Two Bus Fires

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/two-bus-fires-hundreds-of-thousands-in-damages-but-the-transit-system-is-running-just-fine 

Two bus fires, tens of thousands in damages but the transit system is running just fine.

By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  November 21. 2012  Transit Advisory meetings are going much better these days. Joanne Vassell-Pittman ended her stint as chair during which time she did a marvelous job under some very trying situations.

Eric Pilon, formerly with Oakville Transit, is the new chair and they seem to be off to a good start.  With Mike Spicer serving as Acting Director of Transit  he had  some good news and some news that was not so good.
Two buses caught fire in a very short period of time.  One was a 2009 New Flyer while the other was a newer 2012 bus from the same company.

They zip in and zip out of the John Street terminal driven by well trained drivers who know what to do when there is an emergency.  Two bus fires in a two week period, while unfortunate, were very well handled by the drivers.  The bus manufacturer is working with the transit people to determine why the fires started in the first place.

Bus fires are  rare, not an everyday event and they certainly scare the daylights out of the passengers when the bus fills with smoke.

Spicer advises that the transit service has a well-honed protocol for handling these situations and in both cases no one was hurt.

The task now is to figure out what started the fires in the first place.  While both buses were New Flyers the two fires started in different parts of each bus.  The manufacturers of the vehicles had their technical people on site pronto and are working with Burlington Transit and the insurance company to get at the bottom of the problem.

Two buses out of service squeezes the vehicle inventory a bit but Spicer says “we still have more than enough buses in the fleet to meet the service demand”.

Should you happen to be on a bus when there is a fire – don’t panic and listen carefully to the bus driver.  They really do know what they are doing – and they will get you off the bus safely.

Serving on the Transit Advisory Committee are:  Eric Pilon – Chair, John Fuca – Vice Chair, Joanne Vassell-Pittman, Nicholas Civiero, Kevin Rahmer, Sonia Harrison, Brian Coleman, Jenny Wen and  Cecille Wyte.
The Committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month at city hall.

Comment on YouTube:  
It's also embarrassing that this (7057-12) was the second bus in BT's fleet to go up within two weeks, as bus.7007-09 went up on October 15th.

 http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2905276-two-city-bus-fires-lead-to-investigation/

Two city bus fires lead to investigation

Nov. 01, 2012

The City of Burlington’s acting director of transit says a second city bus fire within two weeks has prompted an inspection of both vehicles to determine a cause and if there is a connection between the two incidents.

One of the city’s 40-foot conventional buses caught fire at the rear of the vehicle, where the engine is located, just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Appleby GO station. 

The driver and 10 passengers got out without injury. 

On Oct. 15, around 2:45 p.m., another 40-foot city bus caught fire in its rear engine compartment during a stop in front of the fire station at Appleby Line and Fairview Street. 

The driver and an unknown number of passengers on the bus at the time safely escaped.

The fire department estimated damage to the bus in the Oct. 15 incident at $100,000.

Mike Spicer, interim head of the city’s transit department, said he hadn’t heard a final damage estimate for the earlier bus fire and didn’t have an initial estimate for the most recent one. 

He said the bus in the Oct. 31 fire is a 2012 model supplied by Winnipeg-based New Flyer Industries. The bus in the earlier fire was a 2009 model from New Flyer. Both have Cummins engines. 

Burlington Transit has 52 conventional buses, about 45 of which are New Flyer models, said Spicer. The city also runs eight Handi-Vans, which are made by a different company. 

Spicer wouldn’t speculate as to whether there are possible safety implications for the majority of the city’s bus fleet but did say the two fires in about two weeks are disconcerting. 

“It seems a little odd that in two weeks we would have two fires,” he said. “The biggest concern is what is the cause and if they are linked in any way, and then to get it rectified.” 

Spicer said he met with transit maintenance staff Thursday morning and asked them to do a “once over” on several random buses. 

He said no city buses have been pulled from service. 

Spicer recalled one other bus fire here about two years ago but not the circumstances. 

The Post ran a photo and story in June 2008 of a Burlington Transit bus that caught fire on John Street downtown. No one was injured. 

The fire raged at the rear of the vehicle. At the time, then fire department spokesperson Ben Rotsma said the cause appeared to be a mechanical failure, but it wasn’t known whether the engine or the transmission was the source. The make and model of the bus was not mentioned.

Why? Sexism and being bullied ?

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/her-bus-pass-is-being-extended-she-will-be-taking-an-active-part-in-the-transition-to-a-new-transit-director

Her bus pass is being extended; she will be taking an active part in the transition to a new Transit Director.

Cut line revised August 3, 2012
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON   June 25, 2012   Donna Shepherd, Director of Transit, was quite prepared to ride off into the sunset but the city finds they need her skill set and understanding of how the bus system actually works and have asked Ms Shepherd to continue to work, part-time – three days each week, out of City Hall and the Transit Operations Centre for six months on select transit and corporate priority projects to assist the City in achieving its objectives.

Mike Spicer will be acting Director as of August 1^st.  The city expects a new Director will be in place by year-end.

Donna Shepherd  joined the city  in 1975 and since that time she has served the City well in leading the City in various roles, her most recent being Director of Transit & Traffic over a 12 year period from 1998 and Director of Transit over the last 2 years.

Just where was the problems with transit?  Senior levels at city hall want Shepherd to stay and help through the transition to a new Director. Was  the relationship between the Council member (Sharman) and the Director part of the problem?

“ The really senior “poobahs” at city hall speak very positively and proudly of the contribution Shepherd made while running transit.  Her “contributions will continue to have an enduring and positive impact on the City in areas such as the expansion and renovation of the Transit Operations Centre, the introduction of Transit Priority Measures and traffic safety programs, the implementation of the downtown parking financial strategy, various continuous improvement systems and programs, the PRESTO fare card and Metrolinx Joint Vehicle and Inventory Procurement projects and the creation of innovative transit promotion and ridership growth strategies.”

