BOWEN ISLAND INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN Transit Improvement Strategy Prepared for: TransLink Prepared by: Stantec Consulting Ltd. August 10, 2016 1
Stantec Consulting Ltd 400-655 Tyee Road, Victoria BC V9A 6X5 August 10, 2016 Sarah Ross Acting Director, System Planning & Consultation TransLink 400-287 Nelson s Court New Westminster, BC V3L 0E7 Subject: Bowen Island Transit Improvement Strategy Report Dear Sarah It is with pleasure that we present the results of the recent Bowen Island transit review that creates a strategic direction for the transit network as part of the larger Integrated Transportation Master Plan being undertaken by Bowen Island. This strategic direction focuses on potential changes to the system to be considered within the existing service hours along with several recommendations regarding the next steps. It has been a pleasure to work with you on this project and we look forward to future opportunities with TransLink. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely Johann Van Schaik Senior Transit Planner Stantec Consulting Ltd. T: 250.389.2389 C: 250.217.3249 2
1 Introduction TransLink, the transit authority that provides service in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, agreed to participate in the development of the Bowen Island Integrated Transportation Master Plan (ITMP) through a review of the current transit system. The primary objective of this review of the Bowen Island Transit system is to identify and recommend short term changes to the transit service that fit within the existing service envelope and which are supported by the local community and TransLink. Stantec provided assistance in informing and educating staff and stakeholders to help participants better understand transit when making comments and suggestions and acted as a resource when discussing transit issues with stakeholders. This report focuses on the assessment of on-island transit services with a view of identifying service improvements that can be accommodated in a cost-neutral manner. These immediate and medium term service improvements would require further detailed work which would be the subject of a Service Plan. This assessment recognizes but does not address any of the off-island transportation related issues. 2 Methodology The overall methodology was to undertake a review of the current system using available data; then collect the thoughts and ideas of Bowen Island residents regarding opportunities or challenges within the system; then synthesize the results at a public workshop. The goal within the methodology was to provide some background to stakeholders regarding the process of transit planning and creating an awareness of the realities, benefits and costs of different alternatives. Creating a prioritized list of changes would allow TransLink to understand the key issues within the on-island movements as well as provide for input by the residents into current and future plans for the transit system. The process consisted of 6 basic steps: 2.1 Data analysis: this included a review of transit service levels and ridership details and characteristics to get a better understanding of how those who use transit, move about the community. It also included the consideration of other factors to gain a sense of other trip making characteristics such as origins, destinations, trip purpose, transportation infrastructure, land use development and densities. The existing transit data was limited to monthly ridership statistics collected by transit operators. Operational information and service delivery arrangements and comments were collected via interviews with the operating company in an effort to understanding what service is being delivered. 3
2.2 Transit performance: the identification of comparable communities and transit systems to better understand how the Bowen Island system is performing and help stakeholders to better understand the transit system s performance in relation to similar TransLink and other peer systems in British Columbia. 2.3 Public engagement Phase 1: Information sessions to engage with stakeholders and listen to comments and feedback about transit and to help answer questions. Information gathered from these sessions was used to assist in identifying service improvements and inform potential service options development. 2.4 Transit service options: based on the information gathered from stakeholders, the next step was to identify and develop potential service options that would serve the needs of as many people as possible with the resources (hours and buses) that are currently available. These service options would also be assessed in terms of their contribution to improving overall system performance as well as their ease of implementation in the short term. These service options were to be developed in consultation with municipal and TransLink staff and be presented to the public for feedback. 2.5 Public engagement Phase 2: the interactive nature of this engagement offered opportunity to educate participants on the basics of transit planning in the context of their community. This multi-stakeholder workshop worked towards identifying service improvements together with service reductions to maintain cost neutrality of the transit system. 2.6 Final report: a concise report summarizing the data analysis and system performance, key themes from engagement sessions, service options and recommendations relating to service improvements. 4
