Peterborough: Balancing Needs And Priorities

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Peterborough Transit

A City In Decline Balancing Needs & Priorities

Scott Wannan

0296133

01 04 02013

POST-CAST-GEOG 4555H

City, Economy, and Society


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Peterborough is a city in decline. The lack of industry and an elderly population put strain on

the city to provide public transportation to a community that needs it. This essay will examine the

City of Peterborough's 2012 Transit Operations Review, and position in a wider context of how

public transit operators can work to improve customers perceived value of transit to increase

customers loyalty thus ensuring the sustainability of the public transit system.

This paper will have three parts, the first will discuss the city of Peterborough, a declining city

with an increasingly elderly population. The second part will examine different case studies in the

utility of travel as well as the relationship between customer satisfaction and perceived value and an

easy way Peterborough Transit could do just that, and the third part will examine the City Of

Peterborough's 2012 Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead and assess the cities ability to

provide services to an increasingly elderly population and infrastructure requiring capital investment.

Peterborough as a city is in rough shape. The population of the area that Peterborough Transit

serves is 78 000 while the entire Census Metropolitan Area is just under 134 000.1 It is a very elderly

population as well, there are 35 000 people aged 65+ and only 30 000 people aged 18-352. The

Peterborough CMA is the 33rd largest in Canada and is the oldest CMA in Ontario and fifth oldest in

Canada3, such an elderly population that median age of Peterborough is 45 vs 40 in the rest of

Ontario.

The city already has 50% employment and while the population is expected to grow by 10%

over the next 20 years the city expects only 2% increase in employment (Table 1, The Route Ahead

1Statistics Canada. 2012. Peterborough, Ontario (Code 3515) and Ontario (Code

35) (table).Census Profile. 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-XWE. Ottawa.

Released October 24, 2012. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-

pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E

(accessed April 1, 2013).2 Statistics Canada. 2012.3 Canada. City Of Peterborough. Peterborough.ca. By City Of Peterborough. City Of Peterborough, Oct. 2012. Web. 01

May 2013.. P 23
http://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Transit/Transit+Operations+Review/Transit+Operations+Review+Final+Report.pdfhttp://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Transit/Transit+Operations+Review/Transit+Operations+Review+Final+Report.pdfhttp://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Transit/Transit+Operations+Review/Transit+Operations+Review+Final+Report.pdfhttp://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/City+Assets/Transit/Transit+Operations+Review/Transit+Operations+Review+Final+Report.pdf


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And Appendix).4Meanwhile seven of the ten major employers in Peterborough are either government

offices or educational institutions5.

Peterborough Transit has been operating conventional and paratransit services since 1978.

There are 12 regular routes with express routes to both Trent University Fleming College and

Technology Drive6. Buses run from 6 Am-11:20 PM weekdays and Saturdays and 8 am-7:20 PM on

Sundays, more on this later.7 Transit services are focused downtown around the terminal with

scheduled connections to routes around the city as well as providing connection to inter-city bus

services like Go Transit and Greyhound.

Currently 4.5% of all trips taken in Peterborough are on public transit, an increase of 62% over

the past decade and the city is on track to their goal of 6% of all trips taken in the city to be on public

transit by 2021. While overall ridership is up, Figure 1 (Appendix) from The Route Ahead , the usage

of the paratransit Handi-Van service is down overall with several small increases throughout the years

including 2011 as illustrated in Figure 2 (Appendix) from The Route Ahead

Transit ridership is high at almost 38% per capita with 29 average boardings per revenue

vehicle hour8. There are multiple issues the City admits needs dealing with, including but not limited

to the long times between runs, 40 foot buses in a 35 foot terminal and revamping the Handi-Van

service.

Peterborough transit does many things well and several unique features in their transit services.

For several years now the City has used Transcab for services in low ridership areas. The service is

4 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 15 Kawartha, My. "Peterborough's 82 Major Employers of the past Year." My Kawartha [Kawartha Lakes] 01 Apr. 2012: n.

pag. Print.6 Canada. City Of Peterborough. Peterborough.ca. By City Peterborough. City Of Peterborough, Jan. 2012. Web. 01 Mar.

2013..

7 City Of Peterborough. Peterborough Transit. Peterborough.ca. By Transit Peterborough. City Of Peterborough, n.d. Web.01 Mar. 2013. .

8 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 1


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used as an introductory measure and as population grows the Transcab is replaced with a conventional

transit route.

Trent students make up 7% of the population of Peterborough and because of the close

relationship between the school and the city there is near universal student ridership, students make

up 34% of the ridership of Transit.9 The service is operated at 100% cost recovery with the cost

divided up through a mandatory bus pass for all students.

Peterborough is among the most active cities in terms of work commute. Figure 6 in the

Comprehensive Transportation Plan show that 7.9% of all work trips in 2006 in Peterborough where

walked Figure 6 (Appendix) and Figure 8 (Appendix), both in Peterborough Comprehensive

Transportation Plan, show 2.3% of all work trips in 2006 in Peterborough where cycling. In both

cases Peterborough is second in all of Ontario for most work trips taken on either foot or bicycle.10

Peterborough has encouraged this through the sidewalk policy, any new residential areas must

have a sidewalk with a through pedestrian connection, in 2011 city council reaffirmed their

commitment to the sidewalk policy.11 Peterborough also has an extensive network of both off and on

street facilities, weighted in favour of off-road trails with 38 km versus 15 km off on-road facilities.12

The network isn't perfect, with large gaps where existing routes do not meet up as well as trail

crossings that can be hazardous to both pedestrians and cyclists.

Aside from the economy the other issue the City of Peterborough has to deal with and provide

transit services for is a growing elderly population. The city has the potential to turn the elderly

population into a benefit. Peterborough Transit needs to able to attract the trips an elderly population,

accounting for 28% of the population of Peterborough by 2031, which will help maintain their health

9 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 2710 . City Of Peterborough. Peterborough.ca. Peterborough Comprehensive Transportation Plan P 13,

1511 City Of Peterborough. Peterborough.ca. Peterborough Comprehensive Transportation Plan P 10212 City Of Peterborough. Peterborough.ca. Peterborough Comprehensive Transportation Plan P 123


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and by increasing their loyalty to public transit by increasing their perceived value the elderly

population could become the the loyal base upon which Peterborough Transit can be sustainable and

expand upon.

One thing needs to be made clear at the very beginning when we start discussing the needs of

the elderly, like all age groups the transportation needs of the elderly are not homogenous. Not only

are there differing health situations and physical ability between various ages in general but there are

lifestyle, socio-demographic characteristics as well as changes in income and family dynamics that

combine to highlight the need for mobility options to satisfy the varying demands and contribute to

better quality of life in an aging society.13

There are some general qualities one can pull out of this group, including the relationship

between disability and driving. In Transport policy and the provision of mobility options in an aging

society: a case study of Ontario, Canada Ruben Mercado; Antonio Pez; K and Bruce Newbold find

that the elderly people whom had given up driving had fewer medical conditions than current

drivers14 Because the elderly's use of public transit can be negatively by physical limitations

..changing mobility lifestyle...and the declining quality of public transit systems15 if the move from

automobile to public transit will result in fewer medical conditions, the city would seem to have a

responsibility to provide transit services.

If Peterborough Transit is able to decrease wait times and transfer which have a

disproportionate impact on elderly travel, able to meet the service requirements the elderly, especially

in Peterborough, could become the loyal segment of the population that ensures Transits continuity

and sustainability. In order for any of the recommendations discussed below that require capital

13 Mercado, Ruben, Antonio Paez, and K. Bruce Newbold. "Transport Policy and the Provision of Mobility Options in anAging Society: A Case Study of Ontario, Canada." Journal of Transport Geography 18.5 (2010): 149-661. ScholarsPortal. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. . P 1

14 "Transport Policy and the Provision of Mobility Options in an Aging Society: A Case Study of Ontario, Canada."P 66215 Transport policy and the provision of mobility options in an aging society: a case study of Ontario, Canada P 662
http://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/09666923/v18i0005/649_tpatpoacsoochttp://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/09666923/v18i0005/649_tpatpoacsooc


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investment it is necessary for Peterborough Transit be sustainable and continue the path of growth

they are on.

The critical aspect that determines whether a transit service remains and is sustainable is the

role of customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can be seen as a prime indicator of long term financial

sustainability and performance. In Behavioral Intentions Of Public Transit PassengersThe Roles

Of Service Quality, Perceived Value, Satisfaction And Involvement Wen-Tai Lai and Ching-Fu Chen

examine the relationship between passenger behavioural intentions and various factors that affect

them.

