shaping our future - leg€¦ · bc transit is the provincial crown agency charged with...

BC TRANSIT’S STRATEGIC PLAN 2030

Shaping our future

Table of Contents1.0 INTRODUCTION: THE NEED TO SHAPE OUR FUTURE 5

2.0 BC TRANSIT TODAY 7Organizational Scope 7The Shared Services Model 9Our Evolving Mandate 10

3.0 EVALUATING BC TRANSIT’S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES 13Stakeholder Consultation 13Our Strengths 14Our Weaknesses: What needs improving 15

4.0 ASSESSING TOMORROW’S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES 17Future Opportunities: Transit’s Potential 17Future Challenges and Trends 17

5.0 OUR PLAN: SHAPING BC TRANSIT FOR THE FUTURE 21 A Renewed Vision, Mission, Values 22 Objectives, Priorities, and Actions 231. Develop Financial Sustainability 242. Support and Shape Livable Communities 303. Change the Perception of Transit 344. Deliver Operational Excellence 375. Strengthen our People and Partnerships 41

6.0 MOVING FORWARD 45Review and Renewal 45Public Involvement 45Implementation and Monitoring 45

7.0 CONCLUSION 46 FURTHER INFORMATION

Map of BC Transit Systems 47 Acknowledgements 48 Contact Us 48

In January 2008, the B.C. provincial government confirmed its commitment to climate action and improved public transit through the release of the Provincial Transit Plan. In response to this commitment and in preparation for turning the Transit Plan into reality, BC Transit embarked on a comprehensive re-evaluation and renewal of its structure and services.

This period of re-evaluation has already resulted in a new internal structure to more effectively and efficiently serve our customers. It has also seen the implementation of several new business practices to increase oversight, reduce or stabilize costs, and improve service.

This strategic plan represents the next phase of renewal. It is based on an analysis of current and future trends, and on a significant amount of

consultation with our customers, employees, local government partners, and suppliers. This plan describes what BC Transit should look like and how it needs to change to best serve our customers and increase its viability and self-reliance in the years ahead. It also recognizes the need for a more holistic and integrated approach to our sustainable transportation networks.

The Provincial Transit Plan lays out an ambitious path to improve transportation in communities across B.C. This strategic plan outlines how BC Transit must further evolve its mandate, structure, and priorities in order to successfully deliver on that objective.

Kevin Mahoney Chair, BC Transit Board of Directors

A Message from the Chair

2 BC TRANSIT’S STRATEGIC PLAN | 2030

3BC TRANSIT’S STRATEGIC PLAN | 2030

The coming decades will present environmental, economic, and social challenges. They also present an opportunity to transform our communities into places that are even healthier and more livable. Building sustainable transportation networks that integrate and promote walking, cycling, and transit will be key in realizing that vision.

More than ever before, we need to be in the business of moving people. This focus on sustainable mobility means looking at new markets, services, and opportunities.

Since its creation 30 years ago, BC Transit has proven itself to be an innovator. BC Transit consistently delivers services that carry more passengers and that are less costly than those of their Canadian peers. This plan presents a blueprint

for how that continued commitment to innovation, customer service, and effectiveness can be improved to see us through the coming decades of change. It also affirms BC Transit’s focus on encouraging sustainable types of travel by better linking land use and transportation decisions.

As one of the many employees, customers, and partners who participated in the creation of this plan, I am proud to present it as our statement of how we intend to offer even better value to all who use and fund our services, and how we aim to help create a more sustainable future with communities across B.C.

Manuel Achadinha President and CEO

A Message from the President and CEO


Introduction: The need to shape our future

there is an imperative to create transportation choices

In the 2008 Provincial Transit Plan, the British Columbia provincial government set a very ambitious goal for BC Transit: double transit ridership by 2020. This goal gives BC Transit tremendous potential to contribute to stronger, more sustainable communities. It also requires that BC Transit assess how it plans, invests in, and promotes public transportation throughout the province.

At the same time, we know that our world is in transition.

The changes around us bring different technologies and opportunities to engage citizens, attract new customers, and build diverse partnerships.

We also know that the next 20 years will provide some real challenges, including a shifting climate, an aging population, and a significantly more unpredictable energy and economic picture.

Given these realities, there is a strong imperative to create transportation choices.

Many factors—energy constraints, an aging society, the desire for better personal health—mean that the dependence on private automobiles, which has substantially shaped our society and communities over the past 60 years, is not sustainable over the long term.

Automobiles are useful tools. But in order to make our communities resilient for a changing future, it is crucial that we shift the balance to make it easier for people to connect and meet their needs by walking, cycling, and using public transit.

Even more importantly, we need to build a common understanding of what life would be like with more transportation choices: more opportunities to live healthily, more social connection, and more vibrant public spaces.

This plan presents BC Transit’s vision and strategic goals for the future. It is a result of a province-wide process launched in April 2009 to look at the coming challenges and opportunities, and determine priorities for action. This plan guides the long term direction of BC Transit and provides the framework for more detailed capital plans, business plans, and budgets to follow.

The renewed vision, mission, and priorities presented in this plan outline BC Transit’s commitment to developing self-reliance and long term viability. It affirms how we will work with our customers, employees, and partners to create integrated transportation solutions and services that offer choices.

Above all, this plan describes how we intend to help connect people and communities to a more sustainable future.

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ThE VAluE Of TrAnsITTransit investment benefits society

Transit reduces infrastructure costs by decreasing the land, Ìconstruction, and maintenance costs for expanded roadways and parking facilities, as well as by reducing traffic control and enforcement costs.Transit reduces congestion costs by decreasing the lost time Ìand productivity that result from longer travel times because of traffic delays.Transit reduces environmental impacts: an average transit Ìtrip results in significantly less energy use and pollution production per person than the same trip made by private automobile. Transit also requires less land consumption for road space and parking.Transit improves development of livable communities by Ìencouraging more efficient and pedestrian friendly land use patterns that reduce automobile dependence. Transit improves economic and social development by Ìenabling access to employment, education, healthcare, services, and amenities, by offering stable locally-based employment through transit jobs, and by providing businesses with better access to employees and markets.Transit improves mobility, accessibility, and civic participation Ìfor people who do not have access to other modes of travel because of age, disability, or income. Transit increases independent living and freedom to travel Ìfor seniors, people with a disability, and others. This can allow people to live in their own homes longer and avoid or delay moving to expensive institutional care.

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BC Transit todayBC Transit is the provincial Crown agency charged with coordinating public transportation systems throughout British Columbia outside of Metro Vancouver.

Across the province, BC Transit works in partnership with 57 local governments, including the Victoria Regional Transit Commission. BC Transit’s mandate includes planning, funding, marketing, managing fleet, and contracting for the operations of transit services.

According to the British Columbia Transit Act (Section 3.1), BC Transit is to:

“... plan, acquire, construct or cause to be constructed public passenger transportation systems and rail systems that support regional growth strategies, official community plans, and the economic development of transit service areas, [and] to provide for the maintenance and operation of those systems.”

In 2009/10 BC Transit carried over 49 million passengers on more than 81 transit systems.

OrGAnIZATIOnAl sCOPE

Organizational scope (March 2010)57 local government partners, including the Victoria ÌRegional Transit Commission.Contracts with 20 private management companies and Ì15 non-profit agencies.Over 49 million passengers carried in 2009/10. ÌService provided to over 1.5 million B.C. residents. Ì81 transit systems with conventional, custom, and Ìparatransit services.Fleet of 1,003 conventional and double-deck buses, Ìminibuses, and vans.$252 million annual expenditures. Ì


Transit services offered

BC Transit’s systems are as diverse as our province and include a range of service types:

Conventional transit Ì serves the general population in more urban settings and offers scheduled bus service that operates on fixed routes. Most vehicles are accessible and range in size from minibuses to double-deck buses in order to best match ridership and community needs. Rail-based service is currently under evaluation in several of our communities.Custom transit Ì employs vans, minibuses and taxis for dial-a-ride, and door-to-door handyDART service for passengers with disabilities who cannot use conventional transit. Contracted taxi supplement and taxi saver (discounted coupon) programs complement these services.Paratransit Ì serves small town, rural, and Aboriginal communities as well as some suburban areas using minibuses, taxis, and vans for flexible routing and schedules.

In most BC Transit systems, service is provided through a partnership between BC Transit, local government, and a transit management company.

Under this partnership model, BC Transit provides funding, planning, marketing, fleet management, and contract administration services for each system. Sponsoring local governments provide the remaining portion of funding (less passenger fares), approve service levels and fare structures, and maintain transit facilities, such as bus stops, exchanges, and shelters.