Donna’s leadership in excellence in customer service will provide a strong foundation for Burlington Transit going forward.”  Sounds like a pretty strong reference letter to me.

What then was the problem at transit that brought Shepherd to the point where she decided she had had enough and was going to pack it in?  Sexism is a very distinct possibility, being bullied a bit could go into the mix as well

The senior people at city hall weren’t cheap in their praise:  General Manager Scott Stewart said: “On behalf of all staff and Council, I would like to thank Donna for her strong leadership and management in growing and operating the Burlington Transit system. She has provided persistent commitment to keeping Transit at the forefront of our discussions during the last decade as our City has grown almost to its limits. Council and senior staff truly appreciate the contributions that Donna has made over the years.

I think the city is going to have the steering wheel of a bus bronzed and presented to Donna at her retirement party.

Stop the bus – we want to get off.

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/stop-the-bus-we-want-to-get-off-bfast-burlingtons-community-transit-advocate-thinks-the-city-is-making-a-mistake

Stop the bus – we want to get off. Bfast, Burlington’s community transit advocate thinks the city is making a mistake.

Revised and corrected June 12, 2012
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  June 12, 2012  BFAST has asked the city to stop cuts to transit service.  BFAST (Burlington for Accessible Affordable Transit) has submitted a detailed report to the City of Burlington asking the city to stop the cuts proposed in the City’s Interim Transit Plan.

BFAST points out that the proposed cuts to transit service mostly impact northeast and southeast Burlington which the group feels is unfair to parts of the city where the service is being cut.

Cuts to transit in northeast and southeast Burlington will not build transit use in these growth areas of Burlington.  These areas require stability in transit routes and future improvements, not cuts, to encourage transit use.  Cuts ignore the City’s recently approved Strategic Plan and Halton’s Transportation Plan which both call for increased transit use.

Burlington Transit getting new buses - to deliver less service.

BFAST proposes that the city reallocate money from the City transportation budget or overall City budget to implement the proposed service enhancements for west and central Burlington to avoid cuts in north east and south east Burlington.

The transit people have been looking for ways to drive down there costs and get some financial stability into the transit service and feel that the route changes as well as the changes to the levels of service is the approach they want to take for a period of about 20 months.

At the end of that period of time the transit people feel they will have the data they need to make decisions and will have tried a few service changes and see how they work.

Burlington transit did get approval at a Council meeting Monday evening to purchase six replacement busses at a cost of $2,844,454.83  The busses will be 12 metre diesel powered low floor transit vehicles bought from New Flyer Industries in Winnipeg.  These additions to the fleet are badly needed.  Some of the buses in the fleet have been in service more than 20 years and cost as much as $8,500 each month to keep in service.
The city is taking the position that they will not make large radical changes to the transit service until the Official Plan review is completed.

It will be difficult to convince this Council to change the decision that has been made – unless the response from the community public information sessions are resoundingly strong.  Given that very few people knew about the events, it is doubtful there will be a change in the city.

Bfast held its first public meeting with former city of Toronto planner Paul Bedford speaking.  The event had more attendees than the transit public consultation meetings got.  Why would that be?

• Barbara

  June 12, 2012 at 3:14 pm

  “Burlington transit did get approval at a Council meeting Monday evening to purchase zxx new xx buses – which are badly needed.” Pepper, what are zxx and xx buses?
  
  You make a very good point Barbara and the errors and inaccuracies have to be addressed.
  The “newspaper”is a one man band. I write the vast majority of the material and have been fortunate on several occasions to have people who wanted to write about something that interests them and is relevant to the community.
  Many of the city council meetings are in the evening and I tend to go home, relax a bit, watch some television and then get to my keyboard and get as much done before I am totally worked out.
  Last Monday I got home spent some time with my wife, watched her drift off into dreamland and then went to my keyboard at around 11 and was still at it at 1:44 am when I packed it in.
  As you will by now realize, I am not the world`s best proof reader. My wife does go into the webs site the next day and correct the errors. Often I will put in an xxx to remind me to go back and put in the correct bit of information.
  Writing for me is a flow process. I work from my handwritten notes and from the impressions I picked up at a meeting. Al large part of reporting is watching people and the way they behave. I have been watching the seven members of Council for more than 18 months. I have been watching the senior staff for the same length of time and having lived 71 years I am pretty good at reading people.
  One of the mistakes I have made is putting a story up before it has been checked by someone else. I have let my haste to get the story out there, get in the way of putting up a piece that has been checked and proof read by someone else. In future In future I will write my story, put the pictures in place, do the layout and then let the story sit as a draft, waiting for the proof reading.
  There are people at their desks reading what I`ve written at 7:00 am. And I want to have something on the web site every morning. The traffic to the web site has grown remarkably. However, putting up poorly edited material is something we have to stop doing. So the Missus and I have discussed this and if I bring her a cup of coffee she will get out of bed and proof read each story – and then go back to bed. Let`s see how that works.
  
• David and Judy Goodings

  June 12, 2012 at 8:26 pm

  BFAST has clearly struck a chord that resonates with many people in Burlington: transit in Burlington is woefully inadequate and seriously underfunded.
  In contrast, the Public Information meetings were futile exercises that did not allow for any meaningful input from transit users.
  
