TOWN OF MILTON MOVING MILTON FORWARD. Transit Master Plan Appendix F - Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper

Transcription

1 TOWN OF MILTON Transit Master Plan MOVING MILTON FORWARD Appendix F - Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013

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3 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 REVIEW OF EXISTING PARATRANSIT SERVICES Overview of Services Review of Door-to-Door Paratransit Services Review of Community Bus PARATRANSIT RIDERSHIP TRENDS Ridership and Financial Performance Policies and Procedures BENCHMARK REVIEW Ridership, Registrants and Operating Characteristics Financial Performance FUTURE PARATRANSIT DEMAND SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FIVE-YEAR PARATRANSIT SERVICE DESIGN Eligibility and Registration Service Delivery - Family of Services Registered Door-to-Door Taxi Service Door-to-Door Paratransit Service Community Bus Making the Conventional System More Accessible Travel Training Transit Fares Scheduling Software AODA Compliance YEAR OPERATING COST AND REVENUE IMPLICATIONS Dillon Consulting Limited Page i

4 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper List of Figures Page Figure 1 June 2012 Fare Media Statistics... 4 Figure 2 Existing Community Bus Route... 5 Figure Community Bus Routing Structure... 6 Figure 4 Milton Historic Paratransit Ridership... 7 Figure Paratransit Ridership... 8 Figure 6 Average Weekday Passengers/Hour for June Figure Community Bus Ridership per Revenue Service Hour List of Tables Page Table A1 Rose Taxi Trip Statistics... 8 Table Peer Review Community Population Table Annual Specialized Trips per Capita Table Financial Performance Table 5 - Incident of Disability by Age Group (2006) Table 6 Paratransit Ridership Projections Table 7 - GTHA Trip Booking Requirements Table 8 Paratransit 5-Year Service Summary (Family of Services Plan) Table 9 Paratransit 5-year Service Summary (without Family of Services) Page ii Dillon Consulting Limited

5 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February REVIEW OF EXISTING PARATRANSIT SERVICES 1.1 Overview of Services The Town of Milton has provided door-to-door paratransit services in various formats over the past years. Presently, the Town operates paratransit service within the urban and rural boundaries of Milton to eligible residents who have a physical disability. Prior to July 2011, two (2) local transportation contractors provided paratransit services for the Town; supplying the vehicles and operators as well as servicing/maintenance and reservation/dispatch functions. First Student provided dedicated weekday paratransit bus service Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 5:30pm, while A1 Rose Taxi provided in-town, non-dedicated services on Saturdays between 9:00am and 5:00pm and out-of-town services during the week for medical appointments only. Registered customers would contact both First Student and A1 Rose Taxi directly to request bookings for trips. In July 2011, the Town of Milton entered into a new contract with A1 Rose Taxi to deliver all of its demand responsive paratransit services, Monday to Saturday for both in-town and out-of-town medical trips. The rationale for this change was to improve on a declining ridership base and a low revenue to cost ratio. The change in service delivery was to a non-dedicated service, which was viewed as more cost effective given the low demand while still providing a high level of service to registered paratransit passengers. A1 Rose Taxi currently provides all door-to-door paratransit services to Milton residents within the urban and rural areas of Milton. They also provide a premium fare for out-of-town service to neighbouring municipalities (Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto) for medical appointments only. The service is available Monday to Friday from 5:45am to 8:30pm and on Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm. In addition to this service, a Community Bus route was also introduced. This route is targeted to seniors and persons with lower levels of mobility. The service is focused on providing door-to-door, convenient accessible services to places of interest for seniors and persons with disabilities, while using the simple scheduling and timing points of a conventional service. Many seniors, including those not currently eligible for paratransit services, find the Community Bus useful for trips that may not be time-sensitive as trips by users on conventional transit, as scheduling tends to be based on accommodating several trip origins and destinations for social activity purposes. Effective September 5 th, 2012, the Community Bus operates on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:20am to 2:45pm to accommodate programs at the Seniors Activity Centre and potential senior discount shopping days. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 1

