Thursday, January 31, 2019

OC Transpo refusing to publish performance reports due to LRT construction

Today I went to the OC Transpo website to find information about recent performance of the transit utility, and was surprised to see that they hadn't published an Annual Performance Report since 2014:



At first I wrote it off as an administrative oversight--I assumed that they had simply forgotten to upload the reports for the last few years, so I used Google to try and find the reports in case they were uploaded to the city's website or some other source.

Instead, through an official response to an inquiry from former Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward councillor (and soon-to-be National Capital Commission CEO) Tobi Nussbaum, I discovered that OC Transpo was intentionally withholding the information. Councillor Nussbaum's inquiry, submitted in February 2018, was as follows:
"I was not able to locate OC Transpo Annual Performance Reports after 2014 either in the documents records of the Transit Commission or on the OC Transpo website. Were Annual Performance Reports prepared for 2015, 2016 and 2017? If so, can these reports be posted on the OC Transpo website? If not, could staff please provide updated statistics for all of the figures measured in the 2014 Annual Performance Reports through to 2017."
In response, in June 2018, officials from OC Transpo said this (emphasis added):
"Annual performance reports have not been published for 2015, 2016, or 2017, as operations have not been comparable to the previous years because of the effects of construction of O-Train Line 1, the Confederation Line. Staff continue to monitor and track key performance measures to identify system changes and proactively make improvements where required, and where resources are available.
"Staff will be developing a new performance reporting dashboard following the transformation of OC Transpo into a multimodal system with the opening of O-Train Line 1, the Confederation Line, which will be based on current best practices in the transit industry."
This, to me, is an unsatisfactory response. Impacts on service levels as a result of LRT construction was to be expected, but that doesn't mean OC Transpo can simply not issue reports to the public. In fact, these reports could have provided valuable context and qualitative explanation to the service impacts that transit users are witnessing every day.

Along with their response, OC Transpo included a table outlining a series of performance data metrics related to customer relations, ridership, operations and maintenance, safety and security, and financial indicators.

There aren't many revelations in the performance data, but a few things stand out:

  • Ridership declined again in 2017 to 95.5M trips, the lowest number since the transit strike cratered ridership in 2009.
  • On-time performance is flagging, likely due to the effects of LRT construction; 13% of morning peak-period regular-service buses are more than 5 minutes late (18% for Connexion), and 29% of afternoon peak-period regular-service buses were more than 5 minutes late (31% for Connexion).
  • No ratings for overall satisfaction were published for 2015, 2016 or 2017--I'm not sure if they didn't ask customers or if they simply didn't want to release the information, but the gap certainly stands out.
  • The rate of mechanical failures per 100,000 vehicle kilometres where service was fully cancelled has gone up pretty significantly, to 11.4 in 2017 from 7.3 in 2014. I haven't seen coverage of this, so I'm unsure whether it's simply bad luck or if there are some red flags leading to these problems.
  • The revenue-cost ratio, or percentage of operating costs paid by transit users, remains at 50%.
The full three-page table, from OC Transpo's official response, is below (click to enlarge):




13 comments:

Andrew123 said...

I appreciate this amazing post that is why I am reading this because when I came at this site and read some information I found that it is helpful or shareable. Like recently i was looking for VPS Hosting Service and i found useful source.

Babas Judi said...

Just want to say your article is as surprising. The clarity in your post is simply nice and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the rewarding work. https://royalcbd.com/how-to-make-cbd-gummies-at-home/

Dwight Williams said...

So, to provide a break from these spammers cluttering up the comments...how about a discussion on the state of Ottawa's public transit during the Pandemic in Progress?

khushisinha said...

Hello, come to serve erotic pleasure by the best escorts in Greater Kailash. They should visit our escort agency once to get rid of their desire for sex all their life. Our agency has the highest number of escort women in Greater Kailash. Our Greater Kailash escorts can outline your sexual pleasures by women. Fulfill your desire for fun with Greater Kailash Escorts Agency by High Ladies Agency. Spending a few moments with our women can give you a real pleasure
Greater Kailash escorts

Bed Pari Bangalore Escorts said...

Thanks for sharing this brilliant article it was a very useful and helpful article.

madiwala escorts
koramangala escorts
indiranagar escorts
jp nagar escorts
koramangala escorts
Call Girls Bangalore

Shivani Sharma said...

If you want to call girls service for many nights, then you are in the right place. New Delhi Escorts can give you low rates and high rates. Hot, Sexy, Beautiful Call Girls Service New Delhi Escorts May give you different call girls of different categories with whom. You can do anything, if you are interested, call or visit our website

Bed Pari Bangalore Escorts said...

Thanks for the great post!
Escorts Bangalore
Escorts Bangalore
Escorts in Bangalore
Escorts in Bangalore
Bangalore Call Girls

Dwight Williams said...

Once again, spam in the comments. Can this please be ended?

bamgosoo said...


That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Short but very accurate info… Appreciate your sharing this one. A must read post.

My web site - 오피사이트
(jk)

johncrew said...

Hi, My name is Oliver Smith. I am a technical support executive. And, I am passionate about my work. I provide help to those who are looking for technical support like zoho mail settings on iphone . on iphone So, if you are the one who is looking for the same kind of help you can connect to me.

슬롯사이트 said...

As I am looking at your writing, I regret being unable to do outdoor activities due to Corona 19, and I miss my old daily life. If you also miss the daily life of those days, would you please visit my site once? My site is a site where I post about photos and daily life when I was free
Oh, the data you've shared in this incredible article is just magnificent. I am definitely going to make more use of this data in my future projects. You must continue sharing more data like this with us
바카라사이트

wep

shanjanaarora said...

I’m not talking about a short neck massage girls in chennai or foot rub that relieves one part of the body.

nancysweety said...

Because a moan can be good or bad, body to body spa pune you’ll definitely want to pay close attention.