Barrhaven will not be affected  Customers travelling between downtown and Baseline Station can take either new Route 91 or Route 95  Additional capacity will be added to accommodate customers transferring from other routes  A small number of customers who travel east specifically from Hurdman to Blair or beyond will have the longest travel time increase, at 13 to 16 minutes – this effect cannot be mitigated

Route 96

 Route 96 will serve the VIA Rail Canada Ottawa Station  Trips every 15 minutes, seven days a week, will operate via Train Station and Tremblay Road to/from St-Laurent Station  Additional trips will start/end at Hurdman Station  Service west of downtown to/from Kanata and Stittsville will not be affected

West-end express routes

 Trips in the morning will end at Hurdman Station  No morning trips will continue to Blair Station  Trips in the afternoon will start at the new bus staging area at Vanier Parkway  Trips in the afternoon will start in service at Campus Station  Customers travelling to/from locations further east may transfer to / from Routes 91/94/95/96 downtown

Other Routes on / near the Transitway

 Route 6 – Transfer locations at Lees and Hurdman Stations - Revised routing at Lees Station  Route 18 – Transfer location at St-Laurent Station - Operates via Coventry Road

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 Route 101 – Transfer locations at Lees and Hurdman Stations - Revised routing at Lees Station  Route 114 – Transfer locations at St-Laurent and Hurdman Stations  Route 121 – Transfer location at Hurdman and Blair Stations - Serves Cyrville Station area  Route 124 – Transfer location at Blair and St-Laurent Stations - Operates via Ogilvie Road and serves Cyrville Station area  Route 126 – Transfer location at Blair Station - Ends at Blair Station at all times  Route 127 – Combined into Route 124  Route 128 – Transfer location at Blair Station - Ends at Blair Station at all times  Route 129 – Transfer locations at Blair, St-Laurent, and Hurdman Stations - Ends at Blair Station on weekends  Route 192 – Transfer locations at St-Laurent and Hurdman Stations  Route 199 – Transfer locations at Blair, St-Laurent, and Hurdman Stations

Q4. What Transitway Stations will be affected?

A4. Construction activity will require some stations to be adjusted and others closed:

 Hurdman Station will be relocated, effective in September 2015  Train Station will be closed with bus service rerouted to Tremblay Road and the VIA Ottawa Station  St. Laurent Station lower level will be closed  Blair Station will be relocated  Cyrville Station will be temporarily closed

Q5. What amenities will be provided at temporary station facilities?

A5. The temporary stations will be built to regular OC Transpo standards, in accordance with the Transitway Design Manual. Stations will remain fully accessible. To ensure customer safety and security, Closed Circuit T.V. and emergency call boxes (‘e-phones’) will be provided.

Q6. What will happen to existing retail stores at Hurdman and Blair Stations?

A6. Retail stores at Hurdman and Blair Stations will be closed during the construction period. In 2018, there will be retail opportunities available at both locations, along with Tunney’s Pasture and Rideau Stations.

Q7. What happens if these service adjustments cause more significant delays than projected?

A7. The following stakeholders are meeting regularly to discuss how to mitigate delay / incidents in order to avoid impact to transit service reliability:

 OC Transpo

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 Public Works (Traffic Management, Traffic Operations)  Rail Implementation Office  Ottawa Police Service  Ontario Provincial Police  Ontario Ministry of Transportation

This group continues to discuss:

 OC Transpo operating procedures for highway operations  Collision clearing, and priorities for clearing collisions that could affect transit service  OPS / OPP jurisdiction  Potential conflicts in transit lanes (e.g. disabled vehicles)  Emergency Detour Routes for buses, and activation of these  Transit prioritization during incidents on the highway  Key ‘hotspot areas’, and possible mitigation methods

Meetings and communication will continue throughout all phases of the construction period of the O-Train Confederation Line.

Q8. How will OC Transpo communicate these changes to customers?

A8. A comprehensive communication program will be utilized to ensure that all customers are aware of the upcoming changes in a timely manner. Customers are encouraged to look for “Our Transit Future is On Track” messages starting soon.

The communication campaign has three main objectives:

 Create awareness of the changes and how the individual customers are affected  Provide travel planning and schedule information  Convey why the changes are required (e.g. providing some long- term plans and benefits of the O-Train Confederation Line).

Q9. When will these service adjustments be communicated to customers?