Wen-Tai Lai and Ching-Fu Chen have a specific view point, they argue that Public transport

systems need to become more market oriented and competitive, as they tend to be viewed as service

products16 and customer loyalty is seen as a prime determinant of a firms long-term financial

performance and is considered a major source of competitive advantage17. While we disagree with

their perspective that transit systems need to be market oriented and competitive in order to exist, for

example Peterborough Transit is operated by the city and aside from some scheduling issues works

well, we agree that customer loyalty is a good indicator of the future success of the transit system,

and in the context of Peterborough where the city is trying to increase the use of Handi-van and other

paratransit services specifically for the elderly population, customer loyalty and how to increase it

needs to be examined.

Lai and Chen examine the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, behavioral

intentions, and perceived values to find implications for public transit companies. They found that

passenger behavioral intentions or loyalty relies heavily on passenger satisfaction which can be

16 Lai, Wen-Tai, and Ching-Fu Chen. "Behavioral Intentions of Public Transit PassengersThe Roles of Service Quality,Perceived Value, Satisfaction and Involvement." Transport Policy 18.2 (2010): 318-25. Scholars Portal. Web. 1 Apr.2013. P 318

17 Behavioral Intentions of Public Transit PassengersThe Roles of Service Quality, Perceived Value, Satisfaction andInvolvement P 318
http://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/0967070x/v18i0002/318_bioptpqpvsaihttp://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/0967070x/v18i0002/318_bioptpqpvsai


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increased through service quality and perceived value. There is a fine line to walk because while

better service quality increases customer satisfaction and therefore loyalty those increased quality

services can also increase the pricing of transit which reduces the perceived value which then reduces

customer satisfaction and loyalty thus offsetting any benefits gained through increased service.

18

What this means for Peterborough is that passenger satisfaction is not guaranteed by quality of

service alone, that passenger satisfaction and therefore loyalty will not increase without a

commensurate increase in perceived value which results in re-patronage/word-of-mouth behavior,

and consequently customer loyalty.19

In terms of capturing and maintaining mode share, understanding the travelers enjoyment of

both commutes and other travel is essential. Outside of the elderly population there is growth

potential in terms of providing commuting services to employees or students traveling to or from

work or school. In their article Enjoyment of commute: A comparison of different transportation

modes Antonio Pez & Kate Whalen examine opinions about commutes by students at McMaster

University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Their thesis is that a positive utility is found even in the most utilitarian of trips, the commute

to work....increasing use of public transit means increasing the utility of the trip.20 They argue that

utility for travel has three parts, the utility for the activity at the destination, the utility for activities

that can be conducted while traveling and the enjoyment of the act of travel itself.21 Though this

research was conducted around the opinions of students the idea of the utility of the trip and

increasing both satisfaction and usage of transit by increasing that utility can be applied to various

18 Behavioral Intentions of Public Transit PassengersThe Roles of Service Quality, Perceived Value, Satisfaction andInvolvement P 324

19 Behavioral intentions of public transit passengersThe roles of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction andinvolvement P 324

20 Pez, Antonio, and Kate Whalen. "Enjoyment of Commute: A Comparison of Different Transportation Modes."Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 44.7 (2010): 537-49. Scholars Portal. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.. P 538

21 Enjoyment of commute: A comparison of different transportation modes P 538
http://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/09658564/v44i0007/537_eocacodtmhttp://resolver.scholarsportal.info/resolve/09658564/v44i0007/537_eocacodtm


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groups using transit.

One finding that seems particularly relevant to Peterborough revolves around the length of the

trip in regards to if the traveler feels the commute serves a buffer between home and school. Paez and

Whalen found that regardless of whether the subject agreed or disagreed that their commute served as

buffer between home and school transit users in Hamilton wanted their commutes to be shorter.

In the context of Peterborough where the majority of routes still run on 40 minute schedule this

supports the move to 20 minute schedules as the Peterborough Transit Plans to in over the next 5

years.22 Cutting the routing down to 20 minute schedules would directly impact many of the

complaints about Peterborough Transit and would have a big impact on the perceived value of the

service as well as usage of it.

As part of the 2012 Transit Operations Review the City produced a Summary Of

Recommendations and Implementation plan. There are 87 recommendations, ranging from

Peterborough Transit continue to operate a radial based system with a secondary emphasis on other

key nodes including the Lansdowne Mall and Chemong corridor to "Peterborough Transit establish a

capital budget for the acquisition of an upgraded GPS and for a Transit Signal Priority (TSP)

program.

