Top Fleets Taking Steps to Attract Growing Market Segments

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1 2014 Transit Bus Fleet Survey: Top Fleets Taking Steps to Attract Growing Market Segments Capital Metro - No. 46 Photo courtesy Capital Metro With usage amongst millennials and Baby Boomers gaining popularity, many agencies are reporting measures to pull more of these segments onboard, including targeted marketing programs and increased technologies. Meanwhile, the amount of alternative-fueled vehicles has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By Alex Roman, Managing Editor To mark METRO s 110th year, we added 10 more transit agencies to our Top 100 Bus Fleets survey, which is topped by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority s (MTA) New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co. with 6,782 total vehicles. This is the first year the MTA has combined the two fleets into one number, with the total fleet count coming in at 10% of the 68,835 vehicles reported by 110 transit agencies, covering three countries and 33 states. The amount of total vehicles climbed 16% compared to 2004 s 59,337 total reported and 5% compared to Meanwhile, New Jersey Transit (2,508), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (2,360), Chicago s Pace Suburban Bus (1,960) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (1,860) round out the top five, with Woodbridge, Va. s Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission closing out the Top 110 with 154 vehicles. Trends and initiatives As studies continue to find so-called millennials those born between 1982 and 2004 driving less and being more open to alternative forms of transportation, many agencies are making efforts to become more attractive to that market, as well as on the opposite end of the spectrum, to Baby Boomers. Of these initiatives, adding real-time bus information, offering free Wi-Fi, creating apps and improving fare payment, such as adding smart cards and smartphone payment technology, are the most popular for attracting millennials, as well as marketing and branding efforts. In Montreal, for example, the Societe de Transport de Montreal (No. 10) reports it has repositioned the agency as a younger and more dynamic organization with a brand identity that is much more engaging. Meanwhile, other agencies, including West Covina, Calif. s Foothill Transit (No. 63) and Syracuse, N.Y. s Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (No. 77) report expanding their social media outreach to reach millennials where they are, with other popular initiatives including outreach to schools 26 < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

2 and universities, the expansion or revision of bus routes, and adding more bike racks. Popular initiatives for attracting Baby Boomers, include outreach to senior living communities, travel training, targeted marketing, increasing space for mobility aid devices, and either free or discounted fares. When asked what technology or equipment they are adding to increase efficiencies or improve safety, many transportation agencies are reporting the implementation of computer aided dispatch/automatic vehicle location systems, security cameras, enhanced trip planning and automated stop announcement systems. Additional improvements being made include expanded use of alternatively-propelled vehicles and adding automatic passenger counting systems, as well as LED lighting and bus displays. At New York MTA, new initiatives taken by the agency in the last year, include adding a bus operator security door, improved fire detection, security cameras onboard buses; proactively addressing pedestrian safety in alignment with the city s Vision Zero action plan; increased observational rides and onstreet observations and direct engagement with bus operators; enhanced bus operator training with emphasis on distracted pedestrians and cyclists; researching new technologies to help mitigate collisions; collaborating with the Department of Transportation on traffic engineering and streetscaping. Meanwhile, other agencies report they are working on either expanding their existing fleet or purchasing new buses to replace outdated vehicles, improving bus stop and transit center accessibility, expanding late night service, improving security both on-board buses and at pickup points, and creating rapid or targeted bus routes. The numbers A closer look at the numbers reveals 48,770 buses are 35 feet or longer, making up 71% of the total vehicles reported, with 14,210, or 21%, of vehicles 35 feet and. Fifty-eight percent, or 39,879, Fleet Mix (48,770) (14,210) (5,855) 71% 21% 8% 35 ft. and over Under 35 ft. Artic Alternative Fuels Buses 35 feet and over remain the most popular choice, with 48,770 total buses, followed by buses 35 feet and and articulated vehicles, with 14,210 and 5,855, respectively. Compared to 2004, the totals are very similar with buses over 35 feet totaling 46,437 buses, however, that total constituted 77% of the total, with buses 35 feet making up 15% of the sum. Natural Gas: 50% Hybrid-Electric: 43% Electric: 4% Other: 3% With 8,539 vehicles, natural gas is the environmentally-friendly fuel of choice, followed closely by hybrid-electric vehicles with 7,277 vehicles. This year, electric vehicles get their own category and make up 4% of the total 16,964 alternative-fueled vehicles reported, which was 530 vehicles more compared with Overall, alternatively-fueled vehicles make up 25% of the total 68,835 vehicles reported. In 2004, alternatively-fueled vehicles made up only 13.6% of the total vehicles reported. Top 5 bus fleets in MTA New York City Transit 4, New Jersey Transit Corp. 3, L.A. Metro 2, Chicago Transit Authority 2, Toronto Transit Commission 1,638 September/October 2014 metro magazine > 27

