Powell River Regional Transit System Service Review – Final Report

March 2015

Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BC Transit would like to thank the Council and staff of the City of Powell River, the Board and staff of the Powell River Regional District, the staff of Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi Ltd., and all Powell River community members who provided input into this review, in particular:

 Tla’amin First Nation  BC Ferries  Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure  School District 47  Inclusion Powell River  Powell River Youth & Family Services  Powell River Rotary Club  Life Cycle Housing Society  BOND Program  Model Community Project  Transition Town Powell River  Powell River Cycling Association  Family Friendly Powell River  Wildwood Residents’ Association  Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee  Texada Arts, Culture & Tourism Society  Town Centre Mall  Crossroads Village Shopping Centre  Marine Area Business Association  Powell River Chamber of Commerce  Texada Island Chamber of Commerce  Powell River Regional Economic Development Society

BC Transit would also like to thank all residents who provided feedback and information through passenger and online surveys and at Open House events.

2 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report Table of Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 5 1.1 Introduction ...... 5 1.2 Public Engagement ...... 5 1.3 Service Options...... 6 1.4 Next Steps: Suggested Path to Staged Implementation ...... 15 1.5 Recommendations ...... 15 2. INTRODUCTION ...... 17 2.1 Service Review Process ...... 17 2.2 Guiding Principles ...... 18 3. COMMUNITY OVERVIEW ...... 19 3.1 Demographics ...... 19 3.2 Commuting Profile ...... 20 3.3 Geographical Characteristics, Official Community Plans and Development ...... 22 3.4 Transportation Options ...... 23 3.5 Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan ...... 24 4. CURRENT TRANSIT SYSTEM ...... 25 4.1 Introduction ...... 25 4.2 History ...... 26 4.3 Conventional Transit System ...... 27 4.3.1 Conventional Transit System Ridership ...... 27 4.3.2 Conventional Transit Market ...... 29 4.3.3 Conventional Onboard Passenger Count Results...... 30 4.3.4 Conventional Transit System Fares ...... 31 4.4 Custom Transit...... 31 4.4.1 Custom Transit Ridership ...... 32 4.4.2 Custom Transit Market ...... 33 4.4.3 Custom Transit Fares ...... 34 4.5 Paratransit System...... 34 4.5.1 Paratransit System Ridership ...... 35 4.5.2 Paratransit Market ...... 36 4.5.3 Paratransit Onboard Passenger Count Results ...... 38 4.5.4 Paratransit Fares ...... 38 4.6 Benchmarking for the Powell River Regional Transit System ...... 38 4.7 Transit Infrastructure ...... 41 4.7.1 Fleet ...... 41 4.7.2 Transit Facility ...... 41 4.7.3 Bus Stops ...... 42

5. CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION ...... 45 5.1 Consultation and Communication Process ...... 45 5.2 Summary of Key Themes from Phase One Public Engagement...... 46 5.3 Fixed-Route Transit Current Service and Market Conclusions ...... 46 5.4 Custom Transit Current Service and Market Conclusions ...... 47 5.5 Paratransit Current Service and Market Conclusions ...... 48 5.6 Summary of Key Themes from Phase Two Public Engagement ...... 48 5.7 Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results ...... 49 6. PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE OPTIONS ...... 50 6.1 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options ...... 57 6.1.1 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Short Term ...... 57 6.1.2 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Medium Term ...... 59 6.1.3 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Longer Term ...... 65 6.1.4 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Other Considerations ...... 68 6.2 Custom Transit Service Change Options ...... 72 6.2.1 Custom Transit Service Change Options: Short Term ...... 72 6.2.2 Custom Transit Service Change Options: Longer Term ...... 74 6.3 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options ...... 75 6.3.1 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Short Term ...... 75 6.3.2 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Medium Term ...... 78 6.3.3 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Long Term ...... 82 6.3.4 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Other Considerations ...... 83 6.4 Community Transit Support Initiatives ...... 88

7. CONCLUSIONS ...... 89 3 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

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1. Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

In collaboration with the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District, BC Transit has undertaken this Service Review to examine the Powell River Regional Transit System’s existing service and outline potential service changes and improvements for consideration. This Executive Summary preludes the full Service Review Report, which includes community overview research, a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the existing transit system, and further details of consultation and communication methodologies and results, as well as expanded information on the service options presented below.

Specific objectives of this Service Review are:  Encourage ridership growth, with the aim on the conventional transit system of meeting the City of Powell River’s goal of achieving a public transportation mode share target of 5% by 20201.  Increase the attractiveness of transit by: o Improving on-time performance; o Adjusting routing to make service faster and more direct; o Adjusting schedules where possible to make them more convenient; o Reallocating existing service and making targeted investments in additional service to increase existing customers’ satisfaction and attract new riders; and o Making infrastructure improvements (bus stop relocations, shelter and bench additions) and updating transit system signage to increase the safety and attractiveness of public transit.  Optimize the transit system’s efficiency and effectiveness by ensuring that available service hours, now and in the future, are allocated to maximize productivity and cost recovery.  Review the Powell River Regional Transit System’s fleet, which could lead to replacing larger vehicles with smaller ones in order to reduce vehicle lease fees, fuel costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Analysis of the community and its transit system was based on a variety of census sources, community plans, public engagement activities, and system-specific data sources. The proposed service change options were developed with the collaboration and feedback of elected officials and staff of the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District, the staff of Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi Ltd. (which operate the transit system), transit passengers, and representatives from a wide array of local organizations representing education, social services, and the business community.

1.2 Public Engagement

A range of public engagement tools was used to maximize opportunities for public/stakeholder input within time and resource limitations. Engagement techniques included a project website, online/print surveys, onboard surveys, door-to-door surveys, a key stakeholder workshop, and one-on-one meetings.

The key themes that emerged from the first phase of public engagement are summarized below:

1 The City of Powell River’s current commuting public transportation mode share as at 2011 was 3%

5 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

City Conventional (Fixed-Route) Service Regional District Paratransit Service  More frequency  More frequency  More evening service  Later afternoon service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  It's great the way it is  Saturday service  Cheaper fares  Earlier service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  More service to Sliammon  Commuter service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  Smaller buses  Improved ferry connections  Improved ferry connections  It's great the way it is  More shelters/benches  Improve safety of highway stops (add shelters)  Better on-time performance  Evening service  Faster, more direct service City Custom (handyDART) Service  Earlier service  More availability

In October 2014, phase two of public engagement included the presentation of the Draft Service Plan options to the public at seven Open Houses held at the following locations:  Transit Exchange (Town Centre Mall) – two events  Lund Community Centre  Sliammon Salish Centre  Texada Seniors’ Centre  Lang Bay Hall BC Transit staff spoke with a total of 136 people at the Open House events.

In addition to this in-person public engagement, the potential service change options presented at the Open Houses were also made available on BC Transit’s “Transit Future” website for further feedback through online surveys. People were generally supportive of the draft service change options presented.

As a result of this public engagement, the following change was made to the Draft Service Plan options:  The proposed short-term Route 2 Grief Point restructuring was modified, to maintain inbound routing along Marine Avenue rather than introducing two-way service along Joyce Avenue.  The two-way Joyce Avenue service was included as a longer-term option, subject to ridership monitoring results in the meantime.

1.3 Service Options

Based on the review of the existing Powell River Regional Transit System and findings from analysis and public engagement, a set of short-term (within the next year, contingent upon local approval and the completion of an Implementation Memorandum of Understanding), medium-term (2015/16 to five years from now) and longer-term (2015/16 to ten years from now) service change proposals have been developed for the Powell River area transit system, as well as analysis of other potential options that were examined. The proposals include the following:

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Conventional Transit Custom Transit Paratransit

Routing alterations Streamlining custom transit Schedule auditing usage in order to optimize Updating signage for and adding resources for clients and Bus stop relocations amenities to bus stops maximize ridership on the existing service Saturday service for Sliammon Routing alterations

Extending evening service to 8:15 Eventual addition of a third Updating signage for and adding amenities p.m. Custom vehicle and operating to bus stops hours Route extensions to upper Duncan Introducing new or additional service, such Street and Klahanie Drive as:  Commuter and Saturday service for Restructuring of Route 2 Grief Point Route 12 Stillwater and Route 3 Upper Westview  More summer service on Route 14 Lund  Charter evening service for special Fleet review events  More (year-round) service for Route 14 Lund and Route 13 Texada

The tables on the following pages summarize these options, as well as their respective benefits and challenges and (where applicable) estimated additional annual ridership, revenue, and costs. A more detailed account of these options and associated impact estimates can be found in Section 6 of the full Service Review Report. Map 1 (pp. 8 and 12, following) features a high-level Powell River Regional Transit System overview map, indicating for reference the routings comprising the region’s existing bus routes.

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Map 1: Powell River Regional Transit System—Existing Service (Bus Routes)

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Conventional Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Conventional Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local Net BC Transit Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Local Service Option Vehicles Rides^ Share of per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs Total Cost per Total Costs Hour Ride Costs Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016) Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Adjust routing to Option 1: discontinue service on one trip only behind Cranberry 0 (50) 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Lake (zero ridership) Benefits: Increase routing efficiency; provide faster, more direct service Challenges: Service discontinuation on one weekday trip only from a minimally performing area Route 2 Grief Point: Adjust routing to discontinue service Option 2: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 from Theodosia subdivision (minimal ridership) Improve on-time performance and schedule reliability; increase routing efficiency; provide faster, more direct service; address perceived Benefits: safety concerns of parents in Theodosia subdivision (still within 400m walk distance of closest remaining bus stop on Cariboo Ave) Challenges: Removal of service from a low-performing area Capital costs (signage only -- does not Option 3: Replace outdated bus stop signage $400 $200 $200 include local labour costs): Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness;, potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (signage for 9 stops total, 5 in Sliammon -- Sliammon signage costs to be recovered from Sliammon by the City) Medium-Term Options (2015-16 to 5 years from now) May be cost neutral, if Option #1 above Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend Saturday service to Option 4: 0 20 250 $400 is implemented (depending on detailed 12.5 $0.00** $0.00** Sliammon (1 round trip) Scheduling w ork results)** Benefits: Provide Sliammon residents with Saturday access to the City; generate additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (Tla'amin Nation) Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening Option 5: 0 400 2,880 $4,500 $40,600 $17,200 $18,900 7.2 $14.10 $5.97 service to approx. 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday Benefits: Restore ridership to 2012 levels; potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs TBD (City Route 3 Upper Westview: Extend service to Padgett Rd Option 6: 0 0 400 $700 of Pow ell TBD $0 at Duncan St River) Benefits: Potentially attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Cost; construction of vehicle turnaround location at Padgett Rd and Duncan St TBD based on number and type of Capital shelters and/or benches selected, Option 7: Improve bus stop amenities (i.e. benches, shelters, etc.) costs: funding process/source type, and local labour costs Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness; potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend service to Klahanie Option 8: 0 50 250 $400 $5,100 $2,300 $2,400 5.0 $20.40 $9.20 Drive Benefits: Attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (Tla'amin Nation) Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Add earlier weekday Option 9: 0 260 300 $500 $26,400 $13,600 $12,300 1.2 $88.00 $45.33 morning trip connecting to first ferry departure Enable customers to access first ferry to Comox (by connecting with first Route 2 Grief Point trip); provide earlier service for Sliammon Benefits: commuters; generate additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature.

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Conventional Service Change Options (continued)

Powell River Regional Transit System Conventional Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local Net BC Transit Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Local Service Option Vehicles Rides^ Share of per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs Total Cost per Total Costs Hour Ride Costs Ride Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16) 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain Option 10: Capital costs (signage and bus stop poles on-time performance and schedule reliability only - does not include local labour costs for $0 $0 $0 relocations): Benefits: Maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability; increase route efficiency; provide faster, more direct service; attract new ridership Challenges: Removal of service from low-performing areas 0 (350) 0 $0 ($35,500) ($18,900) ($16,600) Route 3 Upper Westview: Restructure route to match Option 11: Capital costs (signage only -- does not service hours with ridership $0 $0 $0 include local labour costs): Maintain ridership on Route 3 Upper Westview; potentially increase frequency and thus generate additional/attract new ridership and Benefits: revenue on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood and/or Route 2 Grief Point Challenges: Removal of service from low-performing areas Route 3 Upper Westview: Reduce frequency to match Option 12: 0 (410) 0 $0 ($41,600) ($22,200) ($19,400) service hours with ridership Maintain ridership on Route 3 Upper Westview; potentially increase frequency and thus generate additional/attract new ridership and Benefits: revenue on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood and/or Route 2 Grief Point Challenges: Slight reduction in service potentially for some passengers accustomed to it Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening Option 13: 0 1,000 7,200 $11,200 $101,300 $42,800 $47,300 7.2 $14.07 $5.94 service to 11:09 p.m. Monday through Thursday Benefits: Restore ridership to 2012 levels; potentially attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Other Considerations Review bus fleet, investigate possibilities of replacing Option 14: Capital costs (vehicle only): ($15,200) ($8,100) ($7,100) conventional vehicles with smaller vehicles Benefits: Reduce vehicle lease fees, fuel costs, and greenhouse gas emissions; public perception of substantial cost savings Unfeasible should Option #15 below be implemented. Vehicle availability; incurring of additional labour and capital costs for mechanic Challenges: retraining, new tools and parts; potential for heavy loads and pass-ups to occur more often leading to losses in ridership and revenue Estimated additional service hours and vehicles required, ridership and revenue Expand service to accommodate increased demand generated, and total, net local share and provincial share of costs to be determined Option 15: from discontinued school bus routes within City limits based on student location information provided by SD47. Full Impact Assessment Report due for release by end of February 2015. Benefits: Increase ridership and revenue Unfeasible should Option #14 above be implemented. Costs; purchasing of additional peak-use-only vehicles; potential disruption to Challenges: transit service for existing passengers leading to associated ridership and revenue losses

Option 16: Introduce evening service on Sundays until 9:00 p.m. 0 210 250 $1,300 $21,300 $10,100 $9,900 1.2 $85.20 $40.40 Benefits: Potentially attract a small amount of additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Low projected additional ridership and productivity Route 3 Upper Westview: Routing extension to Option 17: Recreation Complex doors (alternating trips only, 0 240 140 $200 $24,400 $12,900 $11,300 0.6 $174.29 $92.14 Monday through Sunday) Benefits: Potentially attract a small amount of new/additional ridership and revenue Slower, less direct service to and from the hospital; reduced service frequency on all routes; access and egress issues at the Complex; Challenges: minimal projected additional or new ridership and revenue Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature.

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Custom Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Custom Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016)

Educate customers about BC Transit's new No Show and Option 1: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Late Cancellation Policy

Benefits: Free up handyDART resources; increase ridership and revenue; reduce costs from the Taxi Supplement program Challenges: Customer compliance rate with new Policy; abilities of dispatchers (and drivers) to inform about new Policy and, when appropriate, enforce

Encourage custom transit registrants to use the conventional Option 2: 0 0 2,000 $2,100 $0 $0 $0 transit system where possible

Benefits: Free up handyDART resources; increase ridership and revenue; reduce costs from the Taxi Supplement program Customer willingness to switch to conventional transit; abilities of drivers and dispatchers to encourage change in customer habits; successful Challenges: implementation of travel-training programs Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16)

Option 3: Add a third handyDART vehicle + operating hours 2 2,000 4,400 $4,600 $227,300 $93,900 $128,800 2.2 $51.66 $21.34

Benefits: Increase availability of handyDART service to match the expected increase in demand due to population aging Challenges: Costs (including additional administrative costs not shown here, for e.g. wages for 1 more dispatcher to cover peak booking times) Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440.

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Map 1: Powell River Regional Transit System—Existing Service (Bus Routes)

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Paratransit Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Paratransit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016)

Option 1: Audit schedules to ensure consistent trip running times 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Benefits: Improve schedule consistency and reliability Challenges: Increased annual service hours and costs, should increased trip running time be required in order to improve on-time performance Route 14 Lund: Relocate Highway 101/Southview Rd All capital infrastructure & relocation costs Option 2: $0 $0 $0 southbound bus stop funded via MoTI's Minor Betterments Fund Benefits: Address a primary safety issue affecting the transit driver and customers, plus all other area road users

Challenges: Increased walk distance for passengers who use the existing stop and reside closer to Southview Rd than Sturt Rd

Route 14 Lund: Adjust City routing inTownsite and Cranberry Option 3: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 areas (zero ridership demand -- duplication of City Route 1) Benefits: Make service faster and more direct; increase trip efficiency Challenges: Passenger accustomization to change

Option 4: Replace outdated bus stop signage Capital cost (signage only): $1,000 $400 $600

Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness Challenges: Replacement costs Medium-Term Options (2015-16 to 5 years from now)

dependent on Option 5: Route 12 Stillwater: Relocate Zilinsky Rd bus stop Capital costs: local labour 100% - costs Benefits: Improve driver safety, and customer safety and convenience Challenges: Costs

dependent on availability of local sponsorship, Option 6: Improve bus stop amenities (shelter and bench additions) Capital costs: provincial funding opportunities, selected shelter/bench type, local labour costs, & etc. Benefits: Increase passenger safety and comfort; increase transit system attractiveness; attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs

Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce two additional trips at 0 500 2,900 $5,300 $29,900 $10,700 $13,900 5.8 $10.31 $3.69 Option 7: commuter times Capital costs (signage only): $120 $100 $100 Enable customers to use the transit service for work and provide additional travel options for non-commuters, including a connection to the Benefits: first ferry departure for Comox Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Option 8: Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce Saturday service 0 200 1,100 $2,100 $11,700 $4,100 $5,500 5.5 $10.64 $3.73 Benefits: Improve transit's convenience for work, shopping etc.; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Introduce charter evening service for special events (based Option 9: 0 100 500 $900 $5,900 $2,300 $2,700 5.0 $11.80 $4.60 on 2 hours of service per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Route 14 Lund: Introduce three more service days per week Option 10: 0 100 500 $900 $4,700 $1,600 $2,200 5.0 $9.40 $3.20 (Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays) July through August Benefits: Improve transit's convenience for work, shopping etc.; attract additional ridership and revenue; reduce summer tourist parking issues in Lund Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Route 12 Stillwater: Create bidirectional routing in Stillwater- Option 11: Capital costs (signage only): $40 $20 $20 area loop Benefits: Improve trip directness and reduce trip time (only when Saltery Bay service is requested) **plus significant construction costs Costs of signage (minimal) and construction work (significant) to create bus stop on opposite side of Scotch Fir Point Rd and Roberts Rd Challenges: (culvert fill-in, paving, and etc.) Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440. 13 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Paratransit Service Change Options (continued)

Powell River Regional Transit System Paratransit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16) Route 14 Lund: Introduce one more service day per week Option 12: 0 200 200 $500 $8,800 $4,200 $4,100 1.0 $44.00 $21.00 (year round -- from existing 2 days per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; low projected demand for this additional service Route 13 Texada: Introduce one more service day per week Option 13: 2 400 400 $1,000 $136,500 $60,900 $74,600 1.0 $341.25 $152.25 (from existing 1 day per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Costs; low projected demand for this additional service (under the Regional Transportation Plan's transit option evaluation scores, this option Challenges: ranked second-lowest when ordered by public score) Other Considerations

Option 14: Improve transit connections with ferry services - Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Ongoing daily and seasonal ferry schedule changes, especially on short notice; potential sailing delays; time interval between passenger drop Challenges: off (departing) and passenger pick up (arriving); limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; disruption to existing transit schedules and passengers leading to net loss in ridership and revenue; negative return on investment Introduce Texada Island-wide (internal) transit service for all Option 15: - residents Benefits: Attract new ridership and revenue Costs; low projected demand for this additional service(under the Regional Transportation Plan's transit option evaluation scores, this option ranked lowest when ordered by public score); non-conformance with minimum recommended population density for new transit service Challenges: introduction of 1,000 residents per square kilometre: Texada = approximately 3.5 residents per square km (for comparison purposes, Gabriola = approximately 70 residents per square km; Salt Spring Island = 178 residents per square km); minimal return on investment. Recommended to be organized as a local grassroots initiative, due to increased ability for flexibility and responsiveness to local needs. Option 16: Route 14 Lund: Introduce daily weekday service (year round) 2 500 500 $300 $140,000 $63,500 $76,200 1.0 $280.00 $127.00 Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; low productivity on existing service; limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; minimal return on investment Route 14 Lund: Improve transit service connections with the Option 17: - Lund Water Taxi Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; changing Route 14 Lund's schedule would involve major schedule Challenges: changes for existing customers on Route 14 and Route 12 Stillwater (the most productive route), leading to net loss in ridership and revenue; Introduce full rural handyDART service, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Option 18: 2 700 400 $800 $153,500 $70,200 $82,500 0.6 $383.75 $175.50 Tuesdays and Thursdays Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Rural handyDART service already included as part of paratransit service; costs; low productivity on existing service; limited demand; minimal Challenges: projected additional ridership or revenue; minimal return on investment

Introduce service linking Powell River to Vancouver (based Option 19: 2 900 500 $1,000 $162,200 $74,600 $86,600 0.6 $324.40 $149.20 on one trip per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Difficulty of connections with ferries, Sunshine Coast Transit System, and Translink; length of round-trip time (estimated at 17 hours); existing Challenges: Vancouver service available on Malaspina Coach Lines; minimal return on investment Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440.

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1.4 Next Steps: Suggested Path to Staged Implementation

The report recommends implementing the service change options in a staged approach. This will allow the most critical needs and cost-effective options to be implemented first. Once these “base” options have been implemented and allowed time to prove their effectiveness, more resource-intensive options can be examined with a view to longer-term implementation. It should be noted that in order to target a short- term-option implementation date of September 2015 and initiate and proceed with the required four- to five-month service change implementation process, final decisions on and approvals for the short-term options to be implemented from City Council and the Regional District Board will be required by March 31, 2015.

It is recognized that service needs and/or local government capacity to fund transit improvements may change over time. Therefore, options for implementation which require expansion to service hours or vehicles will need to be confirmed on an annual basis for the subsequent year as part of the local budget approval process.

Additionally, it is noted that the implementation of any option requiring expansion hours or vehicles is dependent on BC Transit’s fiscal-year budget, as well as the allocation of available provincial transit expansion funding between transit systems as determined through BC Transit’s Transit Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP seeks the commitment of each local government to the expansion initiatives proposed for the three years following, thereby allowing BC Transit to request funding within the Provincial Budget. Once funding has been approved, the formal service change approvals process begins, at least six months ahead of the desired service implementation date(s). Service expansion may also require additional vehicles, and any new vehicle requests will likely trigger a new bus order. An 18-24 month lead time should be anticipated before expected vehicle delivery and introduction to revenue service.

Once local government has approved a service option or combination of options for implementation—and local and provincial funding has been approved, if required—an Implementation Agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be developed for signature by the City and/or the Regional District, and BC Transit. This MOU will outline the exact service changes to be developed for implementation, as well as the roles and timeline for implementation. Detailed costing would be confirmed at the start of the implementation process.

1.5 Recommendations

It is recommended that the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District:

 Receive this report as information and provide feedback to City and Regional District Staff, prior to finalization by BC Transit staff;  Review the short-term service change options presented in Section 6.1.1 (Fixed-Route Transit), Section 6.2.1 (Custom Transit) and 6.3.1 (Paratransit); and,  Receive the Fare Structure Review (Appendix A) as information.

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Annual Partner Communications Calendar

April June August September October March March/April TIP APS TIP 3YB 3YB AOA AOA

Annual Partner Communication Key Processes Process Description and Deliverables

The TIP communicates to local government (LG) the expansion initiatives proposed for the next three years. It seeks the commitment to the expansion initiatives from LG which thereby allows BC Transit to Transit proceed with requesting sufficient funding within the Provincial Budget. This includes the allocation process and results of expansion priorites from Transit Future Plans, other Service Plans, local Improvement initiatives as well as major capital initiatives necessary for the development of the transit system. Program (TIP) April BCT to send out Expansion Initiatives to LG August LG to confirm Expansion Initiatives by way of sign-off and return to RTM March BCT to provide confirmation to LG of the intent to fund expansion initiatives

The APS offers a high level analysis of the system’s performance, in comparison to prior years, and Annual where established, the opportunity to measure against service standards established by the local government. The intent is to inform council prior to decision on expansion initiatives for future years Performance and subsequent budgeting. This document also serves as an opportunity to present results to council Summary and to engage in discussion on decisions aimed at future year initiatives.

(APS) June BCT to send out APS to LG On Request LG to extend invitation, if desired, to RTM to present APS to council

The 3YB provides LG with budget expectations for the coming year and two year projections for base service levels. Additionally, a calendar year budget estimate is provided for the convenience of LGs. Three Where the LG has confirmed their desire to pursue expansion initiatives, a separate budget will follow with expansion budget projections. Year Budgets September BCT to send out 3YB based on existing, or known, service levels to LG (3YB) October BCT to send out 3YB based on calendar year estimates to LG; and, BCT to send out 3YB based on expansion initiatives confirmed by the LG in August December LG to advise RTM of any budget concerns to expedite the execution of the AOA

Defines the service to be delivered, the provincial and municipal funding contributions, and the tariff schedule. Any changes to services defined in the AOA require the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding which defines the objectives and scope of the service change. The intent is to ensure Annual that all parties are in agreement to changes to the defined service in the AOA. Additionally, it defines Operating the appropriate timeline, from the time of this agreement, necessary for the provision of service including planning, scheduling, operator training, shift changes, and fleet procurement if necessary. Agreement (AOA) March BCT to send out 3 copies of AOA to LG for signature April LG to ensure timely approval of AOA and forward all copies to operating company AOA period Signed MOU is required where changes to service specifications impact the AOA

Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

2. Introduction

The Powell River Regional Transit Service Review is a comprehensive analysis of transit in the Powell River region. As specified in the Master Operating Agreements, BC Transit reviews the efficiency and effectiveness of individual transit systems in order to make recommendations for improving system performance. This Service Review is especially timely given the length of time since the last Service Reviews (2006 for the conventional, fixed-route service and 2004 for the paratransit service).

The study has been initiated by BC Transit in collaboration with the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District to examine the existing Powell River Transit System service and outline potential service change options for consideration.

This project and the requisite public engagement, consultation, research and analysis took place between September 2013 and December 2014.

2.1 Service Review Process

The following steps were undertaken by BC Transit staff as part of the Powell River Regional Transit Service Review:

 Travelled seven times to Powell River to better understand the local transit dynamics, meet with operations managers, transit staff, customers, municipal and Regional District staff and stakeholder groups, present to City Council and the Regional District Board, and conduct a review of the transit system by riding the routes, examining bus stops etc.;  Researched current and future demographic and economic trends, reviewed planning documents to determine current and future land use and potential growth areas, and examined existing transportation options;  Conducted a full review of the transit system, including both system and route-by-route overviews, and conducted an analysis of ridership, transit system and operational data, existing system infrastructure, and operational considerations;  Organized and held consultation and engagement activities, including open houses (October 2014), stakeholder workshops, onboard surveys and web surveys, and obtained and analyzed feedback from these activities;  Assessed infrastructure and vehicle assets to determine existing conditions and future needs; and  Evaluated proposed detailed service change options, transit monitoring actions, and short-, medium- and longer-term recommendations.

The proposed service change options were developed with the collaboration and feedback of elected officials and staff of the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District, the staff of Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi Ltd. (which operate the transit system), and representatives from a wide array of organizations representing education, social services, and the business community. A list of these organizations is provided in the Acknowledgements section on page 2.

The options are based on analysis of data collected from:

 online surveys (November 2013–March 2014, October 2014)  bus driver surveys (November 2013)  on-board passenger surveys (December 2013, February 2014)  a Key Stakeholder Workshop (February 2014)  a Draft Service Change Options Workshop for staff and elected officials (July 2014)  a door-to-door survey in Sliammon (July 2014)

17 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

 Public Open Houses (October 2014)  electronic farebox ridership information (October 1-31, 2014)  bus stop activity counts (February–March 2014)  historical ridership information

Findings from the following background documents were also taken into account:

 City of Powell River Official Community Plan (2005)  City of Powell River Sustainable Official Community Plan (2014)  Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan (January 2014)  Powell River Regional District Electoral Area A Official Community Plan Community Engagement Report, Community Survey Summary Report, Technical Background Report (2014)  Powell River Regional District Electoral Area B Official Community Plan (2012)  Powell River Regional District Electoral Area C Official Community Plan (2012)  Texada Island Official Community Plan (2005)  Lund Official Community Plan (1998)  Savary Island Official Community Plan (2006)  A Sustainability Charter for the Powell River Region (2009)  Texada Transportation Consultation Report (May 2014)  Powell River Regional District Recreation Initiative (July 2014)

2.2 Guiding Principles

Transit systems are inherently complex and there are an infinite number of ways in which they can be improved or enhanced. To keep this review focused on what can be feasibly implemented as well meet the critical needs of the community, the following guiding principles have been applied:

 Minimize inconveniences imposed on current customers;  Place more emphasis on immediate needs;  Place more emphasis on improvements that require minimal increases to operating and capital costs; and  Improve the reliability and accessibility of the transit system.

These principles have provided an important foundation in the development and evaluation of the service change options.

18 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

3. Community Overview

3.1 Demographics

As of the 2011 census, the overall population figures for the Powell River region were as follows:

Table 1: 2011 Powell River Region Census Population Figures

% Change 2006 2011 Area 2006 -> 2011 City of Powell River 12,955 13,165 1.6% Powell River Regional District Area A 915 1,005 9.8% Area B 1,490 1,490 0.0% Area C 2,075 2,015 -2.9% Area D 1,105 1,050 -5.0% Total Areas A through D only* 5,585 5,560 -0.4% Area E 360 425 18.1% Sliammon Indian Reserve 680 730 7.4% Overall Total 19,580 19,880 1.5% Source: Statistics Canada - 2011 Census

* Regional paratransit operates in Areas A through D, omitting Area E (Lasqueti Island)

While the population of the City of Powell River increased slightly between 2006 and 2011, the population of Regional District Areas A through D (where transit operates) decreased slightly over the same period overall. Of the rural areas on the Powell River mainland, Areas B and C combined account for nearly 80% of the population, while Area A accounts for only 20%. The most recent P.E.O.P.L.E.2 computer model projections (September 2014) show a slow but gradual increase in the overall Regional District population from 20,335 in 2014 to 24,562 in 2041, an increase of 4,000 persons (20%).

