Staff Report #5 – Re: Specialized Service Performance Statistics – October 2018

Staff Report #5

November 12, 2018

To All Members of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee

Re: Specialized Service Performance Statistics – October 2018

Recommendation

That the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee FORWARD the report to the Commission for their review and consideration.

Background

Performance statistics for the Specialized Service for the ten months ending October 31, 2018, are set out in Enclosure I, with 2017 statistics and 2018 performance targets provided for comparative purposes. In summary:

  • Eligible passenger trips provided through October 2018 were 10,930 (4.7%) higher than the same period in 2017; however worse than budget. The worse than budget performance is directly related to the service productivity being achieved, noting it is less than budgeted. Administration continues to work on schedule efficiencies while balancing same with maintaining reasonable schedules which result in better service quality measures.
  • The number of attendant/companion trips provided through October 2018 increased by 7,266 (32.1%) as compared to those provided during the same period in 2017. The increase in attendant/companion trips is related in part to temporary registrants who tend to take an attendant/companion on every trip, and in part to the increased use of the support person program which allows a support person to ride free while accompanying a registrant of the service.
  • Service productivity through October 2018 averaged 2.3 rides per hour, which is higher than the average of 2.0 for the same period in 2017. The increase over 2017 relates in large part to the introduction of the new scheduling system in the spring of 2017 which resulted in several months of less than optimal performance as staff and drivers learned the new system. It should be noted that productivity in September and October rose to 2.3 and 2.4 rides per hour respectively.
  • Rides over one hour through October 2018 averaged 1.8% which is slightly better than the 1.9% average for the same period in 2017.
  • Pick-ups over 30 minutes through October 2018 averaged 1.5% of total trips, which is higher than the 1.0% for the same period in 2017. Administration is continuing to work with the contractor to ensure that schedules are realistic; however the significant amount of construction currently underway in the city has and will continue to have a negative impact on on-time performance.
  • The cancellation rate through October 2018 averaged 9.9%, which is significantly better than the 11.1% for the same period in 2017. There were 11,078 late cancellations to-date in 2018, representing 40.5% of total cancellations.
  • The no-show rate through October 2018 averaged 2.0%, up slightly from the 1.8% average for the same period in 2017.
  • The non-accommodated trip rate through October 2018 averaged 3.7% (total of 10,524 trips), up slightly from the 3.1% average (8,269 trips) for the same period in 2017. As discussed in Staff Report #2, dated June 18, 2018, the new system records non-accommodated trips differently, and as such, direct year over year comparisons are not necessarily accurate. Administration will continue to work on gaining a better understanding of the actual non-accommodated trip rates being experienced.
  • The average number of same day bookings each month through October 2018 was 2,036 trips. As indicated in earlier reports, the change over to the new system in the spring of 2018 resulted in different reporting functionality and classification of trips. The issues associated with same day bookings has been addressed for 2018, as indicated on the graph, noting numbers are more in line with that experienced prior to the cut over to the new system. The 2017 numbers will be re-run and reported on in a future report.
  • New registrations continued to occur at a rate of approximately 50 per month, with the total registrants at the end of October 2018 reaching 8,839. This represents an increase in registrants of 5.0% over 2017.

Enclosure

I – Specialized Transit Service Performance – October 2018

Recommended by:

Christopher Murphy, Supervisor, LCTB

Concurred in by:

Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager