Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Canada

[#Metro]

 

The TTC is one of the best models for good PT service provision in North America.
I think with BCC buses, a lot could be adopted from the TTC.

Toronto Transit Commission - Service Standards and Decision Rules for Planning Transit Service ---> TTC_Service_Standards.pdf

Overnight bus service - 7 days per week

Overnight The TTC currently operates over 25 overnight bus routes. Similar to a local bus route, the overnight routes operate in mixed traffic on major arterials, minor arterials, and collector roads across the City of Toronto overnight. 

Transferring is actively designed into the network planning.

2.2.3 Network Connectivity Connections between surface routes and rapid transit lines will be maximized. This allows for faster service for long distance trips, and is more cost-effective for moving high volumes of customers. An integrated surface and rapid transit network maximizes travel choices, yet necessitates transfers for the majority of TTC customers. Therefore seamless connections between surface routes and rapid transit stations, and between surface routes on-street are essential. Seamless connections will be provided between services regardless of the transit provider.

When a diversion is suggestion, they do a BCA on it and see if there is a net gain.

2.2.4 Route Directness Surface routes will be planned so that they meet customers' travel needs as well as possible. Routes will be as direct as possible to minimize customer travel time. Diversions off a direct path will only occur where the benefit to customers of the diversion exceeds the inconvenience to all other customers.

BCC should definitely adopt this 'directness' TTC service standard. And the de-duplication standard too (Coronation Drive and Old Cleveland Road, I'm looking at you)

2.2.5 Duplication of Service In most cases, only one local route will operate on each major arterial roadway or on closely spaced parallel roadways (less than 800m) to make the best use of available resources.  When parallel routes operate closer together, they split the potential demand for service.

In areas and time periods of low demand, this can result in many routes competing for the same passengers and no route attracting enough demand to warrant higher frequency service.  It may be necessary in some cases; however, to duplicate service along major arterials where a) routes merge to feed a rapid transit station, b) routes are designed and function as branch services, or c) to achieve other system design objectives.

And they have a stop spacing policy. TL also has something like this, but in Brisbane I think there is still a lot of local/express stops that could potentially be merged.

2.4 Surface Stop Spacing  Surface stops should be designed in accordance with the TTC's Technical Criteria for the Placement of Transit Stops. When the locations of stops are being planned for a route, it is necessary to strike a balance between the competing objectives of passenger convenience, operating efficiency, safety and community impacts. In general, increasing the number of stops on a route results in shorter walking distances for passengers but it also slows down service. To achieve a proper balance, the TTC will place bus stops in accordance with the standard presented in Table 2.

And two financial performance hurdles for a route or changes to be approved. A network like BCC's legacy bus system could not exist in Toronto because routes are reviewed annually and the bottom 10% are put into mandatory review for change or deletion. It it doesn't perform - it gets removed.

4.2.1 Net Cost per Passenger In planning transit services it is important to have a measure that can compare the economic productivity of any given route in relation to other routes within a service classification or to the service classification average. Economic performance will be assessed based on the net cost per passenger.

Net cost per passenger = [Route Operating Cost – Average Fare per Boarding] /  Route Boardings

4.2.2 Change in Ridership per Net Dollar The TTC also measures return on investment through the change in ridership per net dollar metric. The goal of this measure is to ensure that service changes achieve better ridership results than would be achieved through fare changes

The TTC can estimate the change in ridership based on increases and decreases to fares. As seen in Table 6, a 10% reduction in fare will gain 12 new customers per $100 spent in lost revenue (or $100 in additional subsidy). An increase in fare will lose 12 customers per $100 saved in new revenue (or $100 in less subsidy).

All service changes (outside changes required for passenger comfort and schedule adherence) must do better than the threshold set by fare changes. Service increases must gain 12 or more new customers per $100 spent and service reductions must lose less than 12 customers per $100 saved to be worthwhile.

Reference
TTC https://ttc-cdn.azureedge.net/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/About-the-TTC/Projects-Landing-Page/Transit-Planning/TTC_Service_Standards.pdf?rev=ff04aeb1b61b4915bf9bf808c27f3886