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So here are the ridership numbers from On Demand-Urban Area: https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/Modules/News/index.aspx?newsId=ac422ac5-2f91-4072-ad85-46dccf182e33&feedId=fcda21e8-a0d7-4bbe-9955-c4e9163cc1fd

November 2020: 8,931 

December 2020: 8,288

So On Demand is available from:

05:00-24:00 Monday-Friday (19 hrs/day, 5 days)

07:00-24:00 Saturday (17 hrs)

07:00-22:00 Sunday (15 hrs)

Since the threshold for On Demand-Urban Area is 20 boardings/hr to introduce phase B. If my math is correct,

(20*19*5)+(20*17)+(20*15)

1900+340+300 = 2,540 boardings/week

And since a month is approximate 4 weeks, it will be in the range of 10,000-11,000 boardings/month minimum in order to reach the threshold. Please correct me if I'm wrong

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Hopefully phase 2 can start about April when the weather is better and more people are vacinated. As for phase three possibly around September when most people are vacinated and more people go back to transit?

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42 minutes ago, 110B West Pickering said:

Some time after implementation and until November 6th, that’s when they made it clear that because it will take way too long to reimplement service in the phased approach as OnDemand ridership has to reach 20bph in each area a route would serve, so they scrapped that, and are implementing routes as OnDemand zones start to reach that 20bph number.

Presently the only area that has experienced great amounts of demand has been Pickering and Courtice.

In west Pickering there are approximately 8bph and in Courtice, there’s approximately 5-6.

Methinks somebody in DRT management has ties with the taxi company running the OnDemand. They clearly don't want to reinstate the routes they cut.

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1 hour ago, 110B West Pickering said:

Some time after implementation and until November 6th, that’s when they made it clear that because it will take way too long to reimplement service in the phased approach as OnDemand ridership has to reach 20bph in each area a route would serve, so they scrapped that, and are implementing routes as OnDemand zones start to reach that 20bph number.

Presently the only area that has experienced great amounts of demand has been Pickering and Courtice.

In west Pickering there are approximately 8bph and in Courtice, there’s approximately 5-6.

Then why DRT didn't they just breakdown the OnDemand ridership numbers by zones rather than combined ridership? That's just misleading to the public imo. Is there any info on the OnDemand ridership numbers by zones?

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1 hour ago, Chris W said:

Methinks somebody in DRT management has ties with the taxi company running the OnDemand. They clearly don't want to reinstate the routes they cut.

That's not a good thing either. I can see cab drivers harassing passengers to take them to their destinations for more money. I have had that happened in Milton many times before they got kicked off of TransCab.

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2 hours ago, 2044 said:

I really dislike having to use a cab. Maybe a bit irrational, but I feel much safer on a bus with a few people than cooped up in a cab with the driver.

Not just a cab driver, but a ridesharing driver too! There are may be times in which I have to use a ridesharing service (excuse the collusion here) - during the cold winter months. In the summertime, I utilize my bicycle or even a pair of rollerblades/rollerskates!

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9 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

In west Pickering there are approximately 8bph and in Courtice, there’s approximately 5-6.

So if my math is correct, there was over 1,000 boardings per week in West Pickering and about 635-762 boardings per week in Courtice. I'm surprised there wasn't as much demand in most of Whitby OnDemand Zones Compared to these zones

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24 minutes ago, senzation#3 said:

So if my math is correct, there was over 1,000 boardings per week in West Pickering and about 635-762 boardings per week in Courtice. I'm surprised there wasn't as much demand in most of Whitby OnDemand Zones Compared to these zones

Hardly any advertising for it in Whitby 

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  • 2 weeks later...
41 minutes ago, Gamer Studios said:

Why is this bus active when its retired on CPTDB? @110B West Pickering
 

bandicam 2021-01-18 19-50-03-177.jpg

On CPTDB, the auction site lists it as retired https://web.archive.org/web/20201226040658/https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=85&acctid=7550

Two possible answers. Could have been put back into service which is unlikley or the tracker unit has been put on a different bus.

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ICAMI (In case anyone missed it), DRT is collaborating with Metrolinx on ironing out a solution for post-secondary students:

Although there's little information to share, I'm hoping that this will overcome the U-Pass issues that post-secondary students are very upset with ever since the pandemic. 

In other news, many DRT bus announcements now have a statement add that "Face coverings or masks are required".  For example: "Route 900 to Oshawa - Face coverings or masks are required" (or something like that). 

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15 minutes ago, 110B West Pickering said:

the other planned change is to operate the 200Z service to the Rouge Natural Urban Park and the Toronto Zoo from Ajax on weekends in the period from May to October, pending the Zoo is open.

Would that go via Finch and Meadowvale or Kingston, Sheppard and Meadowvale?