3 Bowen Island Characteristics For reference purposes, major destinations and neighbourhoods are shown in Figure 1 Figure 1 Bowen Island: Major Destinations The development of transit service options are focused on the neighbourhoods/destinations shown in Figure 1. Bowen Island is a predominantly residential community of about 3,500 people with a significant seasonal population influx of approximately 1,500. Bowen also attracts many visitors over the warmer summer months. 5
Figure 2: Bowen Island: Population Growth As shown in Figure 2, the island s population growth has slowed and stabilized in recent years. Despite this leveling off of the population since 2008, according to BC Stats, the Bowen Island population has experienced a limited increase in its population to approximately 3,550 in 2015. The Bowen Island Community Profile also forecasts a population increase of approximately 1,700 residents to 5,100 in 2030. Subsequently, the Bowen Island Official Community Plan (OCP) indicates that growth will occur in the future and states that an additional 3,000 residents could be accommodated within existing zoning. Since 2000, growth has been focused mainly in the southern (Josephine Ridge, Cowan Point) and eastern (Cates Hill and Queen Charlotte Heights) parts of the island. Current OCP development policies indicate that the municipality is supportive of residential growth and densification and propose some level of densification in the mid-island and to the south of Snug Cove along corridors readily served by transit. Based on satellite images and land use plans, neighbourhoods that are currently experiencing some development include Cape Roger Curtis and Cowan Point in the south, and the Cates Hill area. From a transit perspective it appears that the short term emphasis of service improvements would therefore focus more on the refinement of existing services (e.g. frequency of service, service day and seasonality adjustments) as opposed to significant changes to coverage and service patterns. The distribution of land uses and activity centers on Bowen Island are depicted in Figure 3 below: 6
Figure 3: Bowen Island: Land Use Distribution and Activity Nodes From this spatial arrangement it appears that existing transit routes do currently provide good coverage to the higher density nodes and areas. Mode share and Origin-Destination results As part of ITMP initiative, an online origin-destination survey was conducted at the beginning of 2016. Results are contained in Appendix A. From this survey the following should be noted: Transit mode share was reported at 22% which is significantly higher than 12% found in the 2015 Community Health Profile. This may partly be due to a higher sampling of younger age groups that are more likely to walk, cycle and take transit. Transit mode share is significantly higher for off-island trips especially commuter trips. This highlights the importance of peak service periods that connect to the ferry/water taxi services. The survey showed that the majority of trip making occurs in the week as opposed to the weekend/holidays. This is primarily attributed to the fact that this survey was conducted during weekdays and focused on weekday trips. It should be noted that there are many non-residents who visit Bowen Island on weekends who may not have been polled, affecting results. 70% of trips are commuter trips with the major purpose being work and school focused. The portion of leisure trips is very small. 7
The two major trip destinations are the Snug Cove Area and Greater Vancouver mainland. The two major trip origins on the island are the Bluewater/Adams Road areas in the west (served by route C10) and Miller Landing/Eagle Cliff areas in the east (served by route C11). Route details are contained in Appendix B. It should be noted that Bowen Island does not currently have any formal taxi services. Recently, application was made to the Passenger Transportation Board and in May 2016 a license was issued to a private company allowing for the operation of up to two taxis on Bowen Island. To date, the company has not yet started operating any of this service. 4 Existing Service characteristics Bowen Island transit service was implemented in 1999 and since then, the service has been operated by Bowen Island Community Transit on behalf of Coast Mountain Bus Company. The public transportation services can be divided into two distinct sectors: On-Inland transit services: consisting of 2 fixed routes and the focus of this report. Off-Island transportation services: consisting of different service providers offering ferry and water taxi services and transit services on the mainland such as TransLink and the privately operated Bowen Island Express that provide connections into Greater Vancouver destinations. The original on-island transit routes for Bowen Island were designed to service the two main residential areas of the island: West (Route C10): Tunstall Bay, Bowen Bay, King Edward Bay and Bluewater East (Route C11): Deep Bay, Millers Landing, Scarborough and Eagle Cliff. Detail route maps and schedules of these services are contained in Appendix B. Over time, the Eagle Cliff route (C11) started providing an alternate routing on weekends along Mt Gardner Rd to serve the area of Killarney Lake and beyond, mainly to provide service for visitors to access the various trailheads. In addition, some on-demand service has been implemented: for example some of the loops into Tunstall Bay and Deep Bay were reduced to on-demand service only, meaning drivers would serve them only if a passenger requested the service. Due to excessive time in the schedule, on-demand service is also available to the Hood Point area in the north from the turning point on the Edge Cliff route (C11) at Baker. Characteristics of the on-island transit services are summarized in Table 1 below: 8
