COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Meeting Date: 6 June 2016 Subject: Boards Routed Through: 2017 Airdrie Transit s Community Services Advisory Board Date: 9 May 2016 Issue: Council is being asked to endorse the 2017 Airdrie Transit user fees as recommended by the Community Services Advisory Board. Background: Council is presented with the Transit report on an annual basis to ensure there is alignment with Council s vision for public transit services in the community and associated user fee for these services. The endorsed Transit user fees provide direction to Administration for the operating budget process. Administration is recommending no changes to Transit user fees for 2017. This is based upon the following three factors are: 1. Comparable user fees of similar sized municipalities As a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), the City of Airdrie has access to various national reports on transit operating data. These include reports on conventional transit, specialized transit, fleet, crime on public transit and ridership. Each year CUTA compiles data from all member transit properties and produces an annual Canadian Transit Fact Book. Transit administration utilizes the data from this Fact Book for benchmarking, budgeting and performing comparisons such as user fees. CUTA performs further analysis of municipal transit properties by categorizing them into population sub-groups.
2. Council resolution Intercity Express (ICE) recovery rates In 2012, Council made a resolution that the regional Intercity Express service should operate on a cost recovery model of operating costs. The current user fee structure reflects this resolution with Transit administration reviewing the service bi-annually to ensure alignment with Council s resolution. 3. The ability to pay at the local level Airdrie Transit s Local and ACCESS Airdrie services operate without a Council adopted recovery rate. Should the community and Council desire to increase user fees or establish a set recovery rate similar to the ICE service, user fees will undoubtedly have to increase substantially. Increasing user fees to cover a higher portion of operating expenditures may have a negative impact on ridership as the new user fee structure may exceed the public s ability or desire to pay for the current service levels. Transit Revenue Breakdown Airdrie Transit has three primary revenue streams. The first and largest revenue stream (70% of total revenues) is from user fees. User fees include pre-paid (passes and tickets) and cash fares collected from transit customers. The sale of goods and services accounts for approximately 27% of total budgeted revenues. This includes revenues received from Ivanhoe Cambridge and the Town of Crossfield for services provided. Sale of Goods & Services $450,390 Advertising $58,280 2016 Budgeted Revenues s $1,170,530 The third revenue stream is from media space sales (advertising) onboard the transit fleet and via bus benches. The City has contracted the management of media space sales to contracted providers well known within the industry. This revenue accounts for approximately 3% of total budgeted revenues. Transit Philosophy Airdrie Transit has adopted a practice of rewarding multi-time users with a better price point per trip. This structure is designed to incentivize regular usage over single trips. For example, a user traveling two times a day on the local transit service for a month would pay $94.50 in an average month using the current cash user fee. That same user could purchase a $65.00 local transit monthly pass and travel an unlimited number of times in that same month. Two separate user fee categories have been created reflecting Council s resolution for recovery of operating costs of the ICE service. These categories are local transit services and ICE.
Local Transit Services Local services include conventional fixed-route service, demand-responsive Dial-A-Bus, and ACCESS Airdrie paratransit services. These services share one user fee structure for ease of application for both the customer and transit operations. User fees on local transit services were increased for the first time since 2007 in January 2015. The tables below outline the current user fees for Council s endorsed benchmark communities in Alberta. Table 1 - Local Transit (Council endorsed benchmarks) Transit Property Cash Regular Ticket Adult Pass Youth Pass Senior Pass Airdrie $2.25 $2.00 $65.00 $47.50 $47.50 Grande Prairie $2.00 $1.70 $54.00 $43.00 $27.00 Lethbridge $3.00 $2.25 $77.00 $62.00 $28.00 Medicine Hat $3.25 $2.93 $70.50 $38.75 $43.75 Red Deer $2.50 $2.13 $67.00 $59.00 $59.00 St Albert $3.25 $2.45 $72.25 $72.25 $72.25 Average $2.71 $2.24 $67.63 $53.75 $46.25 Table #1 identifies that Airdrie and Grande Prairie share the lowest local user fees for cash and tickets in Alberta. It is also important to note that both Airdrie and Grande Prairie provide the least amount of service per capita when compared to the other communities as per the Canadian Urban Transit Association Canadian Transit Fact Book 2014. Local Transit Services Proposed s Transit administration is proposing no changes to local transit services in 2017. Table 2 Transit Administration s Recommended 2017 Local s Current Transit Proposed Transit % Increase Cash $2.25 $2.25 0% Ticket Booklet (10 tickets) $20.00 $20.00 0% Adult Monthly Pass $65.00 $65.00 0% Student/Senior Monthly Pass $47.50 $47.50 0% Intercity Express (ICE) Service: Route 900 ICE Route 900 launched in September 2015 and operates seven days-a-week between Airdrie, CrossIron Mills Mall and McKnight-Westwinds LRT in northeast Calgary. The user fees for the Route 900 service were endorsed by Council in March 2014 and Transit administration are not proposing changes to the user fees at this time.
