secondary, local, inter-regional, On-Demand service areas and maintaining 3 existing routes; Tunnel Bus, LaSalle 25, Leamington 42, two of which are contract-based. OnDemand transit service is an emerging form of mobility where service can be provided to areas where needs are infrequent yet vital to those areas and passengers, or as a way to begin new service and build ridership until the demands support conventional transit. Technology is used to optimize vehicles to service those areas when service is requested by the customer via an app on a mobile device or by calling into the system. Users set their pick-up and drop off location based on designed service criteria. This type of service can reduce operating costs for the transit agency while offering a high level of service when needed in these areas. There are a variety of forms that OnDemand can be used and this will be identified in a smart mobility study in the first two years of the plan. This new route network is a more passenger focused network that connects all areas of the city to each other as well as increase service hours.
In order to prepare for the implementation of the Plan, various steps have been taken and recommendations proposed for capital and operating resources. The total projected Operating Costs identified in the Plan for years 1-5 have been outlined in Attachment A. It should be noted that these estimates will fluctuate depending on unknown factors (e.g. increase in salaries and wages; increases in fuel costs, etc.). It should also be noted that ridership revenue and Gas Tax revenue will increase as a result of the proposed increased service. These have not been included in the cost estimates in Attachment A. The projected Capital Costs identified in the Plan for years 1-5 have been outlined in Attachment B.
Administration identified initial needs to position Transit Windsor to implement the plan for year 1 (2021), with Transit Windsor's Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) Intake #1 submission. Within ICIP, which consists of multiple intakes over the next 8 years, where the provincial and federal governments provide 73.33% of funding towards projects which increase the modal share, Transit Windsor submitted a number of projects; an order of 19 buses (3 of which are for growth from 2019 service enhancements), bus stop amenities project for items such as shelters and concrete landing pads to bring up accessibility standards of bus stops, scheduling software to create efficiencies in the system and prepare for implementation of new routes as well as integration of information between current technology systems such as the farebox and ITS systems, (the details on ICIP Intake #1 are outlined in Attachment C. The municipal funding portion for this ICIP intake #1 was $5,672,129 which has been funded in the current capital plan. Administration is waiting for final approval from the federal and provincial governments on these projects prior to moving forward with them. This was approved in council report C79/2019, through council resolution number CR248/2019. These projects will assist Transit Windsor in getting a head start on implementation for year 1. Attachment D outlines future capital projects identified in the Transit Master Plan. Transit Windsor considers these projects as priorities for ICIP Intake #2 and future ICIP Intakes. A separate report to Council will be prepared when future ICIP intakes are announced.
The 2020 operating budget request has items such as increased hours for Sunday service which currently is poor and one of the most common complaints heard during public consultation. This will allow us to improve Sunday service with increased frequencies and later hours and will immediately assist in transitioning our service