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201117 Transit MINThe Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg Tillsonburg Transit Advisory Committee Meeting November 17, 2020 10:00 a.m. Hybrid Meeting- Council Chambers, 200 Broadway, Suite 204 & Electronic Meeting MINUTES Present: Sherry Hamilton, Lynn Temoin, Kathryn Leatherland, Councillor Luciani Staff: Alex Piggott, Transit Coordinator; Laura Pickersgill, Legislative Services Coordinator Guest: Colleen Pepper, Marketing & Communications Officer Regrets: Cindy Allen and Stephanie Ellens-Clark 1.Call to Order The meeting was called to order 10:01 a.m. 2.Adoption of Agenda Resolution #1 Moved by: Councillor Luciani Seconded by: Kathryn LeatherlandTHAT the Agenda as prepared for the Tillsonburg Transit Advisory Committeemeeting of November 17, 2020, be adopted.Carried 3.Adoption of Previous Minutes Resolution #2Moved by: Lynn Temoin Seconded by: Councillor LucianiTHAT the Minutes as prepared for the Tillsonburg Transit Advisory Committee meeting of October 6, 2020, be adopted.Carried 4.Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest declared. 5.General Business & Reports6.1 Additional Stops on Route Report- Alex Piggott Alex noted that these additional stops will not have an impact on the timing of the route and that other stops will not be removed to accommodate these new stops. It was suggested that these additional stops will allow users to not have to walk as far to access the service. It was noted that there is a mixed reference in the report to Tillson Street versus Tillson Ave in the report. 6.2 Bus Decals Report- Alex Piggott There had been previous concerns noted with visibility of the bus being transit available to the general public. There is space on the bus to sell advertising space to be able to cover the costs of bus decals. The Christmas bus decals coming out shortly will increase the visibility of the bus. There was an issue with a decal supplier due to the temporary closure of the supplier’s business. 6.3 Bus Stop 24, Simcoe and Tillson Report- Alex Piggott Alex noted that bus stop 24 is in the process of being moved further east so that it becomes a safer stop. 6.4 Bus Stop Performance & Ridership- Alex Piggott Alex provided an overview of statistics of current ridership. Staff are suggesting that statistics continue to be monitored until there is more data available to make more improvements to the bus stop performance and increase ridership. It was noted that stop 19B is getting less use then with the previous provider. It was suggested that if nobody is using this stop then it could save time from driving all of the way out there. This item will be brought forward to a future agenda. It was suggested that staff could reach out to the businesses to determine if there is still a need to have this stop and determine if these businesses are working fully (pre-COVID limits). The Multi-Service Centre has also seen a decline in individuals working right now due to the pandemic but hopefully employment levels will increase again once the pandemic is resolved. 6.5 Bus Signs Report- Alex Piggott Alex provided an example of a larger sign mock up and compared it to the size of the existing, smaller bus sign. Alex noted the sheeting material of the signs has improved on the mock up version as well that this will improve visibility of the signs. It was noted that the largest signs are used in rural areas (higher speed areas) and the smaller signs are used in urban areas. It was suggested that the newer sign be used going forward when the signs are replaced. It was suggested that the contact phone number be enlarged on the sign for easier reading. It was suggested that removing “for assistance” would allow to make the phone number and website larger print. It was noted that having this information available on the signs will give riders contact information to review in the case that a route is delayed due to weather reasons, for example. 6.6 T:GO Marketing & Communications Report- Alex Piggott & Colleen Pepper Alex provided an overview of the marketing and communications plan for the transit service. It was noted that messaging has been difficult right now as the public is being encouraged to follow social distancing measures whereas this does not typically match the messaging for transit services. Alex noted that messaging attempts to drive individuals to the Town’s dedicated webpage for more information. There is social media messaging, Google advertisements and a website included as tools for marketing and communicating the service. It was suggested that it is challenging to get the messaging to the people and then get them to actually use the service following retrieval of the messaging. Colleen noted it is important to determine who your audience is to target the marketing towards. It is important to know who should be riding and why they should be riding and why they are not using the service. Colleen suggested that being more targeted with messaging is important. For example, if people are not riding because of COVID then you should target messaging around what COVID protocols are in safe. It was suggested that getting feedback from people as to what is challenging could be important in improving the overall service to increase the ridership. It is important to determine what reasons people are using the bus for Alex noted that a customer service survey has been delayed but it would be important to get the survey out soon to be able to take constructive criticism from the results to tailor the service to make it more useful for residents. It was suggested that greater promotion of the Christmas bus would be helpful. It was suggested that a list of retailers selling tickets could be useful to people. It was noted that transit information is provided in new homeowner packages from the Town office as Welcome Wagon no longer operates locally. It was suggested that the service could be advertised in the Tourism Oxford brochure at a minimal cost if that is something the group is interested in. Colleen Pepper left the meeting at 10:59 a.m. 6.7 Norfolk Mall Bus Stop Report- Alex Piggott Alex noted that the Norfolk Mall Bus Stop is being moved under the vestibule at Zehrs. Alex still needs to contact the property owner and store manager to get the steps finalized. It was asked if there was any consideration to having the bus stop on Broadway near Sobeys moved under the vestibule of Sobeys umbrella. Alex noted this could potentially be a possibility. It was noted that an agreement would need to be developed for the bus to enter the private property and allow this to happen. 6.8 Potential Route Improvements Report- Alex Piggott It was suggested that this issue has been partially addressed by using the new service provider and getting more detailed statistics from there. It was noted that the service provider could add an additional five minutes of service since the bus is typically early every hour. Alex suggested that a stop be put in at the library so that users could catch the bus riding south rather than riders having to get on and ride the entire route for half an hour longer. Other members agreed with this suggestion. It was suggested that an addition in the northeast quadrant be held off until more data is available. Alex suggested that before any major changes are made it would be good to put the new provider through the winter to determine if the service gets too delayed or not with winter weather. It was suggested that the route come out from stop 5 and run up to the top end of North Street and circle back to make the turn onto Fourth Street versus running the route through Kara Lane. Beckett Boulevard could also be used as a potential street to make the circle back. This would allow for only one left hand turn. This stop could encompass the northeast quadrant well. It was suggested that incorporation of the trails be considered when developing a new stop. It was suggested that the parking lot where the trail head is could be used but it would need to be maintained well in the winter. A safety concern in relation to utilizing the parking lot turnaround was disccused. The driver would have to avoid parked carks and pedestrian traffic while turning around. Options for not having to turn south were reviewed as a southbound turn is not preferrable. Alex will look into further options on this and report back at a future meeting. 6.9 Ridership Statistics Alex provided an overview of the ridership statistics. 6.10 Vacant Seat Update- Laura Pickersgill Laura provided an overview of the vacant seat on the Committee. It was noted that a recommendation will be going to Council in December to fill the vacant seat on the Committee. 6.Round Table 7.Next Meeting Resolution #3Moved by: Lynn Temoin Seconded by: Kathryn LeatherlandTHAT the Tillsonburg Transit Advisory Committee amends their meeting schedule to meet every other month on the third Tuesday of the month at10:00 a.m. or more frequently as needed. Carried Tuesday, January 19, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. 8.Adjournment Resolution #4Moved by: Lynn Temoin Seconded by: Councillor Luciani THAT the November 17, 2020 Tillsonburg Transit Advisory Committee meeting be adjourned at 11:41 a.m. Carried