6 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper 1.2 Review of Door-to-Door Paratransit Services SERVICE ARRANGEMENT The current service arrangement with A1 Rose Taxi is based on a $2.00 per kilometre rate. A1 Rose Taxi has a fleet of 15 vehicles, one of which is accessible. They currently have 2 drivers trained to provide the service. A-1 Rose Taxi receives the transit fare directly from the passenger. The taxi company submits all of the receipts along with an invoice to Milton Transit. Milton Transit is charged for each trip made by a registered paratransit user on a per km basis. Milton Transit then reimburses the taxi company. Any non-registered customer traveling with a registered paratransit user (other than attendants) pays the full taxi fare. The average cost per trip is $12.64 and the average number of occupants per trip is 1 in On a per trip basis, the average cost is less expensive than the 2010 per trip rate when a nondedicated service was provided by First Student. However, ridership has gone up considerably and there are limited methods of controlling costs or maintaining a budget under the existing arrangement ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION Residents are required to submit an application requesting consideration of acceptance as an accessible transportation registered customer. Applicants can opt to call the Milton Transit office to obtain an application form or they can download the form directly from the Milton Transit web site. In order to be considered as a registrant, applicants must: be a resident of Milton; and be physically unable to climb/descend stairs on a regular basis; and/or be physically unable to walk a distance of 175m (600 ft.) - an average block. Additionally, applicants will be considered if they: are able to transfer from wheelchair to car (taxi) with minimal assistance; suffer from vertigo to the degree that they would fall; require an attendant/escort (i.e. is unable to self-direct own care and would be unable to be left safely unattended aboard the vehicle or while in transit); and/or are cognitively impaired and have other physical factors that would limit their ability to use the conventional transit service. A qualified health care professional must certify that the applicant meets the physical limitations as stated in the eligibility criteria, however, that health care professional is not someone appointed or contracted by the Town of Milton. Page 2 Dillon Consulting Limited

7 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013 Applicants who fit the criteria noted above are registered and are supplied with a registration card. The registration number is used for verification of enrolment by the service providers and for tracking purposes RESERVATIONS AND SCHEDULING Once an applicant is registered, he or she (or his/her caregiver) is given the phone number to call the dispatcher at A1 Rose Taxi directly to schedule their trips. The phone number used is the regular A1 Rose Taxi dispatch number. Registered paratransit users must identify themselves by providing their registration card number to the dispatcher or the driver if they acquire the service through an on-street flag down. The policy on reservations is that registrants can call up to seven days in advance to book a trip. The policy also states that same day bookings may be accommodated; however, users are encouraged to book ahead of time. In reality, the paratransit service operates much like a regular taxi service, where paratransit customers can call up to 10 minutes before a desired trip or flag down a taxi without making a prior reservation to receive service. A1 Rose Taxi will guarantee that someone will be there to pick them up within 10 minutes on either end of their trip request time. Regular subscription trips are also accommodated. Under this model, all trips that are requested are accommodated and there is limited opportunity to group trips and improve productivity. While this provides the highest level of service for persons with disabilities, the service is being operated more as a full taxi service for a reduced fare rather than a subsidized paratransit service. This has resulted in a significant increase in the use of this service and, as a result, has increased operating budget pressure in HOURS OF SERVICE Paratransit service hours are identical to conventional service hours for weekday service and expanded to include service on Saturdays. The service is available Monday to Friday from 5:45am to 8:30pm and on Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Milton Transit is currently in compliance with AODA legislation AREA OF SERVICE Paratransit service is provided to both the urban and rural areas in the Town of Milton. The fact that Milton Transit offers equivalent areas of service for paratransit and conventional transit is ideal, in that it provides a consistent service area framework for the growing family of services. Out-of-Town trips to municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto) are provided for medical appointments only. This is a good precursor to preparing for future integrated cross boundary paratransit and conventional transit trips. Provision for these types of trips is included in the AODA legislation under section 69.1 of Regulation 191, which states: Dillon Consulting Limited Page 3

8 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper where specialized transportation services are provided in adjacent municipalities within contiguous urban areas, the specialized transportation service providers shall facilitate connections between their respective services PASSENGER FARES Milton Transit passenger fares are the same for both conventional and paratransit services. Fare equity was introduced on January 1, Users can pay a cash fare, use tickets, transfers or buy a monthly pass. There are currently no promotions to encourage paratransit customers to use the conventional service. There is a one-way trip fare of $20.00 for the out-of-town trips. In Section 66.1 of Regulation 1913, it is stated that the transportation service provider shall ensure that the same fare structure is applied. Since both the fares and fare media are the name on paratransit and conventional transit services, this aspect of the service is in compliance with AODA legislation. Further assessment of the trips made during the month of June 2012 was also conducted. Figure 1 below illustrates the breakdown of the fare media used for the trips made during the month. It is interesting to note that 17 percent of trips being made on accessible transit are by CNIB users. Riders that are registered with the CNIB have been receiving free service on the conventional system. When Milton Transit revised its policy to adapt to AODA legislation, the CNIB free fare was carried forward to the specialized service. This high volume of trips being made for free impacts the financial performance of the paratransit service and should be addressed in the 5 year plan. Figure 1 June 2012 Fare Media Statistics Page 4 Dillon Consulting Limited