• James Smith

  June 13, 2012 at 11:36 am

  The cuts to Route 10 are due to one city Councillor who didn’t know he bought his house on a bus route & wants to get the bus off his street. He has somehow convinced BT to make this change even though staff did a full review of this route in 2009, & infrastructure investment was made in 2010 as a result. When asked Staff about this, staff did not answer this question directly.
  James Smith, a passionate public transit advocate, was also a candidate in Ward 5 during the last municipal election. Paul Sharman is the Council member for Ward 5
  
• Nick

  June 13, 2012 at 2:52 pm

  It was the same Paul Sherman who put that study through on the 10 through Spruce Avenue…wanted to determine what was the best way to operate Burlington Transit. After that study concluded, it was determined that keeping the 10 as it’s currently operating is the way to go.
  It’s funny that even that after that study, perhaps he still was complaining to make the “empty buses” more full or else he’ll get rid of them. He’s done so.
  he, along with many others who are making BT look like a puppet performing at a puppet show, is that as long as information about Public Information Centres and any Master Plans to be sent out for public input, poor timing as well as generic response from us transit riders are simple ways to keep ignoring the problems.
  I didn’t know about the BFAST coalition until I had seen an article at Inside Halton’s website, through Transit Toronto’s website. Granted, the timing was alot better I guess to get the word out, but it was just in time to get people engaged in discussion and to vent their true feelings of what’s been ailing this system as a whole.
  Even though that it wasn’t really bad timing to have this Interim Plan posted and public meetings properly advertised, the people saw the plan (likely online) and decided not to come as they don’t trust council anymore. They had trust in them with The Route Ahead, but lost that trust when that vote for paving roads/parking lots is a hell of alot more important then investing for buses, infrastructure & projects to transit. No wonder there wasn’t very much interest to say that some things were addressed but others can’t because “their business” isn’t working so they had to make the cutss to make the improvements happen.
  I am a member of the Burlington Transit Advisory Committee and it seems regardless of any new ideas or anything that can be considered a good idea to convey to council to do for BT, they turn a blind eye (ya, pardon the pun as I’m visually impaired, too) to the voice of the transit riders. Ok,a deaf ear is better, sorry.
  Lastly, I would certainly love to join BFAST as it seems like the best chance to have an ultimate, stronger voice that even the non-transit people can’t ignore.
  PS: If this Interim Plan goes through minus the cuts, the additional express service (Route 101) and the revamped Employment Corridor routes would require additional buses. The BT fleet, even with the replacement buses still won’t expand. They will be short of buses on the first day of this new service!! What an embarrassment!!!
  

Province looking at the BIG MOVE while Burlington takes small steps.

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/province-looking-at-the-big-move-while-burlington-takes-small-steps-to-get-its-transit-service-on-a-sounder-financial-footing

Province looking at the BIG MOVE while Burlington takes small steps to get its transit service on a sounder financial footing.

By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  June 6^th, 2012  -  Advocacy is getting a little bit slicker in Burlington.  The people that want to make it a better world and do it on their own dime are now sporting flashy corporate logo and getting their proceedings on cable television. – and bringing in some heavy  hitters when it comes to speakers.

If Burlington is going to see any real change in the transit service it offers – the crowd behind Bfast, –  Burlington for Accessible Transit is going to need all the clout it can muster.  At the Public session on the new “interim” routes transit is going to try for a period of about 18 months, our people in the field tell us that not a single politician appeared.  In Aldershot the ward Councillor did appear but other than a student who we think might have been lost there was no public.

BFAST has invited former Toronto Chief Planner and director of Metrolinx, Paul Bedford to talk about how transit can be adequately funded.  Council is meeting at the same time  and so will miss the presentation.  However it will be on Cogeco Cable – they can catch it there.

Takes place on Monday, June 11 at 7.00 p.m. in the Centennial Room at the Burlington Central Public Library, 2331 New Street.  He will speak on transit issues in urban areas, the GTA and funding the Metrolinx Big Move.

Former Toronto Chief Planner and director of Metrolinx, Paul Bedford will talk about how transit can be adequately funded.

BFAST will provide information about its mission, the current issues with Burlington transit, especially the proposed cuts to service in the proposed Burlington Transit Interim Transit Plan.

BFAST is a new citizens group in Burlington.  It is a coalition of interested individuals and organizations whose purpose is “To make transit better for Burlington residents and businesses.” You can contact this new group at BFASTransit@gmail.com

While Burlington fusses over its 54 bus fleet and people complain about empty buses driving by their homes the province looks at a much bigger picture and searches for a way to integrate transportation between the various communities stretching through what is referred to as the GTHA – The Greater Toronto Hamilton Area – and Burlington  is part of the west end of that reach into Hamilton.

The solution the province came up with was a document called The Big Move that was put together to a significant degree by former Burlington Mayor Rob MacIsaac.  It’s the $50 billion transportation plan the Toronto region can’t afford not to build. But where the money will come from still has to be figured out.

With 100 specific projects in the plan, the Metrolinx proposals will add 1,150 kilometres of new transit lines over the next 25 years.
Titled The Big Move: Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, the recommendations would ensure that 75 per cent of residents find themselves living within 2 kilometres of a dedicated rapid transit line, up from 42 per cent now.

Paul Bedford, transit advocate who will speak to Burlington Bfast types, has some well developed opinions on transit. should be a good listen.

Although the car would remain the dominant mode of transport in the large region under the Metrolinx vision, the percentage of trips taken on transit would increase to about 26 per cent, up from 16.5. Greenhouse gas emissions from cars would decline to 1.5 tonnes from 2.4 tonnes today.
Metrolinx hopes to spend $500 million on building 7,500 kilometres of on- and off-road bike lanes. It also wants a series of transportation hubs around the region to make it easy to transfer from one mode of transportation to another.

That’s the bigger picture – Burlington meanwhile is looking for ways to stop the bleeding on the financial side of its transit system by moving service levels to the routes that have decent ridership.

We have some distance to go on getting transit right in this city.

