Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT Sustainable Transportation Manager ACT Canada Conference Toronto, November.

Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools

DANNY ALBERT

Sustainable Transportation Manager

ACT Canada ConferenceToronto, November 2009

uOttawa


Roger-Guindon

Alta-Vista

uOttawa (main campus)

200 Lees


• Parking management: – Policies/programs for efficient use of parking resources– Parking rates

• Public Transit:– Transitway (approx. 2,700 buses commute by campus every weekday)– Employee payroll deductible programs (OC Transpo and STO)– Student discounted passes

• Carpooling– Ridematching website– Preferential parking– Emergency Ride Home

• Shuttle Service (to 3 campuses)

• Active Transportation– Cycling education– Bike-Share– Bike theft prevention– Infrastructures

• Car-Sharing

• Taxi programs

Sustainable Transportation programs


2008 uOttawa Modal Share


Mitigating strategies & Lessons learned (51 day OC Transpo transit strike)


Monday December 8th 2008

• Learned through the media of a potential transit strikeon Dec 10th;

• 2006 contingency plan (last potential strike);

• Immediately began implementing our mitigationstrategies;

• First day of exams (Dec 10th).


Was cancelling exams an option?

• No – then why not?

• 3,000 students live in residence• 9,000 live within 5 KM• 4,600 live in Gatineau• 5,300 drive• 1,600 carpool

• Many students prepared for alternate transportation• Students had studied hard and were ready for their exams• Some students were finishing their degrees (graduating)

• Rescheduling exams during the winter term would be extremely difficult• Prerequisite courses • We didn’t know how long the strike would last


Immediate contingency plan

• Increased parking availability

• Set a daily maximum rate of $6.00

• Provided shuttles (mini vans) from peripheral lots

• Increased the number of shuttles servicing our regular shuttle routes

• Provide a Website & communication with information on alternatives(carpooling/ridesharing, cycling, walking, taxi, telework)

• Provided emergency shuttles service throughout the city(secured 4 shuttles; 2 as of Dec 11th, 2 additional as of Dec 12th)


OTTAWA, December 10, 2008In light of the recent transit strike, the University of Ottawa in collaboration with the Student Federation (SFUO) willprovide a free shuttle service to uOttawa students. The service will offer round trips within the City of Ottawa to the maincampus during the exam period.

1) Round trips from South Keys Mall to University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively.

2) Round trips from Place d’Orleans to the University of Ottawa will operate between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., 7 days a week from December 11 to December 22 inclusively.

3) The existing round trip shuttle service from the University of Ottawa to Carleton University will operate from 7:30 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

Two additional bus routes will be added on Friday depending upon the demand.

Please see the following link www.protection.uottawa.ca for other possible ways to get to the University of Ottawa.

INFORMATION:Danny AlbertSustainable Transportation ManagerUniversity of OttawaParking and Sustainable transportation613.562.5800, ext. [email protected]://www.protection.uottawa.ca

Media release: uOttawa organizes shuttle service for students during the OC Transpo strike


Picket lines: not becoming a target

• ATU local 279 had mixed issues on picketing our shuttles

• SFUO - work together to get the both sides back to the table

• Importance that our students need to complete their exams

• Received a called back that our shuttles were safe


Where to implement shuttles first?


Emergency and Regular shuttles

• Route 1 – Kanata & Bells Corner• Route 2 – Nepean• Route 3 – Orleans• Route 4 – South Keys• Route 5 – Gloucester Centre & St-Laurent

• uOttawa – RGN• uOttawa – Carleton


Shuttle pick-up points (modifications)


Too many shuttles on main campus (9)

Stop A – uOttawa, Lees Ave., Saint-Paul University, RGN Hall (2 shuttles)

Stop B – uOttawa, Carleton University (2 shuttles)

Stop C – Kanata/Bells Corner, uOttawa (1 shuttle)

Stop D – Orléans, uOttawa (1 shuttle)

Stop E – Nepean, uOttawa (1 shuttle)

Stop F – South Keys, uOttawa (1 shuttle)

Stop G – Gloucester Center, St-Laurent, uOttawa (1 shuttle)


Weather: Days at -20ºCDate Weather high Weather low Precipitation

December 13 -12.2 ºC -21.8 ºC 1.7 cm

December 22 -10.7 ºC -23.5 ºC 0 cm

December 23 -6 ºC -24 ºC 1.3 cm

January 10 -10.2 ºC -23.9 ºC 0 cm

January 13 -0.2 ºC -20.5 ºC 1.4 cm

January 14 -20.4 ºC -26.1 ºC 0 cm

January 15 -20.3 ºC -29.9 ºC 0 cm

January 16 -19.9 ºC -29.8 ºC 0 cm

January 17 -14.9 ºC -24.3 ºC 0.6 cm

January 20 -10 ºC -20.4 ºC 0 cm

January 21 -6.2 ºC -20.4 ºC 0.6 cm

January 24 -9.7 ºC -25.6 ºC 0 cm

January 25 -13.2 ºC -25.7 ºC 0 cm

January 26 -13.9 ºC -28.1 C 0 cm

January 31 -9 ºC -20.2 ºC 0.6 cm

February 5 -14.6 ºC -22.7 ºC 0 cm

AVERAGE (during the strike)

- 6.9 ºC -15.9 ºC 9.8 cm


OTTAWA - January 8, 2009

Ottawa’s four post-secondaryinstitutions have joined forces to helpstudents attend classes should theOC Transpo strike continue after theJan. 8.

