BusRider

50 sign petition against proposed bus stop removal By: Jillian Austin Posted: 06/10/2017 3:00 AM Brandon Transit’s proposed route revamp is not sitting well with a group of Douglas Street residents. Blaine Kachur submitted a petition this week, which garnered 50 signatures from people living on the 600 block of Douglas Street. The residents are asking the city to keep the bus stop that is located steps away from their apartment blocks. "I have a physical disability," Kachur said. "I have a rare form of arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis). I swear, after walking a block I’m looking for somewhere to sit down, on a good day. So in the winter time, it’s going to be a chore." Kachur’s condition results in very limited mobility and chronic pain. He said one of the main reasons he moved to the apartment two years ago was its proximity to a bus stop. He noted that many of his neighbours are also in a similar situation. "There are other people here with physical disabilities even worse than mine, plus there’s a lot of people here with mental disabilities and low-income families, with some single mothers as well," he said. "It is a big issue for the people living here." The new and improved network follows an extensive review and research period, dating back to 2014. The city has outgrown the existing network which was implemented in 2002, according to transit officials. In the proposed route structure, the Douglas Street stop is removed, with the closest being about two blocks away, on Victoria Avenue. The city’s goal is to ensure that routes fall within the industry standard of providing access to a bus route within 400 metres (four blocks) of most residences, major employment areas, public services, facilities and schools. Carla Richardson, the city’s director of transportation, said the proposed stop is located 350 metres away. Richardson said the city is taking the feedback into consideration, and will analyze potential options for this particular area. They may end up adjusting this route to include Douglas Street, "if it made good, efficient, cost-effective sense." "We’re going to make some decisions over the next week to see what we can do to accommodate the public’s feedback," she said. In terms of Brandon Transit’s coverage area, the proposed new route network is very similar to what is currently offered. All routes would see some degree of change, but no changes would be made to current service hours — Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to midnight, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays/holidays. Approximately 25 people came out to a public consultation on Thursday. Some residents expressed concern about the proposed elimination of the two circular routes (Route 20 and 21). Others were questioning the plan the remove service along Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue. Transit manager Courtney Brister said the circular routes were very inefficient to run, and they will redesignate resources to provide "the same coverage, but in a more cost-effective way." As for Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue, the reason for the removal is "extremely low ridership." For any riders in that area, Brandon Transit is planning to offer the option of a shuttle service, co-ordinated by the transit dispatcher. A taxi would pick up a passenger at their home, and take them to a bus stop on Braecrest Drive either at 18th Street or Knowlton Drive. "There are routes that are extremely costly for the taxpayer, and … now that we have all the data, we cannot continue to operate the way we are now," Richardson said. "We’ve done months and months of analysis and we know where our low spots are, we know which routes are the most costly and we have got to fix that in order to be more cost efficient, and we’re committed to that goal." The public is encouraged to submit any questions or concerns about the proposed plan before June 30. This can be done via emailing transit@brandon.ca, calling 204-729-2279 or online at brandontransit.ca. "We are also offering to make presentations to businesses or organizations with a high number of transit users," Brister said.If there is enough demand from residents along Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue, Brandon Transit will host an information session. The target start date for the new routes is at the beginning of August. » jaustin@brandonsun.com » Twitter: @jillianaustin I don't see anything wrong with adding the Douglas stop back in. The route serving that area is basically a very shortened 6 Victoria East, it should have plenty of time to make it though that extra loop.

