Thank you for joining us for Part 2 of 3 webinar series about On Demand Transit! Part 2 was hosted by Dan Finley and James Vine from Pacific Western Group of Companies, Sarah Feldman from City of Edmonton, and Hamish Campbell from Via. For those unable to join us, here is what you missed.
Haimish Campbell, Country Manager for Via in Canada, walked through the digital aspects of the service and how on-demand service is being adopted around the globe. He also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on transit service and the expansion of on demand transit services during the pandemic.
A major part of the planning process was differentiating the service parameters between fixed route service and on-demand service. Service design process for Via and the City of Edmonton was as follows:
- Establish goals
- Figure out parameters
- Simulate or estimate what the service would look like for riders
Haimish also discussed the external variables that may dictate certain aspects and how Via and the City of Edmonton planned around them for optimal service.
Sarah Feldman, Director of Planning and Scheduling with the City of Edmonton, took us through the Marketing and Communications initiatives that went into the new On Demand service from the City of Edmonton’s perspective. Extensive thought went into raising awareness for the new service, service branding and visual identity, and what the physical stops would look like for the on-demand service.
Sarah also walked through what plans are in the works for integrating On-Demand with the current transit app for trip planning purposes.
James Vine, Director of Business Development at Pacific Western Group of Companies, discussed the operations side of the On-Demand service in Edmonton. This included vehicle sizes, vehicle specifications, service policies and rules, and staff and system oversight. Thought went into what accessibility integrations were required, the specifics of the service in terms of scheduling and policies, and decisions around staffing requirements to run the service and what background systems are in place to ensure the system is operating effectively.
To watch the entire webinar, please visit our YouTube Channel.
Be sure to register for part 3 of the webinar series taking place on June 3, 2021.
