COUNCIL REPORT Executive Committee Report No. ENG 017-2019 Date: June 06, 2019 File No: 8500-02 8500-01 To: Mayor and Council From: Mike Kelly, Senior Transportation Manager Subject: City of Abbotsford and Fraser Valley Regional District - Transit Expansion Initiatives RECOMMENDATION 1. THAT the Transit Improvement Program (TIP) expansion initiative for 2021-2024, for Option #2, an additional 10,000 hours per year, be approved; 2. THAT Council support, in principle, the 2020-2021 expansion initiative to extend the Fraser Valley Express (FVX) Regional Service to Translink’s Lougheed SkyTrain station; and 3. THAT the Mayor and Corporate Officer be authorized to execute all documents related to this matter. REPORT CONCURRENCE General Manager City Manager The General Manager concurs with the The City Manager concurs with the recommendation of this report. recommendation of this report. SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE Improving and expanding transit in the Fraser Valley are linked to both the City of Abbotsford’s Transportation and Transit Master Plan and the Fraser Valley Regional District’s (FVRD) Regional Growth Strategy. The City of Abbotsford is initiating a Service Change beginning June 30, 2019, to bring reliability to the transit network within the City. Future plans to increase frequency and introduce new routes to Gladwin Road and the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) will require additional funding from the City. At the same time, the FVRD proposes to expand regional Fraser Valley Express bus service to the Lougheed SkyTrain station starting in January 2021. The purpose of this report is to provide Council with information and seek approval for planned Report No. ENG 017-2019 Page 2 of 5 City transit service expansion, and for Council to support, in principle, the FVRD proposal. BACKGROUND Local Transit BC Transit’s Future Plan and the City of Abbotsford’s Transportation and Transit Master Plan made recommendations for phased transit improvements within the City. Phase 1 – 2019: Address Core Issues Making changes to improve reliability, direct service onto the core area of the City, and set the foundation for rapid transit on South Fraser Way. Implementing these changes will not result in any additional cost to the City. Phase 2 – 2020: Increase Service Levels Expand service by 10,000 hours (approximately 10%), and invest in areas of high ridership potential. Year 2020 will see the opening of the Operations and Maintenance Facility which will allow for further expansion and converting the fleet to cleaner-burning compressed natural gas. Phase 3 – 2021-2024: Increase Service Levels Staff has reviewed three options for level of service expansion: Option # 1: an additional 5,000 hours for each of the three years; Option # 2: an additional 10,000 hours for each of the three years; and Option # 3: an additional 15,000 hours for each of the three years. Staff is recommending that Council support Option #2 and start investing 10,000 hours per year over the three years. This expansion will allow the City to target priority areas by investing on existing routes, introducing new routes, and improving customer amenities. Regional Transit A proposal was received from the FVRD for municipal support to extend the Fraser Valley Express service to TransLink's Lougheed SkyTrain station at an annual net cost of $494,000. Revenues and expenditures for the service are shared by the municipal partners per the Fraser Valley Express Sub-Regional Transit Service Area Establishment Bylaw No. 1236, 2013, as amended. Per the bylaw, the split, as negotiated between the two parties, is City of Abbotsford 63.8% and City of Chilliwack 36.2%. The FVRD staff report states it is possible that additional ridership and resulting revenues will cover the additional cost of the service, but the expansion as currently proposed by BC Transit, may require an additional subsidy from taxpayers. Should an expanded FVX service require a partial taxation subsidy, it is estimated to cost $0.15 per $100,000 of assessed value for every $100,000 increase in taxation subsidy. The FVRD staff report, PowerPoint, BC Transit Survey, and FVRD Briefing Notes are included as supporting information in Attachments A, B, C, and D. Report No. ENG 017-2019 Page 3 of 5 DISCUSSION Local Transit Increasing the transit mode share is a stated goal in the Transportation and Transit Master Plan, and represents the City’s best opportunity to shift the dependency on vehicles as the primary option. Currently, only 3% of all trips in Abbotsford are made by transit. Expansion initiatives will lead to a higher mode share, and will support the move towards the 25% target for alternative modes as outlined in the Official Community Plan. The Transit Improvement Program (TIP) communicates to local governments the expansion initiatives proposed for the next three years. It seeks the commitment to the expansion initiatives from the local government which thereby allows BC Transit to proceed with securing sufficient funding within the