A contracted transit management company operates the service, including hiring and training drivers, providing front-line customer service, and maintaining vehicles.

A range of private and non-profit companies operate BC Transit’s services. In some locations—the Regional District of Nanaimo, City of Nelson, City of Powell River, and the Sunshine Coast Regional District—the sponsoring local government operates the system.

In the case of the Victoria Regional Transit System, BC Transit operates the conventional service, and a private transit management company operates handyDART services through contract.

BC Transit’s operation of the Victoria conventional system—which was inherited from BC Hydro and other predecessor companies—provides the organization with further efficiencies through the sharing of services. This in-house operation is also

a forum for developing operational practices that can be shared with other communities.

The Victoria Regional Transit Commission fulfills the role of local government by setting routes, service levels, fares, and local taxation requirements for transit. The Commission also reviews and is responsible for raising the local share of the annual cost of transit in the region.

Unique in the transit industry, BC Transit’s collaborative, shared-services partnership model offers excellent value by:

Pooling expertise and best practices in areas •such as planning and financial monitoring;

Lowering costs through bulk purchase of •supplies and assets, such as fuel and vehicles;

Providing a framework to oversee and invest •in transit on a provincial scale rather than on a less collaborative municipality by municipality basis common elsewhere;

Supporting operational efficiency through •private sector contracts for the operation of many of our systems.

On average, BC Transit’s systems carry more passengers per hour of service and are used by a higher proportion of residents than their peer systems in other Canadian communities. At the same time, costs for service are consistently lower than similar Canadian systems (Canadian Urban Transit Association data).

ThE shArED sErVICEs MODEl

Milestones in BC Transit’s development


1979 1980 1981 1982 1992 1996Urban Transit Authority (UTA) formed.

Operation of Victoria and Vancouver transit systems transferred from BC Hydro to what would eventually become BC Transit.

First handyDART systems launched in B.C. for people with a disability.

UTA becomes BC Transit. Introduction of first low-floor buses in transit service in North America.

BC Transit is rated number one North American system by the American Public Transit Association. Start of large expansion period to increase share of commuter market in many systems.

1979 1989 1999 2009/10

Number of Systems 13 47 57 81

Vehicles 190 322 642 1,003

Annual Operating Cost (Million)* $57.6 $72.9 $130.5 $252

Annual Ridership (Million) 19.2 21.1 29.5 49.3

The following decades saw a number of changes. These changes included the transfer of operation of the Victoria and Vancouver transit systems from BC Hydro to the organization that would later be renamed BC Transit in 1982. In 1999, Metro Vancouver transit services shifted from BC Transit to the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink, now the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority).

Over this period, BC Transit’s shared services model and funding formula generally proved to be successful and resulted in a significant increase in communities with transit systems.

Other than changes made to the British Columbia Transit Act in 1996 to include references to regional growth strategies, official community plans, and economic development, BC Transit’s formally legislated mandate has not changed significantly over the years.

BC Transit began in 1979 when the provincial government created the Urban Transit Authority (UTA), a new Crown corporation charged with coordinating the planning, marketing, and funding of municipal transit systems throughout the province. Prior to 1979, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs was responsible for public transit.

Starting with 13 systems, the vision for the UTA was to provide local governments with

an increased role in the decision making and funding of their community transit systems.

Other key objectives cited at the time for the UTA were to more comprehensively integrate transportation into community planning and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The UTA also had an objective to better coordinate the delivery of public transit to reduce confusion and duplication of effort between levels of government.

Our EVOlVInG MAnDATE

BC Transit’s growth 1979 to 2009

* historical costs adjusted to 2009 dollars ** year end estimate


1998 1999 2000 2005 2010University of Victoria and Victoria’s Camosun College launch first U-PASS in Western Canada.

Operation of Metro Vancouver Transit services passes to the newly formed Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink, now the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority).

First low-floor, double-deck buses in North America (Victoria).

First production hybrid buses in Canada (Kelowna).

World’s largest single-location hydrogen fuel cell fleet implemented in regular service (Whistler).

However, the actual services or lived mandate that the provincial government has asked the organization to fulfill in order to meet other provincial objectives has expanded significantly and includes:

Improving community social, economic, and •financial sustainability through the provision of effective transit while simultaneously reducing transportation costs, energy consumption, and social costs;

Leading provincial public transit climate change •initiatives by increasing the proportion of people who use public transit as their primary way to get around;

Supporting rural and First Nations communities •by enabling residents to connect to each other and link to education, health, and other services and daily needs;

Improving the inclusiveness of communities •by providing a range of public transit services and amenities designed to meet standards of universal accessibility. These services enable people to grow older while remaining in their own homes and communities for as long as possible.

The process to develop this strategic plan highlighted the need to clarify BC Transit’s mandate and take the formal steps required to better align legislation and reality. This is particularly important given the scale of potential investment in transit and the need to focus and prepare the organization for the coming decades of change. A broader mandate is necessary to support community land use planning and transportation networks that encourage a range of travel types.

The strategic planning process also showed that in order to position transit for the future we need to revise legislation, governance structures, and revenue constraints. In the past, these constraints have hindered transit’s development; in the future, they will only further impede its success.

Like the start of BC Transit’s predecessor in 1979, there are opportunities to improve the coordination of transit in B.C. We can also reduce confusion and duplication of effort by re-examining our governance models and how we assign and monitor responsibilities between partners.

This strategic plan not only defines our priorities for the coming decades but also outlines how we believe BC Transit’s core—its vision, mission, values, and legislative framework—must be renewed and restated in order to increase our organization’s self-reliance and to continue to deliver the best value possible to the public we serve.

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Evaluating BC Transit’s strengths and weaknessesOne principle guiding the development of BC Transit’s strategic plan was to involve as many people as possible in its development, particularly those people who use, plan, deliver, or fund our services. These are the people who will be most critical to our plan’s successful implementation.

In that spirit, a wide range of our employees, local government partners, operating company staff, customers, and other stakeholders participated in plan development. These participants represented communities across the province.

BC Transit gathered participant comments and ideas through various mediums, including workshops, open houses, online surveys, an online discussion forum, and one-on-one discussions. We provided a formal discussion paper and request for input to senior staff of partner local governments. We also invited our customers to participate in the strategic plan through advertising on buses and our website’s homepage.

Through a range of questions and processes, participants provided us with comments on the following:

The strengths and weaknesses of our current organization •and suggestions for improvements;

The opportunities and challenges that will face communities •and transportation networks over the next 20 years;

Their vision of successful public transportation in 2030; •Their ideas on required changes at the local and provincial •levels in order to realize that vision;

The values that should govern BC Transit’s conduct •and development.

The following sections provide a summary of what we heard from participants.

sTAKEhOlDEr COnsulTATIOn

In general, participants saw BC Transit as a good place to work and regarded us as an organization that offers valuable service to our partners and customers.

Our customers • often noted the social benefits of transit and saw BC Transit as a provider of a valuable service. Other strengths included the express and higher frequency services we implemented, the mixture of smaller and larger vehicles used to right-size service to particular neighbourhoods, and the amenities we have introduced, such as bike racks.

Our employees • most commonly saw BC Transit as a positive workplace that offers good wages and benefits, job flexibility, and

opportunities for professional development. They also saw the organization as innovative, friendly, and customer oriented.

Our external partners • (including local government elected officials and staff, and transit management company staff) most commonly noted the benefits of the shared services model as our chief strength, particularly the model’s access to funding, expertise, innovation, and lowered costs through bulk purchase of fuel and services. Although they also noted exceptions to the case and opportunities for improvement, in general they saw us as responsive to issues and oriented to individual community needs.

Our sTrEnGThs

When asked to identify our weaknesses or those areas of our organization in most need of improvement, by far the most common comments from all stakeholders were requests relating to more predictable funding and budgets,

better communication and information sharing, and clarified roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

Our WEAKnEssEs What needs improving

Our Customers want transit services that continue to improve in terms of frequency, reliability, availability, and faster travel times. Other top customer priorities for improvement included the following:

Transit travel that is simpler to use and understand and more friendly, clean, and safe; •Better use of new customer information technologies, such as online trip planners, •real time next trip information at major exchanges, and downloads to mobile devices;

Improved responsiveness to customer needs and more opportunities for •customers to own their transit experiences, provide feedback, and shape transit system decision making;

A desire for transit to help increase the environmental sustainability of their •communities: this is a reminder that our customers—like our transit system staff across the province—represent tremendous potential as our advocates and allies.

