How does Metrobus Transit compare to other Canadian transit systems
(compared to transit systems servicing a base population of 50-150K, 2022 data provided by the Canadian Urban Transit Association

	Metrobus Transit	National Average
RC Ratio	39%	28.0%
Revenue/Revenue Vehicle Hour	$56.37	$38.01
Expenses/Revenue Vehicle Hour	$144.38	$136.70
Adjusted Fuel Cost/Revenue Vehicle Hour	-$1.34
Adjusted Tax Rate/Revenue Vehicle Hour	-$2.34
Expenses/Revenue Vehicle Hour (adj.)	$140.70	$115.56
Rides/Capita	35.3	16.8
Average Adult Cash Fare	$2.50	$3.72

Metrobus Transit Ridership Information

Service standards are fundamental to the operation of any public transit organization as they provide the rationale for making decisions on transit services and associated allocation of resources. These standards are intended to guide the design and operation of transit services, and are the foundation of the current Service Plan.

Mission Statement

To be a key part of the transportation solution necessary for a sustainable St. John's.

Route Coverage

90% of all urban residences, places of work, secondary and post secondary schools, shopping centres, and public facilities in the urban area should be within a 400 metre distance of a bus stop during the daytime on weekdays and Saturdays, and within 800 metres of a bus stop during the late evenings and on Sundays and Holidays. See also “Warrants for Servicing New Areas”.

Route Structure

A network of base and local fixed routes should form the transit system. Base routes should be operated in a straight-line structure, as much as possible, on the main arterial roads in the urban transit service area; they will be oriented to the main travel destinations and corridors. Local routes will supplement the base routes by serving the various neighbourhoods and developing corridors in the City.

Hours of Service

The transit routes should have the following minimum hours of service:

Monday-Friday
6:30am - 12:30am on base routes
6:30am - 11:30pm on primary local routes
6:30am - 6:30pm on secondary local routes

Saturday
7:00am - 12:30am on base routes
9:00am - 11:30pm on primary local routes
9:00am - 6:30pm on secondary local routes

Sundays/Holidays
8:30am - 8:30pm on all routes operating

Headways

The transit routes should have the following maximum headways:

Peak Period Weekdays
15 min on base routes
30 min on primary local routes
60 min on secondary local routes

Off-Peak Weekdays
30 min on base routes
30 min on primary local routes
60 min on secondary local routes

Saturdays
30 min on base routes
30 min on primary local routes
60 min on secondary local routes

Evenings/Sundays
60 min on base routes
60 min on local routes

Vehicle Loadings

The maximum passenger loads per bus should not exceed 150% of the seating capacity.

Transfer Wait Times

Buses at transfer points should wait no longer than 3 minutes past scheduled departure time for arriving buses.

On-Time Performance

During all periods, and at all time points and terminals, no bus should leave early, and 90% or more buses should be "on time", within 3 minutes late. There should be daily monitoring of these policies at main time points along each route.

Safety Standard

To operate the vehicles so that preventable accidents on any route are minimized but do not exceed two accidents per 100,000 km.

Ridership Levels

Each transit route should achieve the following boardings per revenue hour:

Monday-Saturday Daytime: 35 average, 20 minimum
Evenings/Sunday & Holidays: 20 average, 10 minimum
Overall: 30 average, 15 minimum

Cost Recovery

The transit system as a whole must recover 50% or more of its operating cost from passenger and other operating revenue. Routes that fall below 20% on average should be discontinued, and routes that are between 20% and 35% on weekdays should be analyzed for possible modification or restructuring.

Warrants for Servicing New Areas

A proposed new service area must be situated greater than 400 meters from an existing transit service. For each kilometre of route being considered in a residential area, at least 2,000 people should live in the catchment area of a proposed new route (i.e. live within a 400 metre walk of the routes). New service will be operated between 6:30 am and 9:00 am and between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm on weekdays if full service cannot be justified initially. Full service may be implemented in stages depending on the demand in the order of peak periods, midday, Saturday, evening, Sunday.

Continuance of New Services

New routes and extensions to existing routes will be evaluated against existing services for a period of six months. After six months of operation, routes are reviewed to determine if they would still qualify for implementation based on current data. Routes whose performance does not meet approved standards shall undergo review and revision to improve their economic performance to bring them within the limits of the standards. If such revisions are not possible, discontinuation of service on the route shall be considered. See also “Ridership” and “Cost Recovery” standards.

Bus Stop Spacing

Along any route the bus stop spacing should be no greater than 400 metres, and stops should be located at least 200 metres apart, except where there are a significant number of major ridership generators.

Bus Shelters

Bus shelters should be placed at bus stops depending on various factors such as amount of passenger activity and exposure to weather conditions as well as the average waiting time. Shelters should not be considered at stops where the number of patrons boarding would be less than two (2) per hour or 25 per day. Once an area has been selected for possible installation of a bus stop, application for approval to install the shelter shall be made to the appropriate body.

Bus shelter target range is 15%.

Bus Bays

Bus bays should be considered for stops located near major ridership generators, transfer points, timing points or other stops along a bus route where a bus has relatively long bus dwell time, particularly on high volume arterial roads with high overall travel speeds. Once an area has been selected for possible installation of a bus bay, application for approval to install the bus bay shall be made to the appropriate body.


Revised October, 2006