Of those 87 recommendations the grand majority, 52, are not started, nine have been initiated,

six are ongoing and 14 have been completed. They gathered these recommendations through several

methods of community engagement. Through a combination of a study web page gathering opinions,

a drop-in session at the Evinrude Centre, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and public information

centers the city was able to communicate with a wide range of people who use transit and gather their

opinions about transit and how to improve it.23

22 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P ii23 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 31


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One of the significant deterrence to ridership growth is the 40 minute route times, the city

intends to convert all routes to 20 minute times as part of the overall goal of a transit mode share of

6% by 201724. Key efficiency measures include combing the Trent East Bank and Route 9 Nichols

Park, converting Route 12 Major Bennet to a peak period employment express, the elimination of first

run Saturday for all routes25as well as improvements to the Handi-Van program.

Alongside the improvements to conventional transit the City has multiple improvements for the

Handi-van paratransit service. Handi-Van usage has been going down slightly over the years as seen

in Figure 18 but the city expects the elderly population to continue increasing and as such need to

continue to provide and improve paratransit services.

The first improvement is in making conventional transit more accessible. The city has a policy

that clarifies the definition and intention of the priority and courtesy seating on conventional transit.

Clear signage should resolve any issues surrounding who occupies those seats and in the event that it

does not the city intends to create a program where if a person with a disability is waiting a stop other

than the downtown terminal and the priority seating is occupied, the driver will notify dispatch and if

there is no bus due at that stop in the next 20 minutes dispatch will range a pickup with Hand-Van or

accessible taxi.26

Secondly the city intends to implement a Taxi Scrip program with a target of 5-8,000 annual

trips increasing to 15 000 annual trips in the long term with a net cost OT the city of $5 a trip in the

short term. An initial budget of $40 0000 functions at 50% cost share to $80 000 in taxi vouchers

good for approximately 8 000 trips with users purchasing books of $20 a month subject to the

municipal budget.27

The third recommendation is for a a community bus service focused primarily on serving

24 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P ii25 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P ii26 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 9727 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 98


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seniors and those with mobility related disabilities. The focus would be on assisted living centers,

clinics, shopping and personal service areas and other activity centers.28 Initially there would be one

route on the north side of the city and one in the central-south, additional routes would be added once

specific financial and performance targets are achieved. The routes would be designed to directly

connect origins with destinations with short travel times while recognizing that need for service

close to the entrance at both origins and destinations29

Those are the improvements that the City reports can be done without any major capital

expenses, the City expects the 2013 budget requirements for Transit to be roughly equivalent to 2012

levels but given the last general fare increase was in 2009 the report suggest a $.25 increase on cash

fare.

The current mayor Daryl Bennet, elected in 2010 replacing Paul Ayotte, is the owner of Capitol

Taxi30. In 2012 when the Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead report was released

with the proposed cuts to weekend service and the fare increase there was some controversy because

of the perceived conflict of interest because of his taxi company. This was the first move from his

administration with anything to do with Peterborough Transit and people assumed that the fare

increase and service cuts where influenced by the his business holdings. Hundreds of people packed

the Evinrude Centre31 opposing the cuts and the hike while urging the city to move forward on the

shorter term goals such as the change to 20 minute route times. The major eventually removed

himself from the debate did not cast a vote32 but the damage was done and city council held off on the

proposed rate hikes.

28 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 9929 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 10030 Wiebe, Joel. "Mayor Declaring a Conflict." My Kawartha. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

.31 Wedley, Brendan. "Peterborough Transit Riders Group Urges Council to Hold off on Fare Increases until after

Improvements." Peterborough Examiner. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013..

32 Wiebe, Joel. "Mayor Declaring a Conflict."


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Most of the recommendations and improvements the city has in their report can be

accomplished without significant fare hikes or capital expenses but two of the major issues facing the

city do require some significant capital outlay. One of the major issues Pete borough Transit has been

dealing with for quite a while now is the size of the buses vs the size of the terminal. The terminal

was designed for 35 foot buses but most of Peterborough Transit's fleet are 40 feet long. This creates

some danger when loading and unloading passengers at the terminal, with passengers running around

buses and drivers not having completely visibility and the dispatcher having to verbally direct the

buses in the correct order out of the terminal to avoid collision.

The 10 Year Capital Program allocates $1 million for renovations and upgrades to the operation

areas, waiting areas and customer service facilities but the budget states that the renovations will not

be complete until the design of the Municipal Operations Centre is finalized.