Comments are closed.

Transit gets an interim fix up - Expect a lot of waiting.

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/transit-gets-an-interim-fix-up-a-patch-to-hold-the-system-together-financially-until-master-plan-is-completed-going-to-mean-a-lot-of-waiting

Transit gets an interim fix up – a patch to hold the system together financially until Master Plan is completed. Expect a lot of waiting.

By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  May 17, 2012  Transit got a kiss and a promise,  and had half a million taken out of one pocket and put in another last week,  as four “underused” routes had major changes made to their level of service on the roads they travel.

The routes that are to have significant service level changes and some direction changes are:
Route 4; Route 11; Route 12; Route 15, with changes to the #61 and #62 GO specials as well.

The four routes were described as marginal and “under performing” and the city set out a proposed service level for each and called it the Interim Service Plan.

This Interim Plan is to resolve some of the more immediate problems while the city continues its work on the Transit Master Plan and gets a sense of what changes the citizens want to see in the Official Plan Review that is currently taking place.

City Manager Jeff Fielding said he expected to need between 18 and 24 months to figure out if the small fixes made during the interim are going to make a difference.

While the Workshop was all about transit, Fielding explained most of the choices that had been made while Director of Transit Donna Shepherd took Council through the presentation.

In this Interim Plan the city is cutting back frequency from once every half hour to every hour on most of the routes and making alterations on just about all of the four routes.  “How well did we deliver and is anyone better off was the question Fielding asked again and again – and it may well be the question that transit users in Burlington will want to remember and ask in a year and a half.

Doug  Brown, perhaps the most informed citizen when it comes to transit,  doesn’t think all that much of several of the changes.. “Burlington Transit” he said, “thinks they can make route changes whenever there is a problem but transit doesn’t work that way.”    If you keep making changes it just takes that much longer to get a stable ridership.  The change is upsetting to people.

“The most important thing about transit is the need to be reliable and if you go changing the schedule people begin to see you as unreliable and stop using the service.

Brown thinks the transit people have seriously misinterpreted their own data and that the data they use for route 4 is faulty.

The city has created a grid against which it will measure how well it is doing in getting transit to the point where the revenue/cost ratio is bearable and ridership is seen to be increasing. How reducing transit frequency is going to get them there is very debatable. Public will get several opportunities to discuss the changes which are scheduled to go into effect September 2.

The changes to the four routes are expected to save the transit service $500,000 each year which they say they will then pump into the well-used routes to improve the service on those routes.  Brown’s comments that : The added service level are rather vague and goes on to say that Burlington spends half the average spend in other Greater Toronto Area municipalities.

“We really do underspend on transit in this city” and Brown should know – he attends numerous transit conference each year.  At a transit event in Markham two weeks ago Brown said the buses they use “are like Cadillac’s compared to some of the 20 year old buses Burlington has on the streets”.

While Brown can talk authoritatively on each of the routes that are to undergo a change he also points to what he believes is one huge error and that is the assigning of funds the city gives to GO service as a transit cost.  The city pays GO $3.3 million each year (just for being there I guess) and that amount is shown on the books as a cost to the transit system when there is no benefit to transit.

In the transit business the key number they use is their Revenue/Cost ratio.  This RC number pops up all over the place and Brown thinks with the $3.3 million given to GO included in the transit costs – the ratio is badly skewed and thus not a very reliable measure.

Route 4

Current Pinedale route

Rte 4 Pinedale proposesd peak

Current service is basically every half hour. There are two proposed services for this route. A) 30 minute frequency 9-4 weekdays; Saturday 7am to 7 pm. B) Weekdays 30 minute frequency 6-9 am and 4-7 pm

Current and proposed route changes for Rte 11 on Appleby Line

Route 12

Only change in this route is having the bus dip into Itabashi Way and the Tansley Wood Community Centre/

Having the service swing into Itabashi Way is seen by many as a very good move – but reducing the service to a 60 minute frequency from the current 30 minute service bothers many people.

Route 15

Frequency of service will be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes between 9:30 and 2:30

No route changes on route 15 - Walkers Line but the level of service will change.

With the planned routes changes now out in the open the city wants to meet with the public for input and feedback.  There will be four public sessions, which is two more than the city held for the early stage of the Official Plan review
May 23 – Wednesday at the Senior’s Centre 3:00 to 4:30 pm
June 4 – Monday at Holy Rosary School 6:30 to 8:30 pm
June 4 – Wednesday at  Tansley Woods 6:00 to 8:00 pm
June 5 – Tuesday at City Hall 6:00 to 8:00 pm

A newly formed transit will be known as Bfast - they intend to inform the debate on transit and insure the issue of transit service doesn't get lost in the Official Plan Review

There is a group of citizens who have formed a coalition that is going to track the way transit is treated during the review of the Official Plan.  They have titled themselves Bfast and will meet next at the Burlington Central Library June 11 at 7:00 pm when Brian Bedford, former Commissioner of Planning for the city of Toronto will talk about how transit has to be funded.

A number of people who really study transit in this city are troubled with the changes made on route 10 which happens to have buses that travel right in front of Councillor Paul Sharman’s home.  James Smith quotes Sharman as saying he bought his house on a Sunday when there were no buses running and thought he was getting a great deal.  He didn’t realize then that there was a reason for homes being less expensive the other side of Appleby Line.

Smith it should be pointed out ran against Sharman in the last municipal election.  Sharman won; Smith came third.  The second place candidate Cal Millar is now the President of the Burlington federal Conservative Association and now has the ear of MP Mike Wallace and may well expect the Wallace machine to support him in 2014.

Comments are closed.

Community group formed to ensure transit does not get overlooked

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/community-group-formed-to-ensure-transit-does-not-get-overlooked-during-official-plan-review

Community group formed to ensure transit does not get overlooked during Official Plan review.

