TO: Board of Directors FROM: Kevin Desmond, Chief Executive Officer DATE: November 30, 2018 SUBJECT: Public Delegations at the October 4, 2018 Board of Directors Meeting EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Board received five public delegations at its October 4, 2018 open Board meeting. Management followed up with each delegation after the meeting. PURPOSE The purpose of this report is to brief the Board on Management’s response to topics raised by public delegations at the TransLink Board meeting on October 4, 2018. BACKGROUND On October 4, 2018, the TransLink Board of Directors received five public delegations on the following topics: • Dogs on Transit – TransLink was asked to consider changing its current policy so that dogs would be permitted to travel on transit, during off-peak periods. This change could be subject to an initial pilot project. The speaker suggested that TransLink could impose additional conditions, or have dedicated trains and buses for passengers who have allergies. • Free Transit for Children and Youth – A delegation suggested that TransLink address the issue of at- risk youth who incurred fare evasion debt and now face hurdles in obtaining drivers’ licenses, student loans, and housing as a result of bad credit. They also urged TransLink to consider free transit for children and youth. • Use of Taxis for Passengers with Disabilities - The speaker was of the view that the increased use of taxis to transport passengers with disabilities is not acceptable. He indicated that taxis have safety and reliability concerns. • Contracting Out Bus Services – The speaker noted that Singapore contracts out bus services, and TransLink should consider a similar model. He also provided suggestions for suicide prevention measures on SkyTrain and Canada Line service levels. • Independent Transit Service Application – Representatives of a company that sought approval to operate an independent transit service addressed the Board. DISCUSSION Management responded to each of the delegations on issues as follows: • Dogs on Transit – Management noted that TransLink is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the pet policy, and recommendations are expected to go forward to the Board by end of 2018. Public Delegations at the October 4, 2018 Board of Directors Meeting November 30, 2018 Page 2 of 2 • Free Transit for Children and Youth – Management advised the delegation that TransLink does not have the authority to subjectively forgive or reduce fare infraction ticketed amounts. However, one of the recommendations from TransLink’s fare review is to work with the Provincial Government to explore expanded discounts for low-income transit riders, children and youth. • Use of Taxis for Passengers with Disabilities - Management noted that the use of taxis to deliver supplemental HandyDART trips is important to maintain the availability of service, particularly during peak periods of demand. The letter also mentioned the measures TransLink is undertaking to improve safety and reliability. • Contracting Out Bus Services – Management responded in detail to each of the delegation’s suggestions. The letter noted that TransLink does contract out several of its community shuttle services, and sets out the considerations for deciding whether a service should be contracted out. With respect to SkyTrain platform screen doors, the letter noted that these would be difficult to implement because SkyTrain has a varied fleet with differing configurations and vehicle lengths. • Independent Transit Service Application – Management advised the applicant in writing that the independent transit service was approved by the Board at the October 4 meeting, and listed the terms and conditions associated with this approval. PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER REPORT December 2018 TRANSLINK BOARD MEETING TransLink Strategic Priority: Improve Customer Experience and Public Support BCRTC’s corresponding business plan initiatives related to this strategic priority. “Putting the needs of our customers first will be made possible with a new customer experience plan that sets standards of excellence for our system. We’ll measure our progress with key performance indicators and data dashboards brought to life through our visual management centres.” Customer Experience The Communications and Customer Service teams continue to work with several TransLink departments on a number of key customer facing projects. This work involves providing communications support, advice, and coordination for signage and notices to ensure internal and external clients are well informed of maintenance and capital projects that may affect their commute or business activities. Projects supported this quarter include: • BC Hydro Power Upgrades • Elevator and Escalator repairs • Rail pad and rail replacement • Joyce–Collingwood West station house staircase closure and tiling work • Celebration of Light which occurred on July 28, August 1 and 4 • Vancouver Pride Parade Operations is demoing a smartphone app for SkyTrain Attendants that is essentially a “one-stop” shop for information that SkyTrain Attendants can use on a daily basis. To be fully released in Q4, this app will assist STAs with providing valuable customer information to our passengers by giving them access to real-time train location, trip planning, next train and next bus information, alerts, Google Maps, Google Translate and administrative procedures and policies. Operations In Q3, SkyTrain delivered 99.7% of scheduled service and had an on-time performance of 96.3%. These results are above the respective targets of 99.6% and 95.4%. WCE service delivery was on target at 99.9% and on-time performance was 96.9%, just below the target of 97.8%. Extra service (26,973 train-km and 2,700 service hours) was operated to accommodate 11 special events including Canada Day, Celebration of Lights, Pride Parade, concerts, football, and soccer games. The 2019 Winter Snow Operations Plan was reviewed and updated. Lessons learned have been implemented and the plan is in place to deal with wintry weather than may affect service. Service Delivery Customer Experience & Performance Reporting, Maintenance & Engineering, Operations, and Safety divisions continue to debrief on all major (>30 mins) service delays to recognize successes and identify gaps to enhance our response and resiliency. This quarter we had five incidents that resulted in seven follow-up action items raised. All seven were resolved. Page 1 of 4 TransLink Strategic Priority: State of Good Repair BCRTC’s corresponding business plan initiatives related to this strategic priority. “Ensuring a state of good repair is essential. We’re focused on introducing new guiding principles and standards, and building out longer-term maintenance plans with an eye to keeping our customers moving.” Business Effectiveness An important part of the Rail business plan is to ensure the development of our teams and people. This quarter, Rail’s Finance and Corporate Services department implemented the Knowledge Transfer in key areas of the company including Stores and Control Operations. Safety The safety department is on track with the development of a framework for the integrated management system which includes Safety, Environment, Risk, and Emergency/Security. The merging of two current safety manuals (SMS and SSPPM) prior revising to ISO 45001 standard, has continued with 21 of 108 Safety programs being transferred over. TransLink and its operating companies finalized the revisions to the Drug and Alcohol policy during Q3. BCRTC’s policy was updated and communications were sent out to all staff prior to the change in legislation. Training The Training department is continuing to update training records, and providing records to departments to drive completion of the 2018 required training program. This includes regular bi- weekly meetings to design and deliver training solutions, developing curriculum to support departments, and implementing training dashboards to increase visibility on training data. This quarter, the Training department also delivered the first Supervising for Safety course in September. Maintenance Ensuring our railway is in a state of good repair is an essential component of our business plan. Where possible, most of our preventative and corrective repair activities are performed in our after-service maintenance window. Railway infrastructure activities this quarter included: • 39 kilometres of rail grinding • 2,475 rail pads replaced in the Dunsmuir tunnel, and the outbound track between Waterfront and Granville Stations • 4 full turnout (switch) replacement • 21 Platform Intrusion Emergency System repairs • 3 rail component replaced • 14 rail plugs installed Performance Reporting The Performance Reporting team continues its outreach to several departments across the organization to create and produce monthly performance report and dashboards. The work the PR team is doing is helping to enhance each department to track performance, analyze and understand risks and performance related to their business. Dashboards have been created for Training, Page 2 of 4 Occupational Health, Maintenance, Operations and Customer Service. TransLink Strategic Priority: Deliver Mayors’ Plan BCRTC’s corresponding business plan initiatives related to this strategic priority. “We’ll maintain our progress on delivering agreed fleet, network and service enhancements. We are also committed to the 10-year transportation and mobility vision to serve the growing number of residents in our region.” System Expansion