Table 2 shows Powell River’s population trends by age group with a comparison to the BC average:

Table 2: 2011 Powell River Region Population Trend and Comparison to BC Average

Powell River Region BC Average 2011 % Change 2011 % Change Age Group % 2006 -> 2011 % 2006 -> 2011 Children (0-9 years) 8% -2.1% 10% 3.8% Youth (10-19 years) 11% -15.7% 12% -3.1% Adults (20-64 years) 58% 1.0% 63% 7.7% Younger Seniors (65-74 years) 13% 22.8% 8% 18.6% Older Seniors (75+) 10% 9.2% 7% 10.7% Total 1.5% 7.0% Source: Statistics Canada - 2011 Census

These figures indicate the following:  Overall, the Powell River region’s population is still increasing, but at a far slower rate than the BC average (1.5% compared to 7.0%);

2 Population Extrapolation for Organizational Planning with Less Error

19 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

 The region’s proportions of children and youth are showing a marked decrease, the proportion of adults is remaining stable, and the proportions of younger and older seniors are increasing significantly;  The increases in the younger and older seniors’ populations are occurring more rapidly in the Powell River region compared to the BC average;

Seniors, youth, and lower-income families tend to be major users of public transit. In the 2011 census, 23% of the Powell River region’s population were seniors aged 65 or older, significantly higher than the provincial average of 15%.

Between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, Powell River’s younger (65-74 years) and older (aged 75+) seniors’ population increased by 17% compared to the BC average of 15%, but the percentages were 23% and 18% respectively when counting younger seniors only. The most recent P.E.O.P.L.E. projections indicate an overall seniors’ population increase of 33% by 2041, featuring a decline by one- fifth of younger seniors and an increase by nearly two and a half times of older seniors. Older seniors in particular tend to rely increasingly heavily on transit for transportation, and as the current younger seniors move into the older seniors’ age bracket, demand for transit among Powell River’s seniors’ population will likely increase. Maintaining a viable base level of frequency in the system—particularly during the 9 a.m.– 3 p.m. period when many seniors conduct their shopping, medical appointments and other errands—will be key in maintaining stable ridership growth over the long term for Powell River’s transit system.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Powell River’s youth (10-19 years) population has declined significantly since the 2006 census, by 16%. This age group tends to be a heavy user of transit within urban areas, and is certainly the case in Powell River on weekdays between 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00- 4:00 p.m., when trips are at peak capacity (see Section 4.3.3). Growing ridership among this market in non-peak travel periods means encouraging transit travel for reasons other than school, such as transportation to work and social activities in the evenings and on weekends. While Powell River’s conventional (fixed-route) transit system has weekend service, it has limited evening service Monday through Thursday.

18.1% of Powell River’s population was classified as low income in the 2011 National Household Survey, compared to the BC average of 16.4%. Ensuring that transit serves higher-density areas and places where families access daily needs, and that fares are kept to reasonable levels, is key to serving this segment of the population.

Powell River’s adult population (ages 20-64) has been stable since the 2006 census. Adults commuting to work can be one of the most difficult markets to attract to transit, and usually requires considerable investment in system peak-time frequency. In order to be a competitive alternative to the automobile, transit routes need to be direct in order to minimize travel time. Powell River’s existing peak-level weekday service provides a good starting point to attract adults who may be motivated to take transit for environmental or health reasons. However, making substantial gains in this market would require investment in further peak service, as well as streamlining of routes, and potentially changes to parking and land use policies. Adults who are not commuters tend to have similar travel patterns to those of seniors, and similarly require a viable base level of service during the day in order to be able to use transit.

3.2 Commuting Profile

In terms of transportation modes used for commuting, mode shares for residents of the City of Powell River are shown below, along with provincial comparisons.

20 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Table 3: City of Powell River and Comparable Commuting Mode Shares 2011

City of Tier 3 System** BC Transportation Mode Powell River* Comparison (Avg.) Comparison Car, truck or van - as driver 77% 74% 71% Car, truck or van - as passenger 8% 7% 6% Public transit 3% 3% 13% Walking 8% 13% 7% Cycling 1% 2% 2% Other methods 2% 1% 2% Source: Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey * Figures for Powell River Regional District Areas A and C unavailable ** BC Transit's systems are divided into tiers based on population size, with Powell River classed as a Tier 3 system

Figure 1: City of Powell River Commuting Mode Share 2011 versus 2006

City of Powell River 2011 Commuting Mode Share City of Powell River 2006 Commuting Mode Share 1% 2% 1%

Car, truck or van - 1% Car, truck or van - 3% as a driver 9% as driver 8% Car, truck or van - Car, truck or van - as a passenger 8% as passenger Public transit Public transit 8%

Walked Walking

Bicycle Cycling

79% 77% Other methods Other methods

Source: Statistics Canada – 2011 National Household Survey Source: Statistics Canada – 2006 Census

The City of Powell River’s transit mode share in 2011 was 3%, a jump from 2006 when it was only 1%, and matches the average transit mode share of similarly-sized communities (25,000 population or less). This corresponds to a decrease of 2% over the same period in commuting by automobile, whether as a driver or passenger.

Table 4 shows the Powell River region’s commuting flow for the employed labour force with a usual place of work: Table 4: Commuting Flow for the Employed Labour Force 15 Years and Over

Place of Work CoPR Area A Area B Area C Area D Area E Sliammon CoPR 92.6% 1.5% 2.2% 3.7% ------Area A* 75.7% 24.3% ------Area B 88.8% -- 11.3% ------Area C* 73.4% 3.9% 3.1% 19.5% ------Area D 17.1% ------82.9% -- -- Area E ------100.0% --

Place of Place Residence Sliammon 22.2% 77.8% ------Source: Statistics Canada - 2011 Census * 2006 figures (2011 figures n/a)

21 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

While commuting flows for the City of Powell River and Area D are mainly internal (93%, 83% and 100%, respectively), those for Areas A, B, and C and for Sliammon are mainly external (76%, 89%, 73% and 79%, respectively, with Area A, B and C external flows to the City, and Sliammon’s flow 80% to Area A and 20% to the City).

This has a couple of considerations for transit usage:  The vast majority of City-resident commuters are within an area generally served by the transit system, yet their relatively short commuting distances provide less impetus to commute by means other than the automobile, and also make walking and cycling attractive alternatives. As a general rule, transit use becomes more attractive when commuting distances exceed five kilometres; and  The high proportions of residents of Areas A, B and C commuting into the City indicate a potential demand for commuter service between these areas and the City.

3.3 Geographical Characteristics, Official Community Plans and Development

Just as population shapes the demand for transit, the geography, built form, and land use patterns within a community influence how efficiently and effectively transit can serve it.

The Regional District population distribution stretches from Saltery Bay in the south 57 kilometres northwest to Lund; the City’s population extends from Grief Point to Wildwood (12 km) and Sliammon (15 km). The linear shape of the City, the location of some of its facilities (for example, Brooks Secondary School located in Wildwood and Vancouver Island University in Grief Point), and the spread-out nature of the region as a whole present certain challenges in providing efficient, effective transit service.

In general, the Powell River region’s community plans have been evolving in a way that is supportive of transit and sustainable transportation.

The City of Powell River’s Official Community Plan (OCP) was adopted in 2005, with a Sustainable Official Community Plan (SOCP) updating this adopted in 2014. The SOCP’s stated public transit objectives, strongly supported by ten clear public transit policies (Appendix D), are as follows: a) Continue to work with BC Transit and the PRRD to provide efficient, reliable, and affordable public transit for the City; b) Encourage ongoing increased public transit ridership in conformance with the environment and sustainability objectives set out in the SOCP; and c) Achieve a public transit transportation mode share target of 5% by 2020,

In terms of land use, the SOCP’s growth management policies are supportive of transit, including policies to:  support urban development in areas with existing municipal infrastructure, including infill to maintain infrastructure efficiency;  accommodate future population growth in a concentrated way, more condensed land use in the Central Westview area, infill development along existing transportation routes and efficient road layout planning; and  embrace Smart Growth principles, placing priority on infill, redevelopment, and green space protection, and including providing a variety of transportation choices, with safe infrastructure for walking, cycling and transit, in addition to driving

Outside of City limits, Area A’s OCP Technical Background Report points to the importance of public transit in serving the needs of an aging population. The OCPs for Areas B and C include policies that the Regional District will maintain transit service and continue to operate a rural paratransit system to serve Area residents and the needs of the elderly or people with disabilities living within the planning area, and state that as a community service, a broad range of residents support the establishment of improved transit service for the area. Area D’s OCP includes policies to encourage the creation of a viable regional transit system with improved connectivity to Powell River, Vancouver and Vancouver Island, and to

22 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report support the public transit system serving Gillies Bay and Van Anda. Savary Island’s OCP mentions under its transportation objectives promoting the establishment of a public transportation network.

Discussions with planning staff at the Powell River Regional District indicated that no new residential or commercial development is likely to occur within the foreseeable future. City planning staff noted that at present, development plans are limited to the following locations, all served by the existing transit system:

 Willingdon Creek Village – a 102-bed residential complex care facility located by the Powell River General Hospital, with an anticipated completion date for the first phase (82 beds) of January 2015;  A 15-unit rental apartment block, aimed at younger Mill employees, to be located at Duncan Street and Fernwood Avenue, due for completion in early spring 2015;  Subject to acquiring additional funding, the relocation and expansion of the Powell River Public Library from its current location, 4411 Michigan Avenue, to the Crossroads Village site, at the corner of Alberni Street and Joyce Avenue.

There are proposals to pave the gravel path extending Manson Avenue beyond Kemano Street to Rifle Range Rd and Highway 101, which would allow transit to serve residents of upper Westview Avenue’s Savary Place, built in 1990 as a 55+ development (meaning residents are now in the “older seniors” age bracket). However, according to local planning staff these are on a 25-year horizon, and may not materialize.

In terms of planning specifically for transit, areas with high residential or mixed-use density or that contain key trip generators, such as major grocery or “big box” stores, are key markets for public transit as they tend to generate high ridership and can increase the productivity of a transit system. In order for transit to be able to serve such destinations without a drop in productivity or efficiency, they need to be located within the current transit service area, preferably as infill development along, or within 400 metres of, an existing transit route, and the road network needs to be transit-supportive3. 400 metres is the maximum recommended walk distance to a bus stop for an area to be conducive to transit usage.

When new development projects arise, the City and the Regional District may find it helpful to use BC Transit’s development referral service, which enables local governments to send larger-scale development or rezoning proposals to BC Transit for comment. As part of this referral process, BC Transit reviews the proposal and provides local government with comments on how the proposed development fits with the existing transit network, the outlook for future transit service to the development area, and comments on pedestrian links or transit amenities that would make the development more transit-friendly.

Development referrals can be sent to [email protected]. Appendix B shows a sample BC Transit development referral response.

3.4 Transportation Options

Powell River is a relatively remote community despite its relative proximity to Vancouver and other populous areas of the BC Coast, owing to two intervening long inlets and the Salish Sea. It is accessible to vehicles only by ferry, either from Comox via the Westview Ferry Terminal or from the lower Sunshine Coast via the Saltery Bay Ferry Terminal. Highway 101, the Sunshine Coast Highway, runs from the Saltery Bay ferry terminal west to the City and then north to Lund. Streets are laid out by and large in a grid pattern. Joyce Avenue is the main north-south arterial; other arterials include Manson Avenue, Duncan Street and Alberni Street. Pacific Coastal Air offers four daily flights between Powell River and Vancouver’s South Terminal. Malaspina Coach Lines provides daily service via Saltery Bay between Powell River, Sechelt, Gibsons, downtown Vancouver, and Vancouver International Airport. The region is

3 An overview of transit-supportive road networks is available from BC Transit’s Planning Department.

23 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report also served by Powell River Taxi Ltd. (the operator of Powell River’s custom transit and paratransit systems), which operates five taxis on a 24/7 basis using thirteen drivers. The fleet used to include a wheelchair accessible vehicle, but this was discontinued due to higher operating and maintenance expenses combined with low demand.

3.5 Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan

The Regional Transportation Plan, undertaken by ISL Engineering and Land Services and completed in April 2014, cites several goals and objectives pertaining particularly to the local transit system, as follows:  Goal 1: Be adaptable and efficient to better meet the needs of the Region o Transit service has flexibility to run additional services for local events o Transit service considers more efficient vehicle sizes or vehicle sharing between Region and School District  Goal 2: Integrate and connect individual components to maximize mobility o BC Transit services align better with BC Ferry services  Goal 6: Be useful and appropriate – it connects people with places o Features of the system are promoted to increase awareness and use o Level of service is appropriate for each area o New development is located to make use of available services  Goal 7: Support travel by sustainable modes in all weather conditions o Provide bus stops with paved waiting areas and shelters

The transit priorities envisioned by the Plan as a result of public engagement and option evaluation are listed in Appendix F, with transit option evaluation scores shown in Appendix G.

24 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4. Current Transit System

4.1 Introduction

The Powell River Regional Transit System is currently operated by Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi Ltd. The system offers a mixture of services: conventional fixed-route, fixed- schedule service and custom door-to-door service, for persons with disabilities (handyDART), both operating within the City, and paratransit service in rural areas, which operates mainly with a fixed route and schedule but has some flexibility to deviate off route by request for passengers with mobility difficulties. This section outlines the history, existing transit system routes, frequency, ridership, fleet, infrastructure, as well as costs and revenues benchmarked against similar transit systems in Canada.

Map 1: Powell River Regional Transit System—Existing Service (Bus Routes)

25 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4.2 History

The conventional transit system, operated by Powell River Municipal Transportation, began in 1958. By 1987 service was offered Monday through Saturday on four routes: Route 1 Townsite, Route 2 Grief Point, Route 3 Manson, and Route 4 Wildwood, plus special transit service to the mill. A number of service adjustments have been made over time to match changing and evolving economic conditions and passenger demands. Key changes that have influenced its operation and/or ridership include:

 June 1998: Low-floor vehicles were introduced  October 1998: Limited service to the Recreation Complex was introduced  August 1999: Friday evening service was introduced  November 2000: Airport service was introduced  September 2001: Recreation Complex service was discontinued  September 2002: Limited service to Sliammon was introduced on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood  May 2002: Mill Special trips were discontinued  January 2008: Sunday and statutory holiday service was introduced, along with increased Friday and new Thursday and Saturday evening service  January 2011: Full evening service was introduced, operating Monday–Saturday  September 2012: Evening service was reduced by 50% Monday through Thursday

The importance of the high school student market was identified early in the design of the transit system. The creation of trips as far back as 1987 specifically designed around school bell times reflects a historical commitment to meet the demands of that market, continuing today with three dedicated “School Special” trips, and two additional trips offering courtesy stops for Brooks Secondary School, per weekday.

The custom (handyDART) system, operated by Powell River Taxi, started in 1991 with the use of one vehicle and eight service hours per weekday. As a result of the City’s seniors’ population almost doubling between 1991 and 2011, passenger demand on the handyDART system has increased significantly in that time. To meet this increased demand, service hours were increased by 50% in 2011-12, with a second vehicle added; these hours included the introduction of handyDART service on Saturdays,

The paratransit portion of the system also started in 1991 and is operated by Powell River Taxi. It utilizes a handyDART-style vehicle to provide service to residents of Regional District Areas A, B, C and D. A number of adjustments have been made over time to reflect passenger demand. The service began with five routes. Route 13 Texada (Wednesdays), Route 14 Lund (Mondays) and Route 15 Saltery Bay (Fridays) operated two round trips per week each. Route 11 Southview and Route 12 Stillwater (routing via Grief Point) operated a total of seven round trips each per week, with varying days and times.

Responding to initial ridership patterns, the following adjustments were made:

July 1993: - Route 14 Lund and Route 15 Saltery Bay were discontinued - Route 13 Texada was moved from Wednesdays to Thursdays - Saltery Bay was added as by-request service Mondays only on Route 12 Stillwater, now operating one round trip every weekday - Route 14 Valley via Padgett Rd was introduced, offering 2.5 round trips Tuesdays and Fridays November 1994: - Route 11 Southview and Route 14 Valley were discontinued - Route 12 Stillwater was rerouted via Padgett Rd instead of the highway, service was discontinued on Thursdays, and one additional round trip per day was added July 2006: - Route 14 Lund was reintroduced, offering two round trips, two days per week.

The paratransit service has continued with these same routes since this time.

26 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4.3 Conventional Transit System

The conventional service comprises three routes. All routes begin and end at the transit exchange, located at the north entrance of the Town Centre Mall, directly accessible from Alberni Street. There are three vehicles operating during the morning peak period and four operating during the afternoon peak. The schedule is “interlined”, meaning that on arriving back at the exchange vehicles for the most part become a different route, which often allows for simplified connections for people travelling across town.

 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood – this route covers the areas of Cranberry, Townsite, and Wildwood north of town, with limited service to Sliammon; major destinations served by this route include the Town Centre Mall, Brooks Secondary School, Henderson Elementary School, Edgehill Elementary School and James Thomson Elementary School.  Route 2 Grief Point – this route covers the area south of town down to Grief Point; major destinations served by this route include the Town Centre Mall, Powell River General Hospital, Quality Foods, Westview Ferry Terminal, Westview Elementary School, and Vancouver Island University.  Route 3 Upper Westview – this route covers the central, Upper Westview area; major destinations served by this route include the Town Centre Mall, Powell River General Hospital, Quality Foods, Safeway, Powell River Airport, and the Powell River Academy of Music.

Service levels are shown in Table 5 and Table 6 below.

Table 5: Powell River Conventional Service Frequency (Average)

Average Daytime Frequency Route Name Weekday Saturday Sunday/Holidays Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood Every 35 mins Every 60 mins Every 60 mins Route 2 Grief Point Every 40 mins Every 60 mins Every 60 mins Route 3 Upper Westview Every 50 mins Every 60 mins Every 60 mins

Table 6: Powell River Conventional Service Span

Service Span Mondays-Thursdays Fridays Saturdays Sundays Route 1 7:00 a.m. -- 10:30 p.m. 7:00 a.m. -- 11:10 p.m. 8:40 a.m. -- 11:10 p.m. 8:40 a.m. -- 6:30 p.m. Route 2 7:30 a.m. -- 8:15 p.m. 7:30 a.m. -- 10:10 p.m. 8:40 a.m. -- 10:10 p.m. 8:40 a.m. -- 6:15 p.m. Route 3 7:50 a.m. -- 8:40 p.m. 7:50 a.m. -- 9:40 p.m. 9:15 a.m. -- 9:40 p.m. 9:15 a.m. -- 5:40 p.m.

4.3.1 Conventional Transit System Ridership

Overall ridership performance is outlined below (Figure 2) and illustrates an increase by nearly 60% over the past ten years. The increases in ridership between 2007/08 and 2009/10 can be attributed to the introduction of Sunday and holiday service, and the introduction of Thursday and Saturday evening service and increase in Friday evening service respectively. The increase in 2011/12 is attributed to the addition of evening service Monday through Thursday, and the ridership declines since then are attributable to the removal of this addition.

Figure 3 below demonstrates the fluctuations in ridership per month in 2013/14, with a predictable decrease in the summer months and then again in December-January and March-April due to school and seasonal holidays. This ridership pattern is typical in most comparable transit systems.

27 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Figure 2: Conventional Transit Historical Figure 3: Conventional Monthly Ridership Ridership Trends versus Service Hours

Annual Ridership and Service Hours 2013-14 Conventional Ridership by -- Conventional Service Month 250,000 14,000 25,000 12,000 200,000 20,000 10,000 15,000

150,000 8,000 Ridership 100,000 6,000 10,000 4,000

Annual Ridership Annual 50,000 5,000

2,000 Hours Service Annual

0 0 0

July

May

June

April

March

August

January

October

February

December November Fiscal Year September Ridership Service hours Month

Figure 4 below shows the relative ridership among the three conventional transit routes, measured over a three-year period (2011-12 through 2013-14), against the proportion of annual service hours allotted to each route.

Figure 4: Relative Proportion of Annual Service Hours and Ridership by Route

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

10% Proportion of Hours/Ridership of Proportion 0% 1 Townsite/Wildwood 2 Grief Point 3 Upper Westview Route Annual Service Hours Boardings: 3-year Average

These findings indicate that while Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood’s ridership share exceeds its share of service hours, and while Route 2 Grief Point’s ridership share equals its service hours’ share, Route 3 Upper Westview’s share of service hours exceeds its share of ridership.

28 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4.3.2 Conventional Transit Market

Market analysis of the Powell River conventional system is based on the onboard passenger surveys conducted in December 2013 and February 2014.

It should be noted that these results reflect ridership specific to a snapshot period of time, and that ridership can vary due to different factors such as time of year, weather and overall economic conditions. It should also be cautioned that survey respondents are self-selecting and views expressed may not represent those of passengers as a whole. As such, this data is used simply as one indicator of system usage and passenger feedback. This analysis has been complemented by a variety of other data and engagement input prior to developing service options.

Highlights include:  The majority of passengers completing the surveys were adults (70%), followed by school and college students (16% and 4%, respectively), then seniors (10%);  As well as college students and seniors, commuters, residents of Sliammon and students travelling outside of “school commuting” hours are under-represented in the current conventional system and should be considered as potential growth markets;  Most passengers used the bus for shopping/errands (33%) or social/recreational purposes (20%);  Nearly half (46%) of riders were transferring to another route at the Town Centre Mall;  Respondents were mostly regular transit riders, with 92% using the bus 2-3 times per week or more;  Ratings for different aspects of transit service were good, with the highest ratings (very satisfied or satisfied) for safety (87%), courtesy of drivers (82%), comfort of buses (82%), reliability of service (76%), access to schedule information (74%) and cleanliness of buses (72%) (Figure 5);  Customers were least satisfied with amenities at bus stops and frequency of service (Figure 5); and  In terms of service improvements, the top five comments were requests for increased frequency and more evening service, that no changes were needed, and requests for more bus stop amenities and service to Sliammon (Figure 6).

Figure 5: Conventional Transit Customer Satisfaction (based on survey results)

Access to Schedule Information

Amenities at Bus Stops

Value for Money (fares)

Safety Strongly Dissatisfied Courtesy of Drivers Dissatisfied Neutral Cleanliness of Buses Satisfied Comfort of Buses Very Satisfied Convenience of Routes

Reliability of Service

Frequency of Service

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

29 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Figure 6: Conventional Transit Improvement Requests (based on survey results)

More frequency 4% 4% More evening 5% 20% service No changes needed 5% More shelters/benches More service to 6% Sliammon Cheaper fares

7% Improved ferry 18% connections Better on-time performance Improved driver 8% courtesy More service to Lund 8% 15% Later Sunday service

4.3.3 Conventional Onboard Passenger Count Results

Onboard passenger count data was collected once for every transit trip operated during February-March 2014. Counts were performed on both weekdays and weekends in order to provide information on rides per trip, total route ridership, and ridership on specific route sections.

The data indicated that the route with the highest ridership is Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood (56%) with an average of 20 passengers per weekday trip. This was followed fairly closely by Route 2 Grief Point (34%) with an average of 15 passengers per weekday trip. Route 3 Upper Westview (10%) carried an average of 5 passengers per weekday trip.

The busiest times in the transit system, known as peak periods, were distinctly aligned with school start and finish times (Figure 7), primarily on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood serving Brooks Secondary School (Figure 8).

Figure 7: Ridership by Time Period Figure 8: Ridership by Time Period and Route

Rides by Time Period Rides by Time Period and Route 180 140 160 120 140 100 120 80 100

Rides 60 80 Rides 40 60 40 20 20 0 0

Time Period Time Period 1 Townsite/Wildwood 2 Grief Point 3 Upper Westview

30 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Between 2:55–4:00 p.m., the City’s four in-service vehicles are all operating, to accommodate school end times. Randomly sampled electronic farebox data from October 1-31, 2014 indicates that of the four Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood trips departing the Town Centre Mall between 2:50-3:35 p.m., 30% of trips carried more than ten standees. Nearly 10% of these trips carried more than 20 standees.

The busiest stop locations in the system include:  Town Centre Mall (Routes 1, 2 & 3)  Brooks Secondary School (Route 1)  Vancouver Island University/Westview Elementary School (Route 2)  Joyce Avenue (northbound) between Glacier & Field (Routes 2 & 3)

4.3.4 Conventional Transit System Fares

Table 7: Powell River Conventional Fares

One-way Trip Cash 10 Tickets Day Pass Monthly Pass Semester Pass Adult $2.00 $16.00 $4.50 $45.00 -- College Student $2.00 $16.00 $4.50 $45.00 $99.00 Student to Gr 12 $1.75 $14.00 $3.75 $34.00 $99.00 Senior $1.75 $14.00 $3.75 $34.00 -- Child 4 years & under No charge ------

Appendix A provides a more comprehensive review of the fare structure.

4.4 Custom Transit

The custom transit system operates as handyDART, a demand-responsive, door-to-door service operating within the municipal boundaries of the City of Powell River. The objective of custom transit service is to provide eligible, registered customers who are unable to use the conventional transit system with access. Ridership growth is not typically a goal of custom transit systems due to the relatively high cost of providing this customized service. Instead, efforts should be made to encourage the use of the 100% accessible low-floor conventional service, thereby maximizing the number of handyDART trips available for those who are unable to utilize the conventional transit service.

The custom transit system uses accessible, low-floor, light-duty buses equipped with ramps to accommodate passengers with mobility difficulties. Passengers must first register for the service and pre- book their travel. The system provides both a regular subscription service (for instance, for people who travel regularly to medical or therapy appointments), as well as one-time trips for shopping, recreation or other purposes. Registration of eligible users is managed by Powell River Taxi Ltd. The service operates Monday through Saturday, as follows:  Monday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Tuesday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is no service on Sundays or public holidays. Trips must be booked at least 24 hours in advance, although same-day bookings are accommodated if there is availability.

Powell River Taxi is the local service provider of BC Transit’s Taxi Supplement program, which gives the operator the flexibility to dispatch rides to a taxi company to supplement regular custom service, either because the service is already fully booked or because bookings for the same time slot are too far apart geographically for the custom vehicles to be able to serve them efficiently.

31 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4.4.1 Custom Transit Ridership

As of September 2014 there were 195 active registrants on the handyDART system in Powell River. Of these, 65% were registered ambulatory users (i.e. handyDART-eligible riders not using a wheelchair or scooter) and 35% were registered wheelchair or scooter users. On average, 23% of total trips over the past two years were subscription trips (recurring trips booked as a series, ranging between 17%-29% of total trips depending on the month.

Ridership on the custom transit system has increased significantly over the past six years (Figure 9). It showed a steady increase between 2008-09 and 2010-11, likely attributable to the 13% rise in the City’s seniors’ population between 2006 and 2011. Ridership then doubled in 2011-12 as a result of adding a second vehicle and operating hours, and thus increasing the number of booking slots available, in January 2011. This vehicle addition also prompted the introduction of handyDART service on Saturdays.

Usage of the Taxi Supplement program increased tenfold between 2011/12 and 2013/14 (Figure 10). High Taxi Supplement usage can be an indicator of handyDART demand exceeding capacity.

Figure 9: Custom Transit Historical Ridership Figure 10: Custom Transit Historical Trends versus Service Hours* Ridership including Taxi Supplement

Annual Ridership and Service Hours* Annual Ridership including Taxi Supplement -- Custom Transit Service -- Custom Transit Service

10,000 5,000 10,000 5,000

8,000 4,000 8,000 4,000

6,000 3,000 6,000 3,000

4,000 2,000 4,000 2,000

Van rides Van

Van rides Van Service Hours Service

2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 Supplement Taxi

0 0 0 0

Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Van rides Service Hours Van rides Taxi Supplement

* Service hours shown are budget AOA figures (year-end actuals are combined with paratransit hours)

Another indicator is the number of unmet trips (requested trips during regular service hours which could not be served), which in Powell River is currently averaging18 per month. This is slightly higher than a peer system average of 12 per month. Based on feedback from the operating company, many of the existing handyDART customers’ transit needs – particularly those who are ambulatory – could potentially be fulfilled by the conventional transit system. Options to encourage existing handyDART customers, particularly ambulatory customers, to use the conventional system are outlined in Section 6.2.1.

Analysis of operating company statistics between April 2012 and September 2014 indicates that on average, 20% of trip bookings end up as late cancellations, and a further 10% as no shows (“Late cancellation” refers to trips cancelled by the registrant within two hours of the scheduled pick-up time. “No show” refers to trips where the client fails to appear on time at pick-up (driver arrived within the 30-minute pick-up window) or where the client cancels at the door.) Thus, on average 30% of booking capacity is unavailable for use at any one time by other customers.

32 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Anecdotal reports that booking availability is hard to come by support the unmet trip and Taxi Supplement indicators that the handyDART service is currently oversubscribed, due in large part to the high number of no shows and late cancellations.

BC Transit changed its handyDART policy in May 2014 to introduce a new No Show and Late Cancellation Policy (Figure 11 below). Educating customers about this policy and, where appropriate, following up with the applicable service restrictions will serve to free up existing handyDART resources, reduce reliance on the Taxi Supplement program, and increase ridership and revenue.

Figure 11: handyDART Policy Change Information Tear-Off Sheet

4.4.2 Custom Transit Market

Highlights from onboard passenger surveys include:  The majority of passengers completing the surveys were seniors (90%);  Passengers used the bus for social/recreational purposes (40%), shopping/errands (30%), and medical/dental appointments (30%);  Respondents were mostly frequent handyDART riders, with 25% using the bus every weekday and 50% using it 2-3 times per week;  Ratings for all aspects of handyDART service were “Excellent” (Figure 12);  In terms of service improvements, the majority (70%) of respondents requested more availability of service.