9 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February Review of Community Bus Prior to Community Bus service changes made on September 5 th, 2012, Milton Transit provided Community Bus service on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8:20am to 2:45pm. These two days of the week were chosen to accommodate programs at the Seniors Activity Centre and potential senior discount shopping days. The service runs every hour and is available to all residents; however, it is designed specifically to serve the needs of seniors and persons with limited mobility. Figure 2 illustrates the current routing. The existing route is a large one way loop that services key senior residences, medical facilities and shopping and retail areas. Figure 2 Existing Community Bus Route Dillon Consulting Limited Page 5

10 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Milton Transit staff have reviewed the current routing structure and have proposed some changes to the existing service for The proposed routing changes are illustrated in Figure 3 bellow. Effective September 5 th, 2012, the Community Bus route and schedule operates on Wednesdays and Fridays, 8:20am to 2:45pm. The new routing structure proposes two Community Bus routes, a blue route and a green route. The service is oriented to areas with a high concentration of senior s residences (stops 1 to 9) where both the blue route and the green route overlap. The first run takes residents south to destinations such as grocery stores, the hospital and medical clinics before returning on a half hour run. The second run (the blue route) takes residents east to destinations such as grocery stores, the Milton GO Station, the Milton Senior s Centre and the Milton Mall. The new route structure was based on consultation conducted by the Town of Milton with several seniors and bus drivers, a review of ridership trends and consultation as part of this Master Plan. The shift to Friday service instead of Thursday service was also based on consultation with the target market. Figure Community Bus Routing Structure Page 6 Dillon Consulting Limited

11 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February PARATRANSIT RIDERSHIP TRENDS Between 2005 and 2010, ridership on the paratransit service declined and this may have been partly due to Milton s younger demographic as well as the type of service being offered. Figure 4 illustrates paratransit ridership over the last seven years. Figure 4 Milton Historic Paratransit Ridership *New service delivery model put in place With the introduction of the full taxi service delivery model in July 2011 and fare equity in January, 2012, paratransit ridership has increased significantly. Figure 5 illustrates the 2011 and 2012 paratransit trips by month. As illustrated in the figure, June 2012 rides are 5 times higher than rides taken in June 2011 (the last month of the old contract). There is no indication of this steady increase slowing down, particularly with a rapidly growing population, the high level of service and increased awareness of the service availability. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 7

12 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Figure Paratransit Ridership Ridership and Financial Performance The monthly use of the A1 Rose Taxi service was also assessed for the first seven months of Table 1 provides a breakdown of the trip statistics. Table A1 Rose Taxi Trip Statistics Month # of Trips Total Kms Total Trip Cost Total Net Cost (Trip Cost Fare) Average Trip Length (km) Average Cost per Trip Average Net Cost per Trip Average # of Trips per Day Average # of Passengers per Hour January 646 3, $ 6,436 $ 4, $ 9.96 $ February 667 4, $ 8,249 $ 5, $ $ March 876 4, $ 8,903 $ 6, $ $ April 801 4, $ 9,579 $ 7, $ $ May 929 6, $ 12,530 $ 9, $ $ June 1,012 7, $ 15,504 $ 12, $ $ July 938 7, $ 14,296 $ 11, $ $ Total: 5,869 37, $ 75,497 $ 57,667 For the first seven months of 2012, a total of 5,869 trips were requested and accommodated. This number has already surpassed the total number of paratransit trips made in 2011 (4,353). There were no cancelled trips and zero no-shows recorded. This is due to the fact that registered users are not Page 8 Dillon Consulting Limited

13 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013 required to book their trips in advance. A1 Rose Taxi allows users to call at the time they would like to make their trip (similar to a taxi service). As a result of the increase in ridership, the total cost of the service has put significant pressure on the Town s 2012 operating budget RIDERSHIP BY TIME OF DAY Figure 6 below illustrates the average number of passengers per hour during the weekdays for the month of June As illustrated, the Taxi service is accommodating between 5-6 passengers per hour during the peak period (1:00pm-2:00pm). The overall daily average is 3.11 trips per hour for the month of June This number is slightly higher than the peer group average which is generally about 2.5 trips per hour. Figure 6 Average Weekday Passengers/Hour for June COMMUNITY BUS RIDERSHIP Figure 7 illustrates the Community Bus Ridership per Revenue Service Hour which has averaged between 1.5 and 2.4 passengers per revenue service hour. This is below industry standards for Community Bus, which target about 8 to 10 passengers an hour. There are a number of factors that may be resulting in low ridership, including, the convenience and comfort of the door-to-door paratransit service operated by A1 Rose Taxi. Community Bus is a new service and awareness within the target market is still developing. The Community Bus also only operates two days a week; and the routing may not go to some key origins and destinations. This was addressed by the Town of Milton and a new route structure was in place in September 2012 (as discussed above). Dillon Consulting Limited Page 9

