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Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT

Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT Sustainable Transportation Manager ACT Canada Conference Toronto, November 2009. uOttawa. Alta-Vista. Roger-Guindon. uOttawa (main campus). 200 Lees. Sustainable Transportation programs. Parking management:

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Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT

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  1. Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT Sustainable Transportation Manager ACT Canada ConferenceToronto, November 2009

  2. uOttawa Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  3. Alta-Vista Roger-Guindon uOttawa (main campus) 200 Lees Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  4. Sustainable Transportation programs • Parking management: • Policies/programs for efficient use of parking resources • Parking rates • Public Transit: • Transitway (approx. 2,700 buses commute by campus every weekday) • Employee payroll deductible programs (OC Transpo and STO) • Student discounted passes • Carpooling • Ridematching website • Preferential parking • Emergency Ride Home • Shuttle Service (to 3 campuses) • Active Transportation • Cycling education • Bike-Share • Bike theft prevention • Infrastructures • Car-Sharing • Taxi programs Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  5. 2008 uOttawa Modal Share Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  6. Mitigating strategies & Lessons learned (51 day OC Transpo transit strike) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  7. Monday December 8th 2008 • Learned through the media of a potential transit strikeon Dec 10th; • 2006 contingency plan (last potential strike); • Immediately began implementing our mitigationstrategies; • First day of exams (Dec 10th). Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  8. Was cancelling exams an option? • No – then why not? • 3,000 students live in residence • 9,000 live within 5 KM • 4,600 live in Gatineau • 5,300 drive • 1,600 carpool • Many students prepared for alternate transportation • Students had studied hard and were ready for their exams • Some students were finishing their degrees (graduating) • Rescheduling exams during the winter term would be extremely difficult • Prerequisite courses  • We didn’t know how long the strike would last Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  9. Immediate contingency plan • Increased parking availability • Set a daily maximum rate of $6.00 • Provided shuttles (mini vans) from peripheral lots • Increased the number of shuttles servicing our regular shuttle routes • Provide a Website & communication with information on alternatives(carpooling/ridesharing, cycling, walking, taxi, telework) • Provided emergency shuttles service throughout the city(secured 4 shuttles; 2 as of Dec 11th, 2 additional as of Dec 12th) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  10. Media release: uOttawa organizes shuttle service for students during the OC Transpo strike OTTAWA, December 10, 2008 In light of the recent transit strike, the University of Ottawa in collaboration with the Student Federation (SFUO) will provide a free shuttle service to uOttawa students. The service will offer round trips within the City of Ottawa to the main campus during the exam period. • Round trips from South Keys Mall to University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively. 2) Round trips from Place d’Orleans to the University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively. • The existing round trip shuttle service from the University of Ottawa to Carleton University will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Two additional bus routes will be added on Friday depending upon the demand. Please see the following link www.protection.uottawa.ca for other possible ways to get to the University of Ottawa. INFORMATION: Danny Albert Sustainable Transportation Manager University of Ottawa Parking and Sustainable transportation 613.562.5800, ext. 6523 danny.albert@uOttawa.ca http://www.protection.uottawa.ca Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  11. Picket lines: not becoming a target • ATU local 279 had mixed issues on picketing our shuttles • SFUO - work together to get the both sides back to the table • Importance that our students need to complete their exams • Received a called back that our shuttles were safe Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  12. Where to implement shuttles first? Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  13. Emergency and Regular shuttles • Route 1 – Kanata & Bells Corner • Route 2 – Nepean • Route 3 – Orleans • Route 4 – South Keys • Route 5 – Gloucester Centre & St-Laurent • uOttawa – RGN • uOttawa – Carleton Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  14. Shuttle pick-up points (modifications) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  15. Too many shuttles on main campus (9) Stop A – uOttawa, Lees Ave., Saint-Paul University, RGN Hall (2 shuttles) Stop B – uOttawa, Carleton University (2 shuttles) Stop C – Kanata/Bells Corner, uOttawa (1 shuttle) Stop D – Orléans, uOttawa (1 shuttle) Stop E – Nepean, uOttawa (1 shuttle) Stop F – South Keys, uOttawa (1 shuttle) Stop G – Gloucester Center, St-Laurent, uOttawa (1 shuttle) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  16. Weather: Days at -20ºC Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  17. OTTAWA - January 8, 2009 Ottawa’s four post-secondary institutions have joined forces to help students attend classes should the OC Transpo strike continue after the Jan. 8. Ottawa’s university and college presidents all recognize that their students face tremendous hardships as a result of the transportation strike. Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  18. MEDIA City to help pay for student shuttles ATU local 279 – asked that we confirm in writing by same day that our institution would not accept any City money. If no confirmation, ATU 279 reserved the right to picket any labor scab uOttawa Pulled outThe Student Federation of the University of Ottawa has officially pulled out of the shuttle service. Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  19. MEDIA Registered shuttle services, such as those servicing colleges and universities, will be permitted to use the transit way. Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  20. uOttawa student created a Google map with all the Shuttle pick-up points (Some radio stations in Ottawa were kind enough to mention the site yesterday and it attracted over 700 visitors on its first day yesterday.) Unfortunately the map was inaccurate … Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  21. Other challenges • Ecopass holders: Pay deductions continued until mid-January • Academic staff were unhappy that they weren’t allowed to use the emergency shuttles • Students who lived in the areas where the shuttles weren’t servicing said it wasunfair and discriminatory • Too many sources of misinformation • We weren’t able to assist students with mobility problems • Overall frustration “cranky” … yet people helped one another Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  22. Carpooling & ridesharing • Carpooling was immediately implemented in our communications • Having a carpool / ridematching website was key to our success • Majority of individuals registering in the University’s ridematching Website were passengers • Only problem that occurred with our ridematching website: University E-mails system went down • Encourage permit holders and those who live near the shuttle pick-up points to pick-up students that were being left behind • Encourage permit holders to register into the carpool database to increase matching • University offered a carpool contest Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  23. January: Temporary housing program for students Allan Rock, president and vice-chancellor for the university, said officials are helping match students with residents close to the university because the transit strike has made it difficult for some students to get to class. University of Ottawa president Allan Rock said he has room for two students in his home in Sandy Hill.(CBC) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  24. Other tips & lessons learned • Be as consistent as possible with your communications • Be ready for the media coverage (interviews) • Make sure your maps are as clear as possible • Accept that you will not be able to help everyone, but expectations are high • Mobilize a team • Set an “Out of office” reply • FAQ’s Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  25. Ridematching database – active users Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  26. Regular shuttles: (utilization 07/08 & 08/09) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  27. Ecopass ridership • November 2008 – 352 • July 2009 - 297 • October 15, 2009 – 317 • 10 % decrease (1 yr) Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  28. Average # of cars parked on campus during the strike (main campus only) • November 2008 – 1,400 • January 2009 – 1,700 • 21.4 % increase • Parking revenue generated $69,000.00 Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  29. Students who boarded onto the emergency shuttles Cost of shuttles $206,776.69 Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  30. OC Transpo transit strike quick facts • 1979 – 20 day strike • 1996 – 23 day strike • 2008 – 51 day strike (Dec 10th 2008 until Jan 29th 2009) • Main cause: disagreement regarding scheduling & overtime • January 8th, 2009. Federal Minister of Labour order a union membership vote (64% rejected the city's offer) • Inevitability of back-to-work legislation forced both sides to go into binding arbitration • Feb 2nd, O-Train started service • Feb 9th, some buses started service • Full service late spring Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

  31. DANNY ALBERT Sustainable Transportation Manager Parking & Sustainable Transportation Division, Protection Services University of Ottawa 137-139 Louis-Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5 danny.albert@uOttawa.ca www.uOttawa.ca/sustainabletransportation Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

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