By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  May 9, 2012  If the team overseeing the review of the city’s Official Plan thought they were going to be able to give transit a once over – they learned Monday that Walter Mulkewich, a former Mayor, was not going to let that happen.

The city may have a Transit Advisory Committee and Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward might have a group in her community taking a close look at transit as well, but  Mulkewich and his crowd are going to be sure that the city fully understands the link between transit and the social welfare of the city.

Walter Mulkewich will bring years of experience and a commitment to social justice will be brought to bear on how transit is treated in the Official Plan Review. Being a former Mayor won't hurt either.

Mulkewich delegated to the Special Council meeting held to hear delegations on the Official Plan Review
The committee has some of the best citizen transit thinkers in the city and they fully intend to ensure the Official Plan review gets a full ear on transit matters

Mulkewich was there to speak for an Interim Steering Committee, which is a group of citizens who are in the process of organizing a broad based coalition to advocate for better transit as a apart of the Burlington transportation system.

This is a group that is citizen based, that has people with a solid background in transit and the ability to not only lay their hands on the data that tells what is happening with the transit system but also the ability as well to do the analysis and draw conclusions from which evidence based decisions can be made.

Transit is more than just busses - some people would be delighted if bus transit got the attention and the funding it needs.

Mulkewich set out the premise the group is working  from when he said “we support the significant point in the staff report that a long-term view of the city’s transportation system is a necessary part of the Official Plan. Our hope and expectation” he added, “ would be that the parallel Transportation Plan would include all modes of transportation, including transit, walking and cycling as well as automobile and truck transportation.
Mulkewich noted with interest that all six major topic areas that staff has identified to date will require a consideration of a significant role of transit.

The six major topics Mulkewich refers to are those that the team leading the Official Plan review think need attention.  The six Neighbourhoods; Downtown; Nodes and Corridors; Metrolinx and Mobility Hubs; Movement and Connectivity and Community Infrastructure.  We will expand on each of these in some detail later in the process and follow each for the two years (mercy) the city expects to require for the full review of the Official Plan.

Transit user sets out criteria and the challenges faced in making it work.

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/transit-user-sets-out-criteria-and-the-challenges-faced-in-making-it-work-she-doesnt-trust-burlington-drivers-enough-to-use-her-bike

Transit user sets out criteria and the challenges faced in making it work. She doesn`t trust Burlington drivers enough to use her bike. .

 Jane Irwin has the capacity to make a point incisively and with humour.  Her submission to the Master Transit Plan team are set out below in a slightly edited format.
By Jane Irwin

BURLINGTON, ON  March 22, 2012  I have used Burlington Transit for the almost 30 years I have lived in Burlington. On average, I travel by transit once or twice a week, which works out to 5 to 10 boardings  per week. My most frequently traveled routes are (in numerical order, not order of frequency) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10.

I could not attend the public meetings because of time conflicts, but I have read the very extensive background materials online and have also read the comprehensive comments by Walter Mulkewich. The former Burlington Mayor is extremely well-informed on the topic of how transit planning is related to the future well-being of this city. His generosity in presenting his thoughts about Burlington Transit has provoked my writing to express my own more concentrated passenger viewpoint.

Travel choices are extremely important factors in three 21st-century urban goals:
to improve the city’s economic health,
to improve the health of its citizens,
and to improve the city’s environmental conditions.

Measured by these criteria, the preferred travel choices, from best to worst, are walking and cycling, transit, taxi and private car. In terms of cost, the choices are the same. 

 

In terms of the travel time of a journey, the order is reversed: private car is fastest, then taxi, transit, cycling and walking.

Transit in Burlington is undergoing a major review that will produce a Master Transit Plan with significant public input.

The greatest opportunity for transit to compete for increased ridership is to reduce travel time to get from A to B. Everyone in today’s society appreciates more time.

The prime methods of reducing transit travel time include:
1) Greater frequency of buses, including shorter intervals for transfers.
2) Removing unnecessary bus stops ( co-coordinating bus stops with stop signs and lights).
3) More direct routes (not meandering hither and thither).

 

My own travel choices in recent years include walking, transit, taxi and private car. I stopped cycling 10 years ago because, in my experience, too many private car drivers in Burlington are careless of cyclist safety.

Drawing on my own experience, therefore:
- Having to wait 60 minutes for a bus is a deal-breaker. A 30-minute wait for a bus makes other travel choices more appealing. BT should aim for a maximum of 20 minute intervals.
(Here Irwin gets into a level of detail that will interest only those who travel the route but her point is still relevant.)

Just as one example, the number 5 route west from downtown at John Street, along Ontario Street to Maple Avenue:
stop for left turn at Pine Street;
stop for left turn at Elizabeth Street:
stop for left turn at James Street:
bus stop and stop light for right turn at Brant Street;
stop for left turn at Ontario Street;
bus stop mid block;
stop sign for Locust Street;
bus stop mid block;
bus stop at Burlington Avenue;
stop sign at Hager Avenue;
two more bus stops mid block;
bus stop and stop light for left turn at Maple Avenue.

In my view, the stop sign should be moved from Hager Avenue (a 3-way stop) to Burlington Avenue (a dislocated corner, difficult for pedestrians), which should be a 4-way stop; and at least 2 bus stops should be removed. I will defer to traffic experts of course, but it seems to me an effort should be made to co-ordinate the facilitating of bus transit.  It is also my view that the bus should travel on Elgin Street, thereby eliminating Ontario Street and the number 10 on Lakeshore. The Elgin Street bus stops would coincide with existing 4-way stop signs.

