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The last few weeks have not been kind to OC Transpo.
In the first week of September, it came out that the utility was on track to post a deficit of more than $11-million by year-end, due in part to lower-than-expected fare revenue. OC Transpo had anticipated a ridership increase in the first half of 2015, but growth didn’t match their projections.
Days later, when OC Transpo’s full fall service schedule was launched, massive service disruptions caused riders delays of an hour or more. The disruption was due to the relocation of Hurdman Station — a necessary move to make room for construction of the Confederation Line light-rail system.
Although stopgap procedures have largely mitigated the delays at Hurdman, that’s just one of the first detours to come out of the construction of the Confederation Line. In December of this year, we’ll see the first phase of the West Transitway detour, with buses running along Albert and Scott Streets between Merton Street and Empress Avenue. On typical days, delays associated with the new Hurdman Station and the western detour might be scarcely noticeable; on bad days, though — especially snowy winter days — they’ll certainly be felt by riders.
All of this, though, is not unexpected. It’s always been known that the construction of the Confederation Line cause some disruptions, and most riders will forgive the occasional delay as long as they’re reminded that this short-term pain will result in long-term gain. Immediate action to improve any unforeseen problems, as we saw with the Hurdman fiasco, should also help ease the concerns of most riders.
But there is clearly a greater problem facing OC Transpo right now. It’s reflected in the fact that ridership has declined each year since 2011, and — as the report mentioned above shows — still isn’t meeting projections. That fare revenue for 2015 is lower than expected despite a fare increase in July indicates that OC Transpo has reached (and maybe surpassed) a breaking point in transit fares. People clearly aren’t interested in paying more money for worse service, so they’re finding new ways to get around town or reducing the number of trips they’re taking.
For a long time, Ottawa tried to recover half of OC Transpo’s operating costs from fares — a measurement called the farebox recovery ratio or revenue/cost ratio. That target was increased to 55 per cent in 2010, which is why city council has annually increased fares by two to two and a half per cent since then. The problem with this strategy, however, is that fare hikes won’t increase revenue if ridership declines. Trying to offset lost riders by increasing fares will only compound the problem.
If higher fares or declining service chases users away, they develop other transportation habits and get used to them, making it more difficult to get those riders back. But Ottawa’s currently investing $2.1-billion in the Confederation Line to increase the capacity of our transit system. To make that investment worth the money, we need people to use it. It’s far easier to keep a rider than it is to gain (or re-gain) one, so Ottawa needs to rethink its fare strategy.
If Ottawa is serious about keeping its riders, it should begin with an immediate fare freeze. A pledge to freeze fares until 2018, when the Confederation Line comes fully online, will demonstrate an acknowledgment of the disruption caused by ongoing construction and a commitment to offset that inconvenience with short-term cost certainty. It may even result in a long-awaited ridership increase.
An even more proactive way to do that would be a fare reduction or a promotional period offering discounted fares (perhaps outside of peak service hours). Restoring the targeted farebox recovery ratio to 50% would give OC Transpo the necessary fiscal wiggle room to come up with creative ways to entice Ottawans to keep using transit.
Peter Raaymakers is an Ottawa writer.
查看原文...
In the first week of September, it came out that the utility was on track to post a deficit of more than $11-million by year-end, due in part to lower-than-expected fare revenue. OC Transpo had anticipated a ridership increase in the first half of 2015, but growth didn’t match their projections.
Days later, when OC Transpo’s full fall service schedule was launched, massive service disruptions caused riders delays of an hour or more. The disruption was due to the relocation of Hurdman Station — a necessary move to make room for construction of the Confederation Line light-rail system.
Although stopgap procedures have largely mitigated the delays at Hurdman, that’s just one of the first detours to come out of the construction of the Confederation Line. In December of this year, we’ll see the first phase of the West Transitway detour, with buses running along Albert and Scott Streets between Merton Street and Empress Avenue. On typical days, delays associated with the new Hurdman Station and the western detour might be scarcely noticeable; on bad days, though — especially snowy winter days — they’ll certainly be felt by riders.
All of this, though, is not unexpected. It’s always been known that the construction of the Confederation Line cause some disruptions, and most riders will forgive the occasional delay as long as they’re reminded that this short-term pain will result in long-term gain. Immediate action to improve any unforeseen problems, as we saw with the Hurdman fiasco, should also help ease the concerns of most riders.
But there is clearly a greater problem facing OC Transpo right now. It’s reflected in the fact that ridership has declined each year since 2011, and — as the report mentioned above shows — still isn’t meeting projections. That fare revenue for 2015 is lower than expected despite a fare increase in July indicates that OC Transpo has reached (and maybe surpassed) a breaking point in transit fares. People clearly aren’t interested in paying more money for worse service, so they’re finding new ways to get around town or reducing the number of trips they’re taking.
For a long time, Ottawa tried to recover half of OC Transpo’s operating costs from fares — a measurement called the farebox recovery ratio or revenue/cost ratio. That target was increased to 55 per cent in 2010, which is why city council has annually increased fares by two to two and a half per cent since then. The problem with this strategy, however, is that fare hikes won’t increase revenue if ridership declines. Trying to offset lost riders by increasing fares will only compound the problem.
If higher fares or declining service chases users away, they develop other transportation habits and get used to them, making it more difficult to get those riders back. But Ottawa’s currently investing $2.1-billion in the Confederation Line to increase the capacity of our transit system. To make that investment worth the money, we need people to use it. It’s far easier to keep a rider than it is to gain (or re-gain) one, so Ottawa needs to rethink its fare strategy.
If Ottawa is serious about keeping its riders, it should begin with an immediate fare freeze. A pledge to freeze fares until 2018, when the Confederation Line comes fully online, will demonstrate an acknowledgment of the disruption caused by ongoing construction and a commitment to offset that inconvenience with short-term cost certainty. It may even result in a long-awaited ridership increase.
An even more proactive way to do that would be a fare reduction or a promotional period offering discounted fares (perhaps outside of peak service hours). Restoring the targeted farebox recovery ratio to 50% would give OC Transpo the necessary fiscal wiggle room to come up with creative ways to entice Ottawans to keep using transit.
Peter Raaymakers is an Ottawa writer.
查看原文...