Brandon Transit eyes new route network FILE Enlarge Image Brandon Transit buses sit at the downtown terminal earlier this spring. Brandon Transit is proposing a new and improved route network, including a new route for the south end. To keep up with the city’s growth and increasing ridership, Brandon Transit is proposing a new and improved route network. One of the more significant additions is a new route in the south end. "It’s a 30-minute route in the south end of the city, just to feed into the Shoppers Mall, so riders don’t have to go all the way downtown," said transit manager Courtney Brister. "We were kind of looking at the potential growth and the development that’s happening in the south end, and we wanted something that can grow with the city as well." The new transit structure calls for the elimination of two underused routes — the city circulars, Routes 20 and 21. "They’re very inefficient to run," Brister said. "We had about four buses on the road throughout the day and there just wasn’t the ridership to justify those expenses." Resources for that route structure would be redesignated to different areas, to provide "the same coverage, but in a more cost-effective way." The proposed plan follows an extensive review and research period, which dates back to 2014. All routes would see some degree of change, but no changes would be made to current service hours — Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to midnight, and Sundays/holidays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The existing route network was implemented in 2002 as a "hub-and-spoke" model that was designed to provide a transfer point to downtown Brandon every 30 minutes. "Obviously the city’s grown quite a bit in that amount of time, there’s a lot more vehicles on the road, there’s a lot more people and we just kind of outgrew the system that we currently had," Brister said. Bus operators now struggle to meet the 30-minute timeline, which can cause delays or missed buses. "So we just wanted to make something a little bit more cost-effective, more efficient, more dependable, more reliable," Brister said. According to figures provided by Brandon Transit, there are just over 19,500 riders per week. Overall, numbers for the entire year typically sit around one million riders. The most popular routes are Victoria East and Richmond West. In terms of Brandon Transit’s coverage area, Brister said the proposed new route network is "very similar" to what is currently offered. The goal is to ensure that routes fall within the industry standard of providing access to a bus route within 400 metres (four blocks) of most residences, major employment areas, public services, facilities and schools. Bus service along Braecrest Drive and McDonald Avenue is proposed for removal due to "extremely low ridership." According to a letter mailed to customers in the Braecrest Drive area, on average there are only 13.6 riders on a typical weekday on the stretch between 18th Street North and Knowlton Drive. The daily average is even lower on Saturdays (7.2) and Sundays/holidays (4.1). The letter, signed by Brister, states that the most efficient option to transport such a small number of riders is by using a cab service as a feeder to the main transportation system. "This means that you will have the option to use a shuttle service provided by the cab company that is co-ordinated by the transit dispatcher," states the letter. A taxi would pick up a passenger at their home, and take them to a bus stop on Braecrest Drive either at 18th Street or Knowlton Drive. "As long as your trip is co-ordinated through our office, it will be direct billed to Brandon Transit, meaning it will be available to transit customers at no cost," states the letter. For those in the area of Stickney Avenue and MacDonald Avenue in the north end, the proposed plan calls for half-hour service between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The current system only provides half-hour service until 2 p.m. "If anybody has any comments because of the Eighth Street bridge closing and their transportation needs, that they get ahold of us," Brister said. "We haven’t really heard too much from the public about that yet, so we would love if they contacted us and told us what their needs are." Brandon Transit is seeking feedback on the proposed plan. Public consultations will be held May 31 and June 8. Both evening events will begin at 7:15 p.m. in the Cultural Resource Centre at the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex (enter via Princess Avenue, north door). A detailed description of the proposed plan can be found by visiting brandontransit.ca, which also includes a video presentation. Pamphlets are also available directly to transit users on buses or at the Brandon Transit Info Centre at Eighth Street and Rosser Avenue. Following the public consultation process, Brandon Transit officials anticipate implementation of the new route structure in August. » jaustin@brandonsun.com » Twitter:@jillianaustin Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 27, 2017

The route network redesign I've been talking about for years has FINALLY seen the light of day. http://brandontransit.ca/routes-schedules/route-changes It'll be interesting to see how Route 16 meets with all of the other routes. Service to the south end seems waaaaay more direct than it used to be, and I like how 1st, 18th and Victoria all have routes that go straight down them. Although it's interesting that Waverly Park continues to not have service along with Brookwood, but there is new service on Portola. Looks like Brandon will also have a "16 Island Lakes" route.

Might be to replace 49 and 50? Interesting stuff going on, still waiting to see what the route redesigns look like... apparently still in the works.

Nice find! Suppose they may have bought it. Makes sense that they're going used again.

Buses in FRG have to be parked bumper to bumper with really zero space between them. The designated walkways are probably less than a two feet wide at most, so bike racks kinda mess that up. They're kinda stuck for space.

Perhaps the 84/86 could originate from Windermere and head south onto Pembina then west on McGillivray. Then once at Kenaston Common, one could head north through Linden Woods (with potential for timed connections with either 78) and onto Ikea/Seasons of Tuxedo and the other could go south into Bridgwater. Then the 94 could stick to Chevrier or even Clarence then into Whyte Ridge.

I noticed construction crews set up in the middle SB lane of Pembina Highway at the Jubilee Overpass. Perhaps related to the renewal of that entire area?

Orange is a rare sight in Winnipeg now. Only a few of the D30LF's sport it now.

Different transit way route numbers, no 170. Didn't see a bulletin about it at all and the main map is different from the main map.

So... who wants to explain this map to me?

Paid a visit to Brandon over the weekend. A very bare bones service was running today due to the snowstorm. 65 was still by the pumps with plates.

Likely just tosses them.