Service Development Process 1

Our mission: To meet our constituents’ present and future public transit needs by offering safe, clean, reliable, courteous, accessible and cost- effective service throughout the District. 2

Key Takeaways How we develop the proposed service plans How we communicate the plan to the public How we implement the service plan 3

Overview To develop customer focused, market based services: –we gather information –use/evaluate the information to develop proposed service plans –we implement the service plan through a process 4

Service Development The Service Development Division is responsible for design, review and maintenance of bus and light rail operations plans and schedules for the RTD’s 135 regular fixed bus routes and 6 light rail lines. The Division contains Service Planning & Scheduling, Service Development Support and Service Monitoring groups. 5

Major functions of Service Development Exploration and development of new and improved services. Integration of service planning with marketing, systems planning, and facilities planning. Evaluation of service performance according to RTD Service Standards with recommendations for proposed changes. Development and implementation of three system-wide service changes each year. Development of new and restructured network, sub-regional, corridor, and community transit service plans. Maintenance and development of tools for planning and analysis, including, scheduling, runcutting, geographic information systems, ridership monitoring and analysis, and performance evaluation. 6

Service Area The RTD’s 2,300 square mile service area is divided among three area teams designated East, North and West. 7

How we gather information Market Research –Origin & Destination Studies –On-Board Surveys –Telephone Surveys Customer Input –TIC/Customer Service Responses –Constituent Input/GMR’s Municipal/Local Government Contact –Development review –Constituent complaint/suggestion –Business Media 8

How we gather information Operator Feedback –Operator Input Sessions –Operator Bulletin Board –Overload Reports –Operator Suggestion forms –Runboard Committee 9

System Performance Data 10 APC (Automatic Passenger Counting) AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) Farebox Service Monitoring Street Supervision

11 Ridecheck Plus RTD Collection Staff 43 Street & LRT Supervisors Laptops (pointchecks) 6 Service Monitors Laptops ( ridechecks/pointchecks) 2 Station Starters Desktop (pointchecks) Bus and LRT Schedule Data & Bus Vehicle Assignments (Trapeze & TIES) CAD/AVL System Schedule Adherence Data (ACS data now, INIT data 2013) Schedule Adherence Reports Ridership Analysis Reports Ridership Analysis Maps Init APC System 302 Buses (of ~ 1000) APCs (ridechecks) 42 LRT Cars (of ~ 178) APCs (ridechecks) LRT Factoring APC Validation Automated Survey Validation Technician Analysis and Reporting Ridership and On-Time Performance Information Flow Google Earth Ridership Maps TriTapt and On-Time Performance Toad for Ad Hoc Reporting 56 Commuter Rail (Future 2016) All with APCs (ridechecks) Commuter Rail Schedules & Vehicle Assignments (???)

Guiding Principles for Service Design & Evaluation Service performance evaluation based on the RTD Service Standards. The effects on the overall integrity of the transit network and on transit dependent markets; The availability of alternative services to affected riders; Cost-effective distribution throughout the District and Family of Services and the ability to enhance service when possible; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act: benefits and services are provided without regard to race, color or national origin; also disparate effects on low income and minority populations; and Response to changes in the communities where services are provided 12

Family of Services CBD Local service for Local or Limited routes operating to/from the Denver Central business District Urban Local service for Local and Limited routes that predominantly serve urban areas which have very high residential and/or employment density. Suburban Local service for Local or Limited routes that primarily serve suburban areas that have low to medium density Express services that provide high-speed service from suburban areas of the metro area Regional services that are essentially long-haul routes providing service between outlying areas and employment centers RTD also employs such service standards in evaluating call- n-Ride service and SkyRide service 13

Design Standards Service Delivery – Geographic Standards –Area Coverage –Branches –Deviations –Stop spacing Financial Capacity 14

Evaluation Analyses –Ridership –Schedule adherence –segments Financial Capacity 15

Evaluation Service Standards –Ridership by class of service (pax/hour) –Subsidy per Boarding –Frequency thresholds –Passenger Volume 16

Service Standards by Class of Service 17

Performance by Class of Service 18

Service Change Process Runboard/Votes –January –May –August 19

Service Change Process Key Milestones –Runboard Committee Meeting –Service Change proposals to Board of Directors/Marketing –Public Meetings –Schedule finalization –Runcut –Trailblazer –Public Timetable –Shelter boards 20

Runboard Development Schedule 21

Communication “How we speak to the public” Proposed/Final Service Change brochure Transflux Posters Alerts Social Media Website Social Media Posts re: meetings, changes 22

Communication “How we speak to the public” Proposed/Final e-newsletter articles Press releases and media outreach Additional tactics per route if required Scheduled audits to determine distribution/availability of materials on our vehicles 23

Discussion: Challenges to Process and Communication 24