Taxi Bylaw - Missing the Point

At tonight's council meeting one of the agenda items will be the third and final reading of the proposed changes to the sections of the city's business licence bylaw that deal with regulations around taxis. The discussion about the changes has been covered in the media many times - and most of the time the media focus in on the proposed "cap" on the number of taxis that the city would licence to operate.

As of right now the "cap" has been stripped out of the bylaw. That happened at our last council meeting when a number of council members objected to it and a motion was made to pass the bylaw with out that section. If the bylaw passes "as is" tonight then we will have no cap on the number of taxi licences that the city will issue.

Much of the attention during the debate has been on how this is "government interfering with the free market". Unfortunately I think that point of view fails to take into account why the cap was proposed in the first place - it provides us a lever which we can use to encourage the taxi industry to provide better service ... specifically to people with mobility issues.

The bylaw stated that we would limit the number of taxi licenses to 173 and review that number every two years to see if it needed to be adjusted. The bylaw also made allowances for drivers who operated in 2010 but missed the registration deadline due to personal circumstances - they were allowed to reregister and that brought the number of registered taxis to about 206... already well above the "cap".

(Of note is that Red Deer also has a limit on the number of taxis: 1 per 750 people ... or about 110 total based on the most current population of 82,772. If our cap worked on the same ratio of 1/750 our cap would have been 67 units. The Red Deer Taxi Bylaw)

The thing about "The Cap" is that it does not prevent new taxis from coming on the the road. Anyone could licence a new taxis - IF it was either wheelchair accessible OR a hybrid.

I will be the first to admit that there is no question that this would be an example of government regulating of private enterprise. But the truth is that we already regulate the taxi industry in many ways and I feel this is a reasonable way for us to encourage the industry to begin providing service to a good portion of our population who have very few options for transportation. I also think it's kind of like saying we welcome new businesses BUT you have to provide a handicap stall in your parking lot - not an unreasonable request.

The funny thing is that much of the taxi industry is in SUPPORT of the cap.

The cap would provide a financial incentive for private business to invest in bringing wheelchair accessible taxis to the city. Basically we are saying that we have enough old police cars out on the streets and that if you want to bring a new unit to the city to do business it should be wheelchair accessible (or a hybrid).

So tonight council will debate the third and final reading of the taxi bylaw... without the cap. If no changes are made and the bylaw is passed as is we will loose that lever, that incentive, that the cap provided to encourage taxi operators to bring wheelchair accessible taxis to the city.

It makes me think of how we managed to get the last accessible taxi on the street (pics)- by giving a $20,000 grant to do it. If we had had a cap in place at the time maybe the city wouldn't have had to do that. I think it's telling that there have been no new accessible taxis since the city last contributed money to make it happen ... unless there's some kind of financial incentive then industry won't do it.

New Transit Routes & A Free Week To Try Them

Back in the middle of July I posted a note about the new transit routes that are coming to the city. Three of the new routes will launch in September and, for a week starting September 8th, any trip that starts on on of the new routes will be free!

The new routes are:

Route 6 - Pinnacle/Westpointe
• Hourly Service from 6:00am to 10:15pm
• Transfers will take place at Towne Centre Mall for existing Routes 1, 2, 3, & 4 and new routes 6B and Shopper's Special

Route 6B - Richmond Industrial/Westpointe/Pinnacle
• Half Hourly Service during peak times only. From 6:25am to 8:45am and from 3:00pm to 6:15pm
• Provides 2-way service during peak times to Westpointe and Pinnacle
• Transfers will take place at Towne Centre Mall for existing Routes 1, 2, 3, & 4 and new routes 6 and Shopper's Special

Shoppers Special
• Express Service from Towne Centre Mall to Prairie Mall every hour & continues on to Gateway, Westgate and Centre West Phase I.
• Transfers will take place at Towne Centre Mall for existing Routes 1, 2, 3, & 4 and new routes 6B and Shopper's Special

As of this morning (Monday August 24th) the city's transit department webpage hasn't been updated but I'll remind staff about that tomorrow at Public Works. Hopefully they'll be able to update that before the new routes launch.

UPDATE: the new transit route guide is here (It's a 3MB pdf file)

Draft Transit Master Plan - New Bus Routes!

At the public works committee today there was a presentation on the draft Transit Master plan. I wasn't at the meeting but I received the plan ahead of time in my council mail box.