Our Employees want our organization to better integrate and share information across departments and transit systems, and to better clarify roles, policies, and expectations. On a transit system level, employees had many suggestions to better inform and serve customers. Other employee top requests for improvement

included the following:

Continued development of decision-making rigour and transparency; •More opportunities for employee input into decisions; •Longer term revenue and cost predictability in order for employees to accomplish •their jobs effectively and efficiently;

Better alignment between expectations (from the province, partners, and public) •and capacity to deliver;

More freedom/authorization to pursue new revenue sources and community •involvement, such as charter services and engagement in major festivals.

Our local Government Partners saw the lack of multi-year, predictable revenue sources and budgets as by far the greatest weakness to our current organization and structure. Other local government priority requests for improvement included the following:

More timely communication, especially about important decisions and •project delays;

Clarified roles and responsibilities, particularly with respect to transit system •decision making, the upkeep and location of transit facilities, and local business development and marketing;

An increased community presence: more involvement in community events, •more opportunities to engage local residents in decision making, and increased opportunities for BC Transit staff presence in communities to provide on-site expertise and leadership.

Our Contracted Transit Management Companies saw the need for clarified policies and expectations as the most pressing areas for improvement. Similar to BC Transit employees, other top requests included the following:

Continued improvement to transit services and tools to better serve the needs of •customers;

Better integration and information sharing between departments and transit •systems;

Increased local transit staff engagement in decision making; •Longer term revenue and budget predictability, with many operating company •staff noting the challenge of pulling together elements needed to implement new transit services when the dates and scope of service keep changing in response to shifting budgets.



Assessing tomorrow’s opportunities and challenges

Our stakeholders saw overwhelming potential for transit in the future. In their vision, successful public transit in 2030 is:

Fast, reliable, and accessible to all people and ranges of mobility.

Easy to use through improved technology and design.

Integrated with key destinations, regional hubs, community development, and other types of travel, particularly walking and cycling.

Inviting – safe, clean, and accessible to all.

Responsive – engaging customers and communities in its evolution.

Cost-effective – affordable and making efficient use of its resources.

Positive – part of a healthy, socially responsible lifestyle.

Sustainable – not only providing positive environmental and social benefits but financially and structurally organized to be viable and grow with communities over the long term.

Several key trends that will shape the future of transit are evident in both stakeholder feedback and internal research and analysis. The following section describes the most pivotal for transit.

Our aging population

Between 2006 and 2036, the proportion of B.C.’s population that is age 65 or older is expected to grow from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. At the same time, it is expected that people will live longer.

Meeting the needs of more seniors in our population and helping them to live independently for as long as possible means that we need to plan now to further improve the accessibility, ease-of-use, and the real and perceived safety of our transit systems. It also means attracting and orienting people to transit who previously may have been auto-dependent. At the same time, more seniors in our society means that we will have fewer working tax payers to help pay for transit service (and all public services in general) and fewer potential employees to help operate transit systems.

fuTurE OPPOrTunITIEs: TrAnsIT’s POTEnTIAl

fuTurE ChAllEnGEs AnD TrEnDs4


Continued growth, urbanization, and regionalization

By 2036, B.C.’s population is expected to grow from 4.4 million to 6 million. Barring a severe disruption in the supply of food or fuel, this population growth will likely continue to concentrate in urban centres, particularly on eastern Vancouver Island, the Southern Interior, and areas adjacent to Metro Vancouver. Depending on how well we shape our communities and prioritize greener transportation, this growth will impact congestion, pollution, and the effectiveness and efficiency of transit systems.

In rural or resource-based towns, populations may decrease or shift in age faster than other locations. Continued policies to regionalize health care and education in many communities will increase the need for residents to travel regionally. Populations may also continue to become more regional based on where housing is perceived to be more affordable (which may or may not be more affordable when additional travel times and costs are factored in).

All of these factors affect the nature of transit services and increase the need for communities to connect. In the case of smaller towns whose populations are plateauing or shrinking, there will be a growing need

for transit to connect residents to regionalized services. At the same time, these communities may not have the property tax base to pay for it.

Increasing the knowledge of both the public and decision makers on the links between land use and transportation will be key in successfully shaping the impacts of population change. BC Transit also needs to take a more active role working with health organizations, school districts, and existing intercity transportation providers to meet the challenge of more regionalized communities and ensure that the full impact of decisions are considered before they are made.

Energy volatility

BC Transit’s fleet consumes over 24 million litres of diesel fuel per year. Although BC Transit has been actively implementing new technologies to reduce fuel usage, the future of oil and other energy supplies represent a real risk to transit. Increasing energy prices impact the cost of vehicle fuel, the cost of facilities and parts, and the ability of provincial and local governments to fund services. An abrupt change in world energy pricing may also affect demand for transit services, security considerations, and our ability to meet demand.

Mitigating this risk means increasing our energy efficiency, better diversifying our energy sources (to electric grid or other), and retrofitting our facilities, vehicles, and communities. We must also seize the opportunity to reduce our fossil fuel reliance and emissions and gain new riders as fuel prices rise.

Significant mitigation, however, requires commitment and resources now. The vehicles we purchase today will be with us for their lifespan of 12 to 20 years. Every year of delay in preparing for a new energy picture means another year where we are faced with the challenge of keeping our existing diesel buses running while simultaneously implementing new technologies.

A shifting climate

The future of transit in B.C. will involve mitigating and adapting to climate change. Mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will result in additional costs for BC Transit because of carbon taxes and offset payments, implementation of new technologies (as outlined previously), and meeting new regulations. BC Transit’s role in reducing the estimated 45 per cent of B.C. household GHG emissions related to private use of cars and trucks will also have benefits.


These benefits include new customers, opportunities, and healthier communities.

At the same time, BC Transit will need to adapt to the effects of a changing climate. This may include adjusting to the effects of ongoing drought in some regions, the continued allocation of transit buses as emergency transports during forest fires and other extreme weather events, and increased insurance costs. Changing weather and pest and disease patterns may also affect the local economies and passenger travel in communities that are particularly heavily reliant on large scale agriculture, forestry, or weather-related tourism, such as skiing.

A less predictable economy

The economic picture has changed substantially since fall 2008. Given that each of the trends previously noted—population growth and aging, energy volatility, and climate change—could have sizable impacts on local and provincial economies, economic trends will likely be unpredictable. This unpredictability could affect the availability of provincial and local funding for transit. It may also impact ridership positively (through decreased automobile ownership and higher

costs of driving) or negatively (because of fewer commute-related trips).

When it comes to longer term economic viability, investment in transit offers key benefits to communities. Transit is part of the growing green economy and offers stable employment rooted in local economies. Since the largest portion of any transit system’s budget funds the wages and benefits for drivers, maintenance staff, and other local transit employees, every dollar invested in transit provides a needed service in a community and generates local investment.

Continued technological evolution

Technology presents tremendous opportunities to better engage and inform our customers, share best practices among employees and transit systems, reduce environmental impacts, and improve the efficiency and reliability of our services. The public increasingly expects transit to make use of the latest available technologies. Potential risks related to new technologies include costs associated with their implementation and the need to ensure that they are viable and compatible over the longer term.

The quest for connection

Several social factors will likely continue to shape our world over the years ahead. In response to the recent economic downturn and the tendency for people to crave connection and meaning, the idea of “the good life” is shifting from the quantity of consumer goods owned to the quality of social interactions. An appreciation for a more local and sustainable way of life is growing. The internet has created an online world that is instantly participatory and endlessly customizable. Transit could gain new customers from these trends by increasing the sense of ownership in our systems and describing public transportation for what it is at heart: socially responsible behaviour that is part of a sustainable lifestyle.

This evaluation of future trends shows considerable challenges for our society and the organization and structure of BC Transit. Transit will have a crucial role in addressing and mitigating most of these challenges. Public transportation and other greener modes of travel will have a greater role in the future.


Our Plan: shaping BC Transit for the futureTo address the existing strengths and weaknesses of our organization and prepare for the opportunities and challenges ahead, this strategic plan renews BC Transit and positions the organization to take a more active role in ensuring our long term success.

To shape BC Transit for the future, this plan redefines the concepts that are at the core of our organization: our vision, mission, and values. It also presents a series of priority objectives and actions that are key if we are to learn from the past and take public transportation to the next level of quality, ridership, and effectiveness.

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A rEnEWED VIsIOnA vision expresses what future success looks like for an organization. BC Transit will need to embody four key traits in order to successfully navigate the future:

We will need to take a greater • leadership role than we have in the past to actively create the conditions for success.

We will need our systems to be • integrated to allow for seamless travel across our services, connection to the daily life of our communities through good land use planning, and easy links to other forms of transportation, particularly walking and cycling.

We need to • connect people and communities not only to each other by the transit services that we provide but also to innovation and best practices through the professional transportation expertise we offer.

