Effective Decisions Part 1: Service Standards and Reporting

1. Effective Decisions Part 1: Service Standards and Reporting

2. Independent Review Recommendation 12: “BC Transit should work with local governments to set appropriate service standards for each transit system and provide annual data on system and route performance.”

3. Effective Decision Making • Key components: • Service Standards (Part 1) • Transit Improvement Program (TIPs) • Three Year Budgeting • Performance Reporting • Sharing of information is critical to the effectiveness of this process • Timing, inputs, and quality of outputs will be discussed

4. Service Standards What they are and why they matter: • Define minimum levels of service desired to meet community needs • Reflect community values • Assist local governments and BC Transit staff in: • Determining and managing community expectations • Assessing land development proposals • Designing the transit system and service  When to provide new service  When to increase or decrease service

5. Service Standards Service Standards may include features such as: • Service span (hours and days of service) • Frequency • Balance between “ridership” and “coverage” • Walking distance to bus stops • New service triggers (subdivision density, population, etc.)

6. Performance Guidelines • A tool to: • Evaluate existing services • Identify trends in performance • Evaluate service to make evidence-based planning recommendations • Ensure resources are used efficiently and effectively • Help to develop specific targets by system, route and service layers/corridors (route classes) Or in other words:  Service Standards define what service should look like  Performance Guidelines measure whether goals met

7. Implementation Opportunities • Transit Future Plans? • Service Reviews? • Separate letter report process? • Other thoughts?

8. Annual Performance Reporting • Pulls it all together • Determines overall system performance, including financial, operational, safety, and performance measures • Assists with subsequent service change or expansion options and budgets

9. Service Standards or Performance Guidelines:Can you spot the difference?

10. Thinking of your own system…. • 1 Service Standard • 1 Performance Guideline

11. Taking it to the “Real World”….

12. The Area Director for one of the more rural areas within your transit system complains that the Service Standards you are recommending have no bearing on her community: “I don’t know what these city slickers are thinking, but we don’t have sidewalks out here and when we want the bus, we flag it down not stand at a stop.” • How do you adapt your service standards in response? • What are the service quality and/or financial implications?

13. You’ve just completed your Service Standards and received your first annual performance report. A neighbourhood group appears before council with a petition for increased service on a low-performing route to their community of very large single family homes with three cars in every driveway: “We don’t use the bus, but we need to get our nannies here somehow.” • How do you use Service Standards and Performance Guidelines to make a recommendation on whether or not their request for increased service should be supported?

14. Your community embarks on an OCP update. At the same time, it is also looking at how it could improve its development process to better include transit-related considerations, such as ensuring large developments or major destinations are located near existing transit corridors. Says the Mayor: “We might not be Portland, but we know that we need to locate the people where the buses are in order to make the most of our transit investments.”

15. Your community embarks on an OCP update. At the same time, it is also looking at how it could improve its development process to better include transit-related considerations, such as ensuring large developments or major destinations are located near existing transit corridors. • What are your recommendations on how Service Standards could best be included in your OCP or other community plans (Regional Growth Strategy, Transportation Master Plan, etc.)? • How might you include them as part of your community’s development process and decision making?

16. Reporting Out…

17. Final Thoughts • How might we best implement Service Standards and Performance Guidelines in our communities? • Ideas on how they could be integrated into local community plans and development decision making? • Thoughts on some of the most key measures and the trade offs depending on financial and service quality considerations, as well as community density and size? • Thoughts on annual reporting processes and how these roll up into subsequent service change and expansion proposals? • Next steps in terms of information and tools that BC Transit can develop to support the process?

18. Thank you • Erinn Pinkerton, Director, Corporate and Strategic Planning • Phone: (250) 995-5663 • Email: erinn_pinkerton@bctransit.com • Tania Wegwitz, Manager, Operational Planning • Phone: (250) 508-0842 • Email: tania_wegwitz@bctransit.com