The plan has taken some time but the end result is very encouraging - it lays out a great plan for improving our transit system over the next few years. In particular three of the biggest problems with the current system (operating hours, frequency and coverage) will be addressed in the new plan:

• Operational hours will be extended to 6:20am to 10:00pm M-F, 10:00am to 6:00pm Saturdays and 10:30am to 5:00pm Sundays.

• Service frequency will now be 40 minutes on all routes and every 20 minutes on selected routes during peak times.

• New routes will be established to connect to pretty much all subdivisions of the city. (see the rout map below).

There also a lot more in the plan; a downtown transit terminal, standards for bus stops and the possibility of linking up with the school system to replace the yellow busses for high school students. (The document is about 100 pages long) as soon as it's up on the city's website I'll post a link to it here - or in the mean time if you're interested email me and I'll send you the pdf.

So this is great progress but there is still some work to do as each of the recommendations / ideas in the plan require resources and that means money.



UPDATE: You can download the new transit route guide here (It's 3MB .pdf)

Accessible Taxi Launch Pictures

Some pictures from today's media event launching Grande Prairie's first wheelchair accessible commercial taxi. See my previous post (Here) for the background and media release.

Yellow Cabs Owner, Percy Sekora speaks to the media.


DTS President John Minue (left) speaks with Ald. Radborne (middle) and DTS board member Darrell Watchorn.


Darrell become the first Grande Prairie resident to ride in our new taxi as the media looks on.


The ramp is lifted and Darrell is on his way!

GP's First Accessible Taxi Launched Today!

This afternoon I'll be at City Hall for a very special event as Grande Prairie's first wheelchair accessible taxi is launched. I've volunteered on the board of the Disabled Transportation Society for the last few years and serving there has really opened my eyes to the different ways you have to plan your life if you are in a chair. One of the goals we set out was to help our clients and members by exploring options for round the clock service.

Right now DTS can only afford to operate between certain hours. So that means if you wanted to go out to a late movie (or even a late Storm hockey game) you might not be able to get home because the DTS buses stopped operating at 10:30! Also because of the demand clients have to book trips DTS in advance. So, what happens if a visiting friend surprises you with a call asking you out for coffee? Sorry, if you haven't booked your ride with DTS 24 hours in advance we probably can't fit you in.

This new taxi should help solve those kind of things and really improve the quality of life for folks in wheelchairs. Yellow cabs will operate the taxi while it is still owned by DTS which I think is a good arrangement.

I've been working on this since council originally approved the grant a few years ago before I got on the board and I'm happy to see it finally all fall into place.

The city's news release is below:

"Partnership Paves Way For Wheelchair Accessible Taxi

The City of Grande Prairie and the Disabled Transportation Society (DTS) have partnered to provide the community with its first-ever wheelchair accessible taxi.

At a ceremony today, the new unit, a Chevrolet Uplander, operated by Yellow Cab in a lease arrangement, was unveiled at City Hall.

“We are proud to invest in this initiative to ensure a group of our citizens can participate more fully in the community,” says Mayor Dwight Logan. “I commend everyone involved for working hard to see this initiative through to fruition.”

The $50,000 taxi was purchased with the support of a $20,000 grant from the City of Grande Prairie and DTS contributing the $30,000 balance from their own funds.

“This initiative is an important step forward for accessibility,” says John Minue, present of the DTS. “Today’s launch has been more than three years in the making and we’ve overcome several challenges along the way. This is an exciting day.”

DTS and Grande Prairie Transit, the only providers of public wheelchair accessible transportation, have limited hours of operation, from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and have limited availability, notes Minue. “The wheelchair accessible taxi will be in service around the clock every day,” he says.

DTS’s door-to-door service requires 24-48 hours advance booking on a first-come, first-served basis. Difficulty in accessing bus stops in winter, restricted transit hours and fixed routes have also meant gaps in service, notes Minue.

The new unit will address a myriad of needs, says Minue. These range from early morning flights, late-evening social events, after-hours trips to and from the hospital, and as an option when the DTS is already booked.

Percy Sekora, Yellow Cab owner, has offered to donate 10 per cent of the profits from the unit to the Society. “I am thrilled to partner in this initiative,” he says. “I am pleased to help fill gaps in service for residents who deserve the opportunity to enjoy social activities or get to appointments readily like able-bodied citizens.”

The new taxi can transport those in wheelchairs and regular passengers. Those wishing to utilize the taxi can make arrangements through Yellow Cabs' regular dispatch at 780-539-3366."

Ecolobus - Electric Transit Bus

The first day I was in Quebec City I saw the Ecolobus. It wasn't until the second last day of the conference that I was able to actually track one down for a ride!