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32 minutes ago, 110B West Pickering said:

When it was announced in April last year it travelled from Ajax GO along Kingston to Sheppard, Meadowvale, Rouge Park Entrance and the Toronto Zoo Loop

Are they considering stopping at the Glen Rouge Campground on Kingston Rd?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/3/2021 at 8:04 PM, 110B West Pickering said:

The TEC agenda for Jan 6th is out, 

Notable things include: 

Simcoe Street Rapid Transit pilot essentially got kyboshed by IBI group,

In that report (produced by DRT) it made recconebdations to move the NB stop at Adelaide to the Far side of the intersection to speed up red light waits, avoid merging out of the right turn lane, and “to provide a connection to the future service along Adelaide Avenue”

this would presumably recommend that the future service along Adelaide would be the 412, hopefully returning around when this pilot was set to take place, April or May.

No zones still don’t meet the threshold for service, however, last week was their highest ridership week for OnDemand.

In a separate report, the Works Committee, is speaking confidentially on construction of bus lanes on Highway 2 and “Gibb street” Bus rapid transit, presumably this would be for expanded 901B service?

Hopefully we get the service plan next month before everything goes to budget approval. We’ve had to wait til March a few times

F81FBB7C-BAF5-4A4E-871E-2417AC455DB1.jpeg

0029BB6A-CFBC-41CC-845D-F9EF6DE1859D.jpeg

Is this confidential information supposed to be shared with the general public?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/17/2021 at 4:33 PM, 110B West Pickering said:

Looks like DRT is looking for their long term service provider for the roughly 70% of OnDemand service that is contracted out.

Currently three service providers operate in Durham Region aside from DRT themselves, 

- Durham Rapid Taxi (Rapid Taxi and Blueline) 

- Circle Taxi

- Island Taxi (for north Durham)

This looks to ideally change that, the current temporary contract is rather limiting on what control DRT has on the operators, the vehicles and how many are provided.

With the new contract, DRT has control over some of these things, some items specifically mentioned include affixing payment technology inside the vehicle, affixing DRT branding to the sides of the vehicles, and allowing DRT to set the service and minimum vehicle levels. This includes also that a range of shuttle buses, Vans, Mini Vans, SUVs and Sedans can be used and that at least 10% must be wheelchair accessible.

 

interested bidders include a couple notable ones,

Voyago - Operates transit in St. Thomas - London and some other areas,

Driverseat - Currently provides service in Owen Sound and is predominantly airport shuttles

Via Transportation - Provides Vehicle for Hire services in other cities in the US such as Chicago, New York and Washington

interestingly Pacific Western has also expressed interest in this contract, not sure to what extent, contractors are also allowed to subcontract out the work as long as all responsibilities are met.

the contract is for Late March to February 28, 2022 and has three 1 month extensions as an option.

included is also an attachment with OnDemand ridership averages in the highest period of ridership and provides a forecast for ridership until the end of the contract.

https://durham.bidsandtenders.ca/Module/Tenders/en/Document/Download/5f061a57-2e13-4cbb-85fb-739f890c2428?Ignore=True

I was hoping that RideCo would be among those who wanted to get into the DRT OnDemand service. The similar case is true for some of the multi-billion ridesharing giants like Uber and Lyft.

I have yet to try out the DRT OnDemand myself regrettably. Remember my thought about the DRT OnDemand service and the service to the ski resorts (i.e. Dagmar, Lakeridge - and another resort called Brimacombe) a while back? I actually inquired to one of the ski resorts about their say about DRT's OnDemand service - sadly, they turned a "blind eye" to my request (that turned into a sarcastic answer) stating that "DRT does not serve the resorts, but Uber/Lyft is your option". 

I then contacted DRT directly about the OnDemand service and this time I got a better answer (but stating that I wanted to go from one OnDemand zone to another, Urban to Rural or vice-versa - in my example, I would like to request a ride from the Pickering Parkway Terminal to the Dagmar or Lakeridge Ski resorts). While I was pleased with DRT's response, they advised me that "due to the size of On Demand vehicles, passengers would not be able to carry ski / snowboard on an On Demand vehicle."

That makes sense due to the limitations of the DRT OnDemand service right now. Fortunately (with the new contract), that limitation would eventually be resolved or worked around to some extent. As for my bucket list to check out the Lakeridge or Dagmar resorts - that matter has since been dashed due to the pandemic.

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  • 3 weeks later...

ICAMI (In Case Anyone Missed IT), Durham Region Transit will be organizing some "virtual" Public Information Sessions in the coming weeks - in which DRT riders can give feedback about the issues facing the current transit system right now (especially during the pandemic).

Further information can be founded here: https://yourvoice.durham.ca/durham-region-transit-pics

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9 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

UPDATE:

Turns out Hudson Transportation is a not who I thought it was, It is actually the company that owns Circle Taxi in Whitby, they (according to their website) have experience operating a large fleet that can be branded for the needs of any service provider... lets see if that's true, they'll begin operations in just two weeks.

I have yet to try out the new OnDemand service myself but I wanted to know how intuitve the OnDemand service is like (i.e. first hand experiences) I really don't want my first OnDemand ride - to be the last in terms of the functionality. 