Ottawa’s university and collegepresidents all recognize that theirstudents face tremendous hardshipsas a result of the transportationstrike.


MEDIA

uOttawa Pulled outThe Student Federation of the University of Ottawa has officially pulled out of the shuttle service.

City to help pay for student shuttlesATU local 279 – asked that we confirm in writing by same day that our institution would not accept any City money. If no confirmation, ATU 279 reserved the right to picket any labor scab


Registered shuttle services, such as those servicing colleges

and universities, will be permitted to use the transit way.

MEDIA


uOttawa student created a Google map with all the Shuttle pick-up points

(Some radio stations in Ottawa were kind enough to mention the site yesterday and it attracted over 700 visitors on its first day yesterday.)

Unfortunately the map was inaccurate …


Other challenges

• Ecopass holders: Pay deductions continued until mid-January

• Academic staff were unhappy that they weren’t allowed to use the emergency shuttles

• Students who lived in the areas where the shuttles weren’t servicing said it wasunfair and discriminatory

• Too many sources of misinformation

• We weren’t able to assist students with mobility problems

• Overall frustration “cranky” … yet people helped one another


Carpooling & ridesharing

• Carpooling was immediately implemented in our communications

• Having a carpool / ridematching website was key to our success

• Majority of individuals registering in the University’s ridematching Website were passengers

• Only problem that occurred with our ridematching website: University E-mails system went down

• Encourage permit holders and those who live near the shuttle pick-up points to pick-up students that were being left behind

• Encourage permit holders to register into the carpool database to increase matching

• University offered a carpool contest


January: Temporary housing program for students

Allan Rock, president and vice-chancellor for the university, said officials are helping match students with residents close to the university because the transit strike has made it difficult for some students to get to class.

University of Ottawa president Allan Rock said he has room for two students in his home in Sandy Hill. (CBC)


Other tips & lessons learned

• Be as consistent as possible with your communications

• Be ready for the media coverage (interviews)

• Make sure your maps are as clear as possible

• Accept that you will not be able to help everyone, but expectations are high

• Mobilize a team

• Set an “Out of office” reply

• FAQ’s


Ridematching database – active users

0

400

800

1200

1600

2000

Sept 08 Oct 08 Nov 08 Dec 08 Jan 09 Feb 09 Mar 09 April 09


Regular shuttles: (utilization 07/08 & 08/09)

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April

RGN and Carleton shuttle use

2007-2008 2008-2009


Ecopass ridership• November 2008 – 352

• July 2009 - 297

• October 15, 2009 – 317

• 10 % decrease (1 yr)

260

280

300

320

340

360

Nov. 2008 July 2009 Oct. 2009

Ecopass # of users


Average # of cars parked on campus during the strike (main campus only)

• November 2008 – 1,400

• January 2009 – 1,700

• 21.4 % increase

• Parking revenue generated $69,000.00

0200400

600800

10001200

14001600

1800

Nov. 2008 January 2009

Ave cars parked


Students who boarded onto the emergency shuttles

December exams: 5,900

January – week 1: 7,800




February – week 1: Unk

Total (approx.) 53,300


Cost of shuttles $206,776.69

OC Transpo transit strike quick facts

• 1979 – 20 day strike• 1996 – 23 day strike• 2008 – 51 day strike (Dec 10th 2008 until Jan 29th 2009)

• Main cause: disagreement regarding scheduling & overtime

• January 8th, 2009. Federal Minister of Labour order a union membership vote (64% rejected the city's offer)

• Inevitability of back-to-work legislation forced both sides to go into binding arbitration

• Feb 2nd, O-Train started service• Feb 9th, some buses started service • Full service late spring


DANNY ALBERT

Sustainable Transportation ManagerParking & Sustainable Transportation Division,

Protection ServicesUniversity of Ottawa

137-139 Louis-Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, K1N [email protected]

www.uOttawa.ca/sustainabletransportation


Mitigating the OC Transpo strike through shuttles and carpools DANNY ALBERT Sustainable Transportation Manager ACT Canada Conference Toronto, November.

Documents

oc transpo strike

number of shuttles

day oc transpo transit

emergency shuttles service

potential strike

regular shuttles route

uottawa students

shuttles sfuo work