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COMMUNITY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE –MARCH 15, 2018
Dylan Morin, addressed the Committee.
The Committee adopted a resolution to concur in the recommendation contained in the report.
Councillors: Andrew Stevens (Chairperson), Lori Bresciani, John Findura, Jerry Flegel and Joel Murray were present during consideration of this report by the Community and Protective Services Committee.
The Community and Protective Services Committee, at its meeting held on March 15, 2018 considered the following report from the Administration:
RECOMMENDATION
1. That this report be forwarded to the March 26, 2018 City Council meeting for information.
2. That item CM17-2 be removed from the list of outstanding items for City Council.
CONCLUSION
The paratransit customer engagement process took place in 2017 and has provided valuable customer feedback that will be used to guide future service improvements to paratransit service.
Strengths and areas recommended for change were identified in the surveys. Paratransit is developing an action plan which involves; communicating the survey results to customers, working with organizations to refine service delivery, and addressing opportunities that were identified as requiring the most improvement.
BACKGROUND
On February 13, 2017, Council made a motion and resolved that Transit Administration engage the Paratransit user group and provide a report back to the Community and Protective Services Committee in quarter one of 2018 on the effectiveness of the service in meeting user requirements with a focus on approaching a zero-refusal rate. A subsequent report is submitted to the Community and Protective Services Committee on March 15, 2018 addressing the reduction in denied paratransit trips.
This report provides information about the paratransit customer engagement strategy that was undertaken in 2017.
DISCUSSION
In order to solicit feedback about paratransit from its customers, the Paratransit Branch undertook a customer engagement strategy in 2017. Paratransit sent out two customer surveys in June 2017. The first was a paper-based survey that was mailed to registered paratransit customers. There were approximately 1,800 surveys sent out with 413 responses received. The second was an electronic survey that was sent to 26 organizations that paratransit works with. There were 12 responses received. The summaries of the results are seen in Appendix A and B. Overall, the responses were very positive with the highest ratings received for the services that the contractor First Transit provides related to operators.
In addition to the attached questions outlined in Appendices A and B, customers were asked to provide written comments about why they rated a question low. The following is a summary of the questions and results. In the series of questions related to trip bookings, the top two areas of concern noted from the 413 responses were;
· wait time on the phone (66 responses), and
· no or poor trip availability (30 responses).
In the series of questions related to travelling on the bus, the top two areas of concern noted were;
· poor driving/concern for safety (14 responses), and
· poor customer service (eight responses).
In the series of questions related to sharing concerns, the hours paratransit operates and paratransit eligibility, these were the top three areas of concern noted;
· hours paratransit operates (18 responses),
· reporting concerns (six responses), and
· passenger eligibility (six responses).
Customers were asked what were the top two things they like best about paratransit. The top five responses were:
1. Operators – 146
2. Door to door assistance – 100
3. Staff – 55
4. Reliability/dependability – 54
5. Bus is on time - 43
Customers were asked what were the top two things they would like to see paratransit improve. The top five responses were:
1. Nothing – 95
2. Shorten the length of time to book a trip – 55
3. Provide more service – 46
4. Provide better trip times – 34
5. Address operator concerns (e.g. driving too fast on rough roads) – 31
The last area that the survey asked customers about their interest in using low floor buses. Paratransit encourages passengers to use conventional transit for trips whenever possible. This frees up more trips on paratransit for others and allows greater flexibility for the passenger when travelling. Of the responses received, 136 (or 33 per cent) stated that they were interested in or already using low floor buses.
Customers were asked about their barriers to using low floor bus service. The top five responses were:
1. Disability/mobility – 50
2. Can’t get to the bus stop – 46
3. Already use transit – 42
4. Need assistance – 20
5. Not easy to navigate or learn – 19
As a follow-up to the customer surveys, the Paratransit Branch hosted a customer workshop on October 28, 2017, to receive further feedback and to develop solutions around several areas including trip bookings and encouraging more customers to use low floor buses. In addition, several other customers who could not attend submitted written responses to the workshop questions. Some of their suggestions included hiring more staff to answer telephone calls, allowing passengers to text trip bookings, encouraging more passengers to email or leave messages for trip bookings, and start allowing advance trip bookings prior to 9:00 a.m. and past 8:00 p.m. Suggestions for encouraging the use of low floor buses on conventional transit included; training people how to use conventional transit, simplifying bus learning tools (make a video or workbook), holding information sessions to help caregivers understand conventional transit, promoting the success stories of people who have learned to use conventional transit, adding more benches at bus stops, and expanding service on Sunday nights.
Paratransit is developing an action plan to address areas where customer concerns were noted. The highest priority will be improving the time it takes to make trip bookings and providing times that better meet customer needs. Staff have also been engaged on this issue and have developed a list of suggestions to improve phone wait times and provide better bookings. This will involve a series of process improvements and changes. The City’s telephone system “Telax” allows Paratransit to measure phone wait times and dropped calls to assess if improvements are being made.
The survey results from organizations were not as favourable as the individual survey results. Paratransit will be meeting with organizations later this year to determine how we can provide better service to them.
The demand for paratransit currently exceeds capacity. However, reducing the number of denied trips has been a top priority in 2017. As a result, 99.76 per cent of all trips requested in advance were accommodated in 2017. In 2018, Paratransit intends to maximize the use of taxis to provide trips, increase scheduling efficiency, leverage technology, and encourage the use of conventional transit as ways bringing paratransit closer to the goal of accommodating all trips requested. A new initiative in 2018 is a pilot travel training program which will teach some paratransit passengers how to use conventional transit.
RECOMMENDATION IMPLICATIONS
Financial Implications
None with respect to this report.
Environmental Implications
None with respect to this report.
Policy and/or Strategic Implications
Enhancing paratransit service helps achieve the transportation goals and policies in Design Regina, the City of Regina’s Official Community Plan (OCP) and specifically, “Goal 2: Public Transit: Elevate the role of Public Transit” in Section D3.
Policy 5.13: Maximize the accessibility of the conventional transit system while ensuring the paratransit system meets the needs of those unable to use the conventional system.
Other Implications
None with respect to this report.
Accessibility Implications
Paratransit is a lifeline for people requiring the service. Any improvements made to paratransit will positively impact quality of life for passengers experiencing disabilities who require the service.
COMMUNICATIONS
Paratransit will communicate highlights of the customer engagement results to passengers in its spring 2018 newsletter and will work with Communications to share the results with the broader public. Paratransit will continue to provide updates to customers on the progress of the recommendations and will solicit further feedback as required.
DELEGATED AUTHORITY
The recommendation contained in this report requires City Council approval.
Respectfully submitted,
COMMUNITY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE
Ashley Thompson, Secretary