33 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Figure 12: handyDART Customer Satisfaction (based on survey results)

Access to Schedule Information

Amenities at Bus Stops

Value for Money (fares)

Safety Strongly Dissatisfied Courtesy of Drivers Dissatisfied Neutral Cleanliness of Buses Satisfied Comfort of Buses Very Satisfied Convenience of Routes

Reliability of Service

Frequency of Service

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Analysis of ride booking data in a typical two-week period revealed that trips were booked most frequently to and from the following locations:

 Olive Devaud Residence  Evergreen Extended Care  Community Living Place  Town Centre Mall  Powell River General Hospital  Glacier Apartments  Life Cycle Housing Complex  Stroke Club (Royal Canadian Legion)  Kiwanis Garden Manor  Brain Injury Society

4.4.3 Custom Transit Fares

Table 8: Powell River Custom Transit Fares

One-way Trip Cash Passengers $2.00 Attendants No charge

Appendix A provides a more comprehensive review of the fare structure.

4.5 Paratransit System

The paratransit system consists of three routes, operated by one vehicle, with different routes operating depending on the day of the week. On days when both the Stillwater and Lund routes are operating, their schedules are “interlined”, allowing passengers to board one route and stay on the bus to travel the next route if required. Off-route deviations may be available by request for passengers with mobility or cognitive difficulties, thus functioning as a handyDART-style service within rural areas.

34 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

 Route 12 Stillwater – this route covers the Town Centre Mall and the rural areas of Paradise Valley, Black Point, Kelly Creek, Lang Bay and Stillwater south of the City. Saltery Bay can be serviced on a by-request basis.  Route 13 Texada – this route covers the Town Centre Mall, Powell River General Hospital, the Westview Ferry Terminal, and the Blubber Bay Ferry Terminal, Van Anda, Gillies Bay and Shelter Point on Texada Island.  Route 14 Lund – this route covers the Town Centre Mall, Sliammon, and all areas on Highway 101 north of the City to Lund. It also serves Powell River General Hospital and Community Living Place on the first trip of the day, allowing a through-connection for passengers travelling in from south of the City on the preceding Route 12 Stillwater trip.

Service levels are shown in Table 9 below.

Table 9: Paratransit Service Levels and Span

Paratransit Service Levels and Span Route # of Round Service Name Service Days Trips/Day Hours/Day Service Span Route 12 Stillwater Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri 3 4 8:40-10:01 a.m. | 12:00-1:18 p.m. | 2:30-3:51 p.m. Route 13 Texada Thur 2 8.8 6:17-10:15 a.m. | 2:50-7:40 p.m. Route 14 Lund Tue, Fri 2 2.8 10:05-11:47 a.m. | 4:05-5:32 p.m.

Route 13 Texada occupies the paratransit vehicle for most of Thursday, and its schedule is dependent on the BC Ferries schedule between Powell River and Texada. Allowing for potential ferry delays and the operator’s lunch break, there is insufficient time to provide additional service on Route 12 Stillwater or Route 14 Lund during the Texada route’s service break. This choice of a weekday service day allows Texada residents to book medical and business appointments in Powell River.

4.5.1 Paratransit System Ridership

Annual ridership performance is shown below (Figure 13). It saw significant increases in 2006-07 and 2007-08, corresponding to the introduction of the twice-weekly service to Lund in July 2006, with concomitant service hour increases in 2006-07 (part year) and 2007-08 (full year).

Ridership peaked in 2011-12 and has been falling slightly since then. This is partly due to a slight drop in service hours, as calendar differentials meant there were five fewer service days in 2012-13 as compared to 2011-12. Anecdotal reports suggest that this is partly also due to a number of regular passengers, as they migrate into the older seniors’ age bracket, beginning to move away from the service area, either to the City, or to other areas of the mainland or to Vancouver Island, in order to have better access to medical facilities and other services.

Figure 14 illustrates ridership by month and route, showing seasonal fluctuations in overall and route-level ridership. Route 12 Stillwater shows the highest ridership, followed by Route 14 Lund, and lastly Route 13 Texada. This is to be expected, given the relative service levels of these routes. However, Table 10 shows that when looking at productivity (average rides per service hour), Route 12 shows the highest return on investment in terms of proportion of ridership share relative to service hour share, generating 70% of paratransit ridership with 50% of the paratransit service hours. Route 14’s proportions of ridership share and service hour share match each other, however Route 13 accounts for 30% of the service hours yet generates only 10% of ridership. This is in large part due to the amount of time required for the Westview–Blubber Bay ferry crossing and pre-boarding line-ups.

35 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Figure 13: Paratransit Historical Ridership Trends Figure 14: Paratransit Monthly Ridership by versus Service Hours* Route

Annual Ridership and Service Hours* 2012-13 Paratransit Ridership by Month -- Paratransit Service and Route 1000 10,000 1,800 1,600 800 8,000 1,400 1,200 600 6,000 1,000 800 Ridership 400 4,000 600 200 400 Annual Ridership Annual 2,000 200 Hours Service Annual 0 0 0

Fiscal Year Month Ridership Service hours Route 12 Stillwater Route 13 Texada Route 14 Lund

* Service hours shown are budget AOA figures (year-end actuals are combined with custom hours)

Table 10: 2012-13 Paratransit Productivity by Route

Route 2012-13 12 Stillwater 13 Texada 14 Lund Share of Service Hours 51% 30% 18% Annual… Ridership 71% 10% 19% Average Rides per Service Hour 9.5 2.1 5.9 Maximum Passenger Load* 15 11 8 * Maximum number of passengers carried at any given point on the route

4.5.2 Paratransit Market

Analysis of Powell River’s paratransit market is based on the onboard passenger surveys carried out in December 2013.

Again, it should be noted that these results reflect ridership specific to a snapshot period of time, and that ridership can vary due to different factors such as time of year, weather and overall economic conditions. It should also be cautioned that survey respondents are self-selecting, and thus views expressed may not represent those of passengers as a whole. As such, this data is used simply as one indicator of system usage and passenger feedback. Analysis has been complemented by a variety of other data and engagement input prior to developing service options.

Highlights include:  The majority of passengers completing the surveys were adults (62%), followed by seniors (34%), school students (3%) and college students (1%);  Most passengers used the bus for shopping/errands (46%), medical and dental appointments (25%), or social/recreational purposes (14%);  The majority (82%) of riders did not need to use another route to complete their trip;

36 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

 Respondents were generally regular transit riders, with 66% using the bus 2-3 times per week or more;  Ratings for different aspects of transit service were good, with the highest ratings (very satisfied or satisfied) for driver courtesy (94%), cleanliness of buses (92%), safety (91%), fares (82%), reliability of service (81%), and comfort of buses (81%) (Figure 15);  Customers were least satisfied with frequency of service and amenities at bus stops (Figure 15); and  In terms of service improvements, the top four comments were requests for increased frequency, weekend service, later afternoon service, and earlier morning service (Figure 16). The majority of passengers requesting these service additions were customers on Route 12 Stillwater (54%, 92%, 91% and 79% respectively).

Figure 15: Paratransit Customer Satisfaction (based on survey results)

Access to Schedule Information

Amenities at Bus Stops

Value for Money (fares)

Safety Strongly Dissatisfied Courtesy of Drivers Dissatisfied Neutral Cleanliness of Buses Satisfied Comfort of Buses Very Satisfied Convenience of Routes

Reliability of Service

Frequency of Service

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Figure 16: Paratransit Improvement Requests (based on survey results)

More frequency 13% Weekend service

1% 23% Later afternoon service 3% 1% Earlier service

2% Ferry connections

2% Commuter service

2% No changes needed

3% Improve safety of highway stops (pullouts, shelters) Evening service 3% 16% Match schedules with city buses

6% Use a bigger bus

Connect with Lund water taxi

9% Other 14% No response

37 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

4.5.3 Paratransit Onboard Passenger Count Results

Onboard passenger count data was collected over a two-week period in April 2014 in order to provide supplementary information on rides per trip and total route ridership, as well as ridership on specific route sections.

The data indicated that the route with the highest productivity is Route 12 Stillwater with an average of 11 passengers per round trip. This was followed by Route 13 Texada with an average of 10 passengers per trip, while Route 14 Lund carried an average of 9 passengers per round trip. In terms of productivity, this equates to 10 rides per hour for Stillwater, 2.6 rides per hour for Texada, and 6.4 rides per hour for Lund.

The busiest bus stops are shown in Table 11. It should be noted that due to the paratransit nature of the service, these figures show passenger boardings and alightings at the designated bus stop plus the surrounding area.

Table 11: Paratransit Bus Stop Activity

Route 12 Stillwater 13 Texada 14 Lund Avg Ons & Avg Ons & Avg Ons & Bus Stop Offs per Trip Bus Stop Offs per Trip Bus Stop Offs per Trip Town Centre Mall 8.8 Town Centre Mall 8.3 Town Centre Mall 9.0 Lang Bay 3.1 Gillies Bay 3.3 Lund 3.5 Black Point 2.8 Van Anda 1.7 Hwy 101 & Craig 2.3 Roberts & Scotch Fir 1.7 Hospital 1.0 Sliammon & Hwy 101 1.3 Zilinsky & Kelly Creek 1.6 Westview Ferry Terminal 0.7 Hwy 101 & Southview 1.0 Centennial 1.5 Blubber Bay Ferry Terminal 0.3 Hwy 101 & Malaspina 1.0 Padgett & Duncan 0.7 Shelter Point 0.0 Cranberry & Manson 0.5 Saltery Bay Ferry Terminal 0.0 Hospital 0.3 Lund & King 0.0

4.5.4 Paratransit Fares

Table 12: Powell River Paratransit Fares

Zone 2: Route 12 Stillwater and Route 14 Lund Zone 3: Texada Island* One-way Trip Cash 10 Tickets One-way Trip Cash Adult $2.50 $22.50 Adult $6.00 College Student $2.50 $22.50 College Student $6.00 Student to Gr 12 $2.25 $20.25 Student to Gr 12 $2.75 Senior $2.25 $20.25 Senior $2.75 Child 4 years & under No charge -- Child 4 years & under No charge * fare includes ferry fare

Appendix A provides a more comprehensive review of the fare structure.

4.6 Benchmarking for the Powell River Regional Transit System

Conventional and custom transit and paratransit system performances were compared to similar transit systems within the province, as outlined in Tables 13 through 17 below. Aside from transit system type,

38 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report the comparison systems were selected based on a variety of criteria, such as population and transit system characteristics.

Table 13 shows that the conventional system has an annual ridership of approximately 202,000; it performs at about average or slightly above average compared to peer systems, with 18.1 riders per hour and a cost recovery of 19.8%.

For the custom transit system, Table 14 indicates that there is an annual ridership of 9,150; Powell River performs slightly below average in comparison to its peer systems, with 2.2 rides per hour and a cost recovery of 7%.

Table 15 shows that the paratransit system has an annual ridership of approximately 8,600; its productivity is slightly above average compared to its peers, with 4.9 riders per hour; its cost recovery, at 12.6%, is slightly below average.

In summary, all three types of transit within the Powell River area are performing fairly well, but there is room for improvement in terms of their productivity and efficiency.

Table 13: 2013-14 Conventional Transit Figures for Powell River and Peer Communities

Licensed Total Conventional Total Passenger Cost Rides Operating Vehicles Revenue Rank Rank Rank Transit System Hours Trips Recovery /Hour Costs/Hour (1) (2)

Prince Rupert 6 9,924 318,809 $376,854 31.8% 1 32.1 1 $103.43 4 Nelson** 6 11,145 263,010 $342,972 24.2% 2 23.6 2 $110.23 6

Port Alberni 5 12,224 266,777 $249,389 14.4% 7 21.8 3 $128.96 9

Squamish 6 12,021 248,371 $245,222 14.4% 7 20.7 4 $129.07 10

Cranbrook 5 11,939 217,784 $241,815 18.8% 5 18.2 5 $94.29 2

Powell River** 5 11,146 201,989 $239,954 19.8% 4 18.1 6 $98.76 3

Terrace 3 8,292 149,912 $176,792 22.2% 3 18.1 6 $85.25 1 Kootenay Boundary 13 19,524 341,368 $357,040 13.2% 9 17.5 8 $118.94 8

Kitimat 5 9,078 148,348 $163,898 14.6% 6 16.3 9 $106.90 5 Dawson Creek 6 8,987 125,290 $129,919 11.3% 10 13.9 10 $115.13 7

Fort St. John 5 11,058 100,575 $128,316 7.2% 11 9.1 11 $147.98 11

Average 11,394 216,567 $241,106 17% 19.05 $112.63 (1) Includes in-service and spare vehicles (2) Includes advertising revenue ** Municipally operated systems. Information above only reflects those costs included in the Annual Operating Agreement.

39 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Table 14: 2012-13 Custom Transit Figures for Powell River and Peer Communities

Licensed Total Operating Custom Transit Vehicles Total Passenger Revenue Cost Rides/ Costs/ System (1) Hours Trips (2) Recovery Rank Hour Rank Hour Rank

Terrace 2 1,827 7,909 7,909 11.0% 1 3.5 1 $72.18 7

Alberni-Clayoquot 4 5,368 18,155 36,092 8.2% 5 3.3 2 $79.87 8

Fort St. John 4 7,057 24,715 24,715 9.0% 3 3.0 3 $63.09 4

Prince Rupert 1 1,740 6,872 6,872 6.5% 7 3.0 3 $55.24 2

Squamish 2 1,961 5,111 5,111 3.2% 10 2.7 5 $124.77 10

Kootenay Boundary 2 2,305 4,763 4,763 5.0% 9 2.4 6 $92.47 9

Powell River 2.5 4,114 9,155 18,671 7.0% 6 2.2 7 $60.24 3

Cowichan Valley 4 6,679 14,271 30,332 6.5% 7 2.1 8 $64.74 6

Cranbrook 3 3,582 6,600 21,646 8.6% 4 1.9 9 $63.25 5

Kitimat 2 4,320 6,750 6,750 9.7% 2 1.0 10 $36.21 1

Average 3,895 10,430 16,286 7.5% 2.5 $71.21 (1) Includes in-service and spare vehicles (2) Includes advertising revenue

Table 15: 2012-13 Paratransit Figures for Powell River and Peer Communities

Licensed Total Operating Vehicles Total Passenger Revenue Cost Rides/ Costs/ Pararansit System (1) Hours Trips (2) Recovery Rank Hour Rank Hour Rank Mount Waddington RD 3 4,291 30,584 71,770 20.1% 1 7.1 1 $78.81 4 Hazeltons' Regional 2 2,553 14,468 37,939 17.7% 2 5.7 2 $85.50 5 Powell River RD 1.5 1,750 8,633 14,285 12.6% 3 4.9 3 $63.15 2 Nakusp 1 1,980 6,227 16,081 10.7% 5 3.1 4 $70.91 3 Clearwater & Area 3 2,354 7,020 19,212 11.7% 4 3.0 5 $62.64 1 Average 2,586 13,386 31,857 14.6% 4.77 $72.38 (1) Includes in-service and spare vehicles (2) Includes advertising revenue

The revenue hours invested per capita were also compared to peer transit systems within the province as outlined below in Table 16 and Table 174. For the conventional system, Powell River’s revenue hours per capita are at 0.84 hours/capita, almost exactly the average, indicating that the supply of hours is appropriate for a system of this size. The custom system provides 0.32 hours per capita, which is above the average of its peers and suggests that the amount of service offered is sufficient.

4 Paratransit hours-per-capita comparisons are unavailable due to peer system differences in service area boundaries.

40 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Table 16: 2013-14 Conventional Transit Hours Table 17: 2013-14 Custom Transit Hours Per Per Capita Peer Comparison Capita Peer Comparison

Conventional 2011 2013-14 Annual Hours per Custom Transit 2011 2013-14 Annual Hours per Transit System Population Service Hours capita System Population Service Hours capita Kootenay Boundary 15,500 19,524 1.26 Kitimat 8,300 4,320 0.52 Kitimat 8,300 9,078 1.09 Fort St. John 18,600 8,097 0.44 Nelson 10,200 11,145 1.09 Powell River 13,200 4,164 0.32 Powell River 13,200 11,146 0.84 Alberni-Clayoquot 17,700 5,474 0.31 Prince Rupert 12,500 9,924 0.79 Kootenay Boundary 15,500 4,503 0.29 Dawson Creek 11,600 8,987 0.77 Cranbrook 19,300 3,625 0.19 Terrace Regional 11,500 8,292 0.72 Terrace Regional 11,500 2,082 0.18 Squamish 17,200 12,021 0.70 Prince Rupert 12,500 1,740 0.14 Port Alberni 17,700 12,224 0.69 Squamish 17,200 2,000 0.12 Cranbrook 19,300 11,939 0.62 Average 0.28 Fort St. John 18,600 11,058 0.59 Average 0.83

4.7 Transit Infrastructure

4.7.1 Fleet

The conventional transit fleet currently comprises five heavy-duty vehicles, 40’ Novas. Four of these are in-service vehicles and one is designated as a spare. The spare vehicle allows for continuation of transit service to allow scheduled maintenance tasks to be completed or in the case of in-service vehicle breakdown.

The custom fleet uses two light-duty 26’ Chevy ARBOCs, the paratransit fleet uses one ARBOC, and these fleets share one spare, a Ford Polar. All vehicles are 100% wheelchair accessible.

Conventional fleet maintenance is done by the City, which has four mechanics including one specializing in transit vehicles, and custom and paratransit fleet maintenance is carried out by Big O tires and Massullo Motors.

On the paratransit side, the first inbound Route 12 Stillwater trip appears to be nearing capacity on some days and could become an issue. Ridership patterns should be monitored closely once any service changes have been implemented, in order to determine whether a larger vehicle may be required in future.

4.7.2 Transit Facility

The conventional transit facility is located at the City’s Works Yard on Duncan Street between Manson Avenue and Ontario Avenue (Map 2 below) and has capacity for a total of eight 40’ vehicles.

41 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Map 2: Powell River Conventional Transit Facility Location

Powell River Conventional Transit Facility

The custom and paratransit fleet is housed at Powell River Taxi, located at 6105 Lund Street in Wildwood.

4.7.3 Bus Stops

The transit exchange is located on the north side of the Town Centre Mall. All services are designed to meet at this location to provide safe transfers.

The conventional system currently has a total of 223 bus stops, most of which use the updated signage. It is recommended that the remaining 9 old bus stop signs be replaced (see Section 6). 55% of City bus stops are either wheelchair accessible or wheelchair accessible with caution. 18 stops have shelters and benches, and 32 have benches only (Table 18 below).

42 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Table 18: Conventional Stops with Existing Benches or Shelters

Shelters Benches (ctd.) Route Stop Location Route Stop Location Cranberry St in front of 6887 Cranberry at Mowat Manson Ave in front of 5573 Manson Lund St at King Manson Ave in front of 5515 Manson Sutherland St at Lund 1 Townsite/Wildwood Manson Ave at McGregor 1 Townsite/Wildwood Maple St at Chestnut (tennis court) Manson Ave at Cassiar Cranberry St at Ortona (DA Evans Park) Manson Ave in front of 5075 Manson Cranberry St in front of 6812 Cranberry Joyce Ave at Westview Manson Ave in front of 5423 Manson, at Drake Nootka St by Apartment Building Alberni St at Joyce Quadra St in front of 3885 Quadra, nr. driveway Marine Ave in front of Legion Oliver St by driveway of Ceco Manor 2 Grief Point Toba St in front of 7074 Toba Toba St at Joyce Marine Ave in front of Thunder Bay Store Cariboo Ave in front of 3407 Cariboo Marine Ave in front of Gibson's Crossing 2 Grief Point Cariboo Ave at Thunder Bay Joyce Ave in front of Kiwanis Building Oliver St 1/2 way between Selkirk & Joyce 2 Grief Point, Joyce Ave across from Kiwanis Building Nootka St at Quadra 3 Upper Westview Joyce Ave by Robins Donut Shop Marine Ave in front of antique store Airport Rd at shelter Marine Ave in front of Mexican restaurant 3 Upper Westview TC Mall South in front of Overwaitea Foods/Save-on-Foods Alberni St at Algoma Can. Tire Rd Alberni St at Joyce Benches 2 Grief Point, 3 Upper Westview Alberni St by Scotia Bank Route Stop Location Manson Ave in front of 4557 Manson Marlatt St in front of 5700 Marlatt Manson Ave at Duncan Marlatt St in front of 5806 Marlatt at Cranberry Manson Ave Warner St at Tatlow 3 Upper Westview Manson Ave in front of 4205 Manson 1 Townsite/Wildwood Marine Ave in front of bakery Westview Ave Viscount Apartments by church Sliammon Joyce Ave at Burnaby Skeena St at Sutherland Barnet St at Safeway

Given the number of onboard survey responses requesting bus stop amenity improvements, it would be beneficial to make more stops wheelchair accessible and add shelters or benches, particularly in stop locations with high usage by seniors. Operating company recommendations for locations to be upgraded with benches or shelters are listed under Option #7 (“Improve bus stop amenities (i.e. benches, shelters, etc.”) in Section 6.1.2 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Medium Term. The full Conventional Bus Stop Inventory, compiled by the operating company, is included in Appendix E, and details the desired upgrades required to make fully accessible the bus stops that are currently either not wheelchair accessible, or only wheelchair accessible with caution.

There have been safety concerns cited for three particular stops along Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood (in the Manson, Cranberry, and Sutherland areas), which would be remediated by the addition of more lighting, for visibility. These stops are indicated in Appendix E.

There are also safety concerns regarding the five bus stops on Marine Avenue between Joyce Avenue and Oliver Street, due the single lane roadway and narrow road width: following vehicles either start forming long backlogs, or attempt, with very limited sightlines, to pass transit vehicles stopped at bus stops. One solution would be to create bus pullouts along this stretch of Marine Avenue. An alternative operations-related solution, pending future bus stop activity monitoring results, is included under 6.1.3 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Longer Term (Option #10, “Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability”).

Funding for these safety-related infrastructure remediations may be available through ICBC’s Investing in Road Improvements5 program. Additionally, BC Transit can continue to submit annual applications for MoTI (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) Minor Betterments Fund grants6, for this purpose.

The paratransit system has 22 bus stops. Their signage is outdated and, in order to help make the transit system more attractive, should be replaced (see Section 6). None have shelters or benches, which

5 http://www.icbc.com/road-safety/community/Pages/Investing-in-road-improvements.aspx 6 MoTI’s Minor Betterments Fund is a $1M annual fund – for the entire province, including Translink – for small transit-related infrastructure projects that are on MoTI land or right of way. Projects are 100% funded and implemented by MoTI. The fund is subject to annual approval.

43 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report is fairly typical for stops in rural areas due to low passenger numbers. However, one third of rural onboard survey respondents expressed either dissatisfaction or strong dissatisfaction with existing bus stop amenities, and the addition of shelters or benches should be considered as a means to increase customer comfort and the system’s attractiveness to riders. More importantly, adding shelters at highway bus stops would increase passenger safety. This should be aided by the Regional Transportation Plan’s Implementation Plan, featuring the provision of a network of shoulders enabling bus stop infrastructure to be safely installed (see Appendix H). Only inbound stops would need to be considered for shelter construction or bench provision, given that these are the stops at which passengers would be waiting.

The BC Transit website includes details on BC Transit’s Transit Shelter Program7 and Infrastructure Design Guidelines8.

7 http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/corporate-planning 8 http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/standards

44 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

5. Consultation and Communication

5.1 Consultation and Communication Process

A range of tools was used to maximize opportunities for public/stakeholder input within time and resource limitations. Engagement techniques included:

 Powell River Project Website – a dedicated web page was established for the duration of the Service Review and can be found in the Transit Future section of the BC Transit website. This provided information on the Service Review process as well as updates on upcoming events, reports, presentations, and online surveys in order to solicit feedback during the two consultation phases.  Online/Print Surveys – local residents were encouraged to complete online surveys including questions related to demographics, travel habits, and transit improvement suggestions.  On-Board Surveys – transit riders were encouraged to complete on-board passenger surveys in December 2013 and February 2014, including questions related to transit usage and feedback on the existing system.  Key Stakeholder Workshop – 69 organizations were invited to participate in a Key Stakeholder Workshop to provide feedback on existing user groups, key destinations, challenges and opportunities with the existing transit service, and promotion opportunities.  Driver Surveys – bus drivers were invited to complete surveys that included questions related to ridership, routing, schedules, on-time performance, key destinations, and bus stops.  Door-to-door Surveys – residents of the Sliammon area were interviewed by door-to-door canvassers in mid-July; survey questions asked included frequency of transit usage and service improvement priorities.  Open House Events – six open house events were held in October 2014, presenting the majority of the proposed service changes outlined in this report to local residents.

The key stakeholders who provided feedback during this review included the following:

Local Government Partners Educational Agencies  City of Powell River – staff and Council  School District 47  Powell River Regional District – staff and Board Community Organizations  Tla’amin First Nation  Inclusion Powell River  Powell River Youth & Family Services Transportation Providers  Powell River Rotary Club  Powell River Municipal Transportation  Life Cycle Housing Society  Powell River Taxi Ltd.  BOND Program  BC Ferries  Model Community Project  Ministry of Transportation &  Transition Town Powell River Infrastructure  Powell River Cycling Association  Family Friendly Powell River Businesses  Wildwood Residents’ Association  Town Centre Mall  Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory  Crossroads Village Shopping Centre Committee  Marine Area Business Association  Texada Arts, Culture & Tourism Society  Powell River Chamber of Commerce  Texada Island Chamber of Commerce  Powell River Regional Economic Development Society

45 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

The levels of participation and response to the workshop and surveys during the Phase One Public Engagement stage are summarized in the following table:

Table 19: Phase One Public Engagement Participation and Response Levels

Engagement Method Level of Participation/Response Stakeholder Workshop 40+ representatives from local organizations Onboard survey 274 responses Online survey Phase 1 258 responses Door-to-door survey (Sliammon) 161 responses Driver survey 13 responses Open Houses 136 attendees Online survey Phase 2 90 responses

5.2 Summary of Key Themes from Phase One Public Engagement

The key themes that emerged from the first phase of public engagement, which included a key stakeholder workshop, as well as driver, onboard passenger, online resident, and door-to-door surveys, are summarized in the table below according to transit service type.

Table 20: Phase One Public Engagement Key Themes Summary

Fixed-Route Service (City) Paratransit Service (Regional District)

 More frequency  More frequency  More evening service  Later afternoon service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  It's great the way it is  Saturday service  Cheaper fares  Earlier service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  More service to Sliammon  Commuter service (for Route 12 Stillwater)  Smaller buses  Improved ferry connections  Improved ferry connections  It's great the way it is  More shelters/benches  Improve safety of highway stops (add shelters)  Better on-time performance  Evening service  Faster, more direct service handyDART Service (City)  Earlier service  More availability

5.3 Fixed-Route Transit Current Service and Market Conclusions

Below is a summary of the key service and market conclusions for the fixed-route transit system.

 While annual ridership has shown an overall increase of 56% since 2004-05, it has undergone a 13% decline since 2011-12, which could be attributable to the 50% reduction in evening service hours at that time.

 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood’s relative annual ridership share exceeds its relative annual service hours’ share, while Route 2 Grief Point’s ridership share equals its service hours’ share.

46 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

However, Route 3 Upper Westview’s relative share of annual ridership falls short, at 66% of its share of annual service hours.

 Significant ridership peaks occur in the 8:00-8:59 a.m. and 3:00-3:59 p.m. time period, due mostly to the large volumes of school students being served by the transit system. At these times, ridership shows increases of two-and-a-half and nearly three-and-a-half times respectively over the midday “base” period, with the majority of this extra ridership carried by Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood.

 Lower-income adults and seniors using the low-cost, annual BC Bus Pass account for approximately one quarter of Powell River’s conventional transit ridership.

 College students, commuters, residents of Sliammon, seniors, persons with disabilities, and students travelling outside of “school commuting” hours are under-served by the current conventional system and should be considered as potential growth markets. Possible measures to increase ridership from these markets include, by market segment: . College students: o Improving the directness of routes, particularly on Route 2 Grief Point which serves Vancouver Island University (VIU), in order to reduce travel time o Providing better evening service for access to VIU, especially on Route 2 Grief Point, and to jobs and entertainment o Ensuring that weekend service remains at sufficient levels o Working with VIU to actively promote the transit system o Investigating with VIU the potential for introducing the U-Pass program . Commuters: o Improving the directness of routes in order to reduce travel time o Providing better evening service o Introducing a “Bus To Work Week”, similar to the annual “Bike To Work Week” o Introducing employee transit incentive programs . Residents of Sliammon: o Providing an earlier weekday trip serving Sliammon o Introducing Saturday service for Sliammon . Seniors and persons with disabilities: o Promoting the conventional transit system to seniors’ residential care facilities, seniors’ centres, and organizations such as Inclusion Powell River and Community Living Place through scheduled outreach sessions, transit travel training programs, and organizing special events such as Holiday Lights tours . Students travelling outside of “school commuting” hours: o Providing better evening service to assist with travel for work and entertainment purposes o Ensuring that weekend service remains at sufficient levels

5.4 Custom Transit Current Service and Market Conclusions

Below is a summary of the key service and market conclusions for the custom transit system:

 Custom Transit ridership continues to show steady increases.  Subscription trips account on average for to one quarter of all trip bookings.  There are opportunities to encourage some existing handyDART registrants to use the conventional system through scheduled outreach sessions, transit travel training programs, and organizing special events such as Holiday Lights tours.  Unmet trips have been increasing, to a peak of 25 per month in September 2014.  Taxi Supplement trips have shown an exponential increase over the past three years.

47 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

 There are a significant number of trip cancellations and no shows every week.  There is a current opportunity for education about BC Transit’s 2014 new handyDART No Show and Late Cancellation Policy.

5.5 Paratransit Current Service and Market Conclusions

Below is a summary of the key service and market conclusions for the paratransit system:

 Ridership has started to fall off slightly from peaks in 2010-11 and 2011-12.  Route 12 Stillwater generates 70% of paratransit ridership from 50% of the total paratransit service hours, while Route 14 Lund accounts for about 20% of paratransit ridership and service hours, and Route 13 Texada constitutes10% of ridership but 30% of service hours.  Adults and seniors comprise 96% of ridership. While the vast majority of school students living in rural areas access School District transportation, college students are under- represented on the paratransit service, due to paratransit schedule times and frequencies, and the fact that there are no direct trips serving the Vancouver Island University area of Joyce Avenue.