Table 3 Transit Administration s Recommended 2017 ICE Route 900 s Current Transit Proposed Transit % Increase Cash (Airdrie to CrossIron) $3.00 $3.00 0% Cash (Airdrie to Calgary) $5.00 $5.00 0% Cash (Calgary to CrossIron) $3.00 $3.00 0% Ticket Booklet (10 tickets) $30.00 $30.00 0% Adult Monthly Pass $99.00 $99.00 0% Student/Senior Monthly Pass $79.00 $79.00 0% Intercity Express (ICE) Service: Routes 901 & 902 The regional ICE service currently operates two routes into downtown Calgary during peak morning and afternoon hours. The service has expanded from three daily trips in 2010 to five daily trips in 2014. The regional ICE service operates on a Council approved principle of cost-recovery on operating costs. This was adopted in 2012 and Transit administration has made adjustments to the ICE user fees to achieve this outcome. Transit administration is proposing user fees on the ICE service remain unchanged for 2017. Table 4 Proposed 2016 ICE (Route 901/902) s Current Transit Proposed Transit % Increase Cash Fare $9.00 $9.00 0% Ticket Booklet (10 tickets) $75.00 $75.00 0% Adult Monthly Pass $200.00 $200.00 0% Student/Senior Monthly Pass $155.00 $155.00 0% Zone-Based s Implemented in late 2015, Transit administration are recommending a continuation of zoned-based user fees. Zoned-based user fees charge customers a higher user fee based on the number of zones they are traveling through to reach their destination. This model is considered an industry best practice, particularly for services that operate intermunicipally. Table 6 highlights the zones and the associated user fees. Table 5 Zoned-Based s Zone Routes Cash 1 Local Transit Services $2.50 2 900 (Airdrie to CrossIron, Calgary to CrossIron) $3.00 3 900 (Airdrie to McKnight) $5.00 4 901, 902 $9.00
Alignment with AirdrieONE: The investment and delivery of public transit services aligns with two key principles of the AirdrieONE Sustainability Plan: Economic Prosperity The City s public transit services provide and enhance labour mobility locally and regionally. Provision of public transit services improves the City s competitiveness as local businesses have the ability to attract and retain workforce. Sustainable Transportation Public transit services are identified as one of the key strategies for improving sustainable transportation outcomes within the AirdrieONE Plan. The goal being to design a system that moves people that improves sustainability, safety and convenience. Airdrie Transit s services have achieved this outcome as evidenced by the growing ridership levels over the past four years. Boards Routed Through: At the May 9, 2016, meeting of the Community Services Advisory Board the Board unanimously endorsed Alternative #1. The Board asked questions regarding the ongoing financial performance of transit services in relation to maintaining the existing transit user fees. Alternatives/Implications: Alternative #1 - Maintain Transit user fees at the current rates. This alternative aligns with Council s resolution for regional services to achieve cost recovery of operating costs and accounts for levels of service for local transit services. Growth in revenues from user fees will be limited to growth in ridership. Transit are anticipating growth in ridership on all service levels in 2017 which will spur an increase in revenues from user fees. When user fees are increased they may have a direct impact on ridership, revenues and future transit usage behaviour. Transit administration believes an annual review of user fees addresses these concerns and allows for incremental increases in user fees to meet Council s desired outcomes. Alternative #2 Implement an Alternative Methodology Adopt alternative user fees based on criteria not currently utilized. This may include a flat percentage increase to a service, for example, a 5% increase to all transit user fees.
Communications Plan: N/A Recommendation: That Council endorses the recommendation of the Community Services Advisory Board to maintain Transit user fees at the current rates for 2017. Chris MacIsaac Transit Coordinator Presenter: Department: Reviewed by: Attachments: Appointment: Chris MacIsaac Transit Michelle Lock; Director of Community Services N/A N/A