Updated numbers are in from the Inter-Community Transit bus service. The Municipality received a $1.45M grant from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario to support this service which connects Sarnia, Strathroy, Mount Brydges and London and launched August 4th, 2020. From the service’s start to July of this year, there were 2523 total trips and the total fare revenue over that time period was $38,995. A report to Council Monday said ridership obviously dropped significantly from December 2020 through to April 2021 due to pandemic lockdowns but since then, has steadily increased. Moving forward, the Municipal Economic Development department reported that Digital Fare Procurement and Bus Shelters will be the two primary focus items for the next 6 months. In June, the province announced an extension to the Community Transportation Grant Program funding for 2023 to 2025 and Strathroy-Caradoc will receive an additional $821,215.12 over those two years.
REPORT SENT TO COUNCIL MONDAY……
The following is an overview of the key ridership data highlights from August 2020 up to and including July 2021.
2523 total trips, with 1394 Eastbound and 1129 Westbound.
973 trips for the afternoon run, 782 for the evening run and 768 for the morning run.
21% of trips taken on Fridays, followed by Thursday (16%), Wednesday (15%), Monday (14%), Tuesday (13%), and Saturday and Sunday both at (11%).
Most popular stop for embarking travelling westbound is Downtown London (956), followed by Strathroy (116), London Airport (35) and Mount Brydges (9).
Most popular stops for disembarking travelling westbound are Sarnia-Bayside (371), Sarnia-Lambton (342), Strathroy (322) and Mount Brydges (52).
Most popular stops for embarking travelling eastbound are Sarnia-Bayside (453), Sarnia-Lambton (428), Strathroy (366) and Mount Brydges (97).
Most popular stops for disembarking travelling eastbound are Downtown London (1142), Strathroy (126), London Airport (65) and Mount Brydges (38).
Average fare revenue per month is $3,250 and median is $3,425.
Best month so far has been July 2021 with 275 riders and $4,340 in fare revenue
The provincial grant requires Strathroy-Caradoc to re-evaluate the service every year and make changes based on ridership data and public feedback. It is no surprise that ridership dropped significantly from December 2020 through to April 2021 due to pandemic lockdowns. Since the gradual re-openings ridership has been steadily increasing. A preliminary analysis of the ridership data suggests there is fairly equal usage for the morning, afternoon and evening runs. There is also not a large difference between the number of riders using the service to travel east versus west. All anecdotal feedback from people calling into city hall has been positive with the rare caller offering suggestions for things to consider for the service going forward.
The following two items will be the primary focus for the next 6 months:
1) Digital Fare Procurement – The SCT group issued an RFI for a digital fare procurement technology provider. The group is currently in the process of setting up the agreement with an applicant that most SCT group members are deciding to go with as well. The goal is for the digital fare procurement system to be implemented by the end of 2021. This addition to the service has been budgeted within the Community Transportation (CT) Program grant allotment and will be fully covered by the provincial funding.
2) Bus Shelters – The Municipality has received feedback from riders that bus shelters and benches at the Strathroy and Mount Brydges stop locations should be considered. The roads department has been made aware of this initiative and will work with Economic Development to get shelters installed. The inter-community transit budget can fund four shelters as well as benches for the Strathroy and Mount Brydges stops and installation can be complete by late October 2021. These have been budgeted and will be fully covered by the provincial funding.