3 Top 110 of the total vehicles are low-floor applications and 13% of are used for demand response. This year s Top 10 makes up 36% of the Top 110 Bus Fleet totals, which is approximately 2% higher than Overall, this year s respondents report that they intend to order 6,701 vehicles in the next year, up 13% from last year s number. Meanwhile, the amount of alternatively-propelled vehicles reported total 16,964 and make-up 25% of the fleet totals reported for 2014, with natural gas continuing to lead the way with 8,539 vehicles. Hybrid-electric propulsion continues to follow closely behind with 7,277 vehicles, or 43%, of the total alt-fuel vehicles reported, with electric vehicles a new category for 2014 making up 4% of the sum. Overall, 64% of respondents reported electric vehicles as the type of vehicle propulsion they are most interested in adding to their fleets, followed by natural gas and hybrid, with 36% and 19%, respectively. Digging a bit deeper, 17 transit agencies in this year s Top 110 are from Canada, thanks to the addition of Brampton Transit, which reported 359 total vehicles and debuts at No. 57. Overall, seven of those Canadian agencies cracked the top 20, led by the Toronto Transit Commission at No. 6, with 1,851 reported vehicles. Meanwhile, with 16 transit agencies, California remains the state with TOp Fleets comparison: 2004 vs Total vehicles: 59,337 68, ft. and over: 46,437 48,770 Under 35 ft.: 9,231 14,210 Articulated: 3,669 5,855 Buses on order: 4,839 6,701 Alt-fuel vehicles: 8,190 16,964 the most representation in this year s Top 110. With all the budget and staff cuts going on around the nation, METRO would especially like to thank all of the transit agencies for participating this year. If you know a fleet that belongs on this list or have suggestions on how to improve our future lists, please let us know at info@metro-magazine.com. 28 < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

4 L.A. Metro - No MTA New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co. NYC 2 2 New Jersey Transit Corp. Newark, N.J. 3 3 Metro LA 4 10 Pace Suburban Bus Chicago 5 6 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Philadelphia 6 4 Toronto Transit Commission Toronto 7 7 Coast Mountain Bus Co. Vancouver, B.C. 8 8 King County DOT/Metro Transit Seattle 9 5 Chicago Transit Authority Chicago 10 9 Société de Transport de Montréal Montreal Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority D.C Regional Transportation District Denver Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Houston Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Boston BC Transit Victoria, B.C Valley Metro Phoenix OC Transpo Ottawa, Ontario , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

5 UTA - No Calgary Transit Calgary, Alberta San Francisco Municipal Railway San Francisco Edmonton Transit System Edmonton, Alberta Metro Transit Minneapolis Miami-Dade Transit Authority Miami Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District Portland, Ore Orange County Transportation Authority Orange, Calif Maryland Transit Administration Baltimore MTS Bus Operations San Diego Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada Las Vegas Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Atlanta Port Authority of Allegheny County Pittsburgh Utah Transit Authority Salt Lake City, Utah AC Transit Oakland, Calif Winnipeg Transit System Winnipeg, Manitoba Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation Detroit , < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

6 Sun Tran - No Delaware Transit Corp. Wilmington, Del Department of Transportation Services Honolulu CTTRANSIT Hartford, Conn VIA Metropolitan Transit San Antonio Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Cleveland GO Transit Toronto MiWay Mississauga, Ontario Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority Rochester, NY Detroit Department of Transportation Detroit Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority San Jose, Calif Reseau de transport de Longueuil Longueuil, Quebec Capital Metro Austin, Texas Broward County Transit Pompano, Fla Sound Transit Seattle Milwaukee County Transit System Milwaukee Charlotte Area Transit System Charlotte, NC South West Ohio Regional Transit Authority Cincinnati < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

7 Brampton Transit - No Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Buffalo, N.Y Nassau Inter-County Express Garden City, N.Y COTA Central Ohio Transit Agency Columbus, Ohio Metro St. Louis Sun Tran Tucson, Ariz. 57 Brampton Transit Brampton, Ontario Los Angeles Department of Transportation Los Angeles Halifax Metro Transit Halifax, Nova Scotia Montgomery County Transit Rockville, Md Societe de Transport de l Outaouais City Gatineau, Quebec Community Transit Everett, Wash Foothill Transit West Covina, Calif Westchester County Department of Transportation Mt. Vernon, NY Transit Authority of River City Louisville, Ky LYNX Orlando, Fla Suffolk County Transit Yaphank, N.Y San Mateo County Transit District San Mateo, Calif < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

8 Omnitrans - No Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority Dayton, Ohio Metropolitan Bus Authority San Juan, PR Fairfax Connector, FCDOT Fairfax, Va Omnitrans San Bernardino, Calif Capital District Transportation Authority Albany, N.Y Jacksonville Transportation Authority Jacksonville, Fla Hampton Roads Transit Hampton, Va Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority Nashville Central New York Regional Transportation Authority Syracuse, NY Kansas City Area Transportation Authority Kansas City, Mo. 79 Sun Metro El Paso, Texas Spokane Transit Authority Spokane, Wash Rhode Island Public Transit Authority Providence, RI GRTC Transit System Richmond, Va Durham Region Transit Whitby, Ontario Long Beach Transit Long Beach, Calif Madison Metro Transit Madison, Wis < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

9 Indy Go - No Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. (IndyGo) Indianapolis Metro Regional Transit Authority Akron, Ohio ABQ Ride Albuquerque Sacramento Regional Transit District Sacramento, Calif Hamilton Street Railway Hamilton, Ontario Regional Transit Authority New Orleans Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority Clearwater, Fla Golden Gate Transit San Rafael, Calif Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority Tampa, Fla Big Blue Bus Santa Monica, Calif London Transit London, Ontario 97 Kitsap Transit Bremerton, Wash Mass Transportation Authority Flint, Mich Pioneer Valley Transit Authority Springfield, Mass Fort Worth Transportation Authority Fort Worth, Texas 101 Central Contra Costa Transit Authority Concord, Calif Memphis Area Transit Authority Memphis, Tenn < metro magazine September/October 2014 metro-magazine.com

10 Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority Toledo, Ohio 104 Ben Franklin Transit Richland, Wash. 105 North County Transit District Oceanside, Calif. 106 Capital Area Transportation Authority Lansing, Mich Lane Transit District Eugene, Ore. 107 Prince George s County TheBus Forestville, Md. 109 Palm Tran West Palm Beach, Fla. 110 Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Comm. Woodbridge, Va September/October 2014 metro magazine > 41