A new Municipal Operations Centre is crucial. The report states Efficient, cost effective

vehicle maintenance programs cannot be realized until a more modern properly

designed maintenance facility is provided33The current maintenance garage is too

properly store the entire fleet. Ofthe 49 buses in the conventional fleet only 43 can be

brought into the indoor storage area and all 10 Hand-Van vehicles are outside all

year long34

Alongside a new Municipal Operations Centre and a new Terminal, a significant

portion of the buses need to be replaced. There have been no new buses

acquired since 2009 and no orders placed in 2012 with a delivery lead time of

around 13 months. The Road Ahead report updates the 10 Year Capital Program

by increasing the number of buses ordered per year so as to meet the goal of

33 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 14934 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 149


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100& accessibility by 2015.35

These four items will require a significant capital outlay from the city, not to

mention longer term planning and commitment to improving transit while the

increase in route times and manipulating of routes can be done with very

minimal cost increases.

Some of these recommendations don't stand up very well, especially in the

light of the conflict of the interest of the mayor. The cutting of first run on

Saturdays as well as both the combination of the East Bank and Route 9 Nicholls

Park and the reduction of Route 12 Major Bennet to an employment express

would seem contrary to increasing ridership and mode share. The increase in

route times to 20 minutes is the easiest and most obvious solution which would

directly address multiple issues and complaints about Peterborough Transit and

don't require commitment to city council.

Some of these other problems like the the downtown terminal and the

maintenance garage require more commitment and a capital investment that so

far the city seems unwilling to agree to. The lack of movement on the new

Municipal Operations Centre is more frustrating when it impeeds the renovation

of the downtown terminal which hasnt seen any refurbishment since the 1990's.

The basics of the system is there, one is able to access Peterborough Transit

services from 95% of the city36 but the 40 minute routes make any trip take

hours and decrease customer satisfaction, perceived value and usage.

If the city is able to commit to a plan for a new terminal that fits the current

35 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 15136 Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route Ahead P 11


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fleet of buses as well as new Municipal Operations Centre that can properly store

all those buses in conjunction with changing the routes and increasing

paratransit services then Peterborough Transit will be in good shape. But if city

councils future actions are to be judged by their previous non action then there

won't be any major improvements in the near future.

Which is not necessarily as bad as it sounds, ridership is on track to

continue to increase and as the population that requires Handi-Van and related

paratransit services increase those services will be there or will be developed to

serve that market. So long as Peterborough Transit can continue to serve the

growing elderly demographic the service should continue to grow.


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Appendix


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Works CitedCity Of Peterborough. Peterborough Comprehensive Transportation Plan.Peterborough.ca. By CityPeterborough. City Of Peterborough, Jan. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

.City Of Peterborough. Peterborough Public Transit Operations Review The Route

Ahead.Peterborough.ca. By City Of Peterborough. City Of Peterborough, Oct. 2012. Web. 01May 2013.

.City Of Peterborough. Peterborough Transit.Peterborough.ca. By Transit Peterborough. City Of

Peterborough, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013..Lai, Wen-Tai, and Ching-Fu Chen. "Behavioral Intentions of Public Transit PassengersThe Roles of

Service Quality, Perceived Value, Satisfaction and Involvement." Transport Policy 18.2 (2010):318-25. Scholars Portal. Web. 1 Apr. 2013..Mercado, Ruben, Antonio Paez, and K. Bruce Newbold. "Transport Policy and the Provision of

Mobility Options in an Aging Society: A Case Study of Ontario, Canada."Journal of TransportGeography 18.5 (2010): 149-661. Scholars Portal. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.


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.My, Kawartha. "Peterborough's 82 Major Employers of the past Year."My Kawartha [Kawartha Lakes]

01 Apr. 2012: n. pag. Print.Pez, Antonio, and Kate Whalen. "Enjoyment of Commute: A Comparison of Different Transportation

Modes." Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 44.7 (2010): 537-49. ScholarsPortal. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.

.Wedley, Brendan. "Peterborough Transit Riders Group Urges Council to Hold off on Fare Increasesuntil after Improvements."Peterborough Examiner. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013..

Wiebe, Joel. "Mayor Declaring a Conflict."My Kawartha. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013..
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2012/11/14/peterborough-transit-riders-group-http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2012/11/14/peterborough-transit-riders-group-

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Peterborough: Balancing Needs And Priorities