Table 1: Bowen Island Transit System - Characteristics Routes C10 Eagle Cliff C11 Bluewater Weekday trips 12 inbound and outbound 11 inbound 11, 9 outbound Weekend/holiday trips 6 inbound and outbound 5 in and outbound from Eagle Cliff, 5 in and outbound from Gardiner Road (Endswell Farm) Service span weekday 5am 8pm 5am to 5 pm Service span weekend/holiday 8am 8pm 8.30am 5.40pm Annual revenue hours 5,373 Ridership 66,340 Vehicles 3 (2 in-service, 1 spare) Fares Cash $2.75 Transfer 110 minutes System comparison Two communities in BC were identified as displaying somewhat similar characteristics and have a comparative level of transit service to Bowen Island. Both of these systems are operated and managed by BC Transit, the transit provider within BC outside of Metro Vancouver. A third comparison was made up of the average performance of a selection of TransLink s Basic Service systems that have the same classification as that of Bowen Island. Basic Service is defined as transit services that operate every 30 to 60 minutes and these services may not operate throughout the entire day or every day of the week". The results of this comparison are summarized in the table below: Table 2: Transit System Comparison System Bowen Island: Peer Metrics Annual Passenger Boardings Revenue Hours Scheduled Transit Trips (one-way) Boardings per Hour Rides per Trip Bowen Island 66,340 5,373 14,900 12.3 4.5 Agassiz Harrison 46,400 5,380 6,932 8.6 6.7 Salt Spring Island 113,500 6,600 16,962 17.2 6.7 TransLink: comparitive Basic Service systems 87,330 5,420 14,976 16.1 5.8 Peer Average 82,410 5,800 12,957 14.0 6.4 This comparison is useful to put the system performance of Bowen Island s transit system in perspective. From an efficiency perspective (passenger boardings per hour), Bowen underperforms in comparison to the average of its peer systems. It performs moderately in comparison to its peers in terms of the number of rides per scheduled transit trips. The latter metric is more relevant in smaller systems that do not have very frequent service and where ridership data is collected manually (on a trip by trip basis). This is a useful evaluation measure when cost neutral service improvements are being considered. 9
Some of this reduced performance may lie within the demand-based services where operating costs are incurred regardless of whether anyone contacts the system to be picked up. Of the above transit systems, Agassiz Harrison has a couple of trips per day that are designated to divert off the scheduled route to serve adjacent residential subdivisions, if required. There may also be some relationship to the BC Ferry services (similar to that experienced on Salt Spring Island) where commuters that are delayed arriving at Snug Cove and the bus leaves and continues operations without carrying passengers from the ferry. It should be noted that available passenger boarding data is limited the latest count was conducted in 2015 by transit operators and summarized by fare type by day to provide total boardings per month. It is therefore not possible to evaluate system performance by route or trip (time of day) which would help create a better understanding of the demand, stop locations and trip time effectiveness and on-time performance. 5 Consultation Two public consultation phases were identified and held. Staff and elected officials of Bowen Island as well as TransLink representatives were on hand to engage with stakeholders in transit matters and to record suggestions and concerns that were raised. Phase 1: Public information sessions Three venues were identified for Phase 1, namely the ferry terminal at Snug Cove during the morning peak period on May 19 to target commuters, a community luncheon on May 24 to target seniors and a town hall session on May 27 st to engage with working families. Turnout at the ferry terminal venue targeting commuters was good with approximately 40 stakeholders dropping by. Staff and elected officials also engaged with (captive) vehicle drivers in the ferry line-up. From these information sessions, reoccurring on-island transit themes were identified. Apart from significant comments and suggestions relating to off-island transit improvements, on-island comments can be summarized as follows: 10
Lack of service to new residential areas (e.g. Cowan Point) Poor connection times to private water taxi services Poor connections in the event of ferry delays Compass card transfer times from mainland to island routes impacted by ferry connections Transit shuttle accessibility limitations for customers with wheelchairs or strollers Limited service in evenings Transit access limitations for persons with mobility challenges Accessibility and accuracy of transit schedules and route maps. Phase 2: Multi-Stakeholder workshop Based on the varying and general nature of responses from the public information sessions, specific transit improvement options that reflected the majority of needs of the community that could be presented to stakeholders for discussion were not identified. There was only one single specific reference point regarding the existing service with a desire