5.6 Summary of Key Themes from Phase Two Public Engagement

In October 2014, the second phase of public engagement included the presentation of draft service change options to the public at six Open Houses and in an online survey. These were advertised in the Powell River Peak, Texada Express Lines, and the Lund Barnacle, as well as on board the buses, and in posters displayed around town and in Sliammon. The Open Houses took place as follows:

Location Day & Time # of Attendees Transit Exchange (Town Centre Mall) Tuesday, October 28 1:30pm – 5:30pm 84 Sliammon Salish Centre Wednesday, October 29 9am – 11am 1 Lund Community Centre Wednesday, October 29 1pm – 3pm 9 Texada Seniors’ Centre Wednesday, October 29 2pm – 4pm 14 Lang Bay Hall Wednesday, October 29 4:30pm – 6:30pm 13 Transit Exchange (Town Centre Mall) Thursday, October 30 9am – 11am 15 Total 136

The online survey, conducted October 20 through November 2 2014, received 89 responses.

People were generally supportive of the draft service change options presented. In response to feedback, the proposed conventional service short-term option of a Route 2 Grief Point restructure has been modified to maintain routing along the Grief Point section of Marine Avenue rather than introducing two- way service along Joyce Avenue. The option of removing service from this section of Marine Avenue has been moved to the longer-term service change options section and would be dependent on future bus stop activity monitoring results.

Other themes mentioned by some Open House attendees included the following:  Introduce Sunday evening service (City)  Introduce evening service (Route 12 Stillwater)  Introduce weekend service (Route 12 Stillwater)

As a result, these have been included as additional service change options (see Section 6.1.4 City Fixed- Route Service Change Options: Other Considerations, Option #16, “Introduce evening service on

48 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Sundays until 9:00 p.m.” and Section 6.3.2 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Medium Term, Option #8, “Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce Saturday Service” and Option #9, “Introduce charter evening service for special events”).

5.7 Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results

The Powell River Regional District as a whole commissioned ISL Engineering and Land Services (ISL) in spring 2013 to prepare a Regional Transportation Plan9 that would set out the priorities for the local transportation network to the horizon year 2040. The resultant transit priorities are shown in Appendix F, and the transit option evaluation scores and implementation plan are shown in Appendix G and Appendix H respectively.

9 http://www.powellriverrd.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/Powell-River-Regional-District-Regional- Transportation-Plan.pdf

49 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

6. Proposed Service Change Options

This section presents potential service change options for consideration. These options are based on the feedback listed in Section 7.0 above from Phase One and Phase Two Public Engagement, in conjunction with analysis of current ridership patterns and service frequencies, demographics, geographical characteristics and system growth potential, fleet and infrastructure assets, and market analysis; discussions with local elected officials, City and Regional District staff, and operating company staff; and consideration of local area plans, including the findings of the Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan.

Once local government has approved a service option for implementation—and local and provincial funding has been approved for the year—an Implementation Agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be developed for signature by the City of Powell River and/or the Powell River Regional District, as applicable, and BC Transit. This MOU will outline the exact service changes to be developed for implementation, and the implementation timeline.

Cost and revenue projections are based on existing 2013/14 Annual Operating Agreement budget figures. Actual costs and impacts may vary depending on finalization of service and operating details. Ridership projections are also estimates, based on analysis of current ridership trends.

50 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report Map 1: Powell River Regional Transit System—Existing Service (Bus Routes)

51 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Fixed-Route Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Conventional Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local Net BC Transit Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Local Service Option Vehicles Rides^ Share of per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs Total Cost per Total Costs Hour Ride Costs Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016) Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Adjust routing to Option 1: discontinue service on one trip only behind Cranberry 0 (50) 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Lake (zero ridership) Benefits: Increase routing efficiency; provide faster, more direct service Challenges: Service discontinuation on one weekday trip only from a minimally performing area Route 2 Grief Point: Adjust routing to discontinue service Option 2: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 from Theodosia subdivision (minimal ridership) Improve on-time performance and schedule reliability; increase routing efficiency; provide faster, more direct service; address perceived Benefits: safety concerns of parents in Theodosia subdivision (still within 400m walk distance of closest remaining bus stop on Cariboo Ave) Challenges: Removal of service from a low-performing area Capital costs (signage only -- does not Option 3: Replace outdated bus stop signage $400 $200 $200 include local labour costs): Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness;, potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (signage for 9 stops total, 5 in Sliammon -- Sliammon signage costs to be recovered from Sliammon by the City) Medium-Term Options (2015-16 to 5 years from now) May be cost neutral, if Option #1 above Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend Saturday service to Option 4: 0 20 250 $400 is implemented (depending on detailed 12.5 $0.00** $0.00** Sliammon (1 round trip) Scheduling w ork results)** Benefits: Provide Sliammon residents with Saturday access to the City; generate additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (Tla'amin Nation) Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening Option 5: 0 400 2,880 $4,500 $40,600 $17,200 $18,900 7.2 $14.10 $5.97 service to approx. 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday Benefits: Restore ridership to 2012 levels; potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs TBD (City Route 3 Upper Westview: Extend service to Padgett Rd Option 6: 0 0 400 $700 of Pow ell TBD $0 at Duncan St River) Benefits: Potentially attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Cost; construction of vehicle turnaround location at Padgett Rd and Duncan St TBD based on number and type of Capital shelters and/or benches selected, Option 7: Improve bus stop amenities (i.e. benches, shelters, etc.) costs: funding process/source type, and local labour costs Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness; potential to attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend service to Klahanie Option 8: 0 50 250 $400 $5,100 $2,300 $2,400 5.0 $20.40 $9.20 Drive Benefits: Attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs (Tla'amin Nation) Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Add earlier weekday Option 9: 0 260 300 $500 $26,400 $13,600 $12,300 1.2 $88.00 $45.33 morning trip connecting to first ferry departure Enable customers to access first ferry to Comox (by connecting with first Route 2 Grief Point trip); provide earlier service for Sliammon Benefits: commuters; generate additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature.

52 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Fixed-Route Service Change Options (continued)

Powell River Regional Transit System Conventional Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local Net BC Transit Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Local Service Option Vehicles Rides^ Share of per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs Total Cost per Total Costs Hour Ride Costs Ride Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16) 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain Option 10: Capital costs (signage and bus stop poles on-time performance and schedule reliability only - does not include local labour costs for $0 $0 $0 relocations): Benefits: Maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability; increase route efficiency; provide faster, more direct service; attract new ridership Challenges: Removal of service from low-performing areas 0 (350) 0 $0 ($35,500) ($18,900) ($16,600) Route 3 Upper Westview: Restructure route to match Option 11: Capital costs (signage only -- does not service hours with ridership $0 $0 $0 include local labour costs): Maintain ridership on Route 3 Upper Westview; potentially increase frequency and thus generate additional/attract new ridership and Benefits: revenue on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood and/or Route 2 Grief Point Challenges: Removal of service from low-performing areas Route 3 Upper Westview: Reduce frequency to match Option 12: 0 (410) 0 $0 ($41,600) ($22,200) ($19,400) service hours with ridership Maintain ridership on Route 3 Upper Westview; potentially increase frequency and thus generate additional/attract new ridership and Benefits: revenue on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood and/or Route 2 Grief Point Challenges: Slight reduction in service potentially for some passengers accustomed to it Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening Option 13: 0 1,000 7,200 $11,200 $101,300 $42,800 $47,300 7.2 $14.07 $5.94 service to 11:09 p.m. Monday through Thursday Benefits: Restore ridership to 2012 levels; potentially attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Other Considerations Review bus fleet, investigate possibilities of replacing Option 14: Capital costs (vehicle only): ($15,200) ($8,100) ($7,100) conventional vehicles with smaller vehicles Benefits: Reduce vehicle lease fees, fuel costs, and greenhouse gas emissions; public perception of substantial cost savings Unfeasible should Option #15 below be implemented. Vehicle availability; incurring of additional labour and capital costs for mechanic Challenges: retraining, new tools and parts; potential for heavy loads and pass-ups to occur more often leading to losses in ridership and revenue Estimated additional service hours and vehicles required, ridership and revenue Expand service to accommodate increased demand generated, and total, net local share and provincial share of costs to be determined Option 15: from discontinued school bus routes within City limits based on student location information provided by SD47. Full Impact Assessment Report due for release by end of February 2015. Benefits: Increase ridership and revenue Unfeasible should Option #14 above be implemented. Costs; purchasing of additional peak-use-only vehicles; potential disruption to Challenges: transit service for existing passengers leading to associated ridership and revenue losses

Option 16: Introduce evening service on Sundays until 9:00 p.m. 0 210 250 $1,300 $21,300 $10,100 $9,900 1.2 $85.20 $40.40 Benefits: Potentially attract a small amount of additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Low projected additional ridership and productivity Route 3 Upper Westview: Routing extension to Option 17: Recreation Complex doors (alternating trips only, 0 240 140 $200 $24,400 $12,900 $11,300 0.6 $174.29 $92.14 Monday through Sunday) Benefits: Potentially attract a small amount of new/additional ridership and revenue Slower, less direct service to and from the hospital; reduced service frequency on all routes; access and egress issues at the Complex; Challenges: minimal projected additional or new ridership and revenue Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature.

53 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Custom Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Custom Transit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016)

Educate customers about BC Transit's new No Show and Option 1: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Late Cancellation Policy

Benefits: Free up handyDART resources; increase ridership and revenue; reduce costs from the Taxi Supplement program Challenges: Customer compliance rate with new Policy; abilities of dispatchers (and drivers) to inform about new Policy and, when appropriate, enforce

Encourage custom transit registrants to use the conventional Option 2: 0 0 2,000 $2,100 $0 $0 $0 transit system where possible

Benefits: Free up handyDART resources; increase ridership and revenue; reduce costs from the Taxi Supplement program Customer willingness to switch to conventional transit; abilities of drivers and dispatchers to encourage change in customer habits; successful Challenges: implementation of travel-training programs Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16)

Option 3: Add a third handyDART vehicle + operating hours 2 2,000 4,400 $4,600 $227,300 $93,900 $128,800 2.2 $51.66 $21.34

Benefits: Increase availability of handyDART service to match the expected increase in demand due to population aging Challenges: Costs (including additional administrative costs not shown here, for e.g. wages for 1 more dispatcher to cover peak booking times) Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440.

54 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Rural Service Change Options

Powell River Regional Transit System Paratransit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Short-Term Options (2015 to 2016)

Option 1: Audit schedules to ensure consistent trip running times 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Benefits: Improve schedule consistency and reliability Challenges: Increased annual service hours and costs, should increased trip running time be required in order to improve on-time performance Route 14 Lund: Relocate Highway 101/Southview Rd All capital infrastructure & relocation costs Option 2: $0 $0 $0 southbound bus stop funded via MoTI's Minor Betterments Fund Benefits: Address a primary safety issue affecting the transit driver and customers, plus all other area road users

Challenges: Increased walk distance for passengers who use the existing stop and reside closer to Southview Rd than Sturt Rd

Route 14 Lund: Adjust City routing inTownsite and Cranberry Option 3: 0 0 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 areas (zero ridership demand -- duplication of City Route 1) Benefits: Make service faster and more direct; increase trip efficiency Challenges: Passenger accustomization to change

Option 4: Replace outdated bus stop signage Capital cost (signage only): $1,000 $400 $600

Benefits: Improve transit system attractiveness Challenges: Replacement costs Medium-Term Options (2015-16 to 5 years from now)

dependent on Option 5: Route 12 Stillwater: Relocate Zilinsky Rd bus stop Capital costs: local labour 100% - costs Benefits: Improve driver safety, and customer safety and convenience Challenges: Costs

dependent on availability of local sponsorship, Option 6: Improve bus stop amenities (shelter and bench additions) Capital costs: provincial funding opportunities, selected shelter/bench type, local labour costs, & etc. Benefits: Increase passenger safety and comfort; increase transit system attractiveness; attract new ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs

Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce two additional trips at 0 500 2,900 $5,300 $29,900 $10,700 $13,900 5.8 $10.31 $3.69 Option 7: commuter times Capital costs (signage only): $120 $100 $100 Enable customers to use the transit service for work and provide additional travel options for non-commuters, including a connection to the Benefits: first ferry departure for Comox Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Option 8: Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce Saturday service 0 200 1,100 $2,100 $11,700 $4,100 $5,500 5.5 $10.64 $3.73 Benefits: Improve transit's convenience for work, shopping etc.; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs Introduce charter evening service for special events (based Option 9: 0 100 500 $900 $5,900 $2,300 $2,700 5.0 $11.80 $4.60 on 2 hours of service per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Route 14 Lund: Introduce three more service days per week Option 10: 0 100 500 $900 $4,700 $1,600 $2,200 5.0 $9.40 $3.20 (Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays) July through August Benefits: Improve transit's convenience for work, shopping etc.; attract additional ridership and revenue; reduce summer tourist parking issues in Lund Challenges: Costs; unpredictability of demand for this additional service Route 12 Stillwater: Create bidirectional routing in Stillwater- Option 11: Capital costs (signage only): $40 $20 $20 area loop Benefits: Improve trip directness and reduce trip time (only when Saltery Bay service is requested) **plus significant construction costs Costs of signage (minimal) and construction work (significant) to create bus stop on opposite side of Scotch Fir Point Rd and Roberts Rd Challenges: (culvert fill-in, paving, and etc.) Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440. 55 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Rural Service Change Options (continued)

Powell River Regional Transit System Paratransit Service Option Summary: Preliminary Estimated Additional Annual Impacts* Net Local BC Transit Net Rides Total Revenue Total Total Share of Share of Local Service Option Vehicles** Rides^ per Cost per Hours Revenue^ Costs^^ Total Total Cost per Hour Ride Costs^^ Costs^^ Ride Longer-Term Options (5-10 years from 2015-16) Route 14 Lund: Introduce one more service day per week Option 12: 0 200 200 $500 $8,800 $4,200 $4,100 1.0 $44.00 $21.00 (year round -- from existing 2 days per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; low projected demand for this additional service Route 13 Texada: Introduce one more service day per week Option 13: 2 400 400 $1,000 $136,500 $60,900 $74,600 1.0 $341.25 $152.25 (from existing 1 day per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; attract additional ridership and revenue Costs; low projected demand for this additional service (under the Regional Transportation Plan's transit option evaluation scores, this option Challenges: ranked second-lowest when ordered by public score) Other Considerations

Option 14: Improve transit connections with ferry services - Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Ongoing daily and seasonal ferry schedule changes, especially on short notice; potential sailing delays; time interval between passenger drop Challenges: off (departing) and passenger pick up (arriving); limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; disruption to existing transit schedules and passengers leading to net loss in ridership and revenue; negative return on investment Introduce Texada Island-wide (internal) transit service for all Option 15: - residents Benefits: Attract new ridership and revenue Costs; low projected demand for this additional service(under the Regional Transportation Plan's transit option evaluation scores, this option ranked lowest when ordered by public score); non-conformance with minimum recommended population density for new transit service Challenges: introduction of 1,000 residents per square kilometre: Texada = approximately 3.5 residents per square km (for comparison purposes, Gabriola = approximately 70 residents per square km; Salt Spring Island = 178 residents per square km); minimal return on investment. Recommended to be organized as a local grassroots initiative, due to increased ability for flexibility and responsiveness to local needs. Option 16: Route 14 Lund: Introduce daily weekday service (year round) 2 500 500 $300 $140,000 $63,500 $76,200 1.0 $280.00 $127.00 Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Challenges: Costs; low productivity on existing service; limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; minimal return on investment Route 14 Lund: Improve transit service connections with the Option 17: - Lund Water Taxi Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Limited demand; minimal projected additional ridership or revenue; changing Route 14 Lund's schedule would involve major schedule Challenges: changes for existing customers on Route 14 and Route 12 Stillwater (the most productive route), leading to net loss in ridership and revenue; Introduce full rural handyDART service, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Option 18: 2 700 400 $800 $153,500 $70,200 $82,500 0.6 $383.75 $175.50 Tuesdays and Thursdays Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Rural handyDART service already included as part of paratransit service; costs; low productivity on existing service; limited demand; minimal Challenges: projected additional ridership or revenue; minimal return on investment

Introduce service linking Powell River to Vancouver (based Option 19: 2 900 500 $1,000 $162,200 $74,600 $86,600 0.6 $324.40 $149.20 on one trip per week) Benefits: Increase customer convenience; potential to attract additional ridership and revenue Difficulty of connections with ferries, Sunshine Coast Transit System, and Translink; length of round-trip time (estimated at 17 hours); existing Challenges: Vancouver service available on Malaspina Coach Lines; minimal return on investment Notes: * Based on preliminary 2014/15 budgets. Final costs may change based on final budgets and confirmation of final operational details. ** The vehicle requirements show n here appear feasible but w ould need to be confirmed by BC Transit’s Fleet Standards department closer to the implementation date. ^ The rides and total revenue figures show n here are based on the first 12 months follow ing implementation. Due to ridership taking on average 12 months post-implementation to stabilize, the figures used are 60% of the estimated ridership expected once implementations are mature. ^^ Includes annual lease fee costs: Annual lease fee costs for a light-duty vehicle used in these estimates are $54,440.

56 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

6.1 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options

6.1.1 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Short Term (2015-2016)

The service change options presented in this section are considered to be the most viable to implement for the City’s fixed-route system over the short term and can be achieved with no increase in annual service hours or costs.

#1 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood; Adjust routing to discontinue service on one trip only behind Cranberry Lake (zero ridership)

This service option would remove the routing behind Cranberry Lake, shown in Map 3 below, from Route 1’s trip departing the main exchange at 2:00 p.m. due to a reported lack of ridership on this trip from this area.

Map 3: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood—Proposed Minor Routing Adjustment (one trip only)

Although this service adjustment would not result in any cost savings, it would increase the efficiency of the existing trip and provide faster, more direct service to passengers. It might also enable Option #4 below (Saturday service extension to Sliammon) to be implemented at no extra cost, depending on the results of detailed scheduling work.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 1: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Adjust routing to discontinue service on one trip only behind Cranberry Lake (zero ridership) Service Hours: -50 Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

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#2 Route 2 Grief Point; Adjust routing to discontinue service from Theodosia subdivision (minimal ridership)

Schedule unreliability and slow, indirect service were concerns cited by passengers surveyed. This service option would see a streamlining of Route 2, removing service from the Theodosia subdivision, an area with low ridership. Due to increased congestion in recent years along Joyce Avenue, this route has reportedly been facing considerable and chronic on-time performance issues, running on average between four to six minutes late per trip. As routes are interlined, with minimal recovery time in between trips, this has a cumulative effect on on-time performance for the system as a whole.

Current on-time performance for the conventional system is at 80% on time, with 17% of trips arriving/departing between five and ten minutes late, and 3% arriving/departing more than ten minutes late. The solutions to on-time performance issues are either to increase a route’s running time (which would result in decreased service frequency across all routes), perform a route restructure to reduce running time, or a combination of the two. As trip frequency, schedule adherence and service reliability are primary factors in maintaining existing, and attracting new, ridership, a restructuring of Route 2 Grief Point should be pursued as a matter of priority. Option #2 here proposes a short-term restructure, while Option #10 below details further restructuring possibilities for the longer term.

Map 4: Route 2 Grief Point—Proposed Route Restructure

This service change would not result in any cost savings, but would:  help to improve on-time performance and schedule reliability by reducing this route’s required running time  increase the efficiency of the existing route and provide faster, more direct service to passengers  address perceived safety concerns of parents residing in the Theodosia subdivision

This change would have a minimal effect on existing passengers. The four bus stops on Toba, Theodosia and Teakerne serve an average of one passenger per day, and all are within 100-300 metres of the next closest bus stop.

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This service option originally proposed removing the section of the route operating along Marine Ave and Oliver St, routing bi-directionally along Joyce Ave instead. However, the Marine/Oliver routing was reinstated following Phase Two Public Engagement: feedback indicated that this would negatively affect a number of passengers in the area, given the uphill incline from Marine to Joyce and the resulting difficulty in walking to the closest bus stop on Joyce Ave.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 2: Route 2 Grief Point: Adjust routing to discontinue service from Theodosia subdivision (minimal ridership) Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#3 Replace outdated bus stop signage

The estimated capital costs for replacing the outdated signage on the 9 stops that still have it (see also Section 4.7.3) are shown below. Assistance with local funding may be available through the Union of British Columbia’s (UBCM’s) Community Works Fund (through local gas tax funding10).

Estimated Capital Costs Option 3: Replace outdated bus stop signage Total Cost*: $400 Net Local Share of Total Costs*: $200 Provincial Share of Total Costs: $200 * Costs shown do not include local labour costs for signage replacement.

6.1.2 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Medium Term (2015-16 to 5 years from now)

#4 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend Saturday service to Sliammon (1 round trip)

During consultation, the most frequent request from existing passengers residing in Sliammon was for Saturday service.

Sliammon currently has only one trip on Saturdays, effectively a one-way trip from the Town Centre Mall back to Sliammon at 10:30 p.m. There is no provision for Sliammon residents to access the City for groceries or other errands during the daytime.

This service option would provide a service extension on Saturdays between Wildwood and Sliammon, on one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon trip. It has the potential to attract additional ridership with a minimal additional service hour investment.

10 http://www.ubcm.ca/EN/main/funding/renewed-gas-tax-agreement.html

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Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 4: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend Saturday service to Sliammon (1 round trip) Service Hours: 20 Passenger Revenue: $400 Annual Ridership: 250 Total Cost: May be cost neutral, if Option #1 Vehicles Required: - above is implemented (depending on detailed Scheduling work Net Local Share of Op. Costs: results)** TBD Net Local Share of Total Costs: TBD TBD Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#5 Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening service to approximately 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday

In response to passenger feedback requesting improvements to evening service Monday through Thursday, this service option would provide hourly service on all routes from 6:40 p.m. to approximately 8:15 p.m., filling in the early-evening gaps in the existing service. It would comprise three additional trips: one on Route 2 Grief Point at 6:40 p.m., one on Route 3 Upper Westview at 7:15 p.m., and one on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood at 7:40 p.m. Regular, early-evening transit service would hereby be provided for employees of the Town Centre Mall complex (including Safeway/Save- On-Foods), students with after-school employment, and people attending early evening recreational activities. This would constitute a short-term, interim step prior to looking at reintroducing full evening service Monday through Thursday up to 11:09 p.m., in order to bring evening service provision back up to pre-September 2012 levels (see Section 6.1.3 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Longer Term, Option #13, “Evening Service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening service to 11:09 p.m. Monday through Thursday”.)

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 5: Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening service to approx. 8:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday Service Hours: 400 Passenger Revenue: $4,500 Annual Ridership: 2,880 Total Cost: $40,600 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $17,100 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $17,200 $18,900 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#6 Route 3 Upper Westview: Extend service to Padgett Rd at Duncan St

Feedback from the operator recommended a minor route extension to better serve the residents of Paradise Valley Mobile Home Park, currently just outside the recommended maximum 400-metre walking distance to transit (Map 5). As mobile home parks tend to be major sources of regular transit ridership, extending service to Duncan and Padgett has the potential to attract additional ridership. This service option would extend service on Route 3 Upper Westview from the airport along Duncan Street to where Padgett Road begins, creating a turnaround at the junction of Duncan and Padgett. This would replace the airport as the turnaround location, with the bus still serving the airport stop but not routing via the airport’s internal road, and as such would require no additional operational funding. The City has indicated that the capital costs for constructing the new turnaround could be covered by existing local gas tax funding.

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Map 5: Route 3 Upper Westview—Proposed Service Extension to Padgett at Duncan

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 6: Route 3 Upper Westview: Extend service to Padgett Rd at Duncan St Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $700 Annual Ridership: 400 Total Cost: TBD (City of Powell River) Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: TBD Net Local Share of Total Costs: TBD $0 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#7 Improve bus stop amenities (i.e. benches, shelters, etc.)

Public engagement revealed that improvements to bus stop amenities, in particular the provision of shelters and benches, were a key theme among existing transit users. In addition to improving customer comfort, bus stop amenities increase the attractiveness, and raise the profile, of transit systems.

There are currently 32 bus stops provided with benches within the Powell River conventional transit system: 11 on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood, 15 on Route 2 Grief Point, and seven on the shorter (and less well used) Route 3 Upper Westview.

61 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

The conventional transit system currently has 18 bus stops that have shelters, in addition to the 32 provided with benches: seven on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood, eight on Route 2 Grief Point, and three on Route 3 Upper Westview.

55% of conventional bus stops are either fully wheelchair accessible, or wheelchair accessible with caution. This ratio could be improved by implementing the bus stop upgrades listed in the City Bus Stop Inventory compiled by the operating company, included in Appendix E. Bus stop accessibility is likely to be a growing issue in future due to the rising average age, and increasing proportion of younger and older seniors, many of whom may have mobility issues, within the local population.

The operating company has recommended that shelters be added at 42 more bus stops, 23 as a matter of high priority due to high stop activity (Table 21 below), and that benches be added at a further eight stops (Table 22):

Table 21: Recommended locations for additional transit shelters (high priority)

Route Stop Location Manson Avenue in front of 5006 Manson Cranberry Street in front of 6801 Cranberry, Cranberry & Manson Hawthorne Street between Maple & Willow By Sliammon Band Office Lois Street at Sutherland 1 Townsite/Wildwood Chilco Street at Lund Arbutus Street near City Motors Hawthorne Street at Maple Manson Avenue at Cassiar Manson Avenue in front of 4983 Manson, at Queens Glacier Street between Franklin & Joyce Nootka Street by apartment building Quadra Street in front of 3885 Quadra, near driveway Oliver Street by driveway of Ceco Manor 2 Grief Point Joyce Avenue at Quesnel Toba Street at Joyce Cariboo Avenue at Thunder Bay Nootka Street at Quadra Marine Avenue in front of antique store Barnet Street Beside Safeway Westview & Kamloops Below Sunset Homes 3 Upper Westview Westview Avenue Viscount Apartments Barnet Street at Safeway

Table 22: Recommended locations for additional benches

Route Stop Location Lois Street in front of 6050 Lois Lois Street Lois & King 1 Townsite/Wildwood Cranberry Street in front of 6888 Cranberry Marlatt Avenue at Cranberry 2 Grief Point, 3 Upper Westview Joyce Avenue across from McDonalds Joyce Avenue in front of 4763 Joyce 3 Upper Westview Joyce Avenue in front of 4454 Joyce - across from Scout Hall Joyce Avenue in front of Coast Realty Group

Costs would vary based on the number and type of improvements implemented. As with Option #3, “Replace outdated bus stop signage” above, UBCM local gas tax funding may be available to cover these; alternatively, funding could be provided through one or a combination of the following:  sponsorship of benches or shelters by local service organizations (e.g. Kiwanis, Rotary Club)

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 Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s Infrastructure Planning Grant Program11  MoTI’s Minor Betterments Fund (Regional Transit Projects, funded through the Provincial Transit Plan – applications made by BC Transit in consultation with local government partners and operating companies)  BC Transit’s Transit Shelter Program12, which uses shelter designs established by BC Transit and offers two shelter purchase options: 1. Accessing provincial funding through participation in the BC Transit capital upgrade program via the City’s Annual Operating Agreement. Provincial cost sharing for shelter purchases through the capital upgrade program follows the standard contribution agreement for capital projects: a local share of 53.3%, with the province contributing the balance. Under this option, the asset is owned 100% by BC Transit. 2. Purchasing directly from one of the approved manufacturers. Under this option, the asset is 100% paid for and owned by the municipality. Typical costs for the types of shelter suitable for Powell River range from $8,100-$15,100 per shelter.

Estimated Capital Costs Option 7: Improve bus stop amenities (i.e. benches, shelters, etc.) Total Cost: TBD based on number and type of shelters Net Local Share of Total Costs: and/or benches selected, funding process/source type, and local labour costs Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#8 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend service to Klahanie Drive

There were 19 requests in the Sliammon door-to-door survey for bus service along Klahanie Drive, an area comprising 66 properties and reported to have a relatively high concentration of residents who are seniors. Introductory service could be provided as an extension to the two Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood weekday trips already serving Sliammon at 10:13 a.m. and 2:33 p.m. as well as to the two proposed Route 1 Saturday trips detailed in Option #4 above, in order to provide access to residents for medical appointments, shopping and other errands in the City.

11 http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/infra/infrastructure_grants/infrastructure_planning_grant.htm 12 http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/corporate-planning

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Map 6: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood—Proposed Service Extension to Klahanie Drive

Proposed Klahanie Dr extension

Existing route

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 8: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Extend service to Klahanie Drive Service Hours: 50 Passenger Revenue: $400 Annual Ridership: 250 Total Cost: $5,100 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $2,300 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $2,300 $2,400 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#9 Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Add earlier weekday morning trip connecting to first ferry departure

Improved transit–ferry connections, particularly a connection to the first ferry departing for Comox, was a theme heard during public engagement. According to BC Ferries data, this ferry trip carries a daily weekday average of 27 foot passengers. There would likely be potential transit users among them. In addition, earlier weekday morning service was the most frequent request from Sliammon survey respondents.

Both of these potential markets would be served by providing an earlier weekday morning trip on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood via Sliammon. This would connect to the first Route 2 Grief Point trip, which routes via the Westview Ferry Terminal in time for the 8:10 a.m. Comox departure.

64 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 9: Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood: Add earlier weekday morning trip connecting to first ferry departure Service Hours: 260 Passenger Revenue: $500 Annual Ridership: 300 Total Cost: $26,400 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $13,500 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $13,600 $12,300 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

6.1.3 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Longer Term (5-10 years from 2015-16)

#10 Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability

If congestion along Joyce Avenue continues to increase, in order to avoid resultant increased operating costs and/or decreased service frequencies, and to maintain on-time performance, it is recommended that Route 2 Grief Point be further restructured (see also Option #2 above). Possibilities include removing the route sections serving Field Street, Franklin Avenue and Glacier Street, and directly serving VIU and Westview Elementary, as well as the detour into the Quality Foods parking lot, where safety is a concern due to the potential for impacts with other vehicles. Relocating the discontinued bus stops in these areas onto Joyce Avenue would mitigate any impact to customers of increased walk distances to stops.