We will need to recognize our critical role shaping • a more sustainable future since public transportation helps build healthy, resilient communities that will be able to meet and embrace the economic, environmental, and social changes ahead.

In order to exemplify these traits and position our organization for the future, we have developed a renewed vision:

Our VisionTo be a leader of integrated transportation solutions connecting people and communities to a more sustainable future.

A rEnEWED MIssIOnA mission describes what an organization does, who it does it for, and how it excels. Looking at BC Transit’s services, our greatest strengths, and the value that we must continue to offer, we have established the following renewed mission:

Our MissionThrough the strength of our people and partners, we provide safe, effective, customer-focussed transportation solutions that link communities, businesses, and lifestyles.


rEnEWED VAluEsWe need to retain and embrace the following six values to guide our future decisions and development:

Our ValuesSafety – We will ensure and improve the safety and security of our employees, customers, and assets.

Customer Service – We will work with our customers to meet and exceed their needs and expectations.

Sustainability – We will measure, improve, and be accountable for our environmental, financial, and social results.

Integrity – As stewards of public resources, we will use our assets prudently and be honest, professional, and respectful in our communications and conduct.

Innovation – We will develop new opportunities and ways of doing business, and will work to continuously improve the value and quality of our services.

Collaboration – We will cultivate strong partnerships, recognize communities’ complex needs, and create services and opportunities that promote healthy communities and enable choice and connection with other types of travel.

OBJECTIVEs, PrIOrITIEs, AnD ACTIOnsThe following sections present objectives, priorities, and actions that will support BC Transit’s drive to implement the Provincial Transit Plan, continue to improve our effectiveness and efficiency, and provide the best possible value to the public.

These priorities and actions are centred on the objectives of developing organizational financial sustainability, supporting and shaping livable communities, changing the perception of transit, delivering operational excellence, and strengthening our people and partnerships.

Objectives are numbered for reference, however, we must strongly emphasize that the numbering does not reflect priority ranking. All objectives are interrelated and interdependent and are equally vital to transit’s success.

Objective 1Develop financial sustainabilityMeeting the demand and expectations for transit now and in the future requires that we secure the long term viability of transit by systematically renewing and revising our revenue sources, structures, and internal processes.

Creating sustainable transportation networks is no longer a fringe public concern—as it might have been when BC Transit was first created—but will be a key element in enabling our communities to function in the future.

The funding, governance, and service models created for BC Transit 30 years ago need retooling to support the shift from the periphery of transportation options to the core.

As described in section 3.0, Evaluating BC Transit’s strengths and weaknesses, the three most common requests for improvement to BC Transit’s existing organization and structure are for more predictable funding and budgets, better communication and information sharing, and clarified roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

The following priorities and actions directly address how we will achieve these improvements.


BC Transit’s ability to attract customers and shift travel patterns is directly related to the quality of the service we deliver. Improving that quality means continuing to increase the safety, effectiveness, and customer focus of our business. It also means building the frequency, convenience, and reliability of our services.

Efforts to build service quality will be futile if they are not underpinned by stable and predictable revenue sources. However, as outlined on the following page, several legislative and structural issues currently impede BC Transit’s ability to set a longer term financial course or develop new revenue sources. Addressing these structural issues will improve the long term viability of our provincial and local revenue sources and will enable development of new revenue sources.

The current process of confirming provincial transit funding on a year-by-year basis from general revenues inhibits the ability for BC Transit and our local government partners to efficiently plan and implement improvements. Over the past decade, local government requests to fund expanded transit services have exceeded provincial government ability to match funding.

BC Transit aims to address these issues by developing dedicated and predictable provincial revenue sources outside the annual provincial budgeting process so that transit service objectives like those outlined in the Provincial Transit Plan can be met.

On a local basis, transit revenue sources for most communities are limited to property taxes

and passenger fares. Property taxation lacks the flexibility to adapt quickly to service or cost changes. Over time, revenue from property taxes will lack the capacity to meet the level of investment required to substantially improve service. Passenger fares can only be raised so far before they hinder ridership growth. The current placement of fares under the authority of individual local governments makes it harder to coordinate and market regional fares and travel.

BC Transit intends to work with local governments and the provincial government to assess and implement governance changes. These changes would allow access to other revenue sources and mitigate some of the risks associated with current sources.

BC Transit also needs to take a leadership role in developing additional new revenue sources. Existing legislation governing BC Transit is unclear about the organization’s ability to develop other revenue streams and how additional revenues or cost offsets should be shared.

It is essential that BC Transit clarify and advance the ability to use its assets and resources to undertake profitable commercial activities. This shift will improve operating efficiency and enable reinvestment of new revenues in services.

Under this priority, BC Transit will work with its provincial and local partners to develop stable and predictable revenue sources so that BC Transit and our partners can plan, prioritize, and implement transit improvements over the longer term horizon.

Priority 1.1Develop stable and predictable revenue sources

SUMMARy OF PROPOSED ACTIONS

Develop stable revenue sources

Assess various approaches to developing stable, secure •provincial investment in transit.

Work to implement new revenue sources. •Assess various approaches to developing stable, secure local •investment in transit.

Initiate a revenue committee to manage fare revenue strategies •in partnership with local authorities.

Increase predictability

Examine and implement improvements for conveying transit •system budget information to local governments, such as the provision of multi-year budgets aligned to municipal calendar years.

Continue to confirm government of B.C. Bus Pass program •pricing. (An annual pass program for lower income seniors and people with a disability).

Implement new partnerships and revenue opportunities

Revise legislation, policies and procedures to encourage •profitable commercial use of BC Transit assets and resources for reinvestment to further transit service objectives.

Explore opportunities to offset BC Transit costs by leveraging •our expertise and scope with other organizations (for example, our fleet procurement expertise or bulk fuel contracts).

Continue to support local governments to offset costs by •identifying and creating local transit funding partnerships with other agencies.

Explore new revenue opportunities and funding mechanisms in •conjunction with development of rapid transit lines.

25BC TrAnsIT’s STRATEGIC PLAN | 2030


Implementing new or expanded transit services is •a multi-year process: capital planning and vehicle manufacturing timelines mean that there is normally a one- to two-year gap between approving vehicle purchase and delivery. However, provincial funding availability for transit is only confirmed on a year-by-year basis. This means there is no ability to ensure capital expenditures in one year will be complemented by operating funding and actual implementation in successive years.

The proportion of BC Transit and local government •funding in transit systems is formally defined in the British Columbia Transit Act. No mechanism in the Act allows for BC Transit or a local government to pay a higher share of funding. This means that transit partners are held in lockstep regardless of their desire and ability to pay for improved service. For instance, a community may have an approved plan and local funding for expanded service, but that expansion will not go through if the corresponding provincial share of funding is not available. Likewise, service may be forced to decrease if funding from one partner or the other decreases.

Over the past decade, local government requests •to fund expanded transit services have exceeded provincial government’s ability to match funding.

The funding issue is further complicated by •the following:

Provincial fiscal year budgets (April to March) Ìare offset from Municipal calendar year budgets (January to December). This means that local government spending for the year is usually locked down before provincial funding availability is confirmed. This offset between financial calendars also adds another layer of complexity when aligning transit budgets among partners.Local governments rely primarily on property Ìtaxes to cover their portion of transit costs not funded through passenger fares and advertising revenues. Since property taxation rates are formally set only once per year, local governments have less flexibility to adapt to unforeseen transit cost increases or to expand service to meet unexpected demand.The Victoria Regional Transit Commission offsets a Ìportion of its transit costs through a local fuel tax. The British Columbia Transit Act includes provision for creation of similar commissions with access to local fuel taxes in other areas of the province. The ability to implement or increase a local fuel tax for transit still requires provincial legislation which can frustrate timely implementation of a service and funding strategy.

Over the past decade, BC Transit has helped a Ìnumber of communities diversify their transit funding through new transit partnerships, including new funding from Health Authorities, Aboriginal governments, post-secondary institutions, private and non-profit sponsors, and new pass products such as U-PASS (a deeply discounted universal bus pass for post-secondary students). While this work makes sense in terms of overall value to society, the lack of British Columbia Transit Act specifics on sharing new revenue sources means that there is no direct financial incentive for the provincially funded crown corporation to develop new revenue sources or increase its financial self-reliance.

Highlight: Why are predictable funding and revenue sources such an issue?


Priority 1.2renew and revise governance structures and responsibilitiesProviding improved transit service is essential for a sustainable future. However, it must be provided in a responsive, efficient, and effective manner. To improve the overall performance of BC Transit, our organizational and transit system governance structures need to be re-examined and modified.