Quebec City transit has recently started running these little guys around the downtown core. How recently? - the one I was in only had 648km on it! According to the city transit website ( french / english translation) they can run approximately 100km per charge so mine had only been in service for about a week.

The driver figured they cost the city about $400 000 by the time they were shipped to Canada and had heaters installed. I spoke to a Quebec City council member on Sunday and he confirmed that the price was about that. They have tested them in the winter and didn't see any problems.

After a little sleuthing on the web I found the Italian manufacturer's website . They suggest that the bus can handle up to 31 passengers at a time (some standing and some sitting).

During a conference break I had a chance to sit down with Jeremy and Ted from Medicine Hat. They were pretty interested in the ecolobus too so maybe there's an opportunity for GP and Med Hat (and others in the province) to get together and make a bulk purchase. I would like to see our transit department contact the other mid-sized cities in Alberta and see if we can get something going.

The smaller size even makes good sense for growing communities like GP. One of the challenges we face with Transit is that we have new neighbourhoods where the road network isn't fully built, making it tough to find a good route for a big bus. We also have areas where there isn't quite the density to demand a large bus, yet. Smaller buses (no matter what they run on) might be the answer.

So, what do you think; should GP invest in some, money saving, clean running buses?

FCM 2008, Day One - Making Transit Work in Smaller Communities

I think Lorne Radbourne and I were the only ones from GP to sit in on this session. Other GP delegates may have taken in another one on a different topic but considering the City is working on a Transit Master Plan review I thought this was pretty timely.

From the conference program:

Making Transit Work in Smaller Communities
Room: 200 A

Moderator: Councillor Louise Poirier, City of Gatineau, Que., board and executive member of Canadian Urban Transit Association

Speakers: Huguette Dallaire, Director General, Société de transport de Sherbrooke; Dennis Fletcher, Director,Transit Solutions, ENTRA Consultants; Steve New, Senior Vice President, BC Transit.

FCM’s National Transit Strategy, released in March 2007, called on all three orders of government to develop a coordinated
approach to funding and supporting public transit. Part of this strategy called on provinces and territories, working with municipalities and supported by the federal government, to develop separate and appropriately designed and targeted policies
and programs to fund and support transit systems in smaller communities.What are the unique challenges facing transit in smaller communities?What is required from planners, transit operators, funding providers, and residents and businesses? This seminar will explore these questions, guided by municipal practitioners and public transit experts.



Huguette Dallaire the Director General of Society de Transport de Sherbrooke (STS) presented on the Sherbrooke experience.

Sherbrooke has a population of 150 000 residents, 25 000 of whom are students! (wow, that's a lot but in terms of transit that's a plum user group to target) The STS has a $26M budget per year with a mixed fleet including 79 buses and 10 adapted mini buses. The city is relatively low density, there is lots of parking and public had a low perception of transit, and high car useage.

When they conducted a survey looking at transit they found that bus routes were too long, schedules didn't seem to bare any relation to people's work or school schedules and so it was no surprise that there was a 11% decrease in ridership between 1991 and 2003.

Since then Sherbrooke STS worked to become an "Urban Mobility Manager". They have an integrated school transportation system. (We are just now working with the school boards to do the same thing in Grande Prairie) STS identified that it's service must be; Accessible, Speedy, Reliable, Frequent and Comfortable.

They then looked to develop specific "target client groups" using both B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) approaches and then focusing their efforts on the largest target groups with in those sectors. (Hmmmm, maybe those 25, 000 students?)

Speaking of students, the University of Sherbrooke stepped up and committed to paying the full transit costs for it's 14 000 students at a cost of $1.2m yearly. This led to a 125% increase in ridership for that target group in a single year. The local colleges also came on board but there the students paid for transit directly through registration fees at a cost of $50/term.

As for major employers, the STS worked with the hospital which now pays 40% of the transit costs for their 4000 employees.

And finally STS developed "Communal Bus" lines specifically targeted at seniors. The communal lines are served by mini-buses focused on stops that have special interest to seniors and provide shorter walking distance to stops (100m vs 400m).

For their efforts between 2003 to 2007 Sherbrooke saw a 16% increase in ridership.


Dennis Fletcher from Transit Solutions, provided some great examples of ideas that are working in smaller communities...

Rimouski, Quebéc has a "Taxibus" service which is a demand/response or zone bus systems that operates on a fixed schedule but not fixed route. It's operated through a partnership with local taxi companies. You call the number and a dispatcher arranges your ride which you share may share with other people who can be picked up and dropped off during your ride. in 2004 the municipal contribution to this service was $180 000.

