The transit solution seems to be - spend more money - is it that simple?

By Pepper Parr

April 3, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

A year later, a crowd of about 65 – maybe 75 people gathered at the Central library on Satuday morning to review what, if any changes, there had been in the transit service.

Some – but not enough – and the biggest concern – the funding of the transit service – isn’t going to change within the foreseeable future. The best transit users are going to get is platitudes – the budget for 2016 has been set and unless the federal government decides to send some coin to the municipalities with a transit string attached to it – the money is going to go into that “infrastructure deficit” council seems to rely upon to keep money from working its way into transit.

Bfast, Burlington for Accessible Affordable Transit, prepared a report card on a number of metrics they selected. Here they are along with the grade each metric was given.

Helpfulness of Drivers: At the 2015 forum, participants broke into applause when the helpfulness of our BT drivers was mentioned. Everyone praised the friendliness and thoughtfulness of the bus drivers, who often help passengers in unusual circumstances. Even visitors to Burlington praise our drivers as evidence by this recent article in the Hamilton Spectator1.

Installation of ITS System: Although not an issue at the 2015 Transit Users Forum, over the past few months most buses have been automatically announcing audibly, and visually, stop announcements. This is a big help to all passengers, but is particularly needed by passengers with a visual or hearing impairment.

F – Lack of Convenience: Long headways (up to one hour), poor or no holiday evening or service, long distances to nearest bus stop, lack of service to many areas, – came up over and over again.

Fares: Recent fare increases have made Burlington fares among the highest in the GTA. Even higher than Toronto! This combined with the extensive route and schedule changes of November 2013 have resulted in a 15% loss of ridership.

Signage and Route and Schedule Information: The new bus stop signs now list the bus route numbers that serve each stop. We understand that BT is going to discontinue the Ride Guide and put in its place internet access to schedules and separate individual route maps. We think such a move will make it even harder for users without hand-held devices to access route and schedule information and urge Burlington Transit to have consultations with its users before any changes are made.

Handi-Vans provide an essential service for people with disabilities unable to use the regular bus service. Unfortunately, as BT’s nine Handi-Vans cannot handle the current demand, users must book at least a week in advance. To deal with requests at short notice, such as necessary medical appointments, taxis should be used to supplement the Handi-Van fleet when required, as is the case in Oakville. (This provision would be better than the discontinued Taxi Scrip program, which many would like to see reinstated.) It should be added that several people questioned why blind people are excluded from using the Handi-Van service.

Unrealistically Tight Schedules: Many riders pointed out that the bus schedules are too “tight”, making it very difficult for the drivers to stay on schedule. When a driver attempts to catch up after falling behind schedule, there may be a loss of safety – or drivers may be reluctant to help passengers enter and exit by lowering the bus and lowering the ramp.

What does Burlington spend on transit compared to other municipalities.

All the shortcomings of Burlington transit system mentioned above result from a common cause: serious underfunding of transit by the City Council. It seems that the guiding principle when making decisions about transit is to save money, not to provide a good service.

There is more to it than that; the decision makers in this city just do not see a significant place for transit – this is a car city, everything about the way Burlington streets and neighbourhoods are laid out calls for the use of a car.

Bfast has argued for some time that the city does not spend what it should be spending on transit.  While speaking to the Youth table at the Forum Mayor Goldring said that while Oakville spends more than Burlington their ridership numbers are not that much higher based on what they are spending.

Burlington is a city that has thousands of homes with garages – that are used as workshops or storage. The cars, as many as three for some families, sit on the drive way or on the street.

Much mention is made of walking – fine when you are out for a stroll – another thing when your arm are laden with those plastic shopping bags.

Cycling is the answer – try balancing all those plastic bags on the handle bars of a bike. It is only the exceptionally fit that will be on their bikes in the winter weather.

Robert Lovell, on the left, represented the Burlington Seniors’ Advisory committee at a city council meeting. James Young, on the right tried to explain to council that the object of their endeavors was not the cost but the services that were being delivered.

There is something unreal about the talk of ordinary people using bicycles. Sure students can and should be riding their bikes to school when they can. But for Dad to ride the bike to Hamilton or Oakville is unrealistic.

Moderately priced, well managed transit that designs routes and schedules that meet real needs has been proven to work in city’s that see transit as a public service and not a cost.

Swimming pools and hockey arenas are seen as services the public is prepared to pay for – so Burlington gets ice pads.

The city is not yet at the point where is can see transit as a public service – all they can see are busses that are close to empty at times.

Route design and frequency of service, which aren’t rocket science are the solutions the city needs to look for – not there yet.

Director of Transit Mike Spicer chats with City Manager James Ridge during the Bfast Forum on transit.

The report cards make that quite clear. What isn’t clear is how the city is going to tackle this problem. There was an additional positive at the Bfast Forum – the room full of people were very clear in not just what they wanted – but what they needed.