- I visit Oakville on occasion, and I prefer their grid system.
For example, why not consider one Appleby line connecting with cross-town buses instead of current 5 itty-bitty lines. Walkers Line has no bus connecting Lakeshore and Fairview. Routes Brant Street 2 and Guelph Line 3 do not meet Dundas Street. BT on Dundas Street has three routes 6, 15, and 11, mostly between Walkers and Appleby Lines. Between Brant Street and Guelph Line, Route 2 meanders just south of Dundas, as do Routes 6 and 62 between Guelph and Walkers Lines.

It is really poor practice for neighbouring communities not to have joint transit on city border areas.   Why not a Dundas Street bus from Brant Street to Oakville? The Oakville Dundas Street bus does not meet a Burlington bus.

Why not a bus from La Salle Park Road to Waterdown, taking a turn into Aldershot GO and VIA station?
Transfers on grid systems should be manageable with current technology, and therefore minimize delays.

Finally, in my experience, BT drivers are exceptionally courteous and helpful. The drivers are a great asset to Burlington Transit, and it should be recognized that their attitude is a factor in encouraging increased transit ridership. Congrats to BT for that!

The city’s Transit Advisory Committee doesn’t weigh in transit quite the way Jane Irwin does.
Ed note:  This is not a lady to trifle with.

• parrking

  March 22, 2012 at 4:43 pm

  I think we just may be doing something right.
  Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward said the following of a piece we posted:
  This is great feedback, thoughtful and very helpful, Jane. You may have already done this, but I have shared it with transit staff and members of the Transit Master Plan Review committee, for their consideration.
  Marianne
  Our Burlington might get on Meed Ward’s Christmas card list.
  ________________________________________
  

BTAC - Transit Advisory committee needs to know what`s going on within transit before it can advise anyone.

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/transit-advisory-committee-needs-to-know-whats-going-on-within-transit-before-it-can-advise-anyone

Transit Advisory committee needs to know what`s going on within transit before it can advise anyone.

By Pepper Parr
REVISED
BURLINGTON, ON  March 22, 2012  A little dis-jointed would be stretching the way the meeting went.  Out of the loop for the most part would be another observation of the Burlington Transit Advisory Committee.  They were apparently unaware that the city`s budget committee had actively debated a fare increase but that the motion had not passed.  They just don’t know what is happening at the Council level to whom they are supposed to be advisers.

Lots of talent at the BTAC meeting; Eric Pilon, on the left, former Director of Transit for Oakville has worked with Burlington's Mike Spicer who is heading up the public participation part of the Master Transit Plan.

Mike Spicer, Transit Manager for Burlington Transit sits in on BTAC meetings and  commented that “Transit very much wanted a committee like BTAC in place to give us feedback”, however the committee’s role is not to provide feedback to the transit people but to advise city council on transit matter.  This Committee seems to have lost touch with its mandate and doesn’t appear to have any sense of “Mission`.  They don’t seem to know what they are supposed to do or even how to do their job.

The mandate is pretty clear and its set out on part of the city`s web site.
Provide input to Council and staff on initiatives and strategies affecting public transportation services ….
Review the city`s Accessibility Plan on an Annual basis …
Encourage and establish partnerships that assist with improving accessible transit service and decreasing gaps in service with agencies such as Halton Peel District Health Council … local taxi services
Consider matters related to Dedicated Gas Tax Funds.

These are just a few of the 10 points set out in the BTAC  Mandate.  Taxi rates are up for discussion at the Community Development Committee this week – (March 26th  if anyone at BTAC wants to attend)   How the city is going to manage the use of the Gas Tax Refunds from the federal government was part of the vigorous Budget Committee debate but the subject didn’t get a single word of mention at the BTAC meeting – that`s what you call being out of touch.

Sparsely attended Transit Advisory meeting - staff talent shows up - members appeared to have missed the bus.

The committee did go through a significant membership shuffle – three out of 12 members were returned to the committee last February.  The biggest problem seems to be getting a quorum and holding meetings regularly.  Prior to the March 20^th meeting the committee had not met for five months – unacceptable by any standard and what had committee member Kevin Rahmer  voicing opinions that were a little tough for Chair  Joanne Vassell-Pittman to handle.  Other members of the committee – there were just five of them in attendance at the meeting – repeatedly had to ask  Rahmer to be more positive and not keep rehashing old issues.

There was apparently an occasion when Rahmer was to address the committee at some length but he failed to appear – which seems to be an ongoing problem for this committee.

BTAC has a new clerk who is more “den mother” than committee Clerk; that description is intended as a compliment.  Danielle Pitoscia  is one of the best Clerks the city has – I’d go so far as to say THE best Committee Clerk.  The BTAC crowd are going to need a lot of help if they are ever to get to the point where they are relevant and know how to operate as a committee and be able to provide city council with useful advice.  Right now it seems to be a place where people meet to talk about transit but seldom have a quorum and can`t do anything.

Scheduled to meet once a month, the Committee met last in September and didn’t have a quorum at that time.  The twelve member committee has six appointed members and six members from the stakeholder groups.  The committee is currently looking for new members.


At least one new Advisory committee member had not seen the Term of Reference for the committee, which is sort of like wanting to drive a car but not having a driver’s license.  It didn’t appear as if the committee was fully aware of the scope of their Terms of Reference and the opportunities they had to inform the policy side of transit in the city.

During the last round of serious concern over member participation all the committee members said they wanted to continue serving – then they don`t show up and meetings don’t take place.
Smart thing to do with this one is shut it down – they do have a representative on the Transit Master Plan Steering Committee but Peggy Russell didn’t attend the meeting and was unable to report.
The BTAC didn’t delegate to the Budget Committee on things transit.  Other than bicker at their meetings – it`s hard to see what they actually do.