PEI, is developing a Commuter Connector system that acts as a trunk line between municipalities with Community Connectors in small municipalities that operate off the trunk system.

Halifax has instituted a rural express service and developed a Community Planning guide for small communities within the regional municipality. The guide enables the smaller communities to plan their development to integrate with the larger system.

Dennis suggests that the keys to effective transit systems are; Imaginative Ideas, a Local Champion, Community Support and finally Stamina.

Commuter Challenge

I posted a couple short notes about the Sustainable Transportation workshop I attended a little while ago (here and here). I still have to go through my notes and do a more detailed post on all the great ideas and information from the day but is hasn't taken long for city staff pick up on some of the simple ideas and put them into action here.

I just received this email from Robert Carroll who was at the workshop...

"Commuter Challenge is a national program that encourages Canadians to walk, cycle, take Grande Prairie Transit or car pool instead of driving alone to work.

The Challenge supports workplaces as they encourage their employees to leave their cars at home for their personal health, the health of their communities and the health of the environment. Individual Canadians can participate too.

The program is based on a friendly competition between workplaces and communities across Canada to see which has the highest percentage participation rates during the week.

By registering participation online, Canadians are able to see the results of their healthier commutes with respect to greenhouse gases reductions calculated by taking into account kilometers not traveled and leaving your car at home.

Employees of the City of Grande Prairie and Council  Members are encouraged to take up the Commuter Challenge for the week of June 1 – 7, which is also National Environment Week.

Promotional information will be available at all City facilities shortly and Supervisor's should promote the Challenge and may want to offer some incentives to encourage their employee's to take up the Challenge!

Finding other more sustainable and economical means of getting to and from work makes even more sense now with the ever rising price of fuel.

All those who participate in the Challenge will be eligible for some fantastic prizes. The more days you participate, the more spectacular the prize!
All information will be entered into the Commuter Challenge database to compete for National prizes.

Check out the website at www.commuterchallenge.ca"

I think the challenge is a great idea, why not try something a little different for a couple of days? There is a pretty clear relationship between employee fitness/health and productivity so encouraging walking or cycling to work should pay dividends for employers. Hopefully more GP companies decide to take up the challenge.

And, if your employer isn't into it there is nothing that says you can't do it on your own! After all you'll be the one who feels better from a little exercise (if you choose to walk or bike) and saves money on gas!

Looking for Input on Transit

As part of our efforts to improve public transportation the City is running a survey to hear your point of view!

Council agreed with me during the budget discussion that the service needs to be expanded - we included purchasing new busses in the 2008 - 2010 budget.

Now we are looking to you the help plan the service. Tell us what you think!

News Release
February 20, 2008

Transit Survey Drives Master Plan

Grande Prairians can have their say on the future of transit service in the community.

A survey on the City's website, cityofgp.com, allows transit users and non-customers to provide input, which will be key to finalizing the Transit Master Plan, due for completion by mid-year. Residents are asked to complete the survey by Feb. 29.

GP Transit is working with iTrans Consulting Inc., of Richmond Hill, ON, on the Master Plan, which will address existing and potential new routes, environmental issues, bus replacement schedule, staffing levels, bus shelter placement, and possible transfer terminal sites.

"This survey is part of a comprehensive study we are doing leading up to the Master Plan being finalized," says Audra McKinley, Acting Transit Co-ordinator.

"We have been working on its development since last September and the information from this survey will be very important as it gives participants the opportunity to drive the Master Plan and have a say in future growth in the system.

"We want to know what existing riders like about the service and what they would like to see improved. We also want non-users to tell us why they don't use the service and what would encourage them to do so."

On the online survey, existing users are asked to provide information on how far they need to walk from home to the nearest bus stop, the three main reasons they use GP Transit, and the four improvements that would encourage them to use bus service more frequently.

Non-customers are asked to cite their most frequent mode of transportation, the four main reasons they don't use GP Transit, how close the nearest bus stop is to their home, and what features would encourage them to use the service.

All respondents are asked to comment on the current $2 fare and to indicate their agreement or disagreement with a series of statements. Survey participants are also requested to cite the three most important destinations for transit service and to provide some demographic information.

Respondents can also include commentary on overall service improvements.

Results will be combined with data collected by staff and the outcome of an on-board survey conducted last fall, which indicated passengers are happy overall with the service.

Participants in that survey asked for scheduling improvements, longer hours and an expansion of service areas.

The Transit Master Plan was last updated in 2004. Information quickly became outdated with rapid growth in the City. The new plan will provide direction on expanding service as Grande Prairie arrives at new population levels.

