City of Vancouver
Inter-Office Correspondence
ENGINEERING SERVICES FILE #4252-2
June 10, 1997
MEMO TO: Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
COPY TO: Ken Dobell, City Manager
Maria Kinsella, City Clerk
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT: TROLLEY SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AND DOWNTOWN ROUTE HOOKUP CHANGES
This memo discusses enhanced service frequencies and changed Downtown
trolley route hookups proposed by BC Transit, for implementation on
September 1, 1997. The changes will be presented to the Vancouver
Regional Transit Commission for approval on June 25th.
City approval is not required for the changes as no new use of streets
by transit vehicles or new bus stops are proposed; therefore, this memo
is presented for Council s information.
BACKGROUND
On January 29, 1997, the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission approved
the 1997/98 Annual Service Plan which included new Downtown transit
services and enhanced service frequencies in the City.
On June 3, 1997, Council approved a new route for the West End transit
services, as illustrated in Appendix A.
CHANGES TO TROLLEY ROUTE DOWNTOWN HOOKUPS
At present, major trolley routes that enter the Downtown are usually
"hooked up" (i.e. connected) in the Downtown with another major trolley
route, such that the two routes form one long
"interlined" service. An example is the interlined Granville Street and
Commercial/Victoria Drive routes (as illustrated in Appendix B).
Interlined routes are generally more efficient as the delay and costs of
turning buses around in the Downtown are eliminated. As well, transit
users have more opportunities to travel through the Downtown without
transferring.
On September 1, 1997, many of the Downtown route hookups will be changed
in order to:
- allow the new West End route to be separated from the Main and
Fraser Street services.
- facilitate the introduction of enhanced frequencies for
various City trolley routes (as described below). The intent
is to interline routes that have similar frequencies and
ridership patterns.
The proposed new hookups are:
- #3 Main/Downtown and #20 Victoria/Downtown (see Appendices C
and D)
- #8 Fraser/Granville (see Appendix E)
- #10 Kootenay Loop/UBC (see Appendix F)
- #16 29th Avenue Station/Arbutus (see Appendix G)
PROPOSED FREQUENCY ENHANCEMENTS
BC Transit plans to improve service frequencies for a number of City
routes on September 1, 1997. The West End improvements were reported to
the June 3, 1997 Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic. The
other improvements are described in Appendix H.
DISCUSSION
With tight deadlines, BC Transit has only recently prepared the
September transit service plan. As a result, the City has just received
this proposal from BC Transit. There has been no time to review the
changes in detail nor is there a technical report or data from BC
Transit to support the proposal. However, the service enhancements are
clearly beneficial. A significant amount of new resources have been
allocated to the City -- about 46,000 service hours annually, which is
about one third of the increase budgeted for the Region. There will be
9 additional buses operating in the AM peak period, 13 in the midday and
10 in the PM peak period.
The changes will improve service quality by reducing waiting times and
crowding, and increasing reliability. The new hookups will mean some
changes in transfers for passengers who currently travel through the
Downtown. This will benefit some, where new opportunities to
through-route the Downtown to other destinations will exist, and
disbenefit others where existing trips will require a transfer.
There are two minor concerns about the Main Street and
Commercial/Victoria services (Appendices C and D). First, the routes do
not provide direct service to the western (Golden Triangle) portion of
the Downtown; the routes divert south at Richards Street to Robson
Street or Davie Street. However, this would only affect a small portion
of riders as most trips to the western Downtown are made by transferring
to SkyTrain. The second concern is that the Downtown routings are
different for each service (i.e. the service from Main Street turns at
Robson Street and the service from Victoria Drive turns at Davie
Street). Some transit users may find this potentially confusing. The
routes and travel patterns can be monitored and reviewed in more detail
after more information is provided by BC Transit in the fall.
In the longer term, a strategic addition of new transit resources based
on a comprehensive study of customer needs and public input is required.
As per the Transportation Plan, the transit system in the City will be
reviewed in detail including the potential for new hook ups, and a
review of current operating conditions such as crowding, passups, and
reliability.
D.H. Rudberg, P.Eng.
General Manager, Engineering Services
RJM/WNP
APPENDIX H - TRANSIT FREQUENCY ENHANCEMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 1, 1997
Transit Corridor Time Period Frequency (Minutes
(connecting to the Between Buses)
Downtown)
original Proposed
Main Street Midday - Monday 8.0 7.5
to Friday
Midday Saturday 8.0 7.5
Victoria/Commercial Midday - Monday 8.0 7.5
Drive to Friday
PM peak - Monday 6.0 5.5
to Friday
4th Avenue (#4 service) PM peak - Monday 12 10
to Friday
Dunbar Street PM peak - Monday 12 10
to Friday
Fraser Street Midday - Monday 8.5 8.0
to Friday
PM peak - Monday 7.0 6.5
to Friday
Hastings street (#10 Midday Monday to 15 12
service) Saturday
Cambie Street Am peak - Monday 5 minute frequency
to Friday begins earlier and
ends later
Midday - Monday 12 10
to Friday
PM peak - Monday 6.5 6.0
to Friday
Oak Street Midday - Monday 12 10
to Friday