Provincial Budget. Each year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to the TIP expansion is signed by the local government. It sets out the City’s intention to proceed, and is subject to annual City Council budget deliberation. Expansion initiatives are important component to sustaining and growing a successful transit system. The TIP MOU provides order-of-magnitude costing based on the estimated annual expansion hours required. At a future Joint Shared Services Committee (JSSC) meeting, the City of Abbotsford and District of Mission will bring a proposal for custom (handyDART) improvements. There is not a TIP requirement for this initiative, therefore not included in this report. Regional Transit With this proposal, cost savings for FVX customers could be substantial, especially for those paying cash fare, which is the majority of customers. The FVX is a stand-alone service, meaning that the FVX fare is not transferrable to any other service. FVX riders must pay a fare to get onto the 555, and then an additional fare to use SkyTrain. The potential cost savings of eliminating the TransLink fare between Carvolth exchange and Lougheed Station have been calculated using TransLink's online trip planning application. An individual commuting by transit into Vancouver five days a week for 50 weeks a year would see savings of $1,475 dollars per year. The extension of the FVX to Lougheed Station also establishes a step towards more integrated transportation solutions connecting people between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. BC Transit confirms that the expansion would be an extension of the current service levels of 17 trips per weekday and 8 trips on weekends/holidays to the Lougheed Station. Proposed service extension will require approval from TransLink, who is aware of the proposal at the staff level. Report No. ENG 017-2019 Page 4 of 5 FINANCIAL PLAN IMPLICATION Local Transit Staring with the 2020 budget, the financial implications of the Transit Improvement Program are limited to operating expenditures and they will become a part of the annual budget going forward. BC Transit purchases and owns the buses. This expansion plan will generate revenues from expanded bus services and it will also require operational contributions from the City. Subject to Council approval, the Transit Services budget will be adjusted accordingly and will be presented with the 2020-2024 Financial Plan. Additional hours per year 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 Option #1 (5,000) $350,000 $350,000 $350,000 Option #2 (10,000) $700,000 $700,000 $700,000 Option #3 (15,000) $1,050,00 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 *costs are approximate Regional Transit The FVX service is currently in a surplus position and this surplus will be used to offset some of the additional cost of the expansion proposed by BC Transit. This expansion will also require an additional subsidy from taxpayers. The City of Abbotsford’s share of the cost for this proposed expansion would be added to the tax requisition from the FVRD. These taxes are shown under the taxes collected for other government agencies (non-municipal taxes) on a property tax. 2021- 2022- 2023- 2022 2023 2024 Estimated Annual Net Municipal $494,500 $514,300 $534,900 Share Funding from Accumulated (326,400) (169,700) - Surplus Tax Requisition $168,100 $344,600 $534,900 City of Abbotsford Share $107,248 $219,855 $341,266 City of Chilliwack Share $60,852 $124,745 $193,634 Komal Basatia Director, Finance Signed 6/5/2019 4:33 PM IMPACTS ON COUNCIL POLICIES, STRATEGIC PLAN AND/OR COUNCIL DIRECTION Vibrant Economy – Council’s support of regional transit will give more options for people to move about in their work, life, or play. Report No. ENG 017-2019 Page 5 of 5 Complete Community – Supports Council’s Strategic Plan priority objective for community sustainability and efforts to enhance the quality of life within Abbotsford. Fiscal Discipline – Lowers greenhouse gases and contributes to a more efficient transportation system. Organizational Alignment – Supports the OCP vision of the transportation mode share. SUBSTANTIATION OF RECOMMENDATION Both the City of Abbotsford and the FVRD have transit service expansion initiatives requiring additional funding. The TIP expansion will allow the City to expand transit and address reliability in the network which was a stated goal in the Transportation and Transit Master Plan. The expansion supports Council’s Strategic Plan objective for community sustainability and the efforts to enhance the quality of life within Abbotsford. The FVRD is proposing to extend the FVX bus service to the Lougheed SkyTrain station starting January 2021. The expansion of service would be beneficial in convenience and cost to the majority of users of the system who wish to connect directly to the SkyTrain. Staff is recommending to approve Option #2 and the addition of 10,000 hours for each year in the City’s transit expansion for 2021-2024, and to consider support, in principle, for the FVX expansion.