14 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Figure Community Bus Ridership per Revenue Service Hour 2.2 Policies and Procedures While Milton Transit has written policies for eligibility and for fares, there is not a policies and procedures handbook which the staff, drivers or customers can refer to. Nonetheless, there are a number of policies in place that are communicated to new registered passengers ATTENDANT POLICY Registered paratransit customers are allowed to have an attendant ride with them if it is determined during the registration process that an attendant is required to make the trip. A note is placed on their registration card identifying whether or not the user can ride with an attendant. An attendant is someone who is not a registered paratransit user who is providing assistance to the registrant when making a trip and attendants are not required to pay a fare. A1 Taxi does not bill the Town for attendants or children under the age of five. A1 Rose Taxi will accept companions on a vehicle, if there is room, but the companions must pay the full metered cab fare. There is no formal companion policy NO-SHOWS AND CANCELLATIONS There are no formal policies regarding no-shows and cancelled trips. Currently, the taxi operator does not record no shows, nor do they charge no shows to the Town. Late cancellations are also not recorded or charged to the customer or the Town. Page 10 Dillon Consulting Limited

15 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February PASSENGER PICK-UPS (WAIT TIME WINDOW) A policy is in place when passengers should be ready for their ride. The policy states: Since delays inconvenience others, drivers are instructed to wait no more than five (5) minutes following the scheduled pick-up time DRIVER TRAINING There is no formal driver training in place, however, A1 Rose Taxi currently has two drivers with specialized training in addressing persons with disabilities. This training is from the City of Mississauga which forms part of their licensing requirement CUSTOMER CONTACT/FEEDBACK If or when a customer wishes to formally provide feedback on the transit service, they would contact Milton Transit or A1 Rose Taxi directly to lodge a complaint or to voice a suggestion or a commendation. Complaints are handled directly, but informally. There is no written policy indicating to customers a time frame or a procedure for response to complaints or suggestions. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 11

16 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Page 12 Dillon Consulting Limited

17 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February BENCHMARK REVIEW A peer review of Milton s paratransit service was conducted using five other specialized transit services in similar sized cities across Ontario and Alberta. The data for this comparison has been taken primarily from the CUTA Specialized Transit Services Fact Book for The peer cities and the estimated population of each municipality are shown in Table 2. As indicated, the populations varied from about 38,000 persons to 93,000 persons with an overall average of 69,124 compared to a reported population of about 92,000 persons in Milton in peer data was compared to 2011 data for Milton due to the change in service structure that occurred in July This will more accurately benchmark Milton s existing service model with other service providers. For the purposes of this review, Community Bus was not included in the assessment. Table Peer Review Community Population Transit System Population Registrants Ridership (Dedicated Service) Ridership (Non Dedicated Service) Total Ridership Airdrie (AB) 39, ,344 N/A 6,344 Brantford 93,000 1,549 67,160 N/A 67,160 Milton* 92, ,315 2,368 3,683 Niagara Falls 80,000 1,192 23, ,417 Sarnia 71,919 1,458 33,252 N/A 33,252 Timmins 38, ,633 N/A 16,633 Average 69, ,683 1,196 25,082 *Based on 2011 Milton Data 3.1 Ridership, Registrants and Operating Characteristics A good indicator of the level of service provided is the total annual trips divided by the total community population. Table 3 shows the year 2010 annual registrants and trips made in each of the comparison communities. This data indicates that the ridership levels vary in different systems across Milton s peer group. Milton provided about 0.04 annual trips per capita in 2011 which is very low when compared to the overall average of This is partially due to Milton s younger demographic. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 13