On an organizational level, the Board of BC Transit makes all major strategic decisions, including approving contracts and expenditures, allocating budgets, establishing transit service areas and overseeing BC Transit performance. Board composition is legislated through the British Columbia Transit Act and includes four elected officials and three members at large who are all appointed by the provincial minister responsible for BC Transit.

Given the scope of the Board’s oversight, it would be advantageous to have more flexibility to the Board appointment process. This flexibility would ensure that a full complement of financial, legal, human resources, and transportation skill sets is available.

On a transit system level, our lifestyles and communities are increasingly regional. To enable seamless transit travel across municipal boundaries, we need to help communities develop ways to more collaboratively plan, fund, operate, and market their systems. These regional processes and decision-making methods also need to be flexible enough to grow and shift as communities change.

Finally, there is opportunity to reflect on and clarify roles and expectations between all transit partners so that we can use our resources as wisely as possible.

Under this priority (and in conjunction with Priority 1.1), BC Transit will work with its partners to review and redefine governance structures and responsibilities. Such changes will help enable long term, regional scale transit system decision making and clarified roles, responsibilities, expectations, and communication.

Review and redefine governance structures

Revise the structure and appointment process •of BC Transit Board of Directors to ensure a full complement of skill sets is available for decision making.

Improve long term, regional decision making. •Establish a regular, defined process of •assessing and committing to local service priorities through the development of multi-year service plans. These plans would be consistent with local, regional, and BC Transit objectives and available funding.

Clarify roles, responsibilities, and expectations

Review and revise transit system contract •structures to make roles and responsibilities clearer, reward performance, and better control costs.

Survey local government partners and transit •management companies at least once per year on BC Transit’s provision of services. Survey the perceived health of relationships and responsiveness among all partners.

Provide an opportunity at least once per •year for transit management companies to determine which policies and expectations most need clarifying. Provide support to the department or division responsible for coordinating that effort.

Improve external communication

Assess ways to increase the local presence and •availability of BC Transit staff and improve our client relations.

In collaboration with local governments •and transit management companies, review and improve how BC Transit communicates externally. In particular, improve process and policies to communicate major decisions and on-going business updates.

Post policies and procedures online. •


Our collaborative shared services model provides our customers with many benefits, including delivering above average ridership at below average cost. It is also complex and requires coordination and understanding among many people, departments, organizations, and transit systems.

It is crucial that we continue to improve how we collect, analyze, and share information in order to improve our service.

Under this priority, BC Transit will work to improve internal and cross-organizational cost control, communication, and monitoring processes. The goal of these improvements will be to mitigate cost volatility, maximize efficiencies, and increase our performance, safety, and customer satisfaction.



Mitigate cost volatility

Implement policies, procedures, and technologies that manage •and improve the health and safety of our employees and transit system staff, customers, and assets.

Improve vehicle management to more accurately plan •expenditures, reduce the volatility of maintenance costs, and ensure the long term viability of these assets.

Create similar longer range maintenance, refurbishment, and •replacement planning processes for our facilities.

Where feasible, use the scale of our operations to obtain fixed •price physical supply contracts with fuel suppliers to reduce the volatility of fuel costs due to pricing and currency changes.

Investigate the possibility of forming fuel purchase partnerships •with other organizations to reduce fuel costs based on significant volume.

Review our existing insurance program and implement any •recommended changes to improve cost-effectiveness.

Maximize efficiencies

Complete and implement the information technology strategic •plan to prioritize new technology investments and ensure that our future information systems are integrated, supported, and sustainable.

Priority 1.3 Improve cost control, communication, and monitoring processes


Re-evaluate and improve our Requests for •Proposals (RFP) process for transit management company selection to increase the number of competitive proposals and improve resulting costs and performance.

Further leverage our scale and scope when •negotiating costs with service providers and suppliers. Adequately resource those aspects of our organization that offer significant value to the province through the centralized supply of services and parts.

Look at other ways to reduce costs by changing how •we use and manage assets. For example, reduce costs by minimizing the number of different fleet types in each system and recalibrating our ratio of spare vehicles in each fleet.

Improve monitoring processes

Pending completion of the information technology •strategic plan, implement an expanded monitoring and management system to improve how we collect, analyze, and share information internally and externally.

Implement a new province-wide policy and data •management framework to measure and monitor

safety in our transit systems and identify specific training needs.

Increase the specific accountabilities of BC Transit •management by improving business planning processes and monitoring achievement of major deliverables and performance indicators.

Improve the completeness and consistency of the •information we collect and transit management company reporting. This improvement would help us monitor transit system performance, particularly with respect to customer suggestions and complaints, on-time performance, ridership, vehicle maintenance, and other key performance indicators.

Improve on existing external reporting strategies •by defining a regular process, more accessible formats, and a more holistic range of transit system performance measures related to the strategic plan and business plan outcomes.

Review current service audit and fleet inspection •procedures and revise where necessary to reflect new contract structures and assignment of responsibilities.

Improve internal communication and integration

Create a comprehensive corporate communication •plan that builds awareness among our people, departments, and divisions. Implement strategies to keep our employees better informed about our organization’s activites and accomplishments.

As part of the corporate communications plan, •evaluate and initiate opportunities to better use electronic methods to share information and increase the organization’s internal cohesion.

Continue to support our internal, employee-led •groups that encourage employee involvement, positive change in our workplace, and learning about each others’ roles.

Objective 2support and shape livable communitiesWe need to encourage transit-supportive community planning and development that will make it easier to get around by walking, cycling and using transit.

To create places that are healthier, more easily served by transit, and less dependent on automobiles and fossil fuels, all communities—from smaller, more rural towns to larger urban centres—will need to improve land use development and transportation planning choices.

Since 1996, the British Columbia Transit Act has included reference to supporting Regional Growth Strategies and Official Community Plans. However, in many cases, BC Transit is being asked as an afterthought to serve new automobile-focussed housing and business developments that will provide for comparatively few passengers for a comparatively high cost per trip.

This lack of integration between land use and a full spectrum of transportation options results in poor value for public dollars spent. It also misses the tremendous responsibility we have to build neighbourhoods that will be livable and sustainable over the long term.

The priorities under this objective focus on working with our partner local governments to encourage and support local land use and transportation planning decisions that promote walking, cycling and using transit.

In general, neighbourhoods that are more walkable and focussed on the needs of pedestrians and cyclists tend to be more easily and productively served by transit. This is especially the case if the needs of future bus or rail service have also been considered as part of planning for the area. A range of options for making communities more walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented can be tailored to fit the rural or urban nature of each town.

In addition to contributing to healthier communities, more effectively integrating transit with walking, cycling, and other types of regional travel helps build ridership by delivering the kind of transportation choice that reduces auto-dependency and associated road investments. People can and will use an array of transportation options if those choices are available, safe, convenient, and reliable.

Under this priority, BC Transit will work to increase our integration with other types of sustainable travel to enhance transportation options and make it easier for pedestrians, cyclists, and regional travelers to link to our services.

By increasing transit’s integration with walking and cycling, we can enhance transportation choice and develop healthier communities.


Priority 2.1Increase integration with other types of sustainable travel

Enhance and develop transportation choice

Increase BC Transit’s investment in facilities •(transit exchanges, stations, Park & Rides, etc.) that connect with other types of travel.

Ensure that our performance measures •focus on reducing single-occupant vehicle use, and view usage changes in other green transportation types as complementary, not competitive.

Cultivate new relationships with organizations •that promote sustainable transportation and efficient land use, particularly those that are provincial in scale and which promote a range of transportation options.

As part of building new relationships, •pursue opportunities to build knowledge and awareness on how to move safely around transit vehicles, such as safe passing procedures between cyclists and buses.

Where feasible, encourage transit staff to •use greener types of travel by implementing transportation demand management policies and incentives, and by continuing to include showers, lockers, and bicycle parking areas in plans for new transit operations centres.

Increase integration with walking and cycling

Continue to provide bike racks for all •new buses.

Emphasize our cycling connections at regional •transit hubs by implementing bike facility standards and increasing investment in secure bicycle parking and connections to bikeways and multi-use paths.

Leverage transit facility investments—such •as those related to rapid transit stations and rights of way—to improve pedestrian and cycling facilities.

Develop local alliances to promote greener •types of travel.

Increase integration with regional travel

As part of the Master Plan process, identify •and secure land for Park & Rides and exchanges and evaluate opportunities to link them to other regional modes of travel.

Where viable, improve connecting transit •facilities and services with ferry, rail, and airplane travel.

Continue to evaluate and improve transit •vehicles used for regional services, particularly with respect to passenger comfort, storage for parcels and luggage, and vehicle durability.



