On-Demand Transit Service Design in Breslau

As we near the end of the engagement process, we've now developed some preliminary preferred details outlining how the service will function, and we're looking to confirm some additional information around service hours, trip purposes, and how frequently you might use the service. You can view these service details and provide your input by clicking here! These brief questions will only take a couple minutes to answer, and will be available until March 12.

In response to requests for more information about on-demand transit, please also visit the FAQ widget for a recent report from the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute, synthesizing the on-demand transit state-of-practice in Canada. This report provides an overview of how it's been operated in other parts of the country and some background about how it fits with broader transit systems.

Thanks to all who participated in our follow-up survey about stop types, booking methods, and vehicles. The survey's now closed, but we received great feedback about your preferences and we'll be using these findings to pose final questions and present preferred design details later in January. If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the project in the interim, please reach out to one of the project contacts (see the "Who's Listening" tab in the sidebar).

For more information about on-demand transit in general and about this project in particular, please visit the "FAQ" widget in the project sidebar.

In fall 2020, the Region of Waterloo and Metrolinx developed an initial survey to collect community feedback on connecting people in the Region to and from destinations in Breslau with on-demand transit. The initial survey closed on September 25, 2020, with a number of interviews with potential customers and other key community stakeholders held afterwards. Following these engagement activities, feedback was analyzed by Overlap Associates and the project team. In our first round of engagement, we heard the following from the community:

• Employees, employers, and students all expressed their desire for the service to help meet journey-to-work/school trips. This means that we need to pay special attention to shift and bell times, as well as the connections this service can make to fixed-schedule GRT and GO Transit services.
• Overall, there’s a strong appetite for some type of transit service in Breslau. While most respondents were supportive of the on-demand concept, we heard that it’s important for the service to be as convenient and affordable as possible.
• Among potential connecting locations, Central Station and Kitchener GO Rail topped the list, and Sportsworld Station and university / college connections also ranked high. We’ll keep these preferences in mind as we develop service parameters.
• While the volume of travel in the community has dropped significantly from pre-pandemic levels, people are generally travelling for the same reasons – and there’s likely to be a strong contingent of the community who will use transit if appropriate measures are in place or once widespread COVID-19 vaccination has taken place.

We’ve used these and other findings to develop and propose a number of potential elements that the on-demand transit service could include. These service elements have been designed to get a sense for customer preferences and get more feedback to inform the final design of an on-demand transit pilot in Breslau. Please review the follow-up survey we’ve posted on this page, review the elements, and let us know what you like, what you don’t, and what you’d like to see changed. Please note that we’ll also be reaching out to other stakeholders to conduct a few more interviews in the coming weeks, and will offer another opportunity to engage and ask even more specific questions about service details. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact a project team representative (contact info in the sidebar) if you have any questions.

Thanks for helping bring transit to Breslau!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first round of engagement for this project – we’re well on our way to designing an on-demand transit service for Breslau. The second round will begin later in the fall and include a survey outlining ways in which the service could function, building on the insights we’ve gathered to date. Images representing on-demand service elements will be posted to this page and feedback solicited via additional surveying shortly: in the interim, please review some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in the project sidebar.