There are also safety concerns regarding the bus stops on Marine Avenue between Joyce Avenue and Oliver Street, due the single lane roadway and narrow road width: following vehicles tend to attempt, with very limited sightlines, to pass transit vehicles stopped at bus stops (see also Section 4.4.3 Bus Stops). This option could therefore also entail, based on accompanying bus stop activity monitoring results, removing the one-way route section along Marine Avenue and Oliver Street, replacing it with bidirectional service along Joyce.

From a wider perspective, this option would address not only the above-mentioned service reliability and safety concerns, but also public and operator feedback requesting faster, more direct service. This would make the transit system more attractive and a more competitive alternative to the automobile. As such, this option is strongly recommended as a long-term strategy for increasing ridership in general, and transit commuting mode share in particular.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 10: Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

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Estimated Capital Costs Option 10: Route 2 Grief Point: Restructure route to maintain on-time performance and schedule reliability Total Cost: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Costs:

#11 Route 3 Upper Westview: Restructure route to match service hours with ridership

If ridership levels on Route 3 Upper Westview continue to remain flat, it is recommended that the route segment on Joyce Ave west of the Town Centre Mall be removed (Map 7). Ridership counts from February–March 2014 indicate that Route 3 passengers accessing this segment average only one passenger per trip. By “interlining” Route 3 with Route 2 Grief Point (Route 3 vehicle arriving at the transit exchange becoming a Route 2), there would be no noticeable difference for passengers. This option would also serve to bring Route 3’s annual service hour allocation more in line with the ridership it generates, and the time savings from this route rationalization could be reinvested in Route 2 and/or Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood. By reinvesting these rationalized service hours into Route 2 Grief Point, Route 3 passengers would actually see an increase in frequency along this segment compared to what exists today.

Map 7: Route 3 Upper Westview—Proposed Route Restructure

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Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 11: Route 3 Upper Westview: Restructure route to match service hours with ridership Service Hours: -350 Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: -$35,500 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: -$18,900 Net Local Share of Total Costs: -$18,900 -$16,600 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

Estimated Capital Costs Option 11: Route 3 Upper Westview: Restructure route to match service hours with ridership Total Cost: $320 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $171 $149 Provincial Share of Costs:

#12 Route 3 Upper Westview: Reduce frequency to match service hours with ridership

If ridership and productivity on Route 3 Upper Westview remain low, strong consideration should be given to reducing its frequency somewhat in order to be able to increase frequency, at no or minimal additional cost, on the more productive Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood and Route 2 Grief Point. Any minor resultant net gain in annual service hours would be finalized should this option be approved and proceed to the detailed scheduling stage.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 12: Route 3 Upper Westview: Reduce frequency to match service hours with ridership Service Hours: -410 Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: -$41,600 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: -$22,100 Net Local Share of Total Costs: -$22,200 -$19,400 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

#13 Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening service to 11:09 p.m. Monday through Thursday

In response to passenger feedback requesting improvements to evening service Monday through Thursday, this service option would provide hourly service on all routes from 6:40 p.m. to 11:09 p.m., filling in the gaps in the existing service and bringing service provision back up to Friday–Saturday evening service levels, i.e. to levels pre-September 2012. It would comprise four trips in addition to those specified under Option #5 above: two on Route 2 Grief Point at 8:40 p.m. and 9:40 p.m., one on Route 3 Upper Westview at 9:15 p.m., and one on Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood at 10:10 p.m. Regular transit service would hereby be provided for employees of the Town Centre Mall complex (including Safeway/Save-On-Foods), students with evening employment, and people attending evening recreational activities.

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Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 13: Evening service: Maintain a second vehicle in evening service to 11:09 p.m. Monday through Thursday Service Hours: 1,000 Passenger Revenue: $11,200 Annual Ridership: 7,200 Total Cost: $101,300 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $42,800 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $42,800 Provincial Share of Total Costs: $47,300

6.1.4 City Fixed-Route Service Change Options: Other Considerations

#14 Review bus fleet, investigate possibilities of replacing conventional vehicles with smaller vehicles

Key stakeholder and online survey feedback expressed interest in smaller vehicles being used. It is worth noting here that public perception tends to equate smaller vehicles with reduced costs. While it is true that BC Transit’s medium- and light-duty (30’-35’ and 21’-26’) vehicles entail lower annual lease fees and a reduction in fuel costs, the bulk of operating expenses comprise driver wages. Additionally, the online respondents requesting this classified themselves as infrequent transit customers, and as such may not witness the system operating with its full seated or full standing loads at peak travel times.

Analysis of existing ridership at peak travel times has indicated that of Powell River’s four in-service conventional (40’ Nova) vehicles, one could be replaced with a light-duty vehicle without causing passenger capacity issues or pass-ups during the travel peaks. While the conventional vehicle fleet is only eight years old and not due for replacement until 2026, it may be possible to swap a vehicle with one from another BC Transit system. However, if Option # 15, “Explore feasibility of assuming school bussing responsibilities from School District 47” below is implemented, this option will not be feasible. In addition, it should be noted that adding a vehicle of a different type to an existing fleet incurs additional costs due to the need to stock different parts, tools, and potentially a different type of hoist, which in the short term can effectively cancel out any savings realized from reduced fuel costs and lease fees.

The estimated comparative annual lease fee and CO2 emissions savings for a light-duty vehicle as opposed to a heavy-duty vehicle are shown in the two tables below:

Estimated Average Annual CO2 Emissions (T/yr) 40’ heavy-duty vehicle Light-duty vehicle @ average distance (e.g. NOVA) (e.g. ARBOC) travelled of 35,000km/yr 5,198 1,701

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Estimated Capital Costs Option 14: Review bus fleet, investigate possibilities of replacing conventional vehicles with smaller vehicles Total Cost: -$15,200 ** Net Local Share of Total Costs: -$8,100 ** Provincial Share of Total Costs: -$7,100 ** **Initial high-level estimates only -- subject to results of detailed review of maximum peak passenger loads and resultant fleet capacity requirements

#15 Explore feasibility of assuming school bussing responsibilities from School District 47

School District 47 is reportedly considering eliminating, for September 2015, a number of school bus runs that may involve the transport of up to 750 students per day when schools are in session.

BC Transit will be receiving further details on passenger numbers and pick-up and drop-off locations and times from the School District in order to be able to conduct a full impact assessment.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 15: Explore feasibility of assuming school bussing responsibilities from School District 47 Estimated additional service hours and vehicles required, ridership and revenue generated, and total, net local share and provincial share of costs to be determined based on student location information provided by SD47. Full Impact Assessment Report due for release by end of February 2015.

#16 Introduce evening service on Sundays until 9:00 p.m.

The lack of Sunday evening service provision was mentioned by a few attendees at BC Transit’s Open Houses during Phase 2 Public Engagement.

Sunday ridership levels in general, and Sunday evening ridership levels in particular, tend to be minimal in smaller transit systems with local populations of under 100,000, such as Powell River’s conventional system. However, Sunday evening service provision would be the next logical development for the Powell River Regional Transit System, should full Monday–Thursday evening service provision be implemented.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 16: Introduce evening service on Sundays until 9:00 p.m. Service Hours: 210 Passenger Revenue: $1,300 Annual Ridership: 250 Total Cost: $21,300 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $10,000 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $10,100 $9,900 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

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#17 Route 3 Upper Westview: Routing extension to Recreation Complex doors (alternating trips only, Monday through Sunday)

Out of 274 respondents to the on-board passenger survey and 258 to the online survey in Phase One Public Engagement, only four respondents (0.7%) requested service directly to the Recreation Complex. Likewise, out of 130 Open House attendees in Phase Two Public Engagement, only three attendees (2%) supported adding this service.

There is existing bus service on Route 2 Grief Point and Route 3 Upper Westview that serves a bus stop located 60 metres from the pedestrian walkway linking Joyce Avenue with the Complex. Serving the Complex directly, however, would require an extra six minutes per trip at minimum, due to distance, and speed restrictions.

Direct service to the Complex was introduced in October 1998 on a limited basis (seven trips per day). It was removed again three years later due to lack of ridership. Given the absence of public demand during this review’s engagement process, reinstituting this service will very likely have the same result.

In addition, feedback from existing passengers indicated strong desire for increased trip directness – this was also cited by many current non-users regarding factors likely to encourage them to start taking transit. A common characteristic of effective, efficient, and successful transit systems is that their routes are as direct as possible, in order to minimize travel time, be able to compete with the private automobile, and attract ridership. The extra running time required for the Complex would result in increased service inefficiencies, as well as increased costs, and deter both new and existing ridership. It would cause service frequency reductions elsewhere in the system (for example, 60- minute frequency decreasing to 75-minute frequency), which would also negatively affect ridership. It is very unlikely that these ridership losses would be recouped by providing service to the Complex.

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Map 8: Recreation Complex Area

Recreation Complex

Existing bus stop

Pedestrian walkway (200m: average walk time 2½ mins)

A remediation would be to relocate the existing bus stop to where the pedestrian walkway starts, where there is already a curb pullout suitable for a bus stop. Another solution that the City could pursue would be to improve pedestrian access to the Recreation Complex by upgrading the walkway for people with mobility difficulties. These would involve one-time capital costs, rather than continuous operating costs.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 17: Route 3 Upper Westview: Routing extension to Recreation Complex doors (alternating trips only, Monday through Sunday) Service Hours: 240 Passenger Revenue: $200 Annual Ridership: 140 Total Cost: $24,400 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $12,800 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $12,900 $11,300 Provincial Share of Total Costs:

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6.2 Custom Transit Service Change Options

6.2.1 Custom Transit Service Change Options: Short Term (2015-2016)

#1 Educate customers about BC Transit’s new No Show and Late Cancellation Policy

Generally, the proportion of a community’s population that is aged 65 years or older is an indicator of potential demand for handyDART services in the future. The 2011 Powell River municipal seniors’ population was 3,130, 24% of the total population. As a result of the aging of the baby boomer generation, the number of residents aged 65 years or older is expected to increase by 70% by the year 2041. Therefore, meeting the transit needs of seniors in the future is going to be vital to the continued success of the Powell River Regional Transit System.

Powell River’s current custom transit service levels are comparable to those in peer systems across B.C. In light of the issue with customer no shows and late cancellations, to maximize service availability customers should be educated on BC Transit’s new No Show and Late Cancellation Policy (Section 4.4.1 above). Encouraging handyDART drivers to distribute the handyDART Policy Change Information tear-off sheets (see also Figure 11, Section 4.4.1), and dispatchers to notify customers of their late cancellations or no-shows and any service restrictions resulting from this, will over time minimize service losses and provide more service times, which will lead to improved customer satisfaction with the service, as well as increases in efficiency, productivity, revenue, and cost recovery. BC Transit is available to assist the operating company with the implementation of this new Policy.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 1: Educate customers about BC Transit's new No Show and Late Cancellation Policy Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Costs:

#2 Encourage custom transit registrants to use the conventional transit system where possible

Given the high demand for custom transit and the low-floor, accessible characteristics of the full fixed- route vehicle fleet, the City, the operator, and BC Transit should pursue opportunities to encourage existing handyDART users with the ability to use conventional transit to migrate to the conventional transit system, by providing education and outreach on how to use this service. Seniors and persons with a disability are notably under-served by the conventional system at present and should be considered as potential growth markets.

A suggestion would be to connect with local community agencies or seniors’ groups to present options for transit travel training. There are many community groups in other locations around the province that do this regularly in order to promote travel independence for their members13.

Another option would be for the conventional and custom operating companies, working together, to provide a conventional bus for scheduled outreach sessions at seniors’ residences and other major

13 An example from Trail Transit and the West Kootenay Brain Injury Association is available at http://youtu.be/h8gTWOFIAUA

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generators of custom transit ridership (Section 4.4.2). This has proven to be extremely helpful in increasing seniors’ confidence in using conventional transit, in that they have the opportunity to learn and practice how to take their mobility aides (scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) on and off the bus at their own pace, without a bus full of people watching them. BC Transit provides stickers for riders to put on their mobility aids to show that they have completed the “training” and that the mobility aid is bus-friendly. (It should be noted that the conventional operating company already has a thirty-year history of conducting travel training on a by-request basis for physically- or cognitively-impaired individuals, whether for travel from their homes or for travel from various local organizations, including Brooks Secondary School, Olive Devaud Residence, and the Cranberry Seniors’ Centre.)

One particular method of providing travel training is through operating local “Holiday Lights Tours”. “Soft” marketing strategies such as this have been well received in communities that have done this, and have proven to be especially effective in providing travel training for conventional transit and enabling transitioning from handyDART. Again, BC Transit can provide guidance on how to implement this, if needed.

BC Transit also produces a handout (shown here at left) that summarizes the transit options and procedures for using the handyDART service. Updated in 2014, this leaflet provides information on the handyDART system as well as on the conventional system and is available on BC Transit’s website14.

By encouraging existing handyDART riders to use the conventional system, the benefits would include reduced over-demand on the existing handyDART system, increased ridership on the conventional system, especially during the off-peak midday period, and increased revenue.

Additionally, BC Transit is currently completing a pilot project to improve the registration method for handyDART by making it a more interactive process, in order to better assess each new applicant’s individual abilities and transit needs, whether for custom or conventional transit. This revised process could also potentially steer existing handyDART customers, where appropriate, towards use the conventional system. Once the pilot project has concluded (February 2015), BC Transit will share the results with City and operating company staff.

Lastly, BC Transit will continue to work with the custom operating company to ensure sufficient training for office staff, so that handyDART application forms can be processed appropriately and, where indicated, a handyDART Medical Verification Form15 be completed by a qualified healthcare or social services practitioner in support of an individual application, as per BC Transit Policy.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 2: Encourage custom transit registrants to use the conventional transit system where possible Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $2,100 Annual Ridership: 2,000 Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Costs:

14 http://bctransit.com/powell-river/riderinfo/handydart/register 15 http://bctransit.com/powell-river/riderinfo/handydart/register

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6.2.2 Custom Transit Service Change Options: Longer Term (5-10 years from 2015-16)

#3 Add a third handyDART vehicle and operating hours

Notwithstanding the interim remediation measures noted above, as Powell River’s population continues to age, demand for handyDART service will continue to increase. At some point in the future, an additional vehicle and operating hours will need to be added to the service in order to meet this increased demand. This would bring the combined custom and paratransit fleet up to four in- service vehicles in total, and as such would incur additional vehicle costs over and above the in- service vehicle needed for this option owing to BC Transit’s Fleet Department policy, which requires a ratio of two spare vehicles for a fleet size of between four to eight in-service vehicles.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 3: Add a third handyDART vehicle + operating hours Service Hours: 2,000 Passenger Revenue: $4,600 Annual Ridership: 4,400 Total Cost: $227,300 Vehicles Required: 2 Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $46,700 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $93,900 $128,800 Provincial Share of Costs:

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6.3 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options

6.3.1 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Short Term (2015-2016)

#1 Audit schedules to ensure consistent trip running times

It is recommended that BC Transit’s Scheduling Department verify the paratransit schedules on-site, in order to confirm all running times and correct any minor schedule inconsistencies as necessary. This can be done in parallel with on-site route timings for Option #3, Option #5, and Option #7 proposed below.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 1: Audit schedules to ensure consistent trip running times Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Costs:

#2 Route 14 Lund: Relocate Highway 101/Southview Rd southbound bus stop

Significant safety concerns have been cited by the paratransit driver for the existing southbound (inbound) bus stop located at Highway 101 and Southview Rd on Route 14 Lund. The stop has poor sightlines which creates difficulties pulling back into traffic, especially after dark. This has safety impacts not only for the driver and transit customers, but for all other road users in the area.

Photo 1: Existing bus stop location, Highway 101 at Southview (looking north)

Existing bus stop pole

Existing pull-in area (driveway) Road contour

The driver has recommended that this stop be relocated slightly further north, at Highway 101 on the far side of Sturt Rd, which has better sightlines (Photo 2 below) and has been approved by BC Transit’s Safety & Training Department.

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Photo 2: Proposed new bus stop location, Highway 101 at Sturt Rd (looking north)

The proposed new location is 300 metres north of Southview Rd which could impact existing passengers. However, ridership counts indicate that the existing stop is used on average by two passengers per week, and passenger and driver safety is a primary concern.

As a result of BC Transit’s Transit Minor Betterment Funding request to MoTI, the Ministry will be widening and paving the existing pullout area at Sturt Rd, relocating the bus stop, and providing 100% of the funding for this.

Estimated Capital Costs Option 2: Route 14 Lund: Relocate Highway 101/Southview Rd southbound bus stop Total Cost: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 $0 Provincial Share of Costs:

#3 Route 14 Lund: Adjust City routing in Townsite and Cranberry areas (zero ridership demand – duplication of City Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood)

In the Cranberry and Townsite areas, the Lund route duplicates the City’s Route 1 Townsite/Wildwood. As there are no passengers using these sections of the route, the following changes are recommended to improve efficiency and trip directness:  First outbound morning trip: route directly along Manson then left on Cranberry (instead of right on Church, left on Marlatt, left on Cranberry)  All outbound trips: from Hawthorne route directly along Marine to Arbutus (instead of via Maple, Sycamore, and Ash)  All inbound trips: from Arbutus and Marine, route directly along Marine all the way to Alberni (instead of via Ash, Sycamore, Maple and Hawthorne).

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Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 3: Route 14 Lund: Adjust City routing inTownsite and Cranberry areas (zero ridership demand -- duplication of City Route 1) Service Hours: - Passenger Revenue: $0 Annual Ridership: - Total Cost: $0 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $0 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $0 Provincial Share of Costs: $0

#4 Replace outdated bus stop signage

Updating the paratransit system’s bus stop signage would improve the look of the transit system, make it more attractive to existing and potential future customers, and, as the fare information displayed is out of date, also ensure correct fare payment. This in turn would reduce fare disputes and increase the amount of revenue submitted to the Regional District. This is expected to recoup the local costs of sign replacement over the short term.

Photo 3: New (L) and Old (R) Bus Stop Signage

When the signage is replaced, it is recommended that the outbound Lang Bay bus stop on Route 12 Stillwater be relocated to the Lang Bay Store. The current outbound stop location is unsafe as there is no provision to pull off the highway; as a result, it is the accepted practice for customers to be dropped off outside the Lang Bay Store, where there is a pull-in.

Estimated Capital Costs Option 4: Replace outdated bus stop signage Total Cost*: $1,000 Net Local Share of Total Costs*: $400 Provincial Share of Costs: $600 * Costs shown do not include local labour costs for signage replacement.

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6.3.2 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Medium Term (2015-16 to 5 years from now)

#5 Route 12 Stillwater: Relocate Zilinsky Rd bus stop

As there is not enough space to safely accommodate the paratransit vehicle’s turning radius on Zilinsky Rd at Kelly Creek Rd, the accepted practice is to use Zilinsky Rd at Nassichuk Rd as the turnaround location, where there is a mailbox area and which is also where passengers wait to be picked up. As such, it is recommended that the bus stop pole and sign be moved to the Nassichuk Rd location.

Estimated Capital Costs Option 5: Route 12 Stillwater: Relocate Zilinsky Rd bus stop Total Cost: dependent on local labour costs Net Local Share of Total Costs: 100% - Provincial Share of Costs:

#6 Improve bus stop amenities (shelter and bench additions)

Based on driver and customer feedback and on-site evaluations, in order to improve customer safety and satisfaction and increase the attractiveness of the transit system (especially given the aging area demographic), it is recommended that bus shelters and benches be installed at all inbound stops along rural highways on the Powell River mainland. This would involve the following stop locations: Route 12 Stillwater Route 14 Lund  opposite Lang Bay Store (northbound)  Highway 101 at Malaspina Rd (southbound)  opposite Black Point Store (northbound)  Highway 101 at Craig Rd (southbound)  Highway 101 at Sturt Rd (new southbound location)  Highway 101 at Sliammon (southbound)

Installing shelters at the following locations would also help to improve customer satisfaction and increase the attractiveness of transit: Route 12 Stillwater Route 14 Lund  Scotch Fir Point Rd at Roberts Rd  Lund  Zilinsky Rd and Nassichuk Rd (new location)

Costs would vary based on the number and type of improvements implemented. UBCM local gas tax funding may be available to cover these; alternatively, funding could be provided through one or a combination of the following:  sponsorship of benches or shelters by local service organizations (e.g. Kiwanis, Rotary Club)  Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s Infrastructure Planning Grant Program16  MoTI’s Minor Betterments Fund (Regional Transit Projects, funded through the Provincial Transit Plan – applications made by BC Transit in consultation with local government partners and operating companies)  BC Transit’s Transit Shelter Program17, which uses shelter designs established by BC Transit and offers two shelter purchase options: 1. Accessing provincial funding through participation in the BC Transit capital upgrade program via the City’s Annual Operating Agreement. Provincial cost sharing for shelter purchases through the capital upgrade program follows the standard

16 http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/infra/infrastructure_grants/infrastructure_planning_grant.htm 17 http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/corporate-planning

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contribution agreement for capital projects: a local share of 53.3%, with the province contributing the balance. Under this option, the asset is owned 100% by BC Transit. 2. Purchasing directly from one of the approved manufacturers. Under this option, the asset is 100% paid for and owned by the municipality. Typical costs for the types of shelter suitable for Powell River range from $8,100-$15,100 per shelter.

Estimated Capital Costs Option 6: Improve bus stop amenities (shelter and bench additions) Total Cost: dependent on local labour costs Net Local Share of Total Costs: 100% - Provincial Share of Costs:

#7 Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce two additional trips at commuter times

More service to Stillwater in general was a fairly common theme heard during public engagement, in particular earlier and later service.

The proposal below is based on providing an extra two trips Monday through Friday (in addition to the three existing trips per day operating Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday). It would comprise one early morning trip, reaching Roberts Rd and Scotch Fir Point Rd for 7:10 a.m. and arriving back at the Town Centre Mall for 7:45 a.m., and one early evening trip, departing the Town Centre Mall at 5:00 p.m. and reaching Scotch Fir Point Rd for 5:30 p.m. This service would route via Joyce Avenue and Highway 101 rather than Padgett Road, in order to serve Vancouver Island University, and would not serve Saltery Bay initially. It would serve Westview Ferry Terminal on request, meeting the first ferry departure to Comox. The service would use one of the existing handyDART vehicles outside of handyDART operating hours, in order to save on the lease fee costs of an additional vehicle.

In consultation with the operator and the Regional District, additional bus stops should be constructed at strategic locations on Highway 101 between Maris Road and Cariboo Avenue. If these stops show consistent ridership activity over the first 12 months of service, consideration should be given to re- routing Route 12’s non-commuter trips along the highway instead of Padgett Road, bearing in mind however that the commuter market and regular paratransit market are different.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 7: Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce two additional trips at commuter times Service Hours: 500 Passenger Revenue: $5,300 Annual Ridership: 2,900 Total Cost: $29,900 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $7,600 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $10,700 $13,900 Provincial Share of Costs:

Estimated Capital Costs Option 7: Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce two additional trips at commuter times Total Cost*: $120 Net Local Share of Total Costs*: $100 Provincial Share of Costs: $100 * Cost for signage -- does not include local labour costs for signage replacement.

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#8 Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce Saturday service

Customer feedback and ridership analysis indicate that there may be sufficient demand to introduce Saturday service on Route 12 Stillwater in the future. It is recommended that this be considered as a further service enhancement for Route 12 once commuter service is implemented and uptake analysis conducted, as these commuter trips will likely also attract non-commuters, who may want to access Saturday service as well.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 8: Route 12 Stillwater: Introduce Saturday service Service Hours: 200 Passenger Revenue: $2,100 Annual Ridership: 1,100 Total Cost: $11,700 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $3,000 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $4,100 $5,500 Provincial Share of Costs:

#9 Introduce charter evening service for special events (based on 2 hours of service per week)

There was a small amount of customer feedback requesting evening service on the Powell River mainland routes, in particular for Route 12 Stillwater. Evening service is relatively costly to operate on a regular basis due to low ridership, productivity and revenue. However, one option would be to make evening service available on a “charter” basis for groups wanting to attend special events in the City. This could be offered using the existing paratransit vehicle, but would be costly: the (minimum two- hour) interval in town between inbound and outbound trips to allow customers to attend a hockey game, movie etc., as well as the initial/final “deadhead” trips to/from Stillwater, would be paid platform time for the operator18. If arrangements could be made with the local taxi company, a more cost- effective alternative would be to provide scheduled group trips operated through the taxi service, as this would require an approximate total of one hour of paid driver time at the metered rate. Passengers would pay the standard transit fare, covering a portion of the costs, with the remaining portion cost- shared between the Regional District and BC Transit. Estimated costs for this type of service, based on four evenings of service per month carrying three passengers per evening, are shown below.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 9: Introduce charter evening service for special events (based on 2 hours of service per week) Service Hours: 100 Passenger Revenue: $900 Annual Ridership: 500 Total Cost: $5,900 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $1,600 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $2,300 $2,700 Provincial Share of Costs:

#10 Route 14 Lund: Introduce three more service days per week (Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays) July through August

Driver and public feedback, discussions with local elected officials and ridership analysis suggest that there may be a market for increased service to Lund during the summer months. As well as helping to promote the transit system to potential new customers, it would also help to reduce parking congestion in peak tourist season in Lund, which is of local concern due to limited parking availability. Introducing

18 “Platform time” includes revenue service hours, “layover” hours, and deadhead time.

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service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays19 during the summer months, in addition to the year- round service available on Tuesdays and Fridays, would maximize potential ridership and revenue gains and also likely introduce the paratransit system to a new market. If successful, this would provide a potential ridership base should additional year-round service on this route be considered for the longer term.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 10: Route 14 Lund: Introduce three more service days per week (Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays) July through August Service Hours: 100 Passenger Revenue: $900 Annual Ridership: 500 Total Cost: $4,700 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $1,100 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $1,600 $2,200 Provincial Share of Costs:

#11 Route 12 Stillwater: Create bidirectional routing in Stillwater-area loop

In the Stillwater area, Route 12 routes in a counterclockwise direction only along Loubert Rd, Scotch Fir Point Rd and Roberts Rd. This means that if Saltery Bay is being served by request, when the bus is returning to the City it travels north on the highway between Roberts and Loubert, does the Loubert– Scotch Fir Point–Roberts loop, then repeats the two-kilometre highway section between Roberts and Loubert back to the City. As suggested by the operator, birectional routing along Roberts, Scotch Fir Point and Loubert would improve efficiency and trip directness. However, there would be capital costs for installing an inbound bus stop on Scotch Fir Point at Roberts. As there is a culvert running along that side of the road that would require infilling, these could be considerable. Given the currently occasional nature of requests for Saltery Bay service, changing the existing routing pattern may not prove cost-effective, at least over the short and medium term.

19 Saturday service is proposed rather than service on Thursdays, to avoid needing to purchase an extra vehicle and thus minimize additional costs. This is contingent on the implementation of Saturday service for Route 12 Stillwater.

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Photo 4: Existing bus stop, Scotch Fir Point Rd Photo 5: Culvert on opposite side of Scotch at Roberts Rd Fir Point Rd at Roberts Rd

Estimated Capital Costs Option 11: Route 12 Stillwater: Create bidirectional routing in Stillwater-area loop* Total Cost**: $40 Net Local Share of Total Costs**: $20 Provincial Share of Costs: $20 * Roberts Rd, Scotch Fir Point Rd, and Loubert Rd

** Costs shown do not include local labour costs for culvert infilling and bus stop pole placement.

6.3.3 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Long Term (5-10 years from 2015-16)

#12 Route 14 Lund: Introduce one more service day per week (year round – from existing 2 days per week)

Based on ridership analysis, customer and local resident feedback, and on-site observations, there appears to be limited demand at this time for providing additional year-round service on Route 14 Lund. It is recommended that this service change option be revisited if ridership levels on the existing service increase, and that ridership data be reviewed in particular should additional summer service be introduced for this route.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 12: Route 14 Lund: Introduce one more service day per week (year round -- from existing 2 days per week) Service Hours: 200 Passenger Revenue: $500 Annual Ridership: 300 Total Cost: $8,800 Vehicles Required: - Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $3,300 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $4,200 $4,100 Provincial Share of Costs:

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#13 Route 13 Texada: Introduce one more service day per week (from existing 1 day per week)

Among options discussed by 50 Texada residents during community consultation sponsored by the Texada Island Chamber of Commerce, this option was ranked as residents’ second-lowest priority (Appendix I). It was also ranked as the second lowest out of 14 options under the Regional Transportation Plan’s transit option evaluation scores (Appendix G), when ranked by public score.

Based on these results, plus current ridership analysis, customer and local resident feedback, and on- site observations, projected demand for additional service on Route 13 Texada is insufficient at this time to warrant implementation.

If at some point in the future additional service day were to be added, for maximum ridership potential a second weekday should be selected to enable access to medical and business appointments, rather than a weekend day. As the existing vehicle is already occupied operating the Stillwater and Lund routes on the other weekdays—and would also be occupied Saturdays if Option #8 and Option #10 above were implemented—this service change option would require the procurement of an additional vehicle, with the associated costs. This would bring the combined custom and paratransit in-service fleet up to four vehicles in total, and as such would incur additional vehicle costs over and above the in-service vehicle needed for this option due to BC Transit’s fleet guidelines, which require a ratio of two spare vehicles for an in-service fleet size of between four to eight vehicles.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 13: Route 13 Texada: Introduce one more service day per week (from existing 1 day per week) Service Hours: 400 Passenger Revenue: $1,000 Annual Ridership: 500 Total Cost: $136,500 Vehicles Required: 2 Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $11,000 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $60,900 Provincial Share of Costs: $74,600

6.3.4 Rural Paratransit Service Change Options: Other Considerations

#14 Improve transit connections with ferry services

There was a small amount of stakeholder and public feedback requesting improved transit connections with BC Ferries service. Matching transit service to ferry service can prove extremely difficult, due to seasonal ferry schedule changes, plus the need to be at the ferry terminal both to drop off departing passengers and 15-20 minutes later to pick up returning passengers, as well as potential ferry delays.