Priority 2.2 Influence land use development patternsCommunity land use and development patterns have a direct link to the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation systems

A community that sprawls its residents across a large area and does not make it a priority to locate services and amenities within walking distance of people’s homes will be a community that is dependent on the use of private automobiles. These communities require more time and resources to serve with transit trips than a more compact, better connected community.

A less compact, more automobile-dependent land use pattern will also result in more congestion, pollution, and energy use as well as fewer trips by walking and cycling.

Similarly, locating a large business park, hospital, or other major destination on the outskirts of town may make sense in terms of initial land costs and proximity to existing highways, but these destinations will be difficult to serve by means other than car. These types of developments will also require substantial public investment to serve with transit and to build safe walking and cycling connections.

Under this priority, BC Transit will work with partners to influence land use development patterns that encourage walking and cycling, and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of public transportation.


Improve processes to influence effective land use

Develop Master Plans for all regions outlining transit service •development, facilities, and infrastructure linked to Regional Growth Strategies, Official Community Plans, and local Climate Action strategies. Communicate Master Plan timelines to local governments.

Develop and communicate a Multiple Accounts Evaluation •process that rewards transit-supportive community design with transit investment. This will be achieved by more formally taking into account local land use development policies and patterns when prioritizing service improvements.

Work with local governments to review and coordinate •transit services with ongoing regionally significant public and private development.

Create strategic alliances with other agencies that promote and •benefit from more efficient land development patterns.

Continue to increase our local presence and participation in land •use planning and decision making.

Use transit investment to enhance transit-supportive development

As part of the Master Plan process and wherever possible, •identify and locate transit stations and exchanges at existing people places that are walkable and integrated with nearby services and amenities.

Explore opportunities to foster development and amenities at •stops, stations, and exchanges to help encourage them to be vibrant and safe places.

The Master Plan ProcessThe transit Master Plan process envisions what a community’s public transportation network should look like 25 years from now, and describes what priorities, infrastructure, and investment are needed to get there.

The Master Plan includes an analysis of the existing system and its evolution, an evaluation of the Regional Growth Strategy and Official Community Plans, and a look at future trends. It creates a transit network based on layers of different types of service and seeks to create a more formal link between efficient land use and the level of transit investment.

To attract and keep customers, transit needs to be reliable and convenient. Congestion on roadways and at intersections has a substantial impact on transit. If not controlled or mitigated, congestion will cause transit vehicles to run late and passenger travel times will become longer and less convenient.

Designating priority corridors for transit is essential to protect transit from congestion and make public transportation more attractive. In smaller towns, this designation could mean giving buses priority at an otherwise time-consuming downtown left turn. In urban centres,

designation might mean creating signal priority along a roadway or protecting land to create a separate right-of-way for bus or rail service.

The designation of transit priority corridors can also help focus improvements to stops or stations and assist the creation of transit-supportive land use zoning, development criteria, and funding mechanisms.

Under this priority, BC Transit will work with local government partners to identify and establish priority corridors for transit to make travel more attractive and reliable, and reduce the impact of congestion.


Identify and establish priority corridors for transit

As part of Master Plan process, work with local agencies •to review and coordinate transit service and regional transportation plans and to designate transit priority corridors.

Acquire and protect right-of-way on designated corridors for •future transit facilities.

Use transit system projects to develop and improve a suite •of techniques that will make transit travel faster; ensure the techniques can be applied in a range of community sizes and applications, such as transit signal priority, queue jump lanes, signal timing plan revisions and routing changes.

Increase support for transit focussed development through •advocacy and education.


Priority 2.3Identify and establish priority corridors for transit

Objective 3Change the perception of transitTo build public support for our services and attract new customers, we will increase our advocacy and target transit messaging in new ways.

Over the past 60 years, society’s love affair with private automobiles has substantially shaped our communities. Cars have become such an ingrained part of our lifestyle that many people cannot imagine what their lives would be like without one. They also find it hard to picture what their neighbourhoods would look like if streets were no longer dominated by cars.

To build public support for the funding, land use patterns, and corridors that encourage transit, walking and cycling, we need to first build a common public understanding of what communities would look and feel like if people could easily get around by means other than private automobiles. By targeting and increasing advocacy and outreach programs, we can build the conditions for success and increase public awareness about the benefits of transit and other greener transportation modes.

We will also change how we market transit to our customers. By using marketing techniques that go beyond providing information, we can help position transit as part of a family of healthy, socially responsible transportation choices and give people more incentives and tools to change their behaviour.

The following priorities seek to gain customers and community support by improving how we market and advocate for transit.

Priority 3.1Implement marketing strategies


Traditional advertising is used to sell products by creating a preference for one brand over another. Marketing transit is a much more complex task than traditional advertising because it is not just about selling a product but rather about changing perceptions and behaviours. This kind of marketing involves more than providing information since few people change a lifetime of transportation habits just because they are better informed.

By developing transit campaigns using behaviour change-focussed marketing tools and strategies, BC Transit can encourage people to become customers. A marketing campaign of this type might help users make a commitment to trying transit, offer reminders and incentives to do so, and then help them spread the habit of taking transit to others.

Shifting the marketing of our services also means reframing how we talk and think about them so that we capitalize on our strength as progressive, community-minded transportation.

Under this priority, BC Transit will implement new marketing strategies to change perceptions and behaviours, attract new customers, and increase ridership by promoting transit as part of a healthy, socially responsible lifestyle.

Increase our knowledge about our existing and future customers

Evaluate and revise existing data sources, such •as electronic farebox data and our existing monthly telephone survey, to provide better information. This information will help us develop and gauge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Undertake research of our systems to •determine what keeps people from trying transit or using it more often.

Implement new marketing strategies

Design, pilot, and implement marketing •strategies focussed on changing transportation behaviours. Develop this marketing on successive campaigns that connect with the community, grow ridership, and enhance the position of transit as part of a healthy, socially responsible lifestyle.

Implement a marketing innovation program •that will enable communities to propose and implement new marketing or outreach campaigns and evaluate and share their results.

Consider implementing programs that engage •existing customers to act as ambassadors to attract and orient new customers.

Recognize that Master Plan processes •discussed in Priority 2.0 and public involvement strategies discussed in Priority 4.2 are also tremendous opportunities to market transit as well as advocate and educate.

Improve marketing tools

As part of re-examining roles and •responsibilities under Priority 1.2, evaluate how marketing responsibilities are shared between BC Transit and local transit partners. Determine how BC Transit can best support communities that have more capacity and desire to undertake local marketing and business development of transit systems.

More effectively target and share marketing •resources between transit systems by implementing a centralized framework for cataloging, evaluating, and improving marketing programs.

Create policies and procedures to improve •access to transit staff and vehicles for marketing campaigns.


Priority 3.2 Increase our advocacy and education practices


To build support for the land use patterns and investment that are critical to transit’s long term success, we need to build a shared vision for the future internally and with external staff and decision makers who will help realize that future.

This means improving how we share information on best practices and being more vocal about transit’s requirements. It also means developing new programs and practices to teach people about our role and the benefits transit provides, and how they can get on board.

Under this priority, BC Transit will increase advocacy and education practices to build acceptance and support for our business, resource needs, and land use and transportation corridor requirements.

Increase our advocacy

Develop and promote our advocacy and •education resources, particularly with respect to general transit background information, transit supportive land use best practices, infrastructure standards, and the benefits of transit and other greener transportation modes.

Create and distribute comprehensive transit •background materials to newly elected officials after each local, provincial, and federal election.

Identify and implement a strategy to ensure •that provincial ministries are aware of who we are and what we do. Ensure that ministries promote BC Transit when the issue of transportation comes up within their business.

Work with partners to create guidelines for •local advocacy. Develop and share a suite of presentation templates that can be used to address our most common audiences, such as Chambers of Commerce, business associations, Parent Advisory Councils, and residents of seniors’ facilities.

Continue to participate in the Union of British •Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) annual conference and look for other opportunities to

build our presence with UBCM and its regional local government management associations.

Build alliances with other organizations •advocating for sustainable transportation and walkable, transit-supportive community development.

Develop our education practices and tools

Develop the information we provide to the •public on the range of accessible services we offer and evaluate opportunities to expand our travel training programs for seniors and people with a disability.

Revamp and relaunch our elementary school •and middle school outreach programs and create processes to ensure their ongoing development, including assessing opportunities to work with educators to develop an expanded curriculum or online components.

Create a suite of post-secondary marketing •and education materials that can be easily adopted by on-campus student groups and which promote greener transportation, U-PASS benefits, a sense of ownership, and standards of behaviour.


Better marketing and advocacy for transit will be of little use if the product we deliver is not consistently excellent. The service we provide must also adapt and improve to meet the needs of our customers, especially in the midst of continuing social, technological, and community development change.

