Thunder Bay Transit Transit Master Plan Project No. 111-12560 March 2012 Report Transit Solutions GENIVAR Consultants LP. 2800 Fourteenth Avenue, Suite 210, Markham, Ontario L3R 0E4 Telephone: 905.946.8900 Fax: 905.946.8966 www.genivar.com Contact: Dennis Fletcher, M.E.S. E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Brad Loroff Thunder Bay Transit Page 2 Thunder Bay Transit Transit Master Plan Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... I APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................................... III LIST OF EXHIBITS ...............................................................................................................................IV 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 How this Plan was Developed ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Summary of Recommendations .................................................................................. 3 2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 15 3. BACKGROUND REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 16 3.1 Growth Plan for Northern Ontario (2011) .................................................................. 16 3.2 City Official Plan ....................................................................................................... 16 3.3 City of Thunder Bay Strategic Plan ........................................................................... 17 3.4 Thunder Bay Transportation Study Update (1987) .................................................... 18 3.5 Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan .................................................... 18 3.6 Transit Vision 2040 ................................................................................................... 19 3.7 Transit Ridership Growth Plan .................................................................................. 20 3.8 Age-Friendly Thunder Bay ........................................................................................ 20 3.9 Transit Strategies and Service Plan (2000) ............................................................... 20 3.10 2011 Citizen Satisfaction Report ............................................................................... 21 4. EXISTING SERVICE REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 23 4.1 Overall Service Coverage ......................................................................................... 23 4.2 Service Hours and Frequency ................................................................................... 24 4.3 On-Time Performance .............................................................................................. 25 4.4 Route Structure/Terminal Locations .......................................................................... 26 4.5 Route Performance ................................................................................................... 27 5. THUNDER BAY TRANSIT PEER REVIEW ................................................................................. 29 6. MARKET ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 31 6.1 Population and Distribution ....................................................................................... 31 6.2 Potential Transit Markets .......................................................................................... 33 6.3 Post-Secondary Schools ........................................................................................... 36 6.4 Future Development ................................................................................................. 39 6.5 Travel Patterns ......................................................................................................... 40 6.6 Mode of Transportation to Work ................................................................................ 43 6.7 Summary of Key Transit Markets .............................................................................. 44 7. PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION ................................................................................................ 46 7.1 Stakeholder Engagement.......................................................................................... 46 7.2 Public Engagement ................................................................................................... 46 7.3 Consultation Feedback ............................................................................................. 47 8. NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES .................................................................................................. 55 9. VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ......................................................................... 58 9.1 Vision Statement ....................................................................................................... 58 9.2 Mission Statement .................................................................................................... 58 GENIVAR i Thunder Bay Transit Transit Master Plan 9.3 Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................ 58 10. SERVICE STANDARDS............................................................................................................... 62 10.1 Route Classifications ................................................................................................ 62 10.2 Service Design Standards......................................................................................... 63 10.3 Performance Measures ............................................................................................. 67 10.4 OMBI Benchmarking Measures ................................................................................ 69 10.5 Other Guidelines ....................................................................................................... 69 11. SERVICE REVIEW AND PLANNING PROCESS ....................................................................... 72 11.1 A Consistent Performance Standard ......................................................................... 72 11.2 Service Reviews ....................................................................................................... 72 11.3 Data Collection Program Requirements .................................................................... 74 11.4 Consultation Plan ...................................................................................................... 74 12. PROPOSED SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS .................................................................................. 76 12.1 Stage 1: Immediate Service Reliability Improvements ............................................... 76 12.2 Stage 2: Recommended Route Network and Terminal Concept ............................... 77 12.3 Operating Hours and Fleet Requirements ................................................................. 82 12.4 Service Delivery Strategies ....................................................................................... 84 13. PUBLIC REVIEW OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 87 13.1 Consultation Summary .............................................................................................. 87 14. FARE STRATEGY ........................................................................................................................ 89 14.1 Overview ................................................................................................................... 89 14.2 Passenger Classes ................................................................................................... 89 14.3 Fare Products and Media .......................................................................................... 90 14.4 Concessionary Fare Policies ..................................................................................... 91 14.5 Transfer Policies ....................................................................................................... 92 14.6 Fare Table ................................................................................................................ 92 14.7 Fare Structure ........................................................................................................... 95 14.8 Fare Collection Technology ...................................................................................... 95 14.9 Other Fare Policy Recommendations ....................................................................... 96 15. TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................ 99 15.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 99 15.2 ITS Review ............................................................................................................... 99 15.3 Potential Strategies, Options, and Improvements ..................................................