Transit Asset Management Plan

Topic

Asset Management Plan

Adopted or Last Updated

2019

This Transit Asset Management Plan (PDF) outlines the state of Barrie's transit assets, provides a plan for delivering services into 2028, and recommends a financial strategy into 2041.

Barrie Transit provides an easy, affordable and environmentally friendly way to travel across the city. The Transit AMP sets the foundation for how the City can continue to provide services in a way that minimizes risk, is sustainable and makes the most financial sense.

While the majority of transit assets are in good or very good condition, asset management planning is needed to make sure that, as Barrie's population and transit ridership increases, we can continue to grow responsibly and improve our ability to get around.

Transit Assets

As of 2019, the City owns approximately $81.68 million of transit assets, which generally fall into four categories:

Fleet	48 conventional buses 15 specialized transit vehicles (mobility buses that offer increased accessibility) 2 “non-revenue" vehicles (to support daily operations)
Facilities	1 transit garage 1 transit terminal
On-street Infrastructure	739 active bus stops 77 shelters 170 benches
Supporting Technology	2 fare collection systems Transit bus counter system software Transit bus counter computer hardware

The State of our Transit Assets

As of 2019, the majority of the City's transit assets are in either good or very condition. This means the City has more time to plan for when our assets will need major maintenance or replacement. However, according to the Transit AMP, there are some areas of concern:

While the downtown transit terminal, built in 1993, is overall in fair condition, 28.3% of the terminal is in poor condition, with several larger components reaching the end of their service life.
There are a number of bus stops that don't meet accessibility requirements.

Proposed Levels of Service (LOS) Into 2028

Based on detailed a review of community and technical levels of service (LOS) and wider research, the Transit AMP proposes what type of service delivery can be offered into 2028.

Community (customer) LOS: a description of the services received by users.
Technical LOS: metrics measuring the capability of the City's assets.

* Specialized transit is a subscription-based service for individuals with disabilities that offers door-to-door transportation services; it is available by call-in request.
Service Measure	Current LOS	Proposed LOS (2019–2028)
Hours of Service	4:20am to 1:30am	Same as current LOS
Service Coverage	Map of current bus routes including express	Expand service to Secondary Plan Areas
Frequency of Service	30-minute frequency during peak; 60-minute during off-peak	Increase frequency during peak to every 20 minutes, and off-peak frequency to every 30 minutes
Specialized Transit*	Regular availability (same hours as conventional transit)	Same as current LOS
Passenger Loads	Buses typically see 27 boardings for a 40-foot bus in the AM peak hour (buses operate with available capacity)	Increase passenger loads to improve cost effectiveness of service and to justify improving frequency of service
Reliability	On Time Performance (OTP): 85% of buses arrive three minutes early to five minutes late	Increase OTP to 90%
Responsiveness to Breakdown	When a bus breaks down, there are typically 11 buses available to replace it (a spare ratio of 29.7%); the target is to dispatch a new bus within 15 minutes	Same as current LOS
Cleanliness & Comfort	Buses: 61% of customers satisfied or very satisfied with comfort and cleanliness Bus stops: 55% of customers satisfied or very satisfied with comfort and cleanliness	Increase customer satisfaction to 70%
Bus Trip Time	60% of customers satisfied or very satisfied with trip time	Increase customer satisfaction to 70%
Accessibility	54% of bus stops are accessible	Increase accessibility of bus stops to 100%

The Cost of Transit Management

Building on the targets of the City's Transportation Master Plan (2019), as well as the advised approach for proposed levels of service, lifecycle management, risk management, and investment and procurement strategies, the Transit AMP provides a feasible strategy for funding transit assets into 2041 and outlines the costs associated with that strategy.

Transit Asset Funding Forecasts (2019–2041)

Cost of Replacing Buses:	$6.04 M / year
Average Annual Investment in Additional Transit Fleet:	$4.60 M / year
Cost of Adding New “Non-Revenue" Vehicles:	$44 K / year
Development of Allandale Hub:	$9.7 million (in 2022)
Transforming the Downtown Terminal into a Mini-Hub	$300,000 (in 2022)
Expanding the City's Transit Garage:	$16.53 M (in 2026)
Constructing a New Transit Garage	$43.63 M (in 2032)
Lifecycle Costs of Transit Facilities:	$130 K / year
Adding New & Fixing/Replacing Existing On-Street Infrastructure and Technology:	$342 K / year
Annual Operating Costs (Overall):	$21.8 M in 2019, with annual costs increasing steadily to $72.8 M in 2041

Transit Asset Funding Strategies

The City's strategies for funding transit assets into the future include:

The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (Public Transit stream), a federal and provincial grant. This is partially funding the Allandale Transit Mobility Hub project.
Development charges, available for growth-related infrastructure projects.
The Tax Capital Reserve (a reserve of tax-based funding). The City must proactively increase the amounts being transferred to the capital reserve to properly fund transit into 2041. This can be done by increasing funding via the Dedicated Infrastructure Renewal Fund.

Frequently Asked Questions

Future opportunities for lifecycle management are broken down into several categories. These include:
Future opportunities for non-infrastructure solutions
- A bus stop streamlining study (including shelters)
- Operational Review Studies
- A Transit Master Plan
- An Asset Management Plan update
Future opportunities for renewal and rehabilitation activities
- Heated shelters
- “Next bus" displays at shelters
Future opportunities for replacement activities
- Review lifecycle economic analysis (could include rehabilitation to extend useful life)
- Monitor reliability of alternative fuel vehicles and consider when building new garage (if business case justifies doing so)
Future opportunities for disposal activities
- Consider repurposing facilities or selling them
To handle risk management, the Transit AMP suggests that risks must first be identified, then analyzed and evaluated, and then treated. Risk management approaches could include funding projects that address the highest risks first and/or ranking according to the biggest risk reduction per dollar.
During a workshop, key risks identified by Barrie Transit staff included the following:
- Perceived harassment at the workplace
- Passengers slipping in a shelter due to ice
- Vandalism at facility
- Power outages
During a workshop with Barrie Transit staff, the following potential climate change impacts were noted:
- The bigger hills in the community have been known to be icy and to experience slowdowns due to traffic accidents upstream of the bus.
- Salt on roads can cause vehicles to corrode and sun degrades the stickers on the outside of buses.
- There is increasing unpredictability of snow in November and June, which is outside the City's schedule for snow removal.
- Intense snow volumes have been known to slow down routes during and after winter storms and make it harder to clear snow from bus stops.
- Hot weather may negatively impact customers waiting outside without access to shade and shelters and would likely result on the increased use of air conditioning on buses.
- There is an increased risk of low-lying roads flooding.