to expand to Cowan Point while other expansion comments were either general in nature or focused upon the vehicle accessibility limitations or ferry/water taxi connectivity. This provided the opportunity to develop an interactive approach to the Phase 2 workshop session. Participants were tasked to identify and prioritize both transit improvements and associated service reductions in an effort to develop specific options that reflected the improvements and tradeoffs that are most important to the community and to ensure that these options remained cost-neutral. Participants were provided the range of tools to address service adjustments (see Appendix C). The transit workshop session was incorporated into the ITMP multi-stakeholder workshop held on June 11 on Bowen Island which was well attend by approximately 35 to 40 members of the community. The workshop activity generated enormous and lively debate which created discussion on some realistic service options to improve transit services in the short term. The outcome of the workshop is summarized in the charts below: 11
Figure 4: Workshop Transit Options Service options identified by individual stakeholders Service options identified by the collective stakeholder groups From the above it is clear that the highest priority was identified as the improvement of weekday evening service (to meet the 7.30pm ferry and water taxis) and the preferred trade-off to implement the above is eliminating the Mount Gardner service that is currently provided on weekends and holidays. The details relating to which extent this service reduction would cover the additional evening service is yet to be undertaken, as preliminary calculations indicate that the Mount Gardner service hours will not fully cover the additional service hour requirement. 12
Other consultation In addition to gathering public input, discussions were held with elected officials, municipal staff as well as the President and drivers of Bowen Island Community Transit to solicit input in terms of existing issues, service improvements and reduction proposals. Other than specific service related comments from the operating company, these discussions reconfirmed some of the previously identified issues and did not yield any new concerns. Bowen Island Community Transit identified the following issues as priorities that require attention: Formalizing Summer and Winter service periods based on BC Ferries schedule changes Improving connections to ferries and the water taxis. This includes extending service to meet the later commuter ferry trip at 7.30pm Considering the introduction of real-time transit tracking capabilities to better inform customers on service reliability Reviewing potential fleet improvements to better accommodate mobility aids. 6 Recommended Transit Network and Service Changes From the consultation and planning review, it is clear that there are three short term changes that could be made to the current system with the current available resources. It is also clear that there are a number of issues with the collection of system data and passenger information that need to be improved prior to any detailed examination of the system and creation of a longer term strategy. Detailed service planning is required to fully understand the implications of these proposals. Immediate Actions The highest (short term) priority improvement that has been identified is the expansion of evening service to accommodate a connection to meet the water taxi and ferry arrivals between 7 and 7.30pm on weekdays. It was also identified that this service improvement should be offset as far as possible by the elimination of the Mt Gardner service on weekends and holidays due to very low demand. 13
A second priority would be to address the improvement of morning and afternoon peak services by reducing off-peak service and/or coverage to match demand. This could assist in offsetting the increased evening service and provide for some additional service, especially in the PM Peak, that would reduce the wait time created by late ferries from Vancouver. The current 60 minute (approximate) frequency could be improved by having a standby bus (extra service) or a scheduled bus to meet a ferry that is late enough to miss the bus departure time. Before implementing any of these concepts, a detailed plan to introduce weekday evening service will be presented for public consultation. Longer term Actions Consider the feasibility of introducing an introductory level of seasonal service to Cowan Point (golf course and surrounding residential areas) Further improvement of morning and afternoon peak services (e.g. more trips, peak routing adjustments) to improve efficiency by reducing off-peak service and/or coverage. Consider further expanding evening service Improve peak services (to and from the ferry terminal and water taxis) Consider schedule flexibility during peak commuter periods to maintain ferry connections (and improve communication protocols with BC Ferries to better manage and anticipate delays) Consider seasonal service to ferries to better maintain connections Review survey data to confirm peak service periods Adjust off-peak service (amount of service and extent of coverage) to match demand. 7 Other Recommended Actions TransLink Work with School District 45 to assess implications and facilitate student transportation in light of recent and proposed school bus service cuts Consider alternative service delivery models (for example dial-a-ride service) for potential implementation on Bowen Island in areas with (periods of) low demand Ensure the accuracy of transit schedules and maps in terms of clearly indicating key land features, routing and actual transit services with appropriate service details Work with Bowen Island Municipality to increase availability of schedules at bus stops and other locations Consider how to address mobility concerns with current Bowen Island bus fleet Review transit service at Horseshoe Bay to facilitate connections between Bowen Island and the rest of the regional transit network 14