The ferry schedules for Powell River are a case in point (Table 23 and Table 24 below):

Table 23: Powell River–Comox Ferry Schedule (four seasonal schedule changes annually) Effective October 1, 2014--March 31, 2015 Leave Powell River Leave Comox 8:10 a.m. Daily except Dec 25 and Jan 1 6:30 a.m. Daily except Dec 25 and Jan 1 11:50 a.m. Daily except Dec 25 and Jan 1 10:00 a.m. Daily 5:15 p.m. Mon-Tue, Thur-Fri, Sun and Dec 27 only 3:15 p.m. Mon-Tue, Thur-Fri, Sun and Dec 27 only 8:45 p.m. Daily 6:50 p.m. Wed and Sat only excluding Dec 27 7:15 p.m. Mon-Tue, Thur-Fri, Sun and Dec 27 only

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Table 24: Saltery Bay–Earl’s Cove Ferry Schedule (seven seasonal schedule changes annually) Effective October 14, 2014--December 20, 2014 Leave Saltery Bay Leave Earl's Cove 5:35 a.m. Daily except Sun 6:30 a.m. Daily except Sun 6:00 a.m. Sun only 7:00 a.m. Sun only 7:25 a.m. Daily except Sun 8:25 a.m. Daily except Sun 8:00 a.m. Sun only 9:00 a.m. Sun only 9:25 a.m. Daily except Sun 10:25 a.m. Daily except Sun 9:55 a.m. Sun only 10:55 a.m. Sun only 11:20 a.m. Daily except Sun 12:20 p.m.Daily except Sun and Oct 29-31 and Nov 1 3:25 p.m. Daily 12:50 p.m.Oct 29-31 and Nov 1 only 5:30 p.m. Daily 4:30 p.m. Daily 9:00 p.m. Daily 6:30 p.m. Daily 10:05 p.m.Daily except Oct 29-31 and Nov 1 10:55 p.m.Oct 29-31 and Nov 1 only

Given the limited provision of paratransit service as well as the changing nature of the ferry schedules, and based on travel demand analysis and existing ridership data analysis, this service change option is not recommended.

#15 Introduce Texada Island-wide (internal) transit service for all residents

Support for Texada on-island service was documented in the Texada Transportation Consultation Report (May 2014), which was sponsored by the Texada Island Chamber of Commerce (CoC). It was listed as the highest priority (score: 9.5) among options discussed by 50 Texada residents during community consultation.

In terms of details, according to the Texada CoC’s report each meeting showed strong support “for tax-supported island-wide transit (possibly via 15-passenger van) operated by a Texada business or community organization in partnership with the PRRD”. However, the PRRD has identified this as being problematic, since the Local Government Act contains language regarding prohibition against assistance to businesses. Specifically, a “Board must not provide assistance to an industrial, commercial, or business undertaking”20.

In addition, this option was ranked as the lowest out of 14 options under the Regional Transportation Plan’s transit option evaluation scores (Appendix G), when ranked by public score.

Experience has shown that, as per the Texada CoC’s report, introducing public transit on islands with low population densities does indeed work best when organized as a grassroots initiative. Following this model, Gabriola Island initiated its own on-island service beginning in June 2013. The service is called GERTIE (Gabriola Environmentally Responsible Trans-Island Express), and has been fairly popular to date. Further details are available at www.gertie.ca.

As a comparison, Gabriola has a population of 4,045 (2011 census figures) and an area of 57.6 km2, for a density of 70 residents/km2. Texada’s population of 1,050 (2011 census) is spread over 300 km2, for a density of 3.5 residents/km2.

The successful Salt Spring Island transit service started off as a private enterprise, and showed five consecutive years of extremely high ridership and productivity prior to BC Transit becoming a funding partner and it becoming a public service. Salt Spring Island’s population density is 178 residents/ km2.

20 as provided by the Powell River Regional District

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#16 Route 14 Lund: Introduce daily weekday service (year round)

As with Option #12 above, the limited demand shown through ridership analysis, customer and local resident feedback, and on-site observations for additional service on this route indicates that this option would not be advisable until such time as ridership on the existing Lund service, including on any service additions implemented as a result of this Service Review, has shown significant increases in productivity. This option would require the purchase of an additional vehicle and entail the associated costs for this. As with Option #13 above, this would bring the combined custom and paratransit in-service fleet up to four vehicles in total, and as such would incur additional vehicle costs over and above the in-service vehicle needed for this option due to BC Transit’s fleet guidelines, which require a ratio of two spare vehicles for an in-service fleet size of between four to eight vehicles.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 16: Route 14 Lund: Introduce daily weekday service (year round) Service Hours: 500 Passenger Revenue: $300 Annual Ridership: 200 Total Cost: $140,000 Vehicles Required: 2 Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $13,200 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $63,500 $76,200 Provincial Share of Costs:

#17 Route 14 Lund: Improve transit service connections with the Lund Water Taxi

The Lund Water Taxi, providing service between Lund and Savary Island, operates hourly service in July and August, but service September through June operates weekdays only on the following schedule: Depart Lund: 7:40 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Depart Savary: 8:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Arrive Lund: 8:30 a.m. 4:50 p.m. With the existing paratransit schedule, the bus departs Lund in the mornings at 11:05 a.m., and arrives in Lund at 4:47 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, thus missing connections with the water taxi. The schedule times are based on the one paratransit vehicle being shared between the Lund and Stillwater routes on these days. Changing the transit schedule for Lund would involve major schedule changes for existing customers on Route 12 Stillwater, which currently generates the highest ridership, as well as on Route 14 Lund, and would result in significant ridership losses. Based on public feedback and travel demand analysis, this option would not generate enough new ridership to recoup such losses, and therefore is not recommended.

#18 Introduce full rural handyDART service, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays

There have been one or two queries from residents of rural areas enquiring as to the availability of door-to-door handyDART service in rural areas. With the general ageing of the local population, this is likely to become a more common theme in the future.

The purpose of the existing rural paratransit service is to provide not only fixed-route service on pre- defined schedules, but also door-to-door service, with extra time built into the existing paratransit schedule in order to provide for this, yet still be able to adhere for the most part to a schedule. The door-to-door pick-up/drop-off boundaries are limited to within 1.5 kilometers from the fixed-route system, as is the case in other transit systems across BC21, and up to two five-minute off-route

21Also as legislated in the United States under the Americans With Disabilities Act

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deviations for pick-ups/drop-offs are allowed per trip. This ensures that following trips are still able to meet on-time performance standards.

The introduction of full rural handyDART service is not advised, due to projected high costs, low productivity, and minimal return on investment.

Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 18: Introduce full rural handyDART service, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays Service Hours: 700 Passenger Revenue: $800 Annual Ridership: 400 Total Cost: $153,500 Vehicles Required: 2 Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $18,500 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $70,200 $82,500 Provincial Share of Costs:

#19 Introduce service linking Powell River to Vancouver

Encouraging the creation of a viable regional transit system with improved connectivity to Powell River, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island is listed as a Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Policy in Area D’s OCP.

Such service would be entirely dependent on the ferry schedules for Saltery Bay–Earl’s Cove and Langdale–Horseshoe Bay, which are not designed to connect, as well as the transit schedules of the Sunshine Coast Transit System and Translink. At this time, providing service allowing passengers to spend, for example, two hours in downtown Vancouver would require a 17-hour round trip, departing downtown Powell River at 6:40 a.m. and returning at 11:25 p.m. As an example, the outbound journey would entail a vehicle travelling from Powell River via the Saltery Bay–Earl’s Cove ferry to Halfmoon Bay, waiting for Sunshine Coast Transit’s Route 4 between Halfmoon Bay and Sechelt and then Route 1 between Sechelt and Langdale, transferring to the Langdale/Horseshoe Bay ferry, and finally transferring to Translink’s Route 257 between Horseshoe Bay and downtown Vancouver.

The Sunshine Coast Transit System envisions in its Transit Future Plan extending service from Halfmoon Bay north to Pender Harbour/Madeira Park. This could happen within the next few years, and would reduce the time and distance a vehicle from Powell River would need to travel before connecting up with the Sunshine Coast Transit System. However, this would most likely not reduce travel time but rather increase it, since the Pender Harbour service would be designed around the needs of local residents, not those of people wanting connections to and from Powell River.

There is existing service to Vancouver available via Malaspina Coach Lines that entails far shorter travel times.

For the above-mentioned reasons, public transit service to Vancouver is not considered feasible within the foreseeable future.

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Initial High Level Estimate – Additional Annual Impacts Option 19: Introduce service linking Powell River to Vancouver (based on one trip per week) Service Hours: 900 Passenger Revenue: $500 Annual Ridership: 300 Total Cost: $162,200 Vehicles Required: 2 Net Local Share of Op. Costs: $22,600 Net Local Share of Total Costs: $75,100 $86,600 Provincial Share of Costs:

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6.4 Community Transit Support Initiatives

Given that transit passengers are necessarily also pedestrians, and given the short- and long-term benefits of active transportation to both individual physical and overall community health, the City and the Regional District should continue to invest in programs to encourage the use of alternative forms of transportation such as transit, walking, and biking. With rising oil prices and increasing environmental concerns too, it is vital that investments be made to attract residents to these alternatives. While BC Transit has an annual marketing and communications budget allotted to Powell River, this can be mostly expended on producing new Riders’ Guides, presentation materials and advertising for local public engagement activities, interior bus rack cards (e.g. fare posters), bus stop signage, and related promotional materials. Feedback received from elected officials, staff, the public, and operators indicated a strong need, and desire, to assist with promoting the transit service through local initiatives. Some strategies that have worked well in other B.C. communities include:  Introducing a “Transit Day” where City, Regional District and elected officials ride the buses and greet the customers;  Introducing free transit service for New Year’s Eve;  Introducing a “Bus To Work Week”, similar to the annual “Bike To Work Week”;  Organizing a “Holiday Lights Tour”22 and/or tours to local festivals (in partnership with the event organizers) to promote the conventional and paratransit services, introducing these to new users, as well as to existing custom transit customers as an alternative type of service;  Bundling Riders’ Guides with property tax notices or other municipal and Regional District mail- outs;  Assisting local Youth Action Committees to produce videos on local transit and distribute them via social media23;  Introducing employee transit incentive programs;  Investigating with Vancouver Island University the potential of introducing the U-Pass program, in order to encourage more post-secondary students to use the transit system; and,  Considering different fare options, particularly pre-paid fare products, to encourage ridership (Appendix A). BC Transit’s Marketing Department is available to assist with ideas and implementation of local marketing initiatives.

Additionally, understanding the interdependencies between land use patterns and transit productivity is critically important to a successful transit system. The combined location decisions and land use planning choices made by individuals, institutions, developers, municipalities and regional districts directly influence the level of transit mobility that can be expected. Therefore, it is important that all land use decisions made in the Powell River area consider the impacts they will have to the transit system in the short and long term. BC Transit is committed to working with the City and the Regional District, as well as developers and the general public, to support alternative transportation methods in Powell River.

BC Transit currently has a development referral program with other municipalities and regional districts that encourages discussion regarding the impact any proposed development might have on transit. It is recommended that the City and the Regional District participate in this process for any proposed development plans, to ensure that future developments are aligned with the transit goals of the region. Referrals can be sent to [email protected]. As a sample, Appendix B shows an example of a Development Referral Response for the City of Nelson.

22 An example from Dawson Creek is available at http://youtu.be/jyjwQUHn8OQ 23 An example from Campbell River is available at http://youtu.be/JIWnHkV84LY

88 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

7. Conclusions

The evaluation results show that many of the service change options have significant advantages in terms of making the Powell River Regional Transit System more attractive to existing and potential new customers and increasing ridership, which would likely also increase transit commuting mode share. While the majority of short-term options are cost neutral, the medium- and longer-term options would involve additional operating and/or capital costs. In order to be able to improve operational efficiencies, customer satisfaction, and maximize the success of options selected for implementation while minimizing their financial impacts, the following actions are recommended:  Allocate more capital and operational funding to the transit system, allowing infrastructure improvements such as bus stop amenities to be undertaken and service reliability and convenience to be enhanced;  Monitor closely the impact of any changes implemented (Section 7.2) to analyze and evaluate the impacts on ridership and customer satisfaction;  Conduct more regular Service Reviews in the future (e.g. every 5 years or when significant community changes occur) so that changes in customers’ transit needs can be accommodated in a more timely fashion; and,  Powell River to actively participate in the Development Referral Program to ensure that future development is aligned with the transit goals of the region.

7.1 Implementation Considerations

The report recommends implementing the service change options in a staged approach. This will allow the most critical needs and cost-effective options to be implemented first. Once these “base” options have been implemented and allowed time to prove their effectiveness, more resource-intensive options can be examined with a view to longer-term implementation. It should be noted that in order to target a short- term-option implementation date of September 2015 and initiate and proceed with the required four- to five-month service change implementation process, final decisions on and approvals for the short-term options to be implemented from City Council and the Regional District Board will be required by March 31, 2015.

It is recognized that service needs and/or local government capacity to fund transit improvements may change over time. Therefore, options for implementation which require expansion to service hours or vehicles will need to be confirmed on an annual basis for the subsequent year as part of the local budget approval process.

Additionally, it is noted that the implementation of any option requiring expansion hours or vehicles is dependent on BC Transit’s fiscal-year budget, as well as the allocation of available provincial transit expansion funding between transit systems as determined through BC Transit’s Transit Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP seeks the commitment of each local government to the expansion initiatives proposed for the three years following, thereby allowing BC Transit to request funding within the Provincial Budget. Once funding has been approved, the formal service change approvals process begins, at least six months ahead of the desired service implementation date(s). Service expansion may also require additional vehicles, and any new vehicle requests will likely trigger a new bus order. An 18-24 month lead time should be anticipated before expected vehicle delivery and introduction to service.

Once local government has approved a service option or combination of options for implementation—and local and provincial funding has been approved, if required—an Implementation Agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be developed for signature by the City and/or the Regional District, and BC Transit. This MOU will outline the exact service changes to be developed for implementation, as well as the roles and timeline for implementation. Detailed costing would be confirmed at the start of the implementation process.

89 Powell River Regional Transit System: Service Review – Final Report

7.2 Monitoring Plan

BC Transit and the operating companies will continue to collect ridership and other data that requires on- going collection, and BC Transit will perform analysis of key performance indicators such as ridership, on- time performance, vehicle maintenance quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.

7.3 Recommendations

It is recommended that the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District:

 Receive this report as information and provide feedback to City and Regional District Staff, prior to finalization by BC Transit staff;  Review the short-term service change options presented in Section 6.1.1 (Fixed-Route Transit), Section 6.2.1 (Custom Transit) and 6.3.1 (Paratransit); and,  Receive the Fare Structure Review (Appendix A) as information.

90

APPENDICES

91

92 Appendix A: BC Transit Fare Structure Review

Appendix A: BC Transit Fare Structure Review

93

Fare Structure Review Powell River Regional Transit

Prepared by

Prepared by

City of Powell River Powell River Regional District

GLOSSARY

Average Fare − Total revenue from fare sources divided by ridership from fare sources. Conventional transit – Serves the general population in urban settings using mid-sized, large or double-deck buses. The buses are accessible and low-floor and run on fixed routes and fixed schedules. handyDART – Custom door-to-door service for those passengers who cannot use conventional transit due to a disability. Riders must be registered with the handyDART office before they can use the service. Also known as custom transit, handyDART stands for handy Dial-a-Ride-Transit. Cost recovery – Reflects annual total revenue divided by total cost. This ratio indicates the proportion of costs recovered from total revenue. A strong cost recovery is desirable, as it reduces the subsidy from the taxpayer. This factor, however, is a municipal policy decision. Performance measures – Statistical ratios combining system outputs and transit service area statistics to benchmark performance within the industry and operational trends over time. Total revenue – Includes passenger and advertising revenue; excludes property tax and fuel tax revenue.

Fare Structure Review | Page 1

1.0 OVERVIEW The development of any fare structure or the decision to change it will depend on the objectives of local government. Many governments set revenue targets designed to share the costs between property taxpayers and users of the system at a set percentage. Other goals might include increasing or retaining ridership, maintaining or improving public image, improving operational efficiency and reducing on-board fare disputes.

With the goals of local government in mind, many factors should be considered in establishing a fare structure: the history and trends of revenue and ridership over time, the composition of revenue and ridership by fare type, the fares of comparable transit systems and the fare guidelines recommended by BC Transit. BC Transit has prepared this report for the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District to encourage discussion about fare strategy and to provide the relevant information to support a fare decision that reinforces the goals of the local government. 2.0 CURRENT FARES The following table outlines the conventional fare structure in the Powell River Transit System for reference. TABLE 1: CONVENTIONAL FARES

ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 within city & Sliammon outside city Texada Island^

CASH FARES

Adult $2.00 $2.50 $6.00

Senior*/Student** $1.75 $2.25 $2.75

Child 4 and under No Charge No Charge No Charge

TICKETS

Adult $16.00 $22.50 Rural transit tickets are available on the bus Senior*/Student** $14.00 $20.25

MONTHLY PASSES

Adult/College Student $45.00 - -

Senior*/ Student** $34.00 - -

Semester $99.00 - -

DAY PASSES

Adult $4.50 - -

Senior*/ Student** $3.75 - - ^Includes ferry fare *Reduced fare for seniors age 65+, with valid ID **Reduced fare for students up to grade 12 in full-time attendance with valid Student ID

Fare Structure Review | Page 2

The zone 3 Texada Island fare includes the ferry fare. Since the current transit fare structure was adopted in 2012, the passenger fares for the ferry have increased by roughly 9%. Published BC Ferries fares are now $10.80 fare for passengers 12 years or older, and $5.40 fare for passengers 5 to 11 years old and for seniors. Children under five years old are free. BC Ferries also charges a fee of $2.65 per foot for the bus. A pre-loaded fare card allows for discounts on passenger fares bringing the fares actually paid by the operating company down to $6.75 per adult passenger and $3.45 for passengers aged 5 to 11 years and seniors. With adult and discount transit fares at $6.00 and $2.75 respectively, transit fares are lagging behind the ferry rates, meaning the transit system is subsidizing the cost of ferry travel for transit customers travelling to Texada Island even before the cost to bring the bus on the ferry is considered. This is one issue that will be addressed in the concluding section. The handyDART service is $2.00 per one-way trip. Tickets are available at a discount of 10 tickets for the price of 7.5 rides (ie: 10 tickets cost $15.00). 3.0 REVENUE AND RIDERSHIP HISTORY The table below outlines some key performance statistics for the Powell River Transit System as at 2013/14. TABLE 2: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

Ridership Growth (5-year annual compound rate) -0.3%

Revenue Growth (5-year annual compound rate) 2.1%

Total Ridership 201,989

Total Revenue $239,954

Total Revenue from Fare Sources* $183,448 Average Fare $1.15

Total Cost Recovery 19.8%

Date of Last Fare Adjustment September 1, 2012 *Excludes advertising, BC Bus Pass, and miscellaneous revenue. This represents revenue that can be affected by a fare change.

Despite a couple of years of strong ridership growth, the level of ridership now is below what it was in 2008/09, whereas the level of revenue has increased over the same five-year time horizon. This suggests a higher average fare (the average fare in 2008/09 was $1.05 and is now $1.15). The fare change in September, 2012 had positive effects on the transit system’s financial performance. Comparing the 12 months prior to the fare change to the 12 months following the fare change, the average fare increased by 4%, cost recovery increased by 3% and fare revenue per hour increased by 1%.

Fare Structure Review | Page 3

4.0 REVENUE COMPOSITION The chart below indicates how revenue from conventional fares is divided by fare type.

EXHIBIT 1: REVENUE BY FARE TYPE

The analysis of revenue composition can be considered from two different perspectives. On one hand, having a higher percentage of revenue from cash means that more often a full cash fare is being paid (with no discounts for prepayment) and revenue should be maximized. On the other hand, prepaid fares offer greater stability, predictability and security of revenue as well as promoting more frequent ridership from existing transit customers. In addition, increased use of prepaid products (especially passes since they don’t require transfers) can improve operational efficiency (increasing on-time performance) and may help reduce the likelihood of on-board fare disputes. In general BC Transit recommends the promotion of prepaid products. 5.0 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION In the next two sections, the report outlines how the Powell River Transit System’s performance indicators compare to those of its peer transit systems and how its fares compare to general fare guidelines recommended by BC Transit.

5.1 Comparison to Peer Systems As evidenced in Table 3 below, the regular cash fare is quite close to the cash fares of peer systems at $0.05 higher than Tier 3 peers and $0.10 lower than regional system peers. Monthly pass prices are $2.55 higher than than Tier 3 peers and $10.90 lower than regional system peers. It can be argued that a higher weight may be placed on the comparison to the same-tier group than to the regional peer group since systems in the regional peer group may be fundamentally different than the Powell River Regional Transit System. Compared to its Tier 3 peers, the Powell River Regional Transit System performs has a slightly higher average fare. The average fare indicator measures the average fare paid by all riders including BC Bus Pass holders. Yielding higher revenue per rider is positive, but it should be kept in mind that this might be a natural byproduct of having multiple zones with progressively increasing fares in each zone. Comparing average fare through time may be a better indicator. As mentioned, average fare has progressively increased over time. The cost recovery indicator, on which the Powell River system measures higher than its Tier 3 peers, measures the percentage of total costs that are recovered by total revenue. When the percentage of cost recovery is higher, the percentage of costs that must be recovered by non- passenger funding sources (taxation) is lower. It should be noted that cost recovery is a policy decision and so it may or may not be appropriate to compare performance across transit systems, however, local governments commonly prefer to have a higher cost recovery and less

Fare Structure Review | Page 4 reliance on local property taxes.

TABLE 3: COMPARISON TO PEER SYSTEMS

Powell River Average of Tier Variance Average of Variance Regional Transit 3* Systems Regional** Systems System

Regular Cash Fare $2.00 $1.95 $0.05 $2.10 -$0.10

Regular Monthly $45.00 $47.55 -$2.55 $55.90 $10.90 Pass Price

Average Fare $1.15 $1.12 $0.03 $1.29 -$0.14

Cost Recovery 19.8% 18.7% 1.1% 27.4% -7.6% *Average of 11 Tier 3 systems: Sunshine Coast, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Squamish, Cranbrook, Kootenay Boundary, Nelson and Port Alberni **Average of 5 Vancouver Island systems: Campbell River, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Sunshine Coast and Comox Valley

5.2 Comparison to BC Transit Fare Guidelines The table below compares Powell River Regional Transit System’s current transit fare structure to BC Transit’s recommended fare guidelines. The adult cash fare is the base from which other fares are calculated. TABLE 4: COMPARISON TO BC TRANSIT FARE GUIDELINES

BC Transit Fare Guideline Powell River Fare Structure

CASH FARES

Regular Base Fare $2.00

Discount Equal to Base Fare* Base Fare less 13%

TICKETS

Regular 9 times Base Fare 8 times Base Fare

Discount 9 times Base Fare less 15% 8 times Base Fare less 13%

MONTHLY PASSES

Regular 20 - 30 times Base Fare 23 times Base Fare

Discount 20 - 30 times Base Fare less 15% 23 times Base Fare less 25%

DAY PASSES

Regular 2.5 times Base Fare 2.3 times Base Fare

Discount 2.5 times Base Fare less 15% 2.3 times Base Fare less 17% *BC Transit no longer recommends discounting cash fares It should be noted that BC Transit no longer recommends offering age-based discounts on cash fares and instead promotes the use of a single cash fare with age-based discounts on prepaid products only. The single cash fare is becoming a popular choice for numerous transit systems across Canada and has several benefits: it offers simplicity in the fare structure, improved quality of data collected from fareboxes, reduced reliance on operators to enforce age-based

Fare Structure Review | Page 5 fares thereby reducing the likelihood of fare disputes and provides incentive for riders to switch to prepaid products potentially encouraging more consistent ridership all while reducing fare collection costs. The table shows that when compared to BC Transit fare guidelines, the fare structure differs in three notable ways: (1) by offering age-based discounted cash fares, (2) by offering tickets for a higher discount than is recommended, and (3) by offering higher than recommended age-based discounts on monthly passes. The guideline for the semester pass is 80% of four times the underlying monthly pass price. In this case there are two different underlying pass prices: $34 for school students and $45 for college students. By the guideline, the resulting semester pass prices would be $109 and $144 respectively. Presently the semester pass is offered to both school and college students at a single price of $99, which is below both of the guideline prices. The guideline transfer policy is 60 minute, one-directional validity. The Powell River system presently specifies a one-directional policy but does not volunteer a time restriction. The time restriction will further help prevent round-tripping. Finally, the guideline for handyDART cash fares is that they align with conventional cash fares. Although the cost of providing handyDART service is higher than for conventional service, the fares should not be higher so as to not discriminate against anyone who needs this service. And because the cost is higher, the fare should not be lower. The handyDART fares are presently in alignment with the conventional adult cash fare. 6.0 CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis indicates that:

 Only two years have passed since fares were increased in 2012  Cash fares are roughly on par with Tier 3 and regional system peers  Monthly passes are priced around the same level as Tier 3 peers but well below regional system peers  The average fare is slightly higher than that of Tier 3 peer systems and 10% higher than the average fare from five years prior.  The current fare structure deviates from BC Transit fare guidelines on age-based discounts for all products There may be opportunities to increase revenue, ridership, and efficiency, improve driver safety, and to achieve other goals for the transit system with an adjustment to the fare structure. In contemplation of the above analysis, we propose the following fare structure option for consideration.

6.1 Proposed Fare Structure: Single Cash Fare The proposal for a fare adjustment focuses on the goals of improving driver safety and increasing ridership while maintaining fare product options that are affordable and accessible to users. The Victoria Regional Transit System implemented this type of fare structure about a year ago. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of fare disputes has declined and drivers

Fare Structure Review | Page 6 appreciate not having to enforce age-based cash discounts on-board. Year-to-date ridership is up 4.5%, possibly in part due to the fact that system users will be encouraged to buy prepaid fare products, and prepaid products tend to encourage more frequent ridership. The fare structure shown in Table 5 below maintains the present single zone adult cash fare at $2.00. The noticeable change is that age-based cash discounts are completely eliminated. Riders who pay cash in zone 1 pay $2.00 no matter what their age. TABLE 5: PROPOSED FARE STRUCTURE (CURRENT FARES IN BRACKETS)

ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 within city & Sliammon outside city Texada Island^

CASH FARES

Adult $2.00 ($2.00) $2.50 ($2.50) $9.25 ($6.00)

Senior*/Student** $2.00 ($1.75) $2.50 ($2.25) $6.00 ($2.75)

Child 4 and under No Charge No Charge No Charge

TICKETS

Adult $18.00 ($16.00) $22.50 ($22.50) Rural transit tickets are available on the bus Senior*/Student** $15.25 ($14.00) $20.25 ($20.25)

MONTHLY PASSES

Adult/College Student $45.00 ($45.00) - -

Senior*/ Student** $34.00 ($34.00) - -

Semester $110.00 ($99.00) - -

DAY PASSES

Adult $4.00 ($4.50) - -

Senior*/ Student** $4.00 ($3.75) - -

^Includes ferry fare *Reduced fare for seniors age 65+, with valid ID **Reduced fare for students up to grade 12 in full-time attendance with valid Student ID Based data collected from the GFI fareboxes it is estimated that roughly 57% of riders pay cash and approximately 22% of those riders pay the discount fare. This leaves less than 13% of riders who would be affected by the introduction of the single cash fare. Because of the impact that eliminating discount cash fares may have on families, the local governments may also consider introducing the Family Travel Program. The Family Travel Program enables an adult passenger to bring up to four children aged 12 years and younger on- board for free when paying a fare with a monthly pass, semester pass, or BC Bus Pass. The adult must be a parent or guardian over 19 years of age. This program is policy-based so there is no need to manage fare products, and enforcement occurs on-board. This fare structure recommends selling zone 1 tickets at a multiple of 9 times the cash fare for adult tickets and 9 times the cash fare less 15% for discount tickets. The rural transit tickets already adhere to this pricing guideline and so do not change in this option.

Fare Structure Review | Page 7

Regular monthly passes are presently priced within BC Transit fare guidelines. While discounted passes offer deeper discounts than the guideline suggests, the fare structure above maintains the deeper discounts. The result is that student and senior passes would become cheaper relative to the cash fare thereby encouraging passengers to switch from cash to monthly passes as their preferred method of payment. The Victoria Regional Transit System, also offers deeper discounts for senior and youth passes, has observed a significant increase in unit sales for passes paired with a 2% increase in ridership. But along with these benefits came a decrease of 2.5% in revenue per rider. As mentioned, the price of the semester pass is below the guideline price. The suggested price of $110 represents a 20% discount off the monthly pass price for school students and a 39% discount for college students. The adult and discount day pass products are merged into one “universal” day pass in the proposed fare structure. This further promotes simplicity by eliminating a fare product and, by pricing the universal day pass at just two times the cash fare (the price of one round trip) the day pass becomes a good value option. The major benefit of promoting day passes through attractive pricing is that they can reduce the demand for transfers, which are reportedly the primary cause both fraud and of on-board fare disputes. The Victoria Regional Transit System began offering a day pass priced at two times the cash fare in 2012/13. During the following year, revenue from day pass sales has increased by over 300% and drivers have commented that they have experienced fewer fare disputes (as a result of both the single cash fare and of the decrease in transfer use). The zone 3 Texada Island fare, which includes the ferry fare, is proposed to increase to $9.25 for adults and $6.00 for students and seniors. The logic behind these fares is simple: it is the discounted BC Ferries fare that is offered with the pre-loaded fare card plus the zone 2 transit fare (for adults: $6.75 +2.50; for seniors and students: $3.45 + $2.50 rounded up). It should be noted that the age brackets for the BC Ferries fares do not match up with the age brackets for transit fares. The age break in the BC Ferries fare structure for children is 5 years old; for transit it is 4 years old. Therefore children who are exactly 5 years old will be charged a $6.00 fare even though their ferry fare is free. Also, the age break for students changing to adults is at age 11 for BC Ferries and at the end of high school for transit. Children aged 11 to the end of high school would be charged an adult fare by BC Ferries and a student fare by the transit system, meaning that the transit system would again be subsidizing ferry fares. Although it would complicate the fare structure within the transit system, it is an option for the Regional District to vote to change the age breaks for the Texada Island service so they match the age breaks of the ferry system. The cost to bring the bus on the ferry is assumed under this fare structure to be unrecovered from passenger revenue. Depending on the bus, the cost to be absorbed by the transit system is in the range of $60 - $70. The trip runs only once per week. handyDART fares would remain at $2.00 and handyDART tickets would be priced at $18.00 for 10 (an increase of $3.00 for 10). Assuming demand for the handyDART service does not decline with a fare change, this increase would equate to a $1,500 annual revenue increase. If this fare structure was implemented, the resulting revenue increase from the conventional and rural service is estimated at $7,500 annually or 3.6% over total fare revenue. In estimating

Fare Structure Review | Page 8 revenue gains, we have assumed a ridership decline of 2,700 riders per year1. It should be noted, however, that this fare structure may not follow the usual pattern of decreasing ridership and increasing revenue. As observed in Victoria, implementing a single cash fare structure may have contributed to increasing ridership and decreasing yield. This fare structure can help to accomplish several goals that may be important to the Powell River Regional Transit System. It addresses the issue of the subsidized ferry fares while addressing primary goals of increased ridership and reduced fare disputes and secondary goals of improving the quality of data collected from fareboxes, providing incentive for riders to switch to prepaid products and reducing fare collection costs. 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District:

1. Receive this report as information 2. Approve the proposed fare structure as presented in Table 5 3. Direct staff to work with BC Transit to implement the fare change

Please note that fare changes should be scheduled for the 1st of a given month. BC Transit requires at least eight weeks’ notice after Council approval to implement a fare change.