18 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Transit System Table Annual Specialized Trips per Capita Registrants per Capita Trips per Capita Trips per Registrant Trips per Hour (Dedicated service) Total Ridership Airdrie (AB) N/A 6,344 Brantford ,160 Milton* N/A 3,683 Niagara Falls ,417 Sarnia ,252 Timmins ,633 Average ,082 *Based on 2011 Milton Data 3.2 Financial Performance Table 8 illustrates the overall financial performance of the system. This is based on the cost per passenger, the municipal operating contribution per capita and the revenue/cost ratio. Milton is below average in municipal operating contribution per capita and is contributing the lowest amount per capita of the peer group. It should be noted that the level of service provided is very high and this suggests that the low municipal operating contribution is partially due to a favourable contract rate with the taxi service provider. This should change in 2012 with a growing ridership base. The average operating cost per trip for the peer communities is shown in Table 4 below. This figure indicates that the average cost per passenger for dedicated services in Milton was about $51.92 and the average cost per passenger for non-dedicated service was approximately $9.14. The overall peer community average is $24.63 and $15.37 respectively. With the new service model in place, the operating costs for dedicated service have been eliminated. The Town of Milton no longer provides dedicated service in 2012 and the average cost per trip is anticipated to be in the range of $12 to $16, which is still below the peer group average for The Town also has one of the lowest revenue to cost ratios, but this has been improving in Between January and July, the R/C ratio for the door-to-door paratransit service is 23 percent, which is above the peer group average. As ridership continues to grow, travel distances become longer or if the contract rate is increased, this likely begin to lower to an area near the peer group average. Page 14 Dillon Consulting Limited

19 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013 Transit System Table Financial Performance Average Cost per Passenger (Dedicated) Average Cost per Passenger (Non Dedicated) Municipal Operating Contribution/ Capita Revenue/Cost Ratio Airdrie (AB) $22.53 N/A $3.46 4% Brantford $13.97 N/A $ % Milton* $51.92 $9.14 $0.89 9% Niagara Falls $20.88 $21.61 $ % Sarnia $18.21 N/A $9.01 9% Timmins $20.28 N/A $8.05 9% Average $24.63 $15.37 $ % *Based on 2011 Milton Data Dillon Consulting Limited Page 15

20 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Page 16 Dillon Consulting Limited

21 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February FUTURE PARATRANSIT DEMAND With the population growth expected in Milton and the aging of the current residents, it is expected that the demand for paratransit services will continue to increase. Forecasted paratransit ridership was calculated for 2017 and 2023 using existing population data; projected population from the Halton Best Planning Estimates; projected age distribution from the Region of Halton; and the Incident of Disability by Age Group from the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) collected by Statistics Canada (illustrated in Table 5). Table 5 - Incident of Disability by Age Group (2006) Age Group Total Disability Rate 0 to 14 years 3.7% 15 to 64 years 11.5% 65 to 74 years 33.0% 75 + years 56.3% Total Population 14.3% Ridership was determined using the projected number of registered paratransit users and the estimated 2012 average number of trips per registered user. Table 6 presents the forecasted paratransit ridership demand. It should be noted that this calculation of demand is based on the existing eligibility criteria. Based on experience in other municipalities, demand could increase by a further 5 to 10 percent once the eligibility criteria is adjusted to be in compliance with the AODA legislation. Year Table 6 Paratransit Ridership Projections Total Population Projected Number of Persons with a Disability Projected Number of Registered Paratransit Users Annual Ridership Projection ,370* 10, ,400** ,666 16, , ,144 21, ,600 *2011 Census population **Estimated based on ridership from the first 7 months of As illustrated in the table above, paratransit ridership is expected to increase by 59 percent over the next five years and an additional 37 percent by It is important that the Five-Year Plan address the growing demand for paratransit services using a Family of Services approach. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 17

22 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper Page 18 Dillon Consulting Limited

23 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES Based on the review of the existing paratransit services and stakeholder consultation, an assessment of the service is provided in this section to identify areas where changes and improvements should be considered ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF COST CONTROL With an aging resident population and a growing total population, the provision of accessible transportation services will be increasingly important in meeting the vision and quality of life objectives identified by the Town of Milton. Under the new paratransit service model, ridership has been growing significantly faster than it has historically and is outpacing population growth. This is a result of an improvement in service quality and availability, which provides the highest degree of accessibility for persons with disabilities. The overall cost per trip is lower than many other paratransit systems in Canada. All indications are that the R/C ratio for the door-to-door paratransit service will be double that of 2011 by year end. This is a result of the way the contract has been structured (on a per kilometre basis). The benefit of this model is that many trips are relatively short within Milton which results in a lower cost. The other benefit of this model is that the municipality is not charged for any unproductive time when the driver/vehicle is not transporting passengers (which occurs with dedicated services that are contracted out based on hourly rates). A major challenge with this taxi model is the issue of cost containment. The current way the service is delivered does not address the need for a fixed municipal budget and it can be difficult to plan ahead for the funding required to provide paratransit services. Since the service model is billed on a per kilometre basis and trips can be requested at any time during service hours, there is little control on how much service is provided. With the existing model, the service is also operating like a full taxi service at a reduced fare instead of a subsidized paratransit service. Passengers can book trips 10 minutes before they need a ride and flag down a taxi service on street. This has led to significant growth in ridership and an escalation of costs to the Town beyond what has been budgeted for. As a result, there has been significant pressure on the 2012 operating budget. To address this issue, some controls on the service will need to be in place to ensure the taxi operated service replicates a paratransit service operated by taxis as opposed to an unlimited, reduced fare taxi service TAKING CONTROL OF THE RESERVATION FUNCTION One of the challenges with the current model is that it is difficult to promote a Family of Services concept since the reservation function is conducted by the service provider (A1 Rose Taxi). In a family of services approach, registered users are guided to conventional services, community bus and paratransit services in the most efficient and effective manner. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 19