Consider the feasibility of generating real-time transit information to inform customers of current conditions Consider options for higher quality passenger data collection. Bowen Island Community Transit More granular collection of Boarding data current data is outdated and nongranular without time of day and stop level passenger boarding and alighting activities which prohibits its use to inform service and scheduling decisions related to service periods, peak demands, seasonal demand and service reductions. Transit schedule accuracy and reliability - existing on-island service schedules have not been reviewed or refined since 2006 and some services have been added/changed that are not reflected or noted in the public timetable. For example, on-demand service in Tunstall bay and Hood Point, delayed departures of service from Snug Cove in the event of ferry delays. Inaccurate public timetables create uncertainty in the mind of the potential traveler and therefore contribute to being a barrier to using transit. Ferry connections develop procedure to improve bus connections with late ferry arrivals. Bowen Island Municipality Introduce and expand park and ride facilities to improve access to transit. 15
Integrated Transportation Master Plan Transit OD Findings Appendix A Origin Destination Survey Results ITMP CITIZEN QUESTIONNAIRE The ITMP Citizen Questionnaire was a travel survey administered by the ITMP Project Team to establish a baseline for travel patterns on and off the island. The questionnaire was open for about a month from March to April and was mainly completed online via LimeSurvey. About a dozen paper submissions were also received. Over 20% of Bowen households responded, with 273 households submitting complete responses for 671 trips. The demographics of the respondents appear to be relatively representative of the Bowen Island population. ITMP Citizen Questionnaire # Households Avg # of People per Household Gender Age Group* *only 23% or respondents disclosed age information Male Female 5-12 13-19 20-44 45-64 65+ 273 2.87 42% 58% 12% 11% 34% 33% 10% 2011 Census 1345 2.80 48% 52% 10% 8% 23% 37% 16% OVERALL TRANSIT DATA Transit mode share is significantly higher for off-island trips and particularly so for off-island commute trips. Of note, transit was selected by far fewer people as a preferred mode compared with the actual share of trips that used transit. This may be an indicator that there is a large captive portion within the transit user group that are not satisfied with this mode. Integrated Transportation Master Plan: Transit OD Findings for Stantec 16
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSIT TRIPS 119 trips involved transit. Most were from trips reported on Wednesday and Monday, and 89% were considered typical weekday trips. Of the questionnaire respondents, those who took transit had a slightly higher tendency to be male and in the older age groups, as well as be a fulltime worker or student. Homemakers and retirees appear less likely to use transit. Day of Week for Transit Trips Reported Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Typical Trips 24% 16% 39% 11% 9% 89% ITMP Citizen Questionnaire Gender Age Group Male Female 5-12 13-19 20-44 45-64 65+ Possess Valid Driver s License 42% 58% 12% 11% 34% 33% 10% 90% Transit Users 54% 46% 3% 11% 34% 39% 13% 78% ITMP Citizen Questionnaire Bowen Residency Status Full-Time Resident Part-Time Resident Only visit on Bowen Only work on Bowen 95% 2% 1% 2% Transit Users 97% 3% 1% 0% ITMP Citizen Questionnaire Occupation Stats Full-Time Part-Time Student Retired Homemaker 52% 16% 6% 12% 8% Transit Users 67% 11% 12% 5% 1% Compared to all trips reported, transit trips were more likely to be for commuting and less likely for leisure activities. On-island transit trips were much more likely to be for school and off-island transit trips were much more likely to be for work trips. Please note that school buses and the Bowen Downtown Express were often considered a transit mode for most people. Also, majority of transit trips involved other modes, mostly walking followed by driving. 17
Almost three-quarters of transit trips originated either on the east side of the island or off-island (mainly in downtown Vancouver or West Vancouver as return home trips). Snug Cove and the surrounding area (Artisan Square and Bowen Island Community School) is the most common destination of transit trips. Off-island destinations are spread over downtown Vancouver, East/West/North Vancouver, and UBC. Transit Origins 3% 2% 3% 4% 3% 11% 6% 19% Off-Island 3% 3% 26% 14% 3% 2% 5% 2% 17% Vancouver 18
Transit Destinations 1% 2% 15% 1% 3% 29% 9% 40% Off-Island 6% 2% 2% 2% 8% 21% 3% 2% 11% Vancouver 3% 4% 19
Appendix B: Existing Service: Routes and Schedules 20
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Appendix C Service Improvement Tools 22
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