A9. The information campaign will begin in April 2015. The campaign will start by building awareness of the upcoming changes, and then provide more detailed information beginning in mid-May. Communication activities will continue after transit service adjustments are implemented and carry through to future phases of Transitway closures and service adjustments.

Anticipated timelines for various activities are:

Awareness Building Activities:

 Use of mainstream media platforms and social media: mid April to late June 2015  Display of posters and other print materials: mid May to late June 2015

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 Use of Next Stop Announcement System on buses to share general route / service change information: June 2015

Information Sharing Activities:

 Updates to travel planner and online schedules: mid May to late June 2015  Additional posters and print materials for customers: June 2015  Updated bus stops and signage: June 2015  Targeted Next Stop Announcement System Messages: mid to end of June 2015  Outreach: June 2015 . Outreach and information display at key destinations (e.g., hospital, community centre, shopping mall)  In Station: late June 2015 . Outreach sessions at affected stations . Social media to support outreach sessions (e.g. Find out how the upcoming station closures affect you. Transit staff will be at Hurdman Station today and tomorrow until 6pm.) . School Service: May to August 2015 . Refresh information in August 2015 for customers who are rejoining the transit system in September

Support Activities:

 Customer Service: June to early July 2015  In-station: late June to early July 2015  Ongoing support through normal channels

Q10. How were route adjustments determined? How did you determine which routes would be terminated at Blair and which would continue to St. Laurent or Hurdman?

A10. OC Transpo has planned service adjustments in order to continue to deliver a reliable, cost-effective, safe and convenient service. There were several main considerations involved in determining service adjustments, including adjustments at Blair and St-Laurent Stations, which encompass the following:

 Minimizing travel time for customers  Maintaining connectivity and minimizing connections for customers  Consistency with current routes  Ensuring major destinations are served  Transitioning to 2018 route network

Q11. Why does it take so much longer to stop at St-Laurent Station going east?

A11. Eastbound buses on the highway that serve St. Laurent Station have a longer routing from the highway into the station, compared to those buses travelling west.

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Eastbound buses must exit Highway 417 and make a series of turns in mixed traffic before reaching the upper level platform of St-Laurent Station. After serving and looping the upper level platform, buses must then make several additional turns in order to make it back to Highway 417, eastbound.

In contrast, westbound service exits the highway, turns left onto St. Laurent Boulevard, right into St-Laurent Station, and can then make use of a new direct ramp from the station to Highway 417, westbound.

Q12. How many new buses are required for the service adjustments during O-Train Confederation Line construction?

A12. There are 37 new buses now on order for delivery in 2015-16 to be used in connection with the transit service adjustments that will be required during the entire construction period of the O-Train Confederation Line. We will receive 12 of these buses in order to provide service for this phase.

Q13. How will rural partner agencies connect to the transit system?

A13. Connection points for rural partner agency bus services have yet to be confirmed. OC Transpo is in current contact with our rural partner agencies detailing the upcoming changes during construction, restrictions they will face at temporary stations, and offering suggestions for alternative drop-off / pick-up locations for their service.

Q14. How long will the Confederation Line construction service adjustments last for? What are the next phases for service adjustments?

A14. The Confederation Line is scheduled to open in May 2018. Service adjustments will take place in sequential phases as other sections of the Transitway are closed. Each section of Transitway that closes will never reopen for bus operations. The current timelines for Transitway Closure is as follows:

 June 2015 – Hurdman Station to Blair Station  December 2015 – Merton Street to Empress Street  April 2016 – Laurier Station to Hurdman Station  June 2016 – Tunney's Pasture Station to Merton Street

Similar service adjustment plans will be implemented as these closures take effect. The next Transit Service Adjustments during Confederation Line Update Report is planned for Transit Commission in October 2015.

Q15. What is the total cost of these service adjustments (i.e. to run this service until 2018) and where is the funding coming from?

A15. When City Council approved the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project in December 2012, it established a funding source of $63 million for the continuity of transit service during the

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construction of the line. This was to provide for a transitional operating and capital budget to provide transit service during the construction period.

In November 2013, the approval of the 2014 Transit Services Operating and Capital Budget included an additional $11 million to fund the early replacement of buses that will be life- expired in 2019-2021. This bus purchase provides additional buses for service during the years of Confederation Line construction.

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