Information from the Integrated Student Transportation Plan, being developed in partnership with the Public and Catholic school systems, will feed into the City's plan.

Four new buses are being introduced in 2008. Two of these will be replacements and two will be new, allowing for additional routes to be developed.

Media enquiries may be directed to:
Audra McKinley
Acting Transit Co-ordinator
780-538-0487
amckinley@cityofgp.com

Budget Sessions- Day One

Today was day one of budget discussions, where council reviews the city's capital and operational budgets for the next three years. It's a big job, this year we have five full days dedicated to going over the plans and recommendations that administration has developed in their business plans. All the meetings are at the Sandman hotel down town, and the public is welcome to come and observe - although, I don't ever remember anyone coming who wasn't media or lobbying council for something specific.

BUT, you are welcome - we have chairs set up for you!

As I'm writing this It's getting a little late (I need to get to bed soon so I can be fresh for day two) so I'm just going to cover some of the highlights:

• Budget is broken into two parts, Capital (Buildings, Roads, Bridges and Vehicles we by for example) and Operational (Staff Salaries, Programs, and Vehicles we'd lease). Today was the first look at capital with operational to come next week.

• The years covered are 2008 - 2010 and over those three years the projected capital spending is $175 Million dollars!

• Funding for most of this comes from Taxes, Debt, Grants and different Reserves (pots of money, almost like a savings account, that are set aside for specific things).

• Some items are in the plan but are Unfunded - basically they are on the "to do list" but unless someone speaks up for them there isn't any money to do them and in my experience they never end up happening.

We go through the projects with a short description from the director of that service area. If a council member would like to change the status of a project, to fund it, remove it or change when it happens, we "red flag" it and come back to discuss and debate them later. The idea is that we can go through the whole list getting the ones that no one has a problem with out of the way first. Those that need a second look, positive or negative, are discussed after.

Below are some of the items I flagged today. With all of these I am hoping we can do them sooner, or save them from that unfunded/never gonna happen category:

• New buses to expand the Transit Fleet, improved bus stops and shelters and a transfer terminal.
• Twinning 116th Ave from Lakeland Drive to 92nd Street (north of Crystal Park School to the entrance of Crystal Lake Estates)
• Walking paths, (west side of 102 Street from 117 Ave to 120 Ave and 108 Street from 116th Ave to Royal Oaks
• Coca-Cola Centre upgrade, to add a viewing area in the 3rd level. (This is a big unused space looking on to both ice surfaces that could be earning money from rentals)
• Fixing the Leisure Centre Tennis Courts
• New Park space for the Morgan Meadows area

So tomorrow we'll go through these and all the other flagged items (there are lots) and we'll debate what should make the final cut.

Transit Questions

You might have noticed I'm on FaceBook . More and more I'm getting to see it as an invaluable new tool for communicating with people. I started up a group in support of my campaign and to get feedback from residents on what they feel are the important issues facing Grande Prairie. So far the group has over 300 members and there are twelve threads active on the discussion board, which I think is great!


On of the threads was focused on transit service in the city and it started off with this post from Bruce Hawryluk:

Posted By Bruce Hawryluk - "My concern is how inconvenient the public transit system in the city is. I am going back to college this fall, and I can see GPRC from my house in Pinnacle Ridge, but to use the city system I have to walk almost a kilometer, and then it is almost an hour ride to the college. I can't really bike becaue then I'd be going down Wapiti Road at 8 am and that would be suicide. Come winter it will be hard to walk because there is no trails at all down Wapiti Road. The trail that does leave Pinnacle Ridge mysteriously dead ends into a swamp just outside the gates. It is very hard to do anything but drive to the college, and while trying to keep gas costs and carbon footprint down, I am finding the current transit system to be no help. I think that it needs a large overhauI. I see no need for everything to go down to the Town Centre mall still, as nothing actually happens there. If the city would come up with a better master plan we might see more than 2 people on a bus at one time."

My response to Bruce....

Posted by Bill Given - "Bruce you are exactly right - the whole thing needs to be improved and there needs to be a better plan. Thats exactly why we are doing a total rewrite.

There's a [news] report on it here

One of the cool things is that we are working with the school boards to see if we might be able to integrate the school system with the city transit system and improve things for everyone."

How's that for direct access to your elected representative?

In addition to my support for the transit master plan rewrite and implementing the recommendations that will come from it I'm also in support of using bio-diesel in the city's fleet. Other municipalities are having success with this technology and I think it's something we should implement here as well.