Airdrie City council gave the go ahead for a revised transit model comprising of peak-hour, fixed-route service alongside the implementation of a dynamic transit service to better meet the needs of the community, during a regular meeting on March 7.
The changes include regular fixed-route service during peak times (Monday to Friday, 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., and 2:30 to 6 p.m.), alongside an on-demand, app-based service scaled to the community’s need during off-peak times (midday, evenings, and Saturdays).
In addition, on-demand dynamic transit service will be offered to community members on Sundays – a day in which transit services are not currently offered to community members interested in attending faith-based meetings or conducting other weekend errands.
“This is a convenient way for a customer to use public transit in our community,” said Chris MacIsaac, team leader of Airdrie Transit, who presented to council. “It’s highly scalable in the sense we can increase the number of vehicles based on demand for our service and it can be completely integrated with our other service areas.”
Along with the ability to curtail to local demand, the new dynamic transit service has the potential to connect to Airdrie Transit’s regional Route 900 bus or its downtown commuter services.
MacIsaac provided council with recommendations during a transit service productivity target review during the March 7 meeting – an evaluation of service focused on ridership trends in relation to service productivity targets.
“We’ve had a great working relationship with council to bring forward reports throughout the pandemic to ensure the level of services matched the needs of the community,” he said. “We’ve adapted our services throughout a very trying time, but also met the needs, convenience, and safety requirements of our customers.”
According to MacIsaac, the Airdrie Transit team is always on the lookout for ways to adjust services to better meet the needs of customers, as well as to attract new customers. The department has performed periodic reviews throughout the pandemic to ensure they are meeting its goals.
He added while downtown commuter ridership has increased, with added interest in the community for further expansion of its regional services, the City’s fixed-route network has been stagnant over the last year.
“There are opportunities to kickstart ridership at times of the day when we’re not seeing a huge level of demand,” he said, adding the department has faced challenges over the last few months with bus availability.
“We have [also] been operating larger capacity buses during low periods of demand.”
Currently, MacIsaac said the department operates six buses every 30 minutes during peak hours, and two buses every 60 minutes during off-peak times. He added there are opportunities to look at adapting the City’s services to the reality of a growing demand for a different level of service.
“We are a service that is largely dominated by demand from a specific segment of our population,” he said, referring to daily commuters. “It has been a pattern we’ve been experiencing now for the last two-and-a-half years and it’s one in which we do not anticipate changing.”
The City’s transit services are characterized by high surge points of demand for services, he noted, alongside low points at all other times.
“What we also see is a community that continues to grow, a population base that continues to call Airdrie home,” he said. “However, we have a local service that is not keeping pace with that growth in our community.”
As a result of the recent findings, MacIsaac’s team – upon the recommendations of the Community Service Advisory Board – suggested reinvesting fixed-route service hours into a dynamic transit service. He added the department employed a similar tactic in 2017, which was met with success until late 2019, when it was discontinued.
“Unfortunately, due to unanticipated changes in the way that service was delivered, the financial model became untenable and the service was terminated in late 2019,” he said. “What we have now is an opportunity to redefine our dynamic transit service and redeploy it in a way that is more cost-efficient and meets broader community outcomes.”
The proposed changes include deploying smaller vehicles during off-peak times to conduct curb-to-curb pick-ups throughout the community and deliver residents directly to their desired point of destination using smart-phone technology.
MacIsaac said the personalized commuter service would work similar to an Uber request, though he added Airdrie Transit is not trying to compete with taxis.
“We’re here to supplement their services,” he said. “It is a very personalized service. It meets their needs based on where they want to go. It removes the inconvenience of having to walk to a bus stop.”
He added the new transit model also addresses concerns voiced by the community regarding poorly lit bus stops, as well as snow and ice.
“This is an opportunity to take transit to the customer versus the customer having to come to transit,” he said.
MacIsaac added the new dynamic transit service would incur operational savings, as the department would no longer be committing to a set number of hours and stops, and it would instead be based on demand from the community.
The service would also ensure full community coverage in districts outside of the current service area.
“It is change, and whenever there is change, there is work to be done with our customers on education and ensuring level of service,” he said.
He added if demand deems it necessary, the department would re-divert service hours back to the fixed-route network.
Regarding the cost to deploy the dynamic transit model, MacIsaac said there is a one-time fee for technology manned by a third-party consultant, which has already been approved in the City’s yearly budget. He predicts operating costs for the program and maintenance of the app will also be absorbed into the operating budget.
“We do believe the cost is certainly covered by reducing the number of fixed-route service hours and it would offset through that mechanism,” he said.
Along with his colleagues, Coun. Ron Chapman said he felt positive about the new transit model.
“Something better that’s going to cost less, to me, is always a good thing,” he said.
All changes are set to be implemented no later than July 15.