1 Revenue forecasts take into account a 0.3% drop in ridership for every 1% increase in fares. This guideline, known as the Simpson-Curtin Rule, is commonly applied in transit analyses.

Appendix A: BC Transit Fare Structure Review

104 Appendix B: BC Transit Development Referral Response (Sample)

Appendix B: BC Transit Development Referral Response (Sample)

105 Appendix B: BC Transit Development Referral Response (Sample)

Development referrals can be sent to [email protected].

106 Appendix C: BC Transit Public Engagement Phase One - Report

Appendix C: BC Transit Public Engagement Phase One – Report

107

Public Engagement Phase One Powell River Transit Service Review

June 2014 Prepared by Updated September 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BC Transit, the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District would like to acknowledge the contributions of the many individuals and organizations who supported the Phase 1 Public Engagement exercises. Thank you to staff at the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District, and staff of Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi 2001 (the operators of the transit system), for sharing their knowledge and connections and helping to publicize the engagement events. Finally, thank you to all who joined us at the Powell River Key Stakeholder Workshop, and everyone who took the time to complete the online, onboard, and/or door-to-door surveys.

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ...... 1 Purpose ...... 1 Scope ...... 1 Method ...... 2 Powell River Project Website ...... 2 CoPR and PRRD Presentations ...... 2 Key Stakeholder Workshop ...... 2 On-Board Bus Survey ...... 2 Online Survey...... 2 Door-to-door Survey ...... 3 Driver Survey ...... 3 Advertising & Media ...... 3 Results ...... 3 Response Rate ...... 3 Key Stakeholder Workshop ...... 4 On-Board Bus Survey City Routes ...... 5 On-Board Bus Survey Rural Routes ...... 7 Online Survey...... 9 Door-to-door Survey ...... xx Driver Survey ...... 10 Next Steps ...... 12 APPENDIX A: Stakeholder Organizations...... 13

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 1/14

INTRODUCTION Community engagement is being conducted at key milestones of the Powell River Transit Service Review to ensure the final review reflects the needs and priorities of the community. Designed to be inclusive, reaching riders and non-riders alike, the process is led by BC Transit, with strong support from the City of Powell River (CoPR), the Powell River Regional District (PRRD), and local community members. This update provides a summary of Phase 1 of the engagement process: the Listening Phase. PURPOSE The two-phased engagement strategy is designed to achieve the following goals:  Identify and solicit targeted feedback from all major institutions, organizations and other key community groups  Employ a variety of methods and means to engage participants and ensure a wide range of citizens are reached  Ensure the final result reflects the public’s needs and desires by incorporating feedback into the review The approach incorporates several strategies from the spectrum of engagement, including:

Inform Provide information that will keep key stakeholders and the public at large up to date and assist them in understanding issues, problems, alternatives, and solutions; Listen and learn BC Transit, its partners, key stakeholders, and the general public listen to and learn about each other’s views, plans, concerns, and expectations; Consult An opportunity for stakeholders and the community to provide feedback on the degree to which the current transit system meets the needs of the community, and what role they see transit playing in their community moving forward; Report Back Report back to stakeholders and the community the project vision, goals and proposed service and infrastructure improvement options that were developed using their input and background data. This identifies how public feedback was used to analyze issues and build alternatives and thereby make contributions to the decision-making process; Collaborate BC Transit, the CoPR, the PRRD, Powell River Municipal Transportation, and Powell River Taxi 2001 (the system’s operators) are considered partners in the Transit Service Review development process, including collaborating on analyzing issues, developing options, identifying preferred solutions and making recommendations. The final Transit Service Review is presented to the CoPR and the PRRD for consideration and approval. SCOPE The objective of Phase 1 of the public engagement was to provide information about the existing transit system and Transit Service Review process, and ask the public for their feedback on how the existing

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 2/14 transit system is performing, to what degree it meets or does not meet their current needs, and what they would like to see for the future of transit over the next 5 years. METHOD Phase 1 engagement included a project website, presentations to the CoPR and the PRRD, a stakeholder workshop, an on-board transit passenger survey, and an online survey. A survey specific to Tla’amin Nation is currently underway.

Powell River Project Website A dedicated web page has been established for the Powell River Transit Service Review on the Transit Future section of the BC Transit website. This provides information on the Service Review process, as well as updates on upcoming events, reports, presentations and online surveys to solicit feedback during the engagement phases. The website can be found here: http://www.transitbc.com/transitfuture/pow_latestupdates.cfm

CoPR and PRRD Presentations The Terms of Reference for the Powell River Transit Service Review were presented to the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District for approval in October 2013.

Key Stakeholder Workshop In addition to the larger public outreach, focused feedback was sought from key stakeholders. A list of key stakeholders was developed with input from the CoPR and the PRRD. Sixty-nine organizations (Appendix A) were invited to participate in a half-day stakeholder workshop to provide feedback on issues with the transit service and opportunities for future improvement, to help develop a vision for Powell River’s transit service. Twenty-six organizations were able to attend, comprising more than forty representatives in total.

On-Board Bus Survey Transit riders were encouraged to complete an on-board passenger survey, which included questions related to travel habits and feedback on the existing transit system. The on-board survey was available during two weeks in both December 2013 and February 2014.

Online Survey Local residents were encouraged to complete a survey, available online from late November 2013 through mid-March, 2014. Hard copies of the survey were also available for members of the public without access to the internet or with a preference to complete the survey by hand. These were distributed at the Key Stakeholder Workshop, as well as delivered by hand to the Inclusion Powell River Society, the Powell River Model Community Project, the Powell River Employment Program Society, and Texada Island’s Gillies Bay General Store, Texada Market, and Van Anda Post Office, and additionally made available at the Olive

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 3/14

Devaud Residence and Brooks Secondary School. Following public and driver feedback, it was determined that additional information would be valuable specific to the existing and future transit needs of Tla’amin Nation members residing on the former Sliammon Indian Reserve No. 1 (Teeshohsum).

Door-to-door Survey A door-to-door survey with targeted transit questions was conducted among Sliammon and Klahanie residents between July 16-22, 2014.

Driver Survey A meeting was held with Powell River Municipal Transportation, and surveys were distributed to this operator and to the operator of the paratransit and custom transit systems, Powell River Taxi 2001. The purpose was to enable drivers to gain information about the service review process, provide feedback on the existing system, and make suggestions for improvements.

Advertising & Media A variety of methods were used to advertise the opportunities to provide input. Print media included a press release, advertisements in local papers and posters on buses. Key stakeholder groups were emailed with background information on the project, engagement opportunities and a link to the website. The Powell

River Transit Future website also provided information on engagement opportunities, and a link was made available on the CoPR and PRRD websites.

RESULTS Table 1: Phase 1 Public Engagement Response Summary Response Rate Table 1 provides a summary of the response rates to the various events from the Phase 1 Engagement.

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 4/14

Key Stakeholder Workshop More than forty representatives attended the Key Stakeholder Workshop, held at the Town Centre Hotel on February 19, 2014. Objectives for the workshop included:  Stakeholders gain an understanding of the transit system and Transit Service Review process, including opportunities for input  Feedback is gathered from stakeholders on the needs of their customers, clients, members and staff  Strengths and weaknesses of the existing transit service are identified  Opportunities for future transit improvements are identified  Additional stakeholders are identified as required Attendees provided significant input into the roundtable discussions, and took information regarding the public engagement back to their members. Feedback generated from the sessions is summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Stakeholder Workshop Feedback Key Destination Points

 Schools & VIU  Other festivals/special events  Recreation Complex  Hospital  Town Centre Mall  Medical clinics/Doctors’ offices  Ferry terminals  Inclusion Powell River Society (formerly  Seniors’ Centre (Cranberry) & care facilities “PRACL”) residences and services  Library  PREP, MCFD, and PRCYFSS offices  Farmers’ Market  Major employers, e.g. local government, hospital, mill, downtown core

Current Transit System Strengths Current Transit System Weaknesses

 Drivers are great  Poor connections with ferry service at  Service is well-run and reliable Westview Terminal  Infrequent service to rural areas north and  Buses are user-friendly and clean south of town, where there is a desire  Routes are well-designed and serve major commuter service destinations  Lack of integration of conventional and rural  Serves school students well routes  Paratransit system is flexible like handyDART  Not enough shelters (especially in rural system)  Serves people with disabilities well  No service to Rec Complex

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 5/14

 Bikes can be carried, as well as mobility aids  The main exchange is sheltered  Community-focused e.g. Christmas light parade  Service to Farmers’ Market  Costs are kept in line

Future Service Improvements Community Awareness & Attracting Riders

 Dialogue with School District to eliminate  Increase advertising and other promotional duplication videos and events including social media to  Use smaller vehicles if possible (fleet review) educate the public  More mobile-friendly website  Free transit to special events (link with event organizers)  Local route on Texada  Additional handyDART vehicle  Promotional “Free Transit Days” e.g. Canada Day  Include Riders Guides in City and Regional District mail-outs, e.g. bundle with tax assessments  Targeted marketing  Promotion of fare products

On-Board Bus Survey: City Routes

Respondents and Ridership Figure 1: City Respondent Age Classification There were a total of 150 responses to the on- board bus survey on city routes (Routes 1, 2 and 3). Respondents were primarily adults, with a mix of other age categories (Figure 1). Most respondents (92%) were regular transit riders, with only 8% riding two to three times per month or less. For trips on which surveys were completed, 6% of respondents were making a ferry connection and 58% were transferring to another transit route. Survey results indicated that transit is the only transportation option for 18% of respondents, with driving and walking being the main alternatives in addition to cycling and hitchhiking.

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 6/14

The main purpose for those taking transit was for Figure 2: Main Purpose for City Transit Trips shopping/errands, work, and social/recreational activities (Figure 2).

Satisfaction with the Current Transit System There is a high level of satisfaction with the following aspects of service (Figure 3):  Safety (87% satisfied or very satisfied)  Courtesy of drivers (82% satisfied or very satisfied)

 Reliability of service (76% satisfied or very satisfied)  Schedule information (74% satisfied or very satisfied)  Comfort and cleanliness of buses (82% and 72% satisfied or very satisfied respectively)

Figure 3: Respondents Satisfaction with Elements of the Current City Transit System

However, 34% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with amenities at bus stops and 24% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the frequency of service. In addition, 18% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with value for money in terms of fares (Figure 3).

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 7/14

Suggestions for the Future Transit System Respondents identified many Figure 4: Suggestions for City Transit Improvements suggestions for improving the Powell River Transit System and the role transit may play in their community in the next five years. The key suggestions from many respondents are outlined in Figure 4.

On-Board Bus Survey: Rural Routes and handyDART Respondents and Ridership There were a total of 124 responses to the on- Figure 5: Rural Respondent Age Classification board bus survey on rural routes (Routes 12, 13 and 14) and the city handyDART service. Respondents were primarily adults, with a good proportion of seniors, and a few students (Figure 5). Most respondents (68%) were regular transit riders, with 32% riding two to three times per month or less. For trips on which surveys were completed, only 8% of respondents were making a ferry connection and only 26% were transferring to another transit route. Survey results indicated that transit is the only transportation option for 42% of respondents, with the private vehicle and hitchhiking being the main alternatives in addition to walking.

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 8/14

The main purpose for those taking transit was for Figure 6: Main Purpose for Rural Transit Trips shopping/errands, medical/dental and social/recreational activities (Figure 6).

Satisfaction with the Current Transit System There is a high level of satisfaction with the following aspects of service (Figure 7):  Courtesy of drivers (94% satisfied or very satisfied)  Cleanliness of buses (92% satisfied or very satisfied)  Safety (91% satisfied or very satisfied)  Value for money (82% satisfied or very satisfied)  Reliability of service (81% satisfied or very satisfied)  Schedule information (74% satisfied or very satisfied)  Comfort of buses (81% satisfied or very satisfied)

Figure 7: Respondents Satisfaction with Elements of the Current Rural Transit System

However, 44% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the frequency of service and 32% of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with amenities at bus stops (Figure 7).

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 9/14

Suggestions for the Future Transit System Figure 8: Suggestions for Rural Transit Improvements Respondents identified many suggestions for improving the Powell River Transit System and the role transit may play in their community in the next 5 years. The key suggestions from many respondents are outlined in Figure 8.

Online Survey Respondents and Ridership Figure 9: Respondent Age Classification There were a total of 258 responses to the online survey. These respondents were a mix of ages (Figure 9) with representation from most city and rural areas and communities in Powell River other than Tla’amin Nation. Over half the respondents (59%) were frequent transit riders, with the rest taking transit less than once a month, or never. Over 60% of the respondents working full-time outside the home worked in downtown Powell River, with an additional 7% at Powell River General Hospital and 5% at Catalyst Paper. 90% of respondents mainly got to work by car (as either a driver or passenger), although 18% of respondents said that they also commuted via transit. For those household members attending school or college full-time, approximately 38% mainly got there by public transit and 21% by school bus, with 54% also either driving or being driven as a passenger. Respondents indicated other key locations in Powell River. These mainly included the hospital and medical centres, ferry terminals, shopping malls, the recreation centre, the library, the Farmers’ Market, the Music Academy, the theatre, Lund, and the former Sliammon Indian Reserve No. 1 (Teeshohsum).

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 10/14

Suggestions for the Future Transit System Respondents identified many suggestions for improving the transit system and the role transit may play in their community in the next 5 years. Key suggestions are outlined in Figure 10 and Figure 11.

Figure 10: Suggested Improvements: Figure 11: Suggested Improvements: City Service Rural Service

Door-to-door Survey Respondents and Ridership

A total of 161 households responded to the Sliammon door-to-door survey. Of these, 33% of households said that they use public transit, with 22% having used it within the past three months. Households’ top priorities for transit service improvements are shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13.

Figure 12: Top Transit Priorities: Figure 13: Top Transit Priorities: All Respondents* Existing Passenger Respondents*

* multiple responses allowed * multiple responses allowed October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 11/14

Driver Survey Respondents Surveys were completed by drivers of both Powell River Municipal Transportation and Powell River Taxi 2001. Feedback was related to both the customer satisfaction aspect of service as well as the operation of the system. Key issues and suggestions provided are outlined in Table 3.

Table 3: Driver Survey Suggestions for the Future Transit System

Key Theme Suggestions

Customer Feedback  City system has seen significant losses due to the reduction of evening service and simultaneous fare increases in September 2012  Rural system may have seen ridership loss due to people moving into the city or out of Powell River  Requests for commuter service on rural Route 12 and 14  Rural service – most passenger complaints relate to schedule adherence  Some desire by passengers to transfer from rural paratransit service to handyDART service in the city  System should be advertised more to increase public awareness  Some confusion on service to Hospital and Quality foods due to one route serving on the outbound trip and another on the inbound trip Infrastructure  Improve street lighting, particularly Joyce & Alberni, Nootka & Joyce, Teakerne & Cariboo to improve safety  Lack of bus pullouts  Wheelchair accessibility improvements required at some stops.  Proximity of signs to road edge – can result in bus contact  Route 14: relocate stop at Hwy 101 and Southview for safety  Route 12: relocate the outbound Lang Bay stop for safety and Zilinksy Rd stop for vehicle turnaround  Add a bus stop at Quality Foods  Bus stop signage on rural routes needs updating (e.g. fares)  Improvements in snow clearance in both city and rural areas would benefit the service Service Improvements  Evening Service - Sliammon, Townsite/Wildwood and Grief Point  Increase frequency – all city routes and Route 12 and 14  Saturday service – Route 12 and 14  Serve the first ferry  Improve specific trip connections between Route 2, 3 and Route 1  Improve connections between the Hospital/Quality Foods and TC Mall to transfer to Route 1  Redundant Route 1 trip via back of Cranberry Lake  Improve connections between rural and city transit service

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 12/14

 Include transfer use policy in the Riders Guide  Reinstate Lost Property system, with information in the Riders Guide New Service Areas  Desire to serve the Recreation Centre, but likely unfeasible logistically due to congestion and accessibility issues  Route 2: remove Theodosia/Teakerne loop, as well as Marine/Oliver to Joyce  Route 3: routing on Westview between Kemano & Manson and upper Westview on Duncan, north of airport up to Padgett and Paradise Valley  Route 12: VIU, and along Hwy 101 between Maris Rd and downtown replacing the Padgett Rd routing  Service to Sliammon - Klahanie Drive  Serve the Farmers’ Market Route & Schedule  Route 2 – tight timing, particularly between VIU and caribou & Thunder Bay. Timing Impacted by traffic light wait time at Oliver & Joyce inbound and left turns from Oliver and Glacier onto Joyce outbound  Route 14: adjust schedule to connect with 4pm Lund water taxi to Savary Isl.  Adjust run times on rural routes Route & Schedule  Route 12 to route clockwise via Roberts Rd on inbound Improvements  Route 14: adjust to eliminate duplication with Route 1 in Cranberry  Introduce on-demand service to Westview Ferry Terminal  Adjust routing to minimize left turns onto Hwy 101 to improve safety

NEXT STEPS BC Transit is using these engagement responses to develop future service, infrastructure, and marketing/fares improvement options for the future Powell River Transit System. In addition, a detailed analysis of ridership information and an assessment of current and future vehicle and infrastructure needs is being undertaken to support option development. Improvement options will be discussed at a workshop with the City of Powell River and the Powell River Regional District for feedback, prior to undertaking a second phase of public consultation in October 2014. Once completed, the second phase of consultation will be used to refine options and recommendations and will be incorporated into a final service review report, to be presented to the City and Regional District for endorsement and approval. The priorities outlined in the final report will help guide local and provincial budget development and future transit investment.

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 13/14

APPENDIX A: STAKEHOLDER ORGANIZATIONS Table 4 identifies stakeholder organizations and individuals that were invited to be part of the Transit Service Review’s Phase 1 Engagement.

Table 4: Stakeholder Advisory Group List

Governing Bodies Powell River Regional District (PRRD) Staff City of Powell River Staff PRRD Directors City of Powell River Council Sliammon (Tla’amin) First Nation Ferries & Transportation BC Ferries Malaspina Coach Lines Lund Water Taxi Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee Ministry of Transportation School & Education School District 47 Powell River & District Teachers Association (includes SD 47 Bus Services contact) Vancouver Island University, Powell River Kelly Creek Community School Association Campus Youth Outreach Programs Powell River Youth Resource Centre Powell River Youth and Family Services Seniors’ Organizations, Residences Senior Citizens’ Association Olive Devaud Residence Kiwanis Garden Manor Dale Manor Assisted Living Adult Day Programs Lifestyle Housing Program Powell River Association for Community Living (PRACL) Health and Welfare Outreach Organizations, Programs Alano Club Powell River Community Resource Centre BOND Program Powell River Food Bank Family Place Powell River Model Community Project Powell River Brain Injury Society Seaside Wellness Centre for Women Powell River Community Health Centre Sunshine Coast Health Centre Service Clubs

October 2014 Public Engagement Phase One | Page 14/14

Carlson Community Club Rotary Club Kiwanis Club Royal Canadian Legion Employment Organizations Career Link Powell River Employment Program Society Neighbourhood Organizations Cranberry Ratepayers’ Association Wildwood Ratepayers’ Association Townsite Ratepayers’ Association Other Community Groups Association of the Savary Island Committee Powell River Public Library Child, Youth & Family Services Society, CYFSS Senior Citizens’ Branch #49 Early Childhood Family & Support Program Texada Island Community Society Family Friendly Powell River Texada Island Seniors Council Island Trust Texada Public Library Lund Community Society Texada Women’s Island Network Powell River Community Foundation Transition Town Powell River Powell River Cycling Association Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Shopping Malls Crossroads Village Shopping Centre Powell River Town Centre Major Employers Catalyst Paper Powell River Association for Community Living (PRACL) City of Powell River School District 47 Crossroads Village Shopping Centre Powell River Town Centre Businesses Community Futures Development Corporation Texada Island Chamber of Commerce Marine Area Business Association, Powell River Town Centre Mall Merchants’ Association North Island Employment Foundation Society Tourism Powell River Society (Discover Powell River) Powell River Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Powell River Powell River Regional Economic Development Society (PRREDS)

Appendix D: City of Powell River Public Transit Policies (SOCP)

Appendix D: City of Powell River Public Transit Policies (Sustainable Official Community Plan)

125 Appendix D: City of Powell River Public Transit Policies (SOCP)

City of Powell River Sustainable Official Community Plan (SOCP)

7.4.2 Public Transit Policies

a) The importance of transit as a key public good is recognized, and the City will therefore continue to support public transit and encourage increased ridership through collaboration with BC Transit, School District 47 and 93, the PRRD, and Tla’amin Nation. b) Work towards 100% accessible bus service. Implement transit-supportive measures within the City (i.e., introduce low-floor buses; provide transit route and schedule information at bus stops; establish transit amenity standards for shelters, accessibility features, and lighting; consider the application of transit priority treatments at signalized intersections to improve transit service in key areas). c) Plan for appropriate density and mix of uses to support the provision of more frequent transit service. d) Encourage the integration of transit access in the design of new developments. Encourage new developments to provide high-quality pedestrian facilities and improve the public realm. e) Consider where appropriate, Traffic Demand Management approaches and reducing vehicle parking requirements for new developments in centres and corridors well served by transit (i.e., Town Centre Mall) to encourage alternate modes of transportation. f) Provide priority in the maintenance of roads to transit routes and adjacent sidewalks. g) Encourage the use of public transit to Central Westview and other major activity centres by giving transit services and operations a high priority in the ongoing management of street facilities and the allocation of space in the available street rights-of-way h) Develop and maintain parking policies, particularly in Mixed Use areas, that encourage transit use and support efficient transit operations. i) Maintain adequate funding to ensure that affordable, reliable and convenient public transit services can continue to be provided. j) Council acknowledges the changing demographic profile of the community and the potential for increased demand for transit service due to an aging population.

126 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

127 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory A = Wheelchair Accessible Red Paint RP PROPOSED = high priority AC = Wheelchair Accessible with caution No Paint NP PROPOSED = medium priority NA = Not accessible by Wheelchair No Curb NC PROPOSED = low priority Route 1: Townsite/Wildwood Kiwanis Upgrades needed? Accessibility Stop ID Stop Location (if used by multiple routes, indicated in brackets) Shelter? Bench? If yes, please detail A 004 TC Mall North (1, 2, 3) RP needs wider sidewalk AC 005 Alberni Street Just above Quebec Street RP gravel behind sidewalk AC 006 Alberni Street In front of 7210 Alberni RP gravel behind sidewalk AC 007 Manson Avenue In front of 4830 Manson RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 008 Manson Avenue In front of 4898 Manson RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA 009 Manson Avenue In front of 5006 Manson NC PROPOSED needs paving NA 010 Manson Avenue Across from 5087 Manson NC need paving, elevated pad A 011 Manson Avenue In front of 5198 Manson NP needs more lighting NA 012 Manson Avenue In front of 5282 Manson, Cassiar & Manson NC PROPOSED needs paving NA 013 Manson Avenue In front of 5358 Manson NC needs paving, elevated pad A 014 Manson Avenue Borden Place NC PROPOSED needs paving NA 015 Manson Avenue At McGregor NC needs paving, elevated pad NA 016 Manson Avenue At Park RP pave behind curb NA 017 Manson Avenue Across from 5553 Manson NC REMOVE A 018 Manson Avenue In front of 5602 Manson NC PROPOSED needs paving NA 019 Church Street In front of 6822 Church NC needs elevated pad NA 020 Church Street At Nelson NC needs elevated pad AC 021 Church Street At Marlatt RP sign moved asphalt pad NA 022 Marlatt Street In front of 5700 Marlatt RP EXISTING needs elevated pad NA 023 Marlatt Street In front of 5764 Marlatt RP move sign, elevated pad NA 024 Marlatt Street In front of 5806 Marlatt, Cranberry & Marlatt RP EXISTING PROPOSED elevated pad NA L01 Cranberry Street At Marlatt (Lindsay Park) NC needs elevated pad NA L02 Cranberry Street At Tatlow NC needs paving, elevated pad NA L03 Haslam At Cranberry NC improve gravel pad[asphalt] NA L04 Allen Street At Haslam NC elevated pad NA L05 Warner Street At Tatlow NC EXISTING PROPOSED elevated pad NA L06 Cranberry Street At Marlatt NC elevated pad A 025 Cranberry Street In front of 6887 Cranberry, Cranberry & Mowat RP EXISTING needs hedge cut A 026 Cranberry Street In front of 6801 Cranberry, Cranberry & Manson RP PROPOSED A 027 Cranberry Street Kings Collision RP PROPOSED NA 028 Cranberry Street In front of 6655 Cranberry, Moose Village NC REMOVED NA 029 Cranberry Street Across from 6616 Cranberry NC needs paving, elevated pad AC 030 Dieppe Street At Drake RP asphalt behind sidewalk NA 031 Tinberlane At Timberlane Barracks NC connecting path to parking lot NA 032 Hawthorne Street Between Maple & Willow NP PROPOSED paving, connecting path NA Hemlock Street At Brooks School YP NA 033 Maple Street In front of 5584 Maple RP no help for this one NA 034 Maple Street At Elm NC paving, elevated pad NA 035 Maple Street At Dogwood NC paving, elevated pad A 036 Maple Street In front of 5732 Maple RP needs sidewalk letdown A 037 Maple Street In front of 5794 Maple RP needs sidewalk letdown AC 038 Sycamore Street In front of 6343 Sycamore RP needs sidewalk letdown NA 039 Sycamore Street In front of 6307 Sycamore RP needs longer bus zone A 040 Marine Avenue In front of Bakery RP EXISTING PROPOSED A 041 Arbutus & Sycamore RP OK bus stop NA 042 Arbutus & Oak Street NC paving, elevated pad NA 043 Powell Place At Wildwood Bridge RP needs elevated pad NA 044 Lund Street At Chilco NC needs paving NA 045 Lund Street At King NC EXISTING needs paving completed NA 046 Lund Street In front of 6039 Lund NC paving, elevated pad NA S01 Hwy 101 at Sutherland NC paving, elevated pad, new sign NA S02 By Sliammon Bridge Hwy 101 NC paving, elevated pad NA S03 By Church NC EXISTING needs paving, new sign A S04 By Sliammon Band Office NP PROPOSED paving, w/c ramps improved NA S05 Hwy 101 across from soccer field NC wheelchair-accessible pad NA S06 By XWUP XWUP Store NC PROPOSED AC 047 Sutherland Street At Lund RP EXISTING needs more lighting AC 048 Sutherland Street At Fraser RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk A 049 Sutherland Street At Lois NP asphalt behind sidewalk