I'm not sure if you could book an OnDemand ride - either 24 or even 48 hours in advance? Also, the OnDemand zones can be confusing to me (i.e. if I live in one of the OnDemand areas and wanted to go to the Ajax GO station, then it would have resulted me in this: pickup from an area within the OnDemand zone -> drop-off at the connecting bus route -> get off from the connecting bus route at the Ajax GO. Sorry if I put this out of context but in simple terms, would it be possible to catch an OnDemand ride from one OnDemand zone to a connecting stop/GO train station within the same (or in proximity of a) OnDemand zone?).

Can you at least provide some insight in this? I don't want to be charged an extra fare not covered in the DRT OnDemand contract that third party taxi providers must follow (DRT-operated vehicles are fine but third party taxis - that's just one question that needs to be answered).

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1 hour ago, 110B West Pickering said:

For me, OnDemand has been reactively intuitive, sometimes pickup times are a bit earlier than it says, suddenly you’ll get a notification that the driver is arriving, 

it does have to be booked on the same day, but that can be as early as midnight,

Most zones are Pickup, then take you too a terminal, in Ajax, I think all zones take you to the GO Stations, they now have individual OnDemand Zone maps that show each zone, all the pickup stops, and all the places it will bring you,  here’s a link to that:

https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/en/about-us/our-services-tiles.aspx#On-Demand-maps---current

Overall, as long as you use the app and you ensure you’re at the bus stop on time, you should have a good experience!

Also, at least for now, Contractor cabs (Sedans and Minivans) dont have presto equipment and that results in a free ride.

Thanks for your meaningful and articulate response. I will do a "practise run" at some point within the future - within Ajax to see if it's well advertised. 

 

It may be also be useful in the future when I want to go on a day trip (when the weather is nice) from Bowmanville (connecting from the 902 Pulse) to Newcastle (and visa versa)! The similar case is true from Oshawa to a place in Courtice called "Food Truck Alley" (this place was mentioned in a Facebook group called "Durham Region Eats" - ironically, the area where Food Truck Alley is located is covered in the Rural On-demand zone). 

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I think there should still be a Thornton based route. @ Gamer Studios, it could be best to attend the Service virtual PiC and let them know. A route along Thornton, between Ishawa Centre and Taunton (409), even if it means a transfer to the 905 along Taunton might be feasible as long as the transfer is to a much more frequent 905, for instance. Could be a good alternative, compared to nothing at all.

 

 

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5 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

DRT as of right now has no plans to bring back the 910, it’s better served by the Simcoe Corridor anyway,

the 910 used to run down Simcoe to Rossland previously and now with the B,

Given from the recent service announcements, I think that DRT should drop the C branch (weekends only), and upgrade the B branch to all-day everyday service (including weekends)

5 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

in the future I’d like to see a new 417 service that would operate from the OC  to Harmony Terminal DC using Thornton and Collins Road

the 417 prepandemic was one of the highest ridership weekday routes

By the way, is there any word from DRT for which routes that are new and/or reinstated? I would assume it will start at September given that DC/ONT are planning to return in-person classes and given the acceleration of the vaccine rollout as well.

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6 hours ago, Gamer Studios said:

Trent is also planning for a return as well. A lot of Trent's students utilize the 910 Campus Connect to connect with the GO services at Ontario Tech

A "private shuttle" could fill the void between Trent University's Oshawa Campus and the Durham College Oshawa campus to the north and the Oshawa Centre to the south, but it'll be a matter of time until a complaint has been filed by DRT to the OHTB (Ontario Highway Tribunal Board)!

 

10 hours ago, newflyerinvero said:

I think there should still be a Thornton based route. @ Gamer Studios, it could be best to attend the Service virtual PiC and let them know. A route along Thornton, between Ishawa Centre and Taunton (409), even if it means a transfer to the 905 along Taunton might be feasible as long as the transfer is to a much more frequent 905, for instance. Could be a good alternative, compared to nothing at all.

 

 

Have to totally agree with you. It would definitely help support the people who live within the vicnity of the 915 and 916 bus routes, but so far it's unlikely.

Last week, I've did a second run of the On-Demand service (but there was a flaw - not the vehicle that I requested but it has to do when I tried to validate my PRESTO Card on the reader (IIRC, it was a smartphone-like device that acts as a reader and that reader was located in the driver area wrapped under a curtain-like clear plastic screen - to protect the driver).

The bus driver told me that I have to hold the card on the reader for at least 10 to 15 seconds, until he gave me a visual confirmation that my tap was successful. It would have been nice if I the validation/confirmation tone was a bit louder but a non-verbal confirmation from the driver suffices. It's a bit of a minor inconvenience but the overall, the OnDemand service has been good.

FYI, IIRC = If I remembered correctly

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, 110B West Pickering said:

They’ve still got plenty of vehicles laying around to meet demand and a healthy spare ratio

Which is what happens when you have only 17 routes to serve a region that spans six municipalities. That's right. I'm not going to let them forget their misguided decision to cut 40 routes.

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