Staff Report #1
June 12, 2025
To All Members of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee
Re: Specialized Service Statistics
Recommendation
That the report be RECEIVED for information purposes.
Background
With the implementation of the new scheduling software, a more robust reporting system is available which will provide the opportunity to better track and report on key performance metrics for the specialized service.
In addition to ridership numbers, the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) collects data on other metrics specific to specialized service operations. Prior to the pandemic, the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee (APTSAC) developed targets for each of these metrics and recommended same to the Commission. Once approved, data was tracked and measured against these targets with results included in regular update reports. Given the significant impacts on the nature of the operation during the pandemic, targets were not established, nor reported on.
As discussed in Staff Report #2, dated June 12, 2025, the implementation of the new scheduling system is well underway; however, minor changes continue to be made to scheduling parameters in an effort to maximize the number of shared-ride trips provided while adhering to service-related policies including on-time performance and length of time on vehicle.
The remainder of this report provides commentary on each of the metrics collected by CUTA including potential impacts to service should targets be adjusted. Additionally, data for the month of May is included for discussion purposes noting previous monthly data fluctuated significantly as the implementation progressed and parameters were adjusted. This data will continue to be shared with APTSAC in the coming months and will be utilized as baseline data for discussion during the establishment of targets for 2026, which will be undertaken in the fall.
Voice of the customer survey results will also be utilized during the target setting discussion in order to ensure that the areas of service prioritized by customers continue to be the focus going forward. As a recap, the following were the top three priorities of customers of the specialized service from the November Voice of the Customer 2024 survey:
- On-time performance
- Travel time
- Trip availability
On-Time Performance
On-time performance has consistently been the top priority for customers of the specialized service over the many years of customer surveys. The manner in which it is tracked is to measure the time between the scheduled pick-up and the actual pick-up. For reporting purposes, pick-ups that occur within 30 minutes of the scheduled time are considered on-time.
Given this continues to be a top priority for customers, the scheduling system parameters have been set to give this the highest consideration when it is preparing driver schedules and attempting to fit in non-accommodated trips. It should be noted that the scheduling system relies on typical trip times to achieve this target and actual schedules will be impacted by traffic and weather conditions as well as any issues that arise with customer boarding/alighting issues along the way or shift cancellations requiring in trips being reassigned to other vehicles.
Currently, the system parameter is set to attempt to ensure riders are picked up within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, with the worst-case scenario being 30 minutes. Adjusting this parameter to be anything tighter will result in fewer trips being accommodated.
The trip notification feature of the new software is anticipated to alleviate some of the delays experienced relating to customers not being ready as every customer is notified when the vehicle is 20 minutes away from picking them up. This provides the customer with advance, adequate notice to make sure they are at the door at the pick-up location when the vehicle arrives, which will in turn mitigate compounding delays on the service.
The measure is reported as the percent of total trips that were picked-up later than 30 minutes past the scheduled pick up time. The long-standing target that has been in place for this measure is 0.5% of all trips; however, this has not been updated since the levels of construction activity across the city have significantly increased.
Looking at the month of May, a total of 30,396 trips were delivered and 409 were outside of the 30 minute window, which represents 1.3% of trips being considered late.
Travel Time
Travel time has also been one of the highest ranked priorities for customers of the specialized service over the many years of customer surveys. The manner in which it is tracked is to measure the length of time customers spend on the vehicle (duration between the time they have boarded the vehicle and the time they are dropped off).
Given this also continues to be a top priority for customers, the scheduling system parameters have been set to give this a high consideration when it is preparing driver schedules and attempting to fit in non-accommodated trips. The system is currently set to attempt to ensure customers are on the vehicle no longer than 30 minutes, with 60 minutes being the worst-case scenario. It should be noted that the scheduling system relies on typical trip times to achieve this target and actual schedules will be impacted by traffic and weather conditions as well as any issues that arise with customer boarding/alighting issues along the way or shift cancellations requiring in trips being reassigned to other vehicles. Additionally, it needs to be recognized that the specialized service is a shared ride service, and there is no expectation that customers will be provided a direct trip in order to ensure a shorter ride time.
For reporting purposes, a ride time of 60 minutes is considered to be the maximum. Consistent with the 30-minute window for pick-up parameter, if the ride time were to be adjusted to something less, fewer trips would be accommodated, and additional direct trips would be provided, negating the shared-ride nature of public transit services.