The priorities under this objective recognize that delivering safe, reliable, easy-to-use transportation is at the core of our business. One of the most important ways we can improve our services is by listening to and engaging the people who use and help deliver them.

Objective 4Deliver operational excellenceThe core of our business is developing and delivering safe, reliable, and easy-to-use transportation services that continuously improve through active engagement with our customers, employees, and partners.



Ensure the safety of our employees and customers

Focus on the continuous professional •development of our transit operators by further developing our Motor Carrier Passenger Council of Canada accredited driver training curriculum and modules. Deliver training, assessments, and expertise in conventional transit, paratransit, and handyDART systems throughout the province.

Identify emerging situations in our transit •systems through improved monitoring of incident data and transit staff feedback. Adapt the content of our training modules in response to these situations.

Improve the safety and security of our •employees and customers on board vehicles and at transit stops, stations, exchanges, and Park & Rides.

Further build cooperative relationships with •community police, RCMP, and citizen groups to address and deter violence on our transit systems, and to foster a restorative justice approach to asset damage.

Improve the safety of our stops, stations •and exchanges through the location and design considerations listed in Priority 2.2, and continue to include and build on crime prevention through environmental design techniques as part of new infrastructure.

In the advocacy and education work that we •perform, recognize that transit trips do not start and end at stops or stations: BC Transit will encourage local government safety improvements to sidewalks, bikeways, and road crossings.

Improve and simplify routes, schedules, and availability

Through the Master Plan process and •ongoing service plans, continue to improve conventional transit, paratransit, and handyDART system frequency and availability, days and hours of operation, and service area coverage.

Use the Master Plan to tailor services to meet •customer needs. More easily communicate transit system features by creating layers of transit service ranging from rapid transit and frequent transit networks to local and neighbourhood shuttle routes.

Develop transit service guidelines for •measuring, monitoring, and prioritizing transit resource allocations.

Complete and implement a new province- •wide transit system data management program to improve how we collect, share, and make decisions from transit system data, including ridership, on-time performance, and stop/station inventories.

Priority 4.1Deliver excellent service

Over the past 30 years—and in particular during the significant improvements made to commuter services over the past 15 years—some of BC Transit’s most successful customer markets have become university and college students, high school students, adult commuters to central business districts, and customers who do not use other types of transportation.

Attracting other customer markets and doubling transit ridership by 2020 means enhancing the convenience and simplicity of our services.

Under this priority, BC Transit will focus on delivering excellent service by creating transit systems—including routes, schedules, fares, vehicles, information systems, and infrastructure—that are safe, clean, reliable, simple to use and access, and effective in attracting customers.



Simplify transit information and deliver it where people need it

Continuously improve our public information services •to give customers the information they need, when and where they need it, in the format they want. Tailor information to the needs of specific groups of customers. Evaluate how we can further simplify province-wide access to transit information online and by telephone.

Improve and support the availability and accessibility •of schedule information at major stops and stations, for example, through electronic signage and printed schedule displays.

Make fare payments more convenient

Invest in new fare collection and transit pass •technologies to make transit more convenient and accessible.

Work with our local partners to develop availability, •materials, and marketing campaigns for long term passes, such as U-PASS for post-secondary students, ProPASS for employers, youthPASS, and others.

Work with handyDART transit management •companies and customers to evaluate and further develop fare policies and products to meet specific customer needs.

Improve the accessibility, cleanliness, comfort, and availability of vehicles

Implement recommendations and new •accessibility service standards and guidelines from an independent evaluation of BC Transit’s accessible services.

Evaluate and implement new accessible technologies, •such as a low-floor community shuttle and on board audio and visual stop enunciators.

Further improve the comfort and amenities of •vehicles, for example, improved seating design and layout, luggage and parcel storage on regional services, and other on board features.

Create a process to formally establish cleanliness •expectations and monitor outcomes, and reflect these requirements in operating contracts.

Support the implementation of policies and •technologies that enable operations and maintenance staff to monitor vehicle availability to ensure that service needs are met.

Better equip local maintenance staff to maintain •reliable fleets and ensure that components critical to keeping vehicles on the road are continuously available in transit systems.

Evaluate the costs and benefits of external •advertising on buses compared to the recognition and marketing value of a more unified look.

Improve the accessibility, cleanliness, and comfort of stops, stations, and exchanges

Take a larger ownership and financial stake in the •design, construction, and maintenance of stops, stations, and associated amenities.

Define and ensure compliance with accessibility and •signage standards at stops, stations, and exchanges.

Evaluate new technologies and techniques to •enhance the accessibility of stops and stations.


Our customers and front line transit staff see how transit could be improved on a daily basis and therefore represent some of our best expert resources. In order for our business to be responsive and improve, we must listen to them.

Listening to customers and employees makes good business sense. The impact of the Internet’s world of instant engagement and endless customization creates a public expectation that organizations will provide opportunities to comment and participate. The B.C. Auditor General has recently recognized the trend toward increased public engagement with the 2008 release of a public participation principles and best practices guide for B.C.

In addition to being an expected aspect of organizations, well designed and genuine public involvement practices can help create better transit by collecting a wider range of information than quantitative data alone. These practices can also provide decision makers the confidence to support projects in the face of opposition. In workplaces and transit systems, well-executed involvement strategies also help build a sense of ownership, improved morale, and a culture of innovation.

Under this priority, BC Transit will provide multiple and regular opportunities for customers, transit staff, and partners to participate in transit system development and decision making to improve service and build advocacy, investment, and a sense of ownership.

Priority 4.2 Involve everyone, especially our experts

Enhance two-way communication with customers, partners, and transit system staff

Review and improve our processes for •recording, following up, and acting on suggestions, complaints, and commendations.

Conduct at least two phases of customer, •staff, and stakeholder participation using a variety of methods as part of each Master Plan process.

Improve integration and communication •processes for transit system changes. Create a structured process for customers, partners, and transit staff to suggest and prioritize service improvements.

Implement the local government and transit •management company feedback processes listed under Priority 1.2.

Increase opportunities for employee input

Hold interactive open houses with our •employees as part of annual business plan development.

Initiate other strategies to regularly survey •employees on their experience in the workplace and gather and report back on their ideas for improvement.

Continue to support the development of •multi-disciplinary project teams.

Improve our tools and techniques

Develop internal resources and tools to •engage customers, transit staff, and partners in decision making and create ways to centralize and share best practices, templates, and materials internally and between transit systems.

Make our open houses and workshops more •useful and engaging by holding them where our customers and stakeholders already are (for instance, on-site at major exchanges) and by making them more interactive.

Implement better online public •involvement and feedback resources, such as customer panels.


Objective 5strengthen our people and partnershipsOur success depends on creating an adaptable, socially responsible organization that lives its values, develops its existing employees and partnerships, and attracts new people and opportunities.


Our people, partnerships, and values are the most important pillars on which BC Transit is built. Strengthening this foundation, and preparing for the many opportunities and challenges that the coming years may bring, means actively working to improve how we attract and develop with our employees and partners. It also means encouraging a culture of innovation and accountability, and ensuring that we comprehensively consider and monitor our environmental, social, and economic impacts.

The priorities under this objective acknowledge that our success depends on cultivating exceptional people and partnerships and on aligning our decision making with our values.


Whether maintaining vehicles, delivering service, or planning for future transportation networks, public transit is a people-intensive business that requires talented employees working together to achieve BC Transit’s objectives. At the same time as demand for transit services is increasing, BC Transit must manage the aging of our workforce, which creates further challenges in employee recruitment and retention.

In order to continue to attract and retain great people, BC Transit will continually adapt its recruitment, training, and development and retention strategies. We must also create the practices to help encourage the innovative thinking and teamwork that will enable us to successfully navigate future challenges and opportunities.

Under this priority, BC Transit will continue to be an adaptable workplace of choice that offers competitive compensation, flexibility, and opportunity and that rewards problem solving, innovation, and performance.

Priority 5.1Become an adaptable workplace of choice

Attract and retain great people

Provide a comprehensive and competitive •compensation and benefit package within provincial government guidelines to make BC Transit an employer of choice.

Promote employee health and well-being •through corporate business practices, benefit plans, and activity and recreational programs.

Refine our processes and procedures for •welcoming new employees, celebrating the contributions of existing employees, and maintaining relationships with employees who leave the organization.

Attract and develop future employees by •continuing to support co-op programs and encouraging secondary and post-secondary students to work on transit-related projects.Support and evolve our employee referral program, which rewards BC Transit employees who refer new people to our workplace.

Increase use of social media to promote our •organization, expand our contacts, and attract new people.