128 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory A = Wheelchair Accessible Red Paint RP PROPOSED = high priority AC = Wheelchair Accessible with caution No Paint NP PROPOSED = medium priority NA = Not accessible by Wheelchair No Curb NC PROPOSED = low priority Route 1: Townsite/Wildwood Kiwanis Upgrades needed? Accessibility Stop ID Stop Location (if used by multiple routes, indicated in brackets) Shelter? Bench? If yes, please detail NA 050 Skeena Street At Sutherland NP EXISTING elevated pad NA 051 Skeena Street In front of 5861 Skeena NC elevated pad 7x7 NA 052 McMahon Avenue In front of 6603 McMahon NC elevated pad 7x7 NA 053 Nass Street In front of 5916 Nass NC elevated pad 7x7 NA 054 Nass Street At Sutherland RP PROPOSED elevated pad 7x7 NA 055 Lois Street At Sutherland RP PROPOSED NA 056 Lois Street In front of 6050 Lois RP PROPOSED needs elevated pad NA 057 Lois Street Lois & King RP PROPOSED PROPOSED needs elevated pad AC 058 King Street In front of 6451 King RP asphalt behind sidewalk AC 059 Columbia Street At King RP PROPOSED needs 2x7 asphalt pad NA 060 Columbia Street In front of 6176 Columbia RP needs 2x7 asphalt pad AC 061 Columbia Street At Chilco RP should be moved to Hillcrest AC 062 Chilco Street In front of 6323 Chilco (accessible w/ attendant RP needs elevated pad NA 063 Chilco Street At Lund RP PROPOSED needs elevated pad NA 064 Lund Street Near Wildwood Bridge NC needs paving, elevated pad NA 065 Arbutus Street Near City Motors NC PROPOSED needs paving, elevated pad NA 066 Arbutus Street At Poplar RP REMOVE A 067 Arbutus Street At Marine RP PROPOSED pave gravel pad NA 068 Marine Avenue Across from Hyatt Lodge RP curb higher than sidewalk NA 069 Sycamore Street In front of St. David's Church RP shelter built by Church members A 070 Maple Street At Aspen & Sycamore RP needs nothing A 071 Maple Street At Birch RP needs nothing NA 072 Maple Street At Chestnut (Tennis Court) RP EXISTING good bus stop NA 073 Maple Street In front of 5671 Maple RP curb higher than sidewalk NA 074 Maple Street At Elm RP curb higher than sidewalk NA 075 Maple Street At Fir RP curb higher than sidewalk AC 076 Hawthorne Street At Maple NP PROPOSED needs paving (high use) NA 077 Timberlane At Timberlane Park NC needs elevated pad AC 078 Dieppe Street Across From Cranberry Fire Hall RP needs asphalt pad 2x7 behind sidewalk A 079 Cranberry Street At Ortona (DA Evans Park) RP EXISTING A 080 Cranberry Street By Park Lane Apartments RP needs fill behind sidewalk AC 081 Cranberry Street In front of 6812 Cranberry RP EXISTING needs more lighting AC 082 Cranberry Street In front of 6888 Cranberry RP PROPOSED NA 083 Marlatt Avenue At Cranberry NC PROPOSED needs paving, elevated pad NA 084 Marlatt Avenue In front of 5761 Marlatt NC needs elevated pad AC 085 Marlatt Avenue At Drake RP needs w/c acess pad improved NA 086 Marlatt Avenue At Church NC needs elevated pad NA 087 Church Street In front of 6863 Church, at Nelson NC needs elevated pad NA 088 Church Street At Manson NC needs elevated pad AC 089 Manson Avenue In front of 5573 Manson RP EXISTING needs fill behind sidewalk AC 090 Manson Avenue In front of 5515 Manson RP EXISTING PROPOSED NA 091 Manson Avenue In front of 5501 Manson RP REMOVE NA 092 Manson Avenue At McGregor NC EXISTING needs paving, elevated pad A 093 Manson Avenue In front of 5423 Manson, at Drake NC EXISTING needs paving completed NA 094 Manson Avenue At McGuffie NC needs elevated pad NA 095 Manson Avenue At Cassiar NC EXISTING PROPOSED needs paving NA 096 Manson Avenue Across fron Edgehill Store NC needs paving, elevated pad NA 097 Manson Avenue In front of 5075 Manson RP EXISTING has sidewalk now AC 098 Manson Avenue In front of 4983 Manson, at Queens RP PROPOSED AC 099 Manson Avenue To left of 4901 Manson RP OK bus stop AC 100 Alberni Street By Hilltop Store RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 101 Alberni Street In front of 7197 Alberni, at Fernwood RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 102 Alberni Street In front of 7123 Alberni RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk A 004 TC Mall North RP wider sidewalk

129 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory A = Wheelchair Accessible Red Paint RP PROPOSED = high priority AC = Wheelchair Accessible with No Paint NP PROPOSED = medium priority NA = Not accessible by Wheelchair No Curb NC PROPOSED = low priority Route 2: Grief Point Kiwanis Upgrades needed? Accessibility Stop ID Stop Location (if used by multiple routes, indicated in brackets) Shelter? Bench? If yes, please detail A 004 TC Mall North (1, 2, 3) RP AC 200 Alberni Street (2, 3) By Post Office RP asphalt behind sidewalk AC 201 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Across from McDonalds RP PROPOSED asphalt behind sidewalk AC 202 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Across from Crossroads Village RP asphalt behind sidewalk A 203 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) In front of Kiwanis Building RP EXISTING good bus stop AC 203A Intersection at Hospital (2, 3) asphalt behind sidewalk A 204 PR General Hospital (2, 3) NP OK bus stop NA 205 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Across from Kiwanis Building NC EXISTING asphalt ramp at end of sidewalk AC 205A Joyce Avenue (2, 3) In front of Crossroads Village RP OK bus stop A 206 Alberni Street At Joyce RP EXISTING good bus stop NA 207 Alberni Street RP asphalt gravel sidewalk NA 208 Alberni Street In front of 6831 Alberni RP move up hill 40" A 209 Marine Avenue In front of Legion RP EXISTING good bus stop A 210 Marine Avenue In front of 4573 Marine (Burton) RP needs nothing NA 211 Marine Avenue At Courtenay RP needs chain link fence A 212 Duncan Street In front of 6930 Duncan (Old BC Tel Bulding) RP PROPOSED AC 213 Joyce Avenue At Duncan RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 214 Field Street Across from Max Cameron RP needs fill behind sidewalk AC 215 Glacier Street Between Franklin & Joyce RP PROPOSED high-use bus stop A 216 Joyce Avenue At Westview RP EXISTING AC 217 Joyce Avenue At Jasper RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 218 Joyce Avenue At Kamloops RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 219 Joyce Avenue At Lytton RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 220 Joyce Avenue At Massett RP PROPOSED no room for shelter, drop off NA 221 Nootka Street By Apartment Building RP EXISTING PROPOSED pave behind sidewalk, high-use AC 222 Quadra Street In front of 3885 Quadra, near driveway RP EXISTING PROPOSED improve w/c access pad NA 223 Quadra Street At Oliver RP asphalt behind curb A 224 Oliver Street By driveway of Ceco Manor RP EXISTING PROPOSED high-use bus stop, seniors AC 225 Joyce Avenue At Oliver RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 226 Joyce Avenue In front of 3709 Joyce (Penticton) RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA 227 Joyce Avenue At Quesnel RP PROPOSED steep drop off, no shelter AC 228 Joyce Avenue At Richmond RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 229 Joyce Avenue At Surrey RP asphalt pad behind bus stop AC 230 Toba Street At Joyce RP EXISTING PROPOSED high-use bus stop NA 231 Toba Street In front of 7074 Toba RP EXISTING poor construction AC 232 Toba Street Across from Ontario RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 233 Theodosia In front of 3400 Theodosia RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA 234 Teakerne Street At Ontario RP needs fill and asphalt pad NA 235 Cariboo Avenue In front of 3407 Cariboo RP EXISTING needs 7x7' w/c pad NA 236 Cariboo Avenue Top side of Tahsis RP move 50' asphalt pad NA 237 Cariboo Avenue At Tofino RP improve w/c pad NA 238 Cariboo Avenue At Thunderbay RP EXISTING PROPOSED asphalt pad 7x7' A 239 Marine Avenue In front of Thunderbay Store RP EXISTING good bus stop NA 240 Marine Avenue In front of 3348 Marine NC highways, not good NA 241 Marine Avenue At Terrace NC highways, not good NA 242 Marine Avenue At Retaskit NC PROPOSED highways, not good NA 243 Marine Avenue In front of 3600 Marine NC highways, not good NA 244 Marine Avenue In front of 3720 Marine (Penticton) NC PROPOSED highways, not good NA 245 Oliver Street 1/2 way between Marine & Gordon RP asphalt pad behind curb NA 246 Oliver Street At Manitoba NC not a good bus stop A 247 Oliver Street 1/2 way between Selkirk & Joyce RP EXISTING good bus stop NA 247A Quadra Avenue In front of 3820 Quadra NP needs 7x7' asphalt pad AC 248 Nootka Street At Quadra RP EXISTING PROPOSED needs 4x20' shelter AC 249 Nootka Street At Joyce RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk

130 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory A = Wheelchair Accessible Red Paint RP PROPOSED = high priority AC = Wheelchair Accessible with No Paint NP PROPOSED = medium priority NA = Not accessible by Wheelchair No Curb NC PROPOSED = low priority Route 2: Grief Point Kiwanis Upgrades needed? Accessibility Stop ID Stop Location (if used by multiple routes, indicated in brackets) Shelter? Bench? If yes, please detail AC 250 Joyce Avenue At Massett RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 251 Joyce Avenue In front of 4030 Joyce RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 252 Joyce Avenue At Kamloops RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk A 253 Joyce Avenue At Westview RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk A 254 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) By Robins Donut Shop (2, 3) RP EXISTING high-use stop AC 255 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) At Duncan (2, 3) RP needs nothing, until future AC 256 Duncan Street at Michigan RP asphalt pad 2x7 behind sidewalk A 257 Marine Avenue In front of antique store RP EXISTING PROPOSED busy bus stop AC 258 Marine Avenue At Courtenay RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk A 259 Marine Avenue In front of Mexican restaurant RP EXISTING needs bench moved 2' A 260 Marine Avenue In front of Gibson's Crossing RP EXISTING needs nothing NA 261 Alberni Street At Algoma RP EXISTING high-use bus stop NA 262 Alberni Street at Michigan RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 263 Alberni Street At Joyce RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 003 Alberni Street (2, 3) By Scotia Bank RP EXISTING needs nothing else A 004 TC Mall North (1, 2, 3) Terminus RP

131 Appendix E: City of Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory

Powell River Conventional Bus Stop Inventory A = Wheelchair Accessible Red Paint RP PROPOSED = high priority AC = Wheelchair Accessible with No Paint NP PROPOSED = medium priority NA = Not accessible by Wheelchair No Curb NC PROPOSED = low priority Route 3: Upper Westview Kiwanis Upgrades needed? Accessibility Stop ID Stop Location (if used by multiple routes, indicated in brackets) Shelter? Bench? If yes, please detail A 004 TC Mall North RP AC 200 Alberni Street At Post Office RP A 300 Joyce Avenue In front of 4763 Joyce RP PROPOSED A 301 Joyce Avenue In front of Credit Union RP PROPOSED needs larger pad AC 302 Barnet Street Beside Safeway RP PROPOSED busy stop NA 304 Barnet Street By Police Station RP needs w/c letdown NA 305 Barnet Street At Redonda RP asphalt pad behind curb NA 306 Barnet Street At Manson RP should be moved onto Manson AC 307 Manson Avenue In front of 4557 Manson RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 308 Manson Avenue At Duncan RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC A01 Duncan Street Above Bowness RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA A02 Airport Road Near Terminal NC needs elevated pad AC A03 Airport Road At Shelter NC EXISTING OK bus stop AC A04 Duncan Street Above Bowness RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 308A RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA 309 Manson Avenue In front of 4331 Manson NC needs paving, elevated pad NA 310 Manson Avenue In front of 4259 Manson NC PROPOSED needs paving, elevated pad AC 311 Manson Avenue In front of 4205 Manson RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 312 Manson Avenue In front of 4161 Manson (at Kemano) NP asphalt pad behind sidewalk NA 313 Kemano Street At Fernowood RP 7x7' asphalt pad NA 314 Kemano Street Olive Devaud Home RP A 314A Westview & Kamloops Below Sunset Homes NP PROPOSED high use stop, seniors NA 315 Westview Avenue Viscount Apartments RP EXISTING PROPOSED high use stop, seniors A 254 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) By Robins Donuts RP AC 255 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) At Duncan RP A 316 Joyce Avenue In front of 4454 Joyce - across from Scout Hall RP PROPOSED needs bigger w/c pad AC 317 Joyce Avenue Across from 4559 Joyce RP asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 318 Joyce Avenue At Burnaby RP EXISTING asphalt pad behind sidewalk AC 302 Barnet Street At Safeway RP EXISTING PROPOSED A 319 TC Mall South In front of Overwaitea Foods/Save-on-Foods RP mall-owned excellent stop A 320 Joyce Avenue In front of Canadian Tire RP has 20' concrete pad A 321 Joyce Avenue In front of Coast Realty Group RP PROPOSED AC 201 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Across from McDonalds RP AC 202 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Across from Crossroads Village RP A 203 Joyce Avenue (2, 3) In front of Kiwanis Building RP AC 204A Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Hospital Intersection RP A 204 Hospital (2, 3) RP NA 205 Joyce Avenue Across from Kiwanis Building NC AC 205A Joyce Avenue (2, 3) Crossroads Village RP AC 003 Alberni Street (2, 3) By Scotia Bank RP A 004 TC Mall North RP 319A Canadian Tire Road mall-owned excellent stop

132 Appendix F: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Priorities

Appendix F: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Priorities

133 Appendix F: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Priorities

Table 25: Regional Transportation Plan Transit Priorities

Transit Priorities -- Level of Support by RD Area # of responses % "Support" % "Would Use" # "Would Use"** City of City of City of City of Powell Tla'amin Area Area Area Area Area Powell Tla'amin Area Area Area Area Area Powell Tla'amin Area Area Area Area Area Powell Tla'amin Area Area Area Area Area Improved Transit Service: Options River Nation A B C D E River Nation A B C D E River Nation A B C D E River Nation A B C D E Provide a commuter service -- -- 105 75 52 ------36% 73% 72% ------12% 31% 35% ------13 23 18 -- Provide more frequent midday services -- -- 105 75 57 ------33% 77% 77% ------10% 31% 35% ------11 23 20 -- Internal Texada transit service ------57 ------81% ------40% ------23 -- Earlier transit 296 5 105 32 43 57 1 58% 1% 25% 53% 63% 72% n/a* 20% 80% 20% 16% 37% 25% n/a* 59 4 21 5 16 14 n/a* Later transit 296 5 105 32 43 57 1 61% 1% 24% 66% 79% 65% n/a* 24% 80% 24% 19% 44% 33% n/a* 71 4 25 6 19 19 n/a*

Other Proposals Overall Score Transit education ------8.1 Shared school and public transportation ------7.9 Use of other community buses (Texada) ------7.7 Bus stop upgrades (shelter, paved area) ------6.3 Transit levy -- stated to be "NOT SUPPORTED" -- 6.0 *n/a = no response ** Actual users of a service, when implemented, generally tend to be 30-50% of the number of people surveyed saying "Would Use", due to convenience (factors such as trip length, schedule times, location of closest bus stop, etc.).

134 Appendix G: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Option Evaluation Scores

Appendix G: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Option Evaluation Scores

135 Appendix G: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Transit Option Evaluation Scores

Table 26: Regional Transportation Plan Transit Option Evaluation – Sorted by Final Score

Original scores Consultation Safety Sustainability* Timeline Finance Does this option Will this Working improve option take Construction/ Maintenance Supports Group Public safety for Principle Principle Principle Principle long to Implementation Cost Economy Score Score any users? #1 #2 #3 #4 implement? Cost to PRRD of PRRD Weighting 40% 5% 20% 5% 30% Final Description 20% 20% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 20% 5% 5% Score Transit education 10.0 5.7 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 10.0 5.0 5.0 8.1 Shared school and public transportation 10.0 5.5 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.9 Use of local Texada buses for on-island service 10.0 5.0 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 7.7 Earlier transit to meet first ferries 10.0 4.6 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.6 Commuter bus service north of City 10.0 4.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.5 Commuter bus service south of City 10.0 3.9 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.4 Commuter bus service to Texada 10.0 3.2 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.3 Internal Texada transit service 10.0 2.7 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 4.0 7.0 Later transit service 5.0 5.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 6.7 Improved non-commuter bus service north of City 6.0 3.6 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 6.5 Improved non-commuter bus service south of City 6.0 3.5 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 6.5 Improved non-commuter bus service to Texada 6.0 3.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 6.4 Upgrade of bus stops with shelter and paved area 10.0 4.1 2.0 5.0 10.0 9.0 5.0 7.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 6.3 Transit levy 0.0 3.8 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 5.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 6.0 *Sustainability Principle #1: Does this option result in extraction of material from the earth's crust? Principle #3: Does this option avoid destruction of the natural environment? Principle #2: Does this option create pollutants or GHS's? Principle #4: Does this option enable people to meet their daily needs?

Table 27: Regional Transportation Plan Transit Option Evaluation – Sorted by Public Score

Sorted by Public Score Consultation Safety Sustainability* Timeline Finance Does this option Will this Working improve option take Construction/ Maintenance Supports Group Public safety for Principle Principle Principle Principle long to Implementation Cost Economy Score Score any users? #1 #2 #3 #4 implement? Cost to PRRD of PRRD Weighting 40% 5% 20% 5% 30% Final Description 20% 20% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 20% 5% 5% Score Transit education 10.0 5.7 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 10.0 5.0 5.0 8.1 Shared school and public transportation 10.0 5.5 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.9 Use of local Texada buses for on-island service 10.0 5.0 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 7.7 Later transit service 5.0 5.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 6.7 Earlier transit to meet first ferries 10.0 4.6 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.6 Upgrade of bus stops with shelter and paved area 10.0 4.1 2.0 5.0 10.0 9.0 5.0 7.0 5.0 8.0 4.0 6.3 Commuter bus service north of City 10.0 4.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.5 Commuter bus service south of City 10.0 3.9 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.4 Transit levy 0.0 3.8 0.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 5.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 6.0 Improved non-commuter bus service north of City 6.0 3.6 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 6.5 Improved non-commuter bus service south of City 6.0 3.5 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 6.0 6.5 Commuter bus service to Texada 10.0 3.2 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 8.0 7.3 Improved non-commuter bus service to Texada 6.0 3.0 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 5.0 0.0 6.0 5.4 Internal Texada transit service 10.0 2.7 0.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 10.0 7.0 10.0 0.0 4.0 7.0 136 Appendix H: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Implementation Plan

Appendix H: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Implementation Plan

137 Appendix H: Powell River Regional District Regional Transportation Plan Results – Implementation Plan

Table 28: Regional Transportation Plan: Implementation Plan

138 Appendix I: Texada Transportation Consultation Report Results

Appendix I: Texada Island Chamber of Commerce Texada Transportation Consultation

Report Results

139 Texada Transportation Consultation Report Sponsored by Texada Island Chamber of Commerce May 29, 2014

I. Background

A. Why Texada needed a public consultation on local transportation

The Powell River Regional District (PRRD) started working on a Regional Transportation Plan last summer with a round of consultations throughout the region. According to PRRD minutes, these initial consultations were intended to gather residents’ concerns and ideas for improving transportation in their communities. The consultation meeting for Texada was scheduled for Monday, July 9 (the day after Texada’s very busy Sandcastle Weekend), but was not advertised in any way on Texada Island.

Three government employees, a government consultant and only one Texada resident attended the July 9th meeting. The one Texadan who attended the meeting happened to have caught a sentence at the end of a Powell River Peak article that mentioned the upcoming meeting. The PRRD did not reschedule this meeting, and a subsequent PRRD meeting on transportation (November 20), which was heavily advertised and well-attended on Texada, focused on a presentation of regional survey results. That meeting was most definitely not a consultation.

The PRRD went on to adopt the “2014-2040 Regional Transportation Plan” in April of this year. The Plan has only one existing transportation method (Route 13 Paratransit Bus, Thursdays only) for Texada and one new transportation initiative for Texada: a proposed 3.4-kilometer (2.1-mile) road-widening project between Gillies Bay and Shelter Point, to be built in phases from 2014 to 2016 at an estimated cost of about $1 million. The stated purpose of this road- widening is to improve traffic safety by providing a 1.8-meter (6-foot) wide paved path for pedestrians, bicyclists, scooters and others.

Texada’s Chamber of Commerce Executive felt that Texadans were not given a true opportunity last year for a community discussion of local transportation, and in March of this year the Chamber decided to sponsor a series of transportation consultation meetings on Texada open to all residents. The meetings were held May 14, 15 and 16. Findings from these meetings are given below.

B. Who conducted the consultation and how it was done

In March 2014, the Texada Chamber of Commerce Executive appointed a Texada Transportation Consultation Committee to plan and implement the consultation. It was chaired by Tom Read, a Chamber Executive member, and included as members Karen May, current Chamber president, and Linda Bruhn and Barb Egglestone, Chamber Executive members. The committee was assisted in its planning by Texada residents Phyllis Soles, Ken Soles, and Dick Fahlman. Another five residents volunteered as table group facilitators and note-takers.

Publicity for the consultation consisted of a notice and a half-page insert in the May Texada Express Lines, a pinned notice on the Texada Facebook Message Board, a notice on each of the Texada sign boards (at Centennial Gas and at the Texada Community Hall) and posters at various locations in Van Anda and Gillies Bay and on the ferry.

The consultation consisted of three facilitated meetings held at different times and locations so that Texadans could choose the meeting that best fit their schedule:  Wednesday, May 14 at 1:00 pm at the Texada Seniors Centre, Gillies Bay  Thursday, May 15 at 7:00 pm at the Texada Seniors Centre, Gillies Bay  Friday, May 16 at 1:00 pm at the Texada Legion, Van Anda

Each meeting consisted of a discussion of the participants’ ideas for improving local Texada transportation, including connection to off-island transport nodes such as the ferry, harbour and airport. The most heavily attended meeting, on May 14, had four simultaneous table discussion groups of 8 to 10 people, each led by a volunteer facilitator. The output from these table group discussions was a verbal summary of the group’s discussion and a list of their main concerns and ideas. At the May 15 and 16 meetings there was only one table group per meeting, each with one facilitator and one note-taker.

After the table discussions, Tom Read lead all participants at each meeting through a listing of the Texada transportation options they had come up with and then through a prioritizing exercise. This exercise allowed participants to systematically compare each option with every other option, in pairs. By comparing only two options at a time, participants could usually choose clearly which option they favored.

Community participation in the consultation consisted of 51 Texada residents, as follows:  30 residents and five facilitators on May 14  10 residents and one facilitator on May 15 and  11 residents and one facilitator on May 16 Some of the participants acted as facilitators at one meeting and contributed their personal views at a different meeting. No sign-up sheets were used, but the meeting facilitators noted how many participants attended each meeting.

II. Consultation Results: New Priorities for Texada Public Transportation

The prioritizing exercise results for all three meetings were very similar, because different participants in each meeting brought up some of the same options. Overall priority rankings and scores are shown below:

Priority # Option Score 1 Texada on-island transit (bus, van and/or taxi) that will 9.5 provide service between villages and to main services within each -- medical, banking, stores, restaurants, community events -- and with ferry, airport and harbour connections. Possibly with on-call home pick up and delivery covering most populated areas of the island. 2 Road repair and maintenance, including lines, signs, shoulder- 8.5 widening, pot-hole filling and pavement support 3 Multi-use off-road trails connecting populated areas and the 2.0 ferry, airport and harbour, usable by hikers, bicyclists, ATVs and horses but not cars or trucks 4 An additional day of Route 13 paratransit bus service to 1.0 Powell River 5 Road-widening between Gillies Bay and Shelter Point to 0.0 provide a paved path for pedestrians, bicyclists, scooters, etc

Each meeting showed strong support: 1) for tax-supported island-wide transit (possibly via 15-passenger van) operated by a Texada business or community organization in partnership with PRRD; and 2) for PRRD to advocate with BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways for improved maintenance and repair of Texada roads, with emphasis on correcting safety hazards.

The above two priorities were very close, but island transit had a slight edge at the May 14 and May 16 meetings.

Each meeting showed support for creating an off-road multi-use trail network connecting island population centers and transportation nodes (including ferry terminal, airport and harbour). This option clearly came in third after the two options above.

The third meeting (May 16) showed low support for adding a second day of BC Paratransit Route 13 service between Texada and Powell River.

All three meetings showed very strong opposition to the Gillies Bay-to-Shelter Point road- widening project. Verbal opposition to this project was nearly unanimous. Only two participants, both at the May 14 meeting, spoke in favor of this project.

Important note: there appears to be some correlation between the Texada Chamber of Commerce transportation consultation findings above and comments in the PRRD Regional Transportation Survey conducted in 2013-2014. Specifically, comments in the PRRD survey mostly concern on-island transit (coordinated with ferry schedule and PR bus system), road maintenance and trails, and only two comments refer to the proposed Gillies Bay to Shelter Point road-widening. See Appendix A for survey comments that mentioned Texada.

III. Recommendations

Based on the Chamber’s Texada transportation consultation, the Chamber recommends that the PRRD amend the Regional Transportation Plan and 2014-2018 Financial Plan (budget) as follows:

1) Add a tax-supported island-wide transit service provided by a Texada business or community organization in partnership with PRRD;

2) Add an advocacy campaign by PRRD to persuade the BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways to improve Texada road safety and implement recommendations from Texada’s newly-formed ad-hoc road safety committee;

3) Add community-based planning and implementation of an off-road multi-use trail network connecting island population centres and transportation nodes (i.e. ferry terminal, airport, harbour); and

4) Cease work on a Gillies Bay to Shelter Point road widening project and delete it from the Regional Transportation Plan and 2014-2018 Financial Plan (budget).

Appendix A: Texada comments extracted from the 2013-14 regional transportation survey

I believe that we are well serviced in regards to transportation. We have ferry service to get where we need to go and KDAir has scheduled flights to Vancouver Island and Vancouver. We have transit by bus to Powell River every Thursday. 7/8/2013 9:44 AM

Airports are good in both Powell River and Gillies Bay. Texada has the best system of trails and opportunities for exploration/adventuring I've seen in BC. 7/8/2013 9:14 AM

Yes I have to depend on the transit bus on Thursdays ,I wish there was more days for the transit system to come to Texada to go to Powell River. For shopping and appointments. Other wise I have to ask for a ride or hitchhike back and forth . 6/28/2013 9:25 AM

I believe the ferry schedules are not well coordinated to serve Texada residents. 7/8/2013 9:44 AM

The weakness for Texada not enough transit days for alot of people .There has been on Thursdays the transit bus is full. Where people need to do there shopping. Make appointments only on Thursdays at a certain time limited. Please help on issues to get to Powell River from Texada Island. 6/28/2013 9:25 AM

1) If a decent unpaved path away from main roads existed near my home 2) If a flexible, affordable public transit system existed on Texada 7/15/2013 12:17 PM

As long as I'm in Powell River to run errands, I'm not likely to walk or cycle! However, I drive less than 5000 km per year. When I'm on Texada, I walk, cycle, run, ride...my car stays parked most of the time. If you want to encourage walking/cycling - give people a place to park at the ferry and provide trails to ride in and out of town. Most new cyclists are not comfortable riding in traffic. 7/8/2013 9:14 AM

Daily bus service between Texada and PR. Better connections between ferry and bus service 8/7/2013 1:12 PM

A focus on each rural community (Texada, especially) getting its own public transit, integrated into a regional seamless network. 7/15/2013 12:17 PM

I would like to see like Two days aweek at least or more if it is possible for the Transit System. For Texada Island. 6/28/2013 9:25 AM

There are lot of people on Texada that need help on Transportion. 6/28/2013 9:25 AM

I would like more days of the transit system. Gillies bay and VanAnda. As of right now I live in VanAnda ,I cannot get to Gillies Bay for the date of the meeting is held on these issues. 6/28/2013 9:25 AM

The road past shelter point park (High Road) should be widened as well If a transit system was on Texada, it would have to go up the High Road past Shelter Point Park as there are many people who live outside of Gillies Bay and Van Anda. Not everyone drives, as the population on the island is mostly older people, so transportation on Texada would be good. Transportation lining up with ferries would be even better.1/30/2014 1:54 PM

Cutbacks to evening ferry runs to Texada Island would have devastatingly negative social costs. Youngsters and adults would no longer be able to participate in after supper cultural, social, or sports activities. This would have a serious impact on the physical and mental health of Texada residents, particularly in the long dark winters. There are few activities on the island to engage teenagers, in particular. This is a vulnerable age for development - to cut off their opportunities to interact with their peers in social, music, sports, or school related projects would be nothing but irresponsible, at a price much, much higher than saving some budget dollars.11/24/2013 8:53 AM

As the cost of widening highway shoulders for vulnerable users is so high I suggest targeting certain areas on the road to Blubber Bay to Van Anda first as following: coming from the ferry to Van Anda widen the shoulder coming up the lagoon hill just before Crescent Bay Road going to the ferry widen the shoulder from the bottom of the lagoon hill after Crescent Bay Road to the top of the Blubber Bay hill. Similarly from Van Anda to Gillies Bay target the areas where the vulnerable user is going up hill or around blind corners.11/22/2013 3:36 PM

Arrange for citizens living on islands in our regional district to attend meetings of the Powell River Regional District via electronic means as a substitute for travel. This will become especially critical if the ferry schedule changes to eliminate the two later sailings between Texada and Powell River, as proposed by BC Ferries.11/21/2013 8:35 AM

The road between Sanderson Road and the Gillies Bay store is very well used but is muddy and dangerous and there should be a sidewalk. This is the most important place for a sidewalk on Texada.11/14/2013 8:48 AM

A bike share program in Powell River like the Bixi bike service in Montreal would work very well for Texada residents making the option of taking the bus to the ferry then using the bike share for various errands in town a real usable transportation method. Also would work for tourists waiting for the ferry to ride to businesses farther than walking distance from terminal I feel strongly that wide shoulders or bike lanes are more effective at encouraging daily use of bikes rather than cars than a dedicated paved trail paralleling an existing route. I feel strongly that a dedicated paved bike trail would be very effective in encouraging daily use of bikes on route were there is no parallel existing route. For example, the power line route should have a paved section for bikes. I feel strongly that making the use of cars more difficult through less parking due to a bike lane and low 30 km speed limits is a good way to encourage the use of bicycles as transportation and will not have a negative impact on local business as it is easy on a bike to stop and use services along a route. Installing signs that indicate that bicycles should be given a one meter minimum clearance by passing cars is a more effective sign than the existing share the road sign. These signs are popular in Europe. There should be no charge for bicycles on BC Ferries over a pedestrian fare.11/11/2013 9:10 AM

Advertising for the public meetings is ONLY in wednesday paper!!! Wednesday paper is NOT delivered outside the municiple limits. Internet access is VERY limited outside the municiple limits! There is a strong impression that the opinions of those outside the municiple limits is NOT being solicited!! Pave the roads! The roads on Texada Island are a joke! King street, Maple street desperatly need paving! Maintenance of roads has reached the point that weeds are growing into the middle of the street in cracks of pavement!!11/9/2013 8:25 AM

Texada residents shoud have an option on weekends to go from Texada to Comox. Morning and evening runs on Saturday and Sunday11/9/2013 8:25 AM

Texada needs more service . I love riding the bus, but the system needs improving. 11/6/2013 5:40 PM

Anything to get people out of their cars and using transit or other transportation is good. Currently using transit to get from anywhere on Texada to Powell River is near impossible. Nothing to get to Blubber Bay except on Thursdays. Very poor transit connections on the PR side. Bicycle riding to Blubber Bay is very dangerous due to no shoulders and twisty roads. Ditto mopeds or other small scooters - no shoulders and very limited places for cars to pass. Pipeline right of way blocked by rock barriers which make even walking hard. Network of ATV trails to Blubber Bay thoughtfully provided by the ATV club stop at the BB Quarry lands due to trespass and liability issues. Etc., Etc. 11/6/2013 1:36 PM