The measure is reported as the percent of total trips where the rider was on-board the vehicle for longer than 60 minutes. The long-standing target that has been in place for this measure is 2.0% of all trips, in recognition that depending on the trip origin and destination, some trips within the city cannot be completed within 60 minutes, even if provided as a direct trip. This metric has also not been updated since the levels of construction activity across the city have significantly increased.
Looking at the month of May, a total of 30,396 trips were delivered and 570 had customers on the vehicle for longer than 60 minutes, which represents 1.9% of trips having a duration of longer than 60 minutes.
Trip Availability
The most impactful way to increase trip availability is to increase service levels. Fortunately, municipal council’s approval of the multi-year budget includes an increase of 38,000 service hours over the four year period 2024-2027, representing an approximate 22% increase.
The efficiency of the schedules is another key factor in the number of trips that can be provided within approval service levels. As discussed earlier in this report, parameters placed on the scheduling software will impact the number of trips that can be accommodated within those set parameters. Vehicle capacity and configuration can also impact the number of trips that can be delivered in a service day. The addition of a new vehicle configuration to the service in 2023 resulted in 87.5% of the fleet being a vehicle with capacity for 10 ambulatory passengers and four mobility devices versus the remainder with capacity for six ambulatory passengers only.
Overall trip availability is measured by counting the number of trips that were not able to be accommodated at the time of booking request. For the month of May, there were 262 trips that were not able to be accommodated, which represents approximately 1% of trips. The longstanding target for this metric is 2.8%, however it should be recognized that this metric was established during a period when limited service hour improvements were available within approved budgets.
Cancellations
In addition to the aforementioned, there are also customer behaviours that can significantly impact the number of trips that can be delivered within the allocated service hours. Given the specialized service is pre-booked three days in advance, there is the potential that circumstances will arise where the customer no longer needs a trip that has been booked, this is referred to as a trip cancellation. It is recognized that trip cancellations are an inherent part of a pre-booked service; however, the number and timing of cancellations can result in gaps in daily schedules that cannot be filled with other trip requests. The new scheduling system includes a feature that allows the registrant to have any unaccommodated trip requests placed on a holding list, and each time the schedules are re-optimized, the system will attempt to find room for those trips. This feature has the most benefit if unneeded trips are cancelled with as much advance notice as possible. Once the schedules have been finalized (the evening prior), there is no longer an opportunity for the system to find space for unaccommodated trips, and this must be done manually by trip assigners.
Given the negative impacts cancellations, and most notably late cancellations can have on the efficiency of the service, they are tracked monthly, and customers with repeated late cancellations can be subject to a suspension from service. In addition, customers who repeatedly cancel subscription trips may have their subscription trip cancelled and be required to call and book demand trips as required.
Cancellations are reported on as the percent of booked trips that were cancelled prior to the trip. In the month of May, 7,364 trips that had been successfully booked were cancelled, which represents approximately 21% of booked trips. The longstanding target for trip cancellation rates has been 12.5%, which is significantly lower than current experience. Administration will be undertaking a more detailed assessment of trip cancellations in the coming months in order to gain a better understanding of the reason for such a high rate, and details of that assessment will be provided in a future report.
No-Shows
A no-show is recorded when a customer is not at the scheduled pick-up location within five minutes past the scheduled time. Drivers will wait at the pick-up location until five minutes past the scheduled time and will confirm with a dispatcher that they are cleared to leave prior to recording a no-show. No-shows have a much more negative impact on service efficiency given they don’t occur until a vehicle has already arrived at the pick-up location, and there is no opportunity for the space created in the schedule to be filled with that short notice. Similar to cancellations, no-shows are tracked monthly and customers with repeated no-show activity can be subject to suspension from the service.
For the month of May, there were 765 trips that were recorded as no-shows, which represents approximately 2% of booked trips. The longstanding target for this metric is 1.5% of trips.
In addition to undertaking an assessment to better understand the reason for increased levels of cancellations and no-shows, a communication campaign will be undertaken in the coming months reminding customers of the negative impacts these activities have on the overall service efficiency and ability to deliver as many trips as possible within scheduled service hours.
Recommended by:
Brandon Goldstone, Manager of Service Integration
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager