Transit Service Detours during Confederation

Line ConstructionTransit Commission

December 9, 2013

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Background

• Construction of the Confederation Line requires closure of sections of the Transitway for conversion to light rail

• During construction, bus service normally on the Transitway will need to move to parallel corridors

• This is an integral part of the Confederation Line project

• The Confederation Line project includes the construction of parallel corridors for transit service

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Events Affecting Transitway Service

• June 2013 – Transitway closed at Laurier/Nicholas

• 2014 – Highway 417 expansion, Ottawa on the Move

• June 2015 – Booth Street closes at LeBreton

• October 2015 – Transitway closes, Hurdman to Blair

• February 2016 – Transitway closes, Merton to LeBreton

• May 2016 – Transitway closes, Laurier to Hurdman

• June 2016 – Transitway closes, Tunney’s Pasture to Merton

• 2018 – Confederation Line opens

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Impacts on Customers

• As each section of the Transitway closes, bus service will be moved to the parallel corridors

• Customers’ travel time will be longer by several minutes

• Service standards stay the same

• As some stations close, customers’ connection points between bus routes will change

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Impacts on Operations

• Longer bus travel time along the parallel corridors increases operating costs to provide the same capacity

• More buses required, more operating and maintenance staff required

• Example:– Trips every 5 minutes on a route that takes 30 minutes to complete – 6

buses required

– Trips every 5 minutes on a route that takes 35 minutes to complete – 7 buses required

– Same capacity (buses every 5 minutes), higher operating costs (1 more bus and one more operator required)

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Impacts on Costs

• More buses required – need to buy or lease more buses, above the current fleet

• More operating staff required – enough operators to drive the additional buses

• More maintenance staff required – enough service staff to maintain the additional buses

• More fuel and other costs incurred

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How these impacts have been accommodated in the project

• Bidders on light rail contract were given strong financial incentives to minimise impact on transit service

• Council approved expansion of O-Train service to provide additional north-south transit capacity – to be completed and open in 2014

• Council has approved $74 million in funding:– $63 million for additional operating costs (part of light rail approval,

December 2012)

– $11 million for acquisition of buses (part of the 2014 capital budget)

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Planning Service and Operations

• Each bidder prepared a different construction plan, with different phasing and different detours

• Once RTG was selected to build the Confederation Line, OC Transpo staff began to plan service arrangements under the selected construction plan

• OC Transpo staff developed bus route and connection point options to minimise customer inconvenience and to minimise additional operating cost

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Transitway Realignment at Laurier

• In operation since June 2013

• Has added 1 to 2 minutes to customers’ travel time

• 2 minutes more built into all scheduled trips

• There were no route changes; all connections were maintained

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Booth Street Closure - June 2015

• Booth Street will be closed at LeBreton Station to allow construction of new Booth Street overpass over Pimisi Station

• Booth Street traffic will be moved to a temporary Preston extension

• LeBreton Station transferring will take place at the new intersection of Transitway/Preston extension

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Transitway Closure, Hurdman to Blair - October 2015

• Will be the first major Transitway closure

• Most bus routes will move to new bus lanes on Highway 417 and Road 174, under construction by RTG

• Some bus routes will move to Tremblay Road to maintain service to the VIA Rail Ottawa Station and nearby businesses

• Customers who use Cyrville Station will walk to nearby bus stops

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Transitway Closure, Merton to LeBreton - February 2016

• Bus routes will move to new bus lanes on Scott and Albert, to be constructed by RTG

• There will be no route changes; all connections will be maintained

• In discussion with RTG to possibly move the date of this closure earlier to allow for CSST construction

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Transitway Closure, Laurier to Hurdman - May 2016

• This will be the Transitway closure with the greatest effect on customers

• Most bus routes will move to Nicholas

• Some bus routes will move to King Edward to maintain service to the University of Ottawa and nearby locations

• Bus routes for Billings Bridge and South Keys will continue to serve Hurdman Station

• Connections to Carleton University from the east will be relocated to St-Laurent Station

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Transitway Closure, Tunney’s Pasture to Merton - June 2016

• Bus routes will move to new bus lanes on Scott, to be constructed by RTG

• There will be no route changes; all connections will be maintained

• By this time, Booth Street may be reopened for north-south traffic on the new overpass

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Detours continue until 2018

• Each section of the Transitway, once it closes for conversion to light rail, will never reopen for buses

• Transitway detours will remain in place until the Confederation Line opens

• Next set of route changes occurs when the Confederation Line opens

– Central parts of the Transitway and express routes will be replaced by train service

– Express and local routes will be adjusted to feed the Confederation Line stations

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Planning Fleet and Operating Requirements

• Service detours require additional buses, staff, and other costs

• $74 million in funding approved for capital and operating costs

• 22 buses available within current fleet

• Bus acquisition must be initiated in early 2014 because of lead time to manufacture and deliver buses

• Options examined for bus acquisition:– What type of buses to acquire?

– How to acquire the buses?

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Bus Type Options• The required capacity could be provided by adding:

– 78 new 40-foot buses

– 52 new articulated buses

– 39 new double-decker buses

• Conclusion:

– Acquire higher-capacity buses

– Both articulated and double-decker buses have lower capital costs and lower operating costs than 40-foot buses

– Current experience indicates that double-decker buses have the lowest costs per customer

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Bus Acquisition Options• Leasing

– Investigated by a RFI to suppliers

– Approximately 75% of purchase price for a three-year lease

• Purchase as early replacement– Buy buses in 2015-16 that would otherwise have been required in 2019-21 to

replace life-expired buses from 2001- 2003

– Use new buses to increase fleet size from 2015-16, retire life-expired buses on schedule in 2019-21 to reduce fleet size to required levels after the Confederation Line opens

• Conclusion:– Leasing unaffordable

– Early replacement recommended; fits transit affordability plan

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Bus Acquisition Strategy• Go to market to confirm pricing

• Issue RFP for purchase of buses in early 2014

• Advise bidders that decision will be made on all-in operating and capital costs

• Will provide solid, market-tested capital costs

• Potential for capital costs to be lower with competition

• New buses will meet current standards – security cameras and DVR, Wi-Fi* automated passenger counters.

*evaluating options for Wi-Fi use, including corporate Wi-Fi strategy

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Expected Costs – Ongoing Management

• Costs are being kept as low as possible– Assumed very high availability of new buses– Using cautious estimates of time for detours– Based on same capacity standards as the rest of the transit system

• Operating costs may vary from current calculations– Details of detours still under discussion with RTG– Actual travel time may vary when detours are in place– Actual transit ridership levels could be higher– Bus fleet availability could be better after current projects

• We will manage and adjust to meet the $74 million available

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Customer Information Strategy

• Being developed to help customers adapt to:– Relocated station platforms

– Relocated connection points

– Longer travel times

– Service benefits to come with the Confederation Line

• Will be ready before first major section of Transitway closes in 2015

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Questions?