May 2008

The following measures have been, or will be implemented, to evaluate the changes along the 501 Queen streetcar route:

Route Management Short-Turning Practices

  • Customer-focused guidelines are based on adhering to the scheduled time between streetcars.
  • Serve to regulate and limit short-turning practices.
  • Performance measures include the number and location of short-turns and vehicle spacing measures.

Service Assistance Crews

  • Additional trained Operators can be strategically located along problematic routes to assist in consistent service and to minimize short-turning.
  • Additional bus or streetcar to fill in gaps in service.

Assignment of Route Supervisors

  • An additional Supervisor has been assigned to the central portion of the route.
  • Allows Supervisors at the east and west ends of the route to focus on using Service Assistance Crews to improve service and reduce short-turning.

Workforce Availability

  • Workforce shortage resulted from greater-than-anticipated workforce requirements due to an increase in ridership.
  • Issue has been addressed to ensure that the streetcar Operator workforce is adequate to allow consistent delivery of service.

Vehicle Maintenance and Availability

  • Number of streetcars required for service has been reduced because of track construction on certain routes.
  • This requires streetcars to be replaced by buses.
  • 501 service operates with ALRVs, but with the use of additional CLRVs available.
  • Route will be carefully monitored to minimize the use of CLRVs.
  • ALRVs will be overhauled and in service beginning 2009, with completion in 2011.

Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVL)

  • The Communication Information System (CIS) is old and outdated, lacking vehicle-tracking and performance monitoring capabilities of newer AVL systems.
  • Upgrading the system is in the budgeted plans for 2008 to assist in route management.

Route Structure

  • A study to be completed later this summer will determine the effects on customers if the 501 route was split into two or more sections, running independently of each other.