Offer flexibility and opportunity

Work with our unions and our employees to •identify opportunities to balance work lives with personal lives.

Together with our unions and employees, •explore ways to encourage professional growth and development opportunities.

Expand our training and development •program to provide for group training initiatives, career-path support, creation of individual development plans and incorporation of internal and external mentoring programs.

Promote and reward problem solving, innovation, and performance

Implement new performance goals and •measures aligned to the corporate strategic plan and business plans ensuring all employees understand how they impact and contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Remain committed to celebrating success •and supporting our employee appreciation program, including recognition and awards for leadership, innovation, teamwork, and length of service.

Help our leaders and employees seize •every opportunity to recognize and reward excellence in performance, success and innovation throughout the organization.



Collaborative partnerships are at the heart of BC Transit’s shared services model. This is true of the over 81 transit systems we operate that are partnerships between BC Transit, local governments, and transit management companies. It is also true of the many partnerships that we have formed with businesses, health providers, educational institutions, and non-profit agencies to support our organization’s operations, effectiveness, and values.

In the same way that we need to attract and develop our employees, it is also crucial that we continue to cultivate innovative partnerships.

Under this priority, BC Transit will enhance existing partnerships and attract new ones in order to promote our vision and values, foster innovation and best practices, and increase our efficiency and effectiveness.

Enhance our existing partnerships

Continue to bring together partner local •governments, transit management companies, and BC Transit staff to share best practices and learn from one another.

Supplement the annual workshop with •webinars on relevant topics, particularly periodic operations roundtables and orientations for new transit contacts.

Promote and share our human resources •strengths with our transit management companies, particularly in the areas of employee recruitment and retention.

Implement province-wide training programs— •particularly focussing on the areas of safety and training for transit operators and maintenance staff—that are modular and can be tailored to the needs of specific locations.

Develop new partnerships

Connect and cultivate long term strategic •partnerships with suppliers to test new products and ensure that our specific needs are met.

Build partnerships with educational •institutions, industry, and other organizations to increase our training and development opportunities, cross-pollinate ideas, and promote our organization.

Build on our expertise and services to •administer and disperse province-wide programs on the behalf of other government entities and organizations.

Identify and pursue opportunities to create •strategic partnerships with other organizations to pool purchasing and attain better pricing for the products and services we need.

Priority 5.2Enhance existing partnerships and develop new ones SUMMARy OF PROPOSED ACTIONS


Whether prioritizing transit investment among communities or considering the full lifecycle impacts of fleet and facility choices, our decisions often require a conscious and balanced consideration of environmental, social, and financial impacts.

As a public transportation provider, we will recognize—and be proud of and promote—the fact that many of our biggest and most positive community impacts are the hardest to quantify in a non-financial way.

In addition to measuring and being accountable for the impacts we make, we will ensure that our organization is true to its values and is actively working to be a part of the sustainable future it hopes to promote.

Under this priority, BC Transit will increase its environmental, social, and economic accountability by implementing programs and procedures that align our behaviour with our values, ensure comprehensive decision-making, and reduce our negative impacts and risks.

Align our behaviour with our values

Implement this strategic plan and its •underlying framework of short term capital plans, multi-year business plans, service plans, and annual reports.

Improve accountabilities and key performance •indicators to more explicitly measure environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Ensure that all reports and plans produced at •BC Transit align with this strategic plan.

Ensure comprehensive decision making

Review and revise all business case templates •and procurement evaluations to ensure that they include evaluation of environmental and social impacts.

Reduce environmental impacts and risks

Continue to actively support the province’s •Climate Action Plan, including measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and progress in working towards carbon neutrality as specified in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act.

Continue to test and implement vehicles with •alternative propulsion systems that are less reliant on fossil fuels.

Further moderate fossil fuel use and emissions •on existing vehicles, for example, through

installation of improved performance vehicle parts and the relaunch of the Smart Driver program to teach energy conserving driving techniques.

Identify opportunities to further moderate the •energy and resource use and environmental impacts of our facilities.

Establish and continually improve •a comprehensive environmental management system.

Support transit management company •participation in local emergency preparedness groups. On a provincial level, ensure the creation and provision of emergency preparedness plans.

Maintain social accountability

Maintain the affordability of transit •through cost control measures and program development.

Maintain and enhance partnerships focussed •on improving mobility and accessibility.

Recognize the unique role transit systems and •transit staff have in building social networks that provide inclusion, connection, and support for all.

Priority 5.3Increase our environmental, social, and economic accountability SUMMARy OF PROPOSED ACTIONS


Moving forwardrEVIEW AnD rEnEWAl

The strategic plan is not a static document. In concert with the business plan process this plan will be reviewed annually to address emerging trends and performance, and determine if immediate changes are required to the presented objectives, priorities, and major actions. Furthermore, a comprehensive strategic plan consultation, review, and update will be undertaken every five years.

PuBlIC InVOlVEMEnT

As part of our continued commitment to public involvement in our strategic plan process, this plan will be provided to our employees, partner local governments, transit management companies, and major stakeholders. The plan, plus summaries and highlights, will also be available online to our customers and the general public.

Through engagement with customers, employees, and partners, we will seek comments and feedback with regard to what we have captured well, what is missing, and what needs changing.

Based on this feedback we will continue to develop and refine the detailed action items and measurements of success for each of the priorities presented in the plan.

IMPlEMEnTATIOn AnD MOnITOrInG

A strategic plan is only as valuable as the thought, learning, and action that it provokes and guides.

This corporate strategic plan is intended to serve as the overarching framework for long term master plans, capital plans, multi-year business plans, and annual service plans and budgets to follow, as illustrated below.

6Strategic Plan

Master Plans

Capital Plans

Corporate Service Plans & Business Plans

Annual Service Plans & Budgets


ConclusionSubstantially increasing the viability and usage of public transportation in B.C. requires that BC Transit reinvent itself as an organization and take a more active and accountable role in securing the conditions for success.

If we do not take action, the results of complacency are clear. Numerous other North American transit systems now find themselves in a position where, despite growing ridership and sense of public urgency to address energy and climate change issues, they are facing service cuts due to insufficient funding and unsustainable revenue sources.

This plan presents a blueprint to renew our organization at every level, from the vision, mission and values at our core, to the revenue, governance,

and land use structures that shape us, to the services we deliver and market, and the people and partners who make them possible.

The next step will be to work with our Provincial shareholder, customers, employees, partners, and stakeholders to translate this blueprint into increasing our self-reliance and resilience over the long term and continuously increasing value to the public we serve.

This plan establishes BC Transit’s vision to lead the development of integrated transportation networks that will shift the balance to greener travel and a healthier province. It declares the organization’s ongoing commitment to helping connect people and communities to a more sustainable future.

7

Map of BC Transit systems

Boundary

Prince George

Quesnel

Williams Lake

Clearwater & Area

100 Mile House

Pemberton Valley

Lillooet-Lytton

Ashcroft-Cache Creek-Clinton

Whistler

SquamishSunshine Coast

Princeton

Merritt

Agassiz-Harrison

Chilliwack

Central FraserValley

Kamloops Shuswap Regional

North Okanagan

Vernon Regional

Kelowna Regional

Okanagan -Similkameen

Penticton

Summerland

Osoyoos

Kootenay Boundary

Castlegar Regional

Nakusp

Kaslo

Nelson-Slocan Valley KootenayLake West

Kimberley Elk Valley

Cranbrook

Creston Valley

Nelson

Revelstoke

Kicking Horse Country

Columbia Valley

Dawson Creek

Fort St. John

Prince Rupert

Port Edward

Kitimat

Terrace Regional

Skeena Regional

Hazletons’ Regional

Smithers & District

Victoria Regional

Salt SpringIsland Cowichan

Valley

Nanaimo RegionalPort Alberni

Alberni-Clayoquot

Comox Valley

Campbell River

Mt.Waddington

Bella Coola

Powell River

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This plan was prepared by the employees and Board of BC Transit in collaboration and consultation with the passengers, residents, employees, and elected officials of communities, local governments, and operating companies from across B.C.

Our sincere thanks to all who took the time to provide us with their thoughts on what the future could (or should) look like and on how our organization should change to meet it.

CONTACT US

For further information on this strategic plan or to make a comment on it, please contact BC Transit’s Business Development team at [email protected] or 250-995-5632 or visit www.bctransit.com/2030.

For general information on BC Transit and our transit systems, please visit www.bctransit.com or call 250-385-2551.

BC TransitPO Box 610, 520 Gorge Road EastVictoria, British ColumbiaV8W 2P3

Phone: 250.385.2551Fax: 250.995.5639www.bctransit.com

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