24 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper While the service provider operates an effective and customer-driven service, there is no incentive to direct trips to other elements of the Family of Services that they are not operating. In many municipalities where the operation of the paratransit service is contracted out to the private sector, the reservation and dispatch function remains in-house or is contracted to a third party. With a Family of Services approach, the role of the reservation/ dispatch function would be to direct passengers to the most effective mode within the Family of Services (both in terms of quality and cost per trip). From a passenger s perspective, this frees up capacity on the door-to-door taxi service for passengers that most need the service and allows the funding agency to put in more service while maintaining some element of cost control THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA NEEDS TO BE UPDATED An update of the eligibility criteria must take place to comply with AODA legislation and to better deliver a Family of Services model. The existing eligibility criteria is partially based upon the original MTO guidelines, although Milton Transit, on a case by case basis, does offer specialized transit service to riders with other than physical disabilities. The eligibility criteria update must be formalized by 2017 to comply with the AODA legislation. The significant growth in trips on door-to-door specialized transit services has stressed the importance of also introducing different levels of eligibility based on functional mobility. This will allow Milton to better utilize more cost effective accessible services where applicable such as fixed route transit and community bus. Specialized transit services in Ontario are moving away from an eligibility policy that relates to specific physical criteria (i.e., ability to climb three steps, ability to walk 175 metres). An approach being considered by many is that of functional mobility; clients would be considered for registration only for those conditions under which they are unable to use conventional transit (and community bus). These conditions could cover situations such as: Frail ambulatory and visually impaired persons might be able to use conventional transit during non-winter months but would be eligible to use the specialized transit during winter months only. Visually impaired persons might be eligible to use conventional transit during day-time hours but would be eligible to use specialized transit during night time hours. Physically disabled persons might be able to use conventional transit with low floor buses to destinations that have highly accessible bus stops but would be eligible for specialized transit service to other destinations. Persons unable to use public transit for specific trips such as kidney dialysis treatment would be eligible for specialized transit for those trips. Persons with health challenges that fluctuate may be able to choose to use specialized transit when they do not have the abilities to use the conventional services, but are encouraged to use conventional services as much as possible. Page 20 Dillon Consulting Limited

25 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February 2013 The newest form of eligibility policy being considered by several Ontario systems is as follows: Only applicants (for specialized service) that do not pass the travel training program for conventional transit will be accepted. While this eligibility policy/process is still in its draft stages, if travel training becomes a service component of Milton Transit, they may wish to consider this option. Such an option would also require a clear understanding of the challenges being faced by the applicant overall, including health challenges that may vary by time of day or by season. The Travel Training would include options for varying types of weather, temperatures, snow and ice conditions, outdoor light quality, cross walk traffic and other potential barriers POLICIES AND PROCEDURES NEED TO BE FORMALIZED Milton Transit has very few formalized policies and procedures for the operation of specialized transit services (important for both the operator and the customer). Where these exist, some of the policies may be loosely interpreted. As an example, there is no formal policy for no shows or late cancellations. The brokered taxi operator does not record instances where this occurs as the capacity is available to accommodate all demands. There will be a point in time where Milton may need to move to a traditional reservation-based service due to rising demand. If this occurs, the same level of service may not be possible and certain policies and procedures will need to be in place and enforced. To prepare customers for this, draft policies and procedures should be developed and reviewed with staff and the public FREE FARES FOR CNIB CARDHOLDERS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED Currently 17 percent of the ridership on the paratransit service is by CNIB cardholders. Since CNIB cardholders ride for free, Milton Transit does not recoup any revenue for these trips, impacting its overall financial performance and therefore its ability to meet municipal budgets. Many paratransit systems across the country have removed free fares for specific rider categories, as they can be seen as being inequitable to passengers with other types of disabilities and to other passengers with visual disabilities that are not members of CNIB. Examples of systems that have done this include Burlington and Halifax. This situation will need to be addressed as part of the 5-year plan perhaps as part of an overall transit affordability review COMMUNITY BUS SERVICE NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED The Community Bus service was introduced in July 2011, but ridership has not been achieving minimum utilization targets. Community Bus forms an important part of the Family of Services and when meeting minimum utilization targets, becomes a more cost effective approach to providing service for persons with disabilities and addressing the needs of an aging population that require stops closer to their origins and destinations to minimize walking distance. For Milton s Community Bus to be effective, it will need to improve its ridership utilization to approximately 5-6 passengers an hour (from about 2.4 today). There are several challenges with the existing community bus that need to be addressed to be more successful: Dillon Consulting Limited Page 21