Eric Pilon, a  former Director with Oakville Transit sits on the committee; Burlington Transit always send their  top people.  At times both the Transit Director, Donna Sheppard and Mike Spicer the Transit Manager take part in the meetings.  It is the Committee members who aren’t pulling their weight.  Joanne Vassell-Pittman, Chair, runs a decent meeting – she doesn’t have a vice chair, that`s vacant.  The student representative hasn’t been replaced either.

Kevin Rahmer, who certainly knows the transit file very well, doesn't make it easy for a chair to run a meeting.

Vassell-Pittman is a practiced chair, who is ready now to move on, and has advised her Board that she will not stand for re-election as chair but will finish her term.  During the Tuesday meeting she struggled to keep Rahmer under some control; he certainly knows the transit file, but has great difficulty staying focused and disciplining  himself.  He had to be reminded several times that his comments were disrespectful of the chair.

Peggy Russell, Maureen Van Ravens along with  Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven are on the committee – all missed the bus.

There is a public out there that wants a good, well operated efficient transit service and they have opinions.  Having an Advisory Committee that can collect and marshal those opinions and take them to Council would be effective community engagement.  BTAC’s not there yet.

• Bob Wood

  March 22, 2012 at 6:55 am

  Good analysis. It isn’t often that we see coverage of City advisory committees. Many of them do good work sometimes without the full support of the bureucracy.
  I initiated the formation of this one when I was a Councillor in 2006. At the time staff were not terribly enthused about having the committee particularly having driver input.
  Staff have a responsibility to bring relevant items to such committees. Sounds like that wasn’t happening here.
  
• Amy Collard

  March 22, 2012 at 9:40 am

  Pepper:
  I am not, and never have been, a member of the Transit Advisory Committee. I would appreciate your immediate correction of this article.
  Thank you.
  Amy Collard
  
• Channing Hall

  March 22, 2012 at 3:13 pm

  Pepper – please correct yourself – Danielle is not the best committee clerk,. There have been a number of complaints about her and she’s only part time. Do your research.
  We don’t agree with this comment. But people are entitled to their viewpoint.
  

Mar. 19, 2012 Poverty Free Halton: Transit Cuts of $500,000 per year

Poverty Free Halton Delegation to Burlington City Council on March 19, 2012 Opposing Proposed Cut to Transit of $500,000 per Year in Provincial Gas Tax Monies ... by Doug Brown

Mayor Goldring, City Councillors:

My name is Doug Brown, and I am here tonight representing Poverty Free Halton. We are a non-partisan citizen organization dedicated to the long-term goall of ending poverty in Halton Region. Through education and advocacy, our dedicated volunteer committee works to highlight issues of poverty and identify solutions to all levels of government. We believe that the solutions to poverty are within grasp, we just need the political will to obtain them.

Affordable and accessible transit is vitally important to many in our community. People on low income and those that cannot drive due to age or disability depend on transit to get to school, to get to work, to shop, to get to appointments, or to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, this is not easy in Burlington because of an under-funded transit system. This means that many people are not within reasonable walking – or rolling distance from a bus stop, or have inadequate service in terms of frequency and hours.

Burlington spends significantly less money on transit than most similar municipalities. This has been documented in the current MM Dillon Transit Master Plan Study. (Slide 1 Peer Review of municipal transit expenditures/capita). A complete comparison of transit spending by GTA municipalities was done by the Sustainable Urban Development Association (Slide 2 GTA property taxes in support of transit). This comparison shows that Burlington spends only half of the GTA average on transit.Under-spending on transit has caused Burlington to trail other communities in service levels and ridership. Historically, we can see that Burlington now has just over half the ridership per capita as it had in the mid nineteen eighties. (Slide 3 Transit Historical Performance)

Burlington’s low level of municipal funding for transit is also matched by it’s low proportion of transit spending from its gas tax monies. Currently it is 30% of gas tax funding – but even this low proportion may be reduced. It should be noted that in Toronto100% of gas tax funding goes to transit.

The Benefits of Transit:

Benefit/Cost analysis is the best way to look at the benefits and cost of public expenditures. Fare box revenues are only a small part of the benefits of transit and city expenditures on transit.

Transit provides a large range of benefits to the City and to all its residents. These include: reduced road congestion, reduced road expenditures, reduced expenditures on parking,  reduced health care costs (fewer injuries and cleaner air), reduced policing costs,  and reduced personal expenditures on transportation.

The benefits of transit have been quantified in a recent study by the Canadian Urban Transit Association, (CUTA),  The Economic Impacts of Transit Investment in Canada:A National Survey. (Slide 4)

The CUTA findings were:

• The total economic benefit of the existing transit network in Canada is at least $10 Billion annually
• A recent cost-benefit analysis of a large-scale national investment in transit found that an investment of $71 Billion in capital costs would return $239 Billion in benefits over 30 years – an annual rate of return of 12.5%
• Transit reduces vehicle operating costs by about $2.4 Billion annually.
•  Transit saves the health care system at least $115 Million annually.

 In the Burlington/Halton, an expanded transit system would provide large savings including (Slide5)

• Reduced Policing, EMS, and Fire Dept. costs– enforcement of HTA accounts for a large part of total policing costs.
• Expenditures on roads – an additional $2B in road widenings in Halton 2012-2031
• Expenditures on parking – average parking space cost $30,000 (Gil Penalosa).

The economic and social benefits of transit are very substantial. Let’s go beyond the narrow and misleading R/C ratios and base our decisions on a comprehensive analysis of all the benefits of transit and all the costs of car-based transportation.

Respect Burlington’s Planning Documents and Planning Process:

The Ontario Municipal Board has required that Burlington increase its transit ridership from the current 2% of trips to 11% of trips by 2031 to allow for future intensification in our Official Plan. This will require more than a quadrupling of our transit ridership. With this in mind, the Steering Committee of the Transit Master Plan adopted a goal of increasing ridership.

