Introduction

iTRANS Consulting Inc. (iTRANS) and the City of Grande Prairie (GP) completed the 2008-2013 Transit Master Plan (TMP) study in January 2009 within an 18 month period. The study’s objective was to undertake a comprehensive Service Review as a basis to developing a TMP that is supported by the GP, residents and businesses of the community. Part of the process of developing the plan has involved a comprehensive evaluation of the existing Conventional Transit system.The challenge for this study was to successfully respond to public and political expectations and develop realistic Conventional Transit Service Plans to meet expectations in a fiscally responsible manner. The emphasis of the study was, therefore, to minimize the fiscal burden of expanding services and attract more transit customers to derive maximum benefit from investments that will be needed. The deliverables for this study have been developed as documents that can be followed for years to come.

Study Objective

A detailed review of the existing Conventional Transit service in the urban area of the City of Grande Prairie was needed to:

• Determine and evaluate the community’s level of satisfaction with all aspects of transit service, identifying any barriers to transit customers and non-transit customers
• Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of Transit operation service practices
• Identify and evaluate alternate service models to supplement and expand the current fixed route system
• Determine immediate and future equipment requirements for each level of service proposed and each population horizon
• Develop an implementation plan to best meet the community’s needs for the future based on population horizons rather than time horizons
• Develop the plan to maximize the transit system ability to carry high school students and reduce or eliminate the dependency on yellow school buses.