26 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper 1. The route design is lengthy and does not connect to some key destinations. The service was redesigned by Town staff in consultation with a number of seniors in the community and has been implemented in September This should address this overall concern. 2. There is no incentive to use the Community Bus when the door-to-door taxi service provides a much better level of service. This should be addressed by bringing the dispatching/reservation function in house (or dedicated third party), revising the eligibility criteria, setting targets for use by registered paratransit users and offering Travel Training to registrants, where applicable. 3. The vehicle used to operate the Community Bus is too large. The 9 metre Bluebird that is used to operate the service can be too large to maneuver on private property at certain establishments. This reduces the ability of the Community Bus to get as close to the front door as possible. Also, while the front of the bus is low floor, the rear of the bus has steps required to access the back seats. This will be an issue as ridership grows. 4. Days and hours of service need to be addressed. Two days a week of service is not typically enough to address daily travel patterns of the target market. The service should be made available 5 or 6 days a week when passenger utilization targets are starting to be reached. The 2:45pm end of service is too early as well. Paratransit demand by time of day indicated in Figure 6 above shows that the demand for service does not start to taper off until about 4:00pm NEED TO EXPAND THE FAMILY OF SERVICES APPROACH To accommodate the growing travel needs of seniors and persons with disabilities, a Family of Services approach should continue to be expanded. This will mean making better use of municipal resources and providing more flexibility in trip making options for many registered paratransit users. The Town of Milton has already developed some of the key components of a Family of Services approach. These components include a pre-scheduled, door-to-door taxi service, low floor buses on all regular scheduled conventional services and the introduction of a community bus. This approach to developing a range of services for persons with disabilities helps to accommodate a wider range of mobility needs while also providing trips in the most efficient manner in comparison to only operating a prescheduled, door-todoor van service AODA REQUIREMENTS MUST BE ADDRESSED The AODA legislation will have a significant impact on both Milton Transit s conventional and paratransit systems. The legislative requirements are clearly spelled out, although there are many areas that are subject to interpretation. Milton has already been complying with a number of the requirements in the legislation, and in many cases, is ahead of schedule, but more will need to be done. A detailed plan will need to be in place to demonstrate when and how Milton should comply. This will involve working with the transit industry to determine common approaches to compliance for certain aspects of the legislation. Page 22 Dillon Consulting Limited

27 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February FIVE-YEAR PARATRANSIT SERVICE DESIGN Based on the study investigations and findings, a recommended Five-year plan for paratransit has been developed for Milton residents who are seniors and/or paratransit users. The recommended improvements are discussed below. 6.1 Eligibility and Registration Milton Transit s Eligibility Criteria for specialized service clients is already broader than the criteria being used by many other transit systems. However, not all of the criteria have been formalized. Milton still uses guidelines based on physical ability to climb/descend stairs on a regular basis; and/or walk a distance of 175m (600 ft). Applicants with other types of disabilities are also considered, such as those that require an attendant or applicants with cognitive disabilities. By 2017, Milton Transit must offer three categories of eligibility: UNCONDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY The standard describes this for a person with a disability that prevents him/her from using conventional transportation services. TEMPORARY ELIGIBILITY The standard describes this for a person with a temporary disability that prevents him/her from using conventional transportation services. An example of a person requiring temporary eligibility could be a rider that has suffered a broken leg. CONDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY The standard describes this for a person with a disability where environmental or physical barriers limit his/her ability to consistently use conventional transportation services. An example of a person requiring conditional eligibility could be a rider that has a disability that makes travel very difficult in snowy months, but who can use conventional accessible transit in good weather. Milton Transit already informally allows for the above criteria, however, Milton Transit has to formally develop the policy in detail to ensure that it is clearly understood by potential applicants to the specialized service. The benefit of these new criteria from a passenger s perspective is that it opens up eligibility to the broadest possible range of disabilities, as identified by the AODA. From the Town s perspective, it will allow Milton Transit to further promote the Family of Services approach by defining different types of eligibility. This will allow the person accepting trip reservations to refer certain passengers to the Community Bus or to an accessible fixed route if the trip they are making can be accommodated on these services and the registered passenger has a Family of Services or conditional eligibility status. Dillon Consulting Limited Page 23