It would be very unfortunate then, if before the Transit Master Plan is completed,  City Council would reduce transit funding. This would not only prevent any service improvements, but would require service cuts, with a resulting loss in ridership.

Such a decision would be counter to the City’s two main planning documents – the Official Plan and the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan Our Strategic Plan calls for an “increase the number of people who cycle, walk and use public transit for recreation and transportation. --What will it look like? - There are fewer cars on the road because more people are using public transit, walking or cycling”

The Strategic Plan sets out the following expectations for the current Transit Master Plan update:

• - improved transit service              
• - more use of Burlington Transit               
• - better mobility in and out of the city

Poverty Free Halton is asking that Council respect it’s own planning process and not approve a cut in transit funding from the gas tax.

Transit got a rough ride – fare increase on, then off ...

http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/transit-got-a-bit-of-a-rough-ride-fare-increase-was-on-then-off-then-the-whole-thing-got-sent-over-the-city-manager-he-will-add-a-fare-increase-real-fast

Transit got a rough ride – fare increase on, then off ,then it all got sent over the city manager. He will add a fare increase real fast.

By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON  March 7, 2012  There is going to be a fare increase – think in terms of it being an additional 25 cents added to the current $3.00 cash fare.   There will be discounts for monthly passes.

The Budget Committee stewed for some time over what to do with transit.  Ridership is only now getting back to the levels it was in the 80’s.  The transit people are reviewing a report from a group of consultants and working on a Transit Master Plan.

The truth for Burlington is that no one wants to take the bus except for the people that don’t own a car because they can’t afford one or are no longer able to drive.  Ten percent of the Burlington population is said to be living below the poverty line

The key metric for everything to do with transit in Burlington is called the R/C ratio; which is the ratio of revenue to cost.  On many routes it is terrible and consistently draws the comment that “I saw a bus go by and it was empty” which gets the response “if you get on the bus it won’t be as empty” from transit staff.
Transit has a budget of more than $8, 647,000 each year.

At the last budget meeting there were two recommendations for fare increases. Councillor Taylor wanted it raised to $3.25 effective September 1^st which he calculated would bring in $89,251 in new revenue.  Why wait till September was Councillor Dennison’s response – he wanted the 25 cent increase to be effective May 1 – which would add $170,063 to the revenue side of the budget.  Neither amount does very much for a budget that is over $8 million.

They are looking at the same piece of paper but they are certainly not on the same page. Councillor Sharman and Director of Transit Donna Sheppard separated by key differences: he doesn't take the bus, she doesn't drive one..

Council members kept comparing Burlington’s prices to Oakville and Toronto – the cash fare in Toronto gets one a heck of a lot more value than Burlington is ever going to be able to offer.  It is ingenuous to suggest that a Burlington cash fare should be anywhere near what Toronto charges.

The debate went back and forth with some council members talking about the cost of the system to the city and others talking about the need for the city to provide a service.  None of the council members actually use the bus service; they don’t have to.  It is the public that has to use the service that isn’t being heard by the majority of this Council.  Meed Ward brings an understanding, sympathy and empathy for the problem.
Transit got mentioned in the Strategic Plan because the city had to mention it; it wasn’t put in the document because the city council members or staff saw it as a burning issue.

The budget committee kind of threw their hands up in the air and passed the whole thing back to staff saying – ‘here you guys figure it out’, which staff will certainly do.  The comment in the budget agenda document provided by Dennison went as follows:

Achieve an annual RC ratio system wide of not less than 45% by September 1, 2012 with a 5% ridership increase in the projection; and further, that staff and the consultant review the six routes that have RC ratios of 30% and under and come back with reviews that include buses for peak only; dial a ride for off peak.  All remaining routes are to be reviewed for opportunities for efficiency improvement and further, only improvements that can be implemented by June 2012.  In addition, staff to produce the utilization route maps for individual routes that do not show overlaps of routes on any page.

How’s THAT for a set of marching orders?  Absolutely none of it is do-able in the time frames given. Transit staff struggle maintaining a transit system in a city that really doesn’t want public transit but knows it has to provide such a service.  Somewhere between the early 1980’s and today something changed.  Ridership was much higher, the bus terminal was a bustling place and public transit was not seen as something poor people use.

Whether it was the urban sprawl, cheap gas and a lifestyle that had people driving everywhere; malls that you drove to and a transit schedule that seemed to meet the needs of the community – all hard to tell.  What Burlington does know is that it has a transit system that is costing too much and not delivering all that much in the way of value for what is being spent.

Plans to develop the parking lots either side of the John Street bus terminal and a consultants recommendation to get into marketing as much as moving people around suggest big changes for the service. Is city Council going to pick up the tab?

The most recent consultant’s report suggests that Burlington is going to have to morph from a service that moves boxes with wheels on it  up and down streets to an organization that tailors the transit service to the needs of specific markets and in the process become as much a marketing driven organization as an operator of vehicles.

It’s do-able.  It has been done elsewhere with significant results.  What seems to be missing in Burlington and at the Council table is the role transit plays in the life of a community.  It is not a source of profit.  It is a public service delivered by public servants in place to meet the needs, the real needs of the community.

That direction, put together by Dennison and sent back to staff, sounds like a cost cutting exercise handed out by an MBA graduate who has forgotten that the immediate and long term needs of the community are the issue.

Some social imagination will help.  Now that the task has been handed back to staff we will get to see what kind of a twist the city manager puts on the way he interprets his role.

Doug Brown, who has more documentation on transit services than anyone else in the city, has a vision for the service he thinks the city needs.  Does it square with reality?