28 February 2013 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper To further promote this, it is recommended that Milton Transit move to an eligibility approach that formalizes different categories of eligibility in This should also include a change in the application form to include questions about an applicant s ability to travel during winter months, to use accessible low floor fixed route vehicles or the need for an attendant. York Region Transit Mobility PLUS provides a good example of an effective application form. Many systems are moving away from having applicants require a medical professional to sign off on the application form. There may be a cost associated with this to some applicants and there is often not a clear or consistent understanding from medical professionals about who truly requires full-time door-todoor service and who would be able to use accessible transit services. Many municipalities contract out the review of applications to a third party health care professional, such as a physiotherapist or nurse. This approach provides an independent and consistent review of the applications. Applicants may also be asked to come in and meet with the third party reviewer if an in-person assessment is required. This strategy is also recommended for Milton. Once eligibility criteria has been updated and tested (in case modifications are required), Milton Transit must put in writing its policies for how and why applicants are or are not accepted and the process for appealing an eligibility decision. This is also the time to invest in working with community agencies to offer a travel training program. Such a program would help specialized transit clients and interested residents learn to safely, easily and confidently use conventional public transit and community bus, as much as possible. By 2014, Milton will also need to standardize a policy stating that applications will be reviewed and completed within 14 days of receipt and that temporary access will be granted to the paratransit service if a decision has not been made. The eligibility policy, appeals policy, travel training and policies and procedures generally relating to the Milton Transit Family of Services will therefore require some re-writing and further development. Once updated, it is important that these policies and procedures are communicated with operating staff and the public. The Milton Transit web site is a great place to start with updates, as changes can be made fairly quickly and less expensively than they can with print media. Messaging on the transit public information phone line during on-hold times and after-hours can also help to promote awareness of changes in policies. Print information, in the form of an updated flyer, can be mailed to social service and health care agencies, seniors centres and assisted living buildings. Recommendations: 1. That Milton Transit (in 2013) revise its eligibility criteria by introducing three categories of eligibility: Conditional, Unconditional and Temporary. These should be compatible with service delivery through a Family of Services concept. Page 24 Dillon Consulting Limited

29 Town of Milton Moving Milton Forward Transit Master Plan Paratransit 5-Year Plan Working Paper February That Milton Transit (in 2013) hire a health care practitioner under contract (i.e. a nurse) once a week (or as needed) to review applications and make decisions on eligibility. 3. That Milton Transit (in 2013) revise its application form to no longer require sign-off from a health care professional and to ask more detailed questions regarding the ability to use the Family of Services and the need for an attendant. 4. That Milton Transit prepare for the 2014 AODA legislation by having policies and procedures in place that: o ensure its Eligibility Application Process is completed within 14 days of receipt of each application. o allow temporary access to its service after 14 days of an application, if a decision has not been made. o has an independent appeal process in place; all appeal decisions must be made within 30 days of receipt of each appeal. o has a policy with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. o has a procedure relating to the provision of temporary access to the service on compassionate grounds (prior to the 14 day eligibility assessment period). 5. That Milton Transit (by 2017) update its eligibility to comply with the AODA definition if it is not already doing so. It should be noted that Metrolinx is working with the GTHA specialized transit systems on a Cross Boundary Travel project which may include a move towards harmonization of GTHA eligibility criteria. The Ontario Public Transit Association (OPTA) had also indicated that it was planning on establishing a working group to develop a baseline for homogenous eligibility criteria across Ontario. The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) is also conducting a national study on eligibility criteria, and the hope is to achieve more eligibility commonality across Canada. Metrolinx is communicating with both OPTA and CUTA on this topic, hopefully with the result that Milton Transit and all of its neighbouring transit systems will have a clear direction for preferred eligibility criteria that will meet the 2014 and the 2017 AODA Regulations. Milton should keep track of the Metrolinx study and make specific changes that are in line with any criteria being developed. The timing or recommendations indicated above may need to be modified to fit conclusions coming out of the Metrolinx report ATTENDANT/SUPPORT PERSON POLICY Milton Transit does not charge for support personnel (attendants) on its specialized service. Clients are issued a card which lets drivers know that the client is riding with an attendant and Milton Transit does not charge attendants for the fares. As such, Milton is already partially compliant with the incoming 2014 AODA legislation as it pertains to an attendant policy. By January of 2014, Milton Transit must also: have criteria for recognition of support persons/attendants; and assess applicants and issue identification relating to the need for a support person while travelling on public transit. A support person/attendant is someone specifically needed to assist Dillon Consulting Limited Page 25