Service Guidelines

Residents of Durham Region can access transit services throughout the urban area on a 24-hour basis. To ensure that services are sustainable and implemented in an efficient and fair manner, service delivery varies by time of day and day of the week.

Scheduled and On Demand service roles 

• On Demand provides base coverage in rural areas and at times or locations where scheduled service is not operating.
• Scheduled service is deployed where ridership potential, road conditions, and service standards justify fixed routes.

Guidelines for deploying scheduled service

Road types: Scheduled routes will operate on arterial and collector roads. Local-road will only be considered when no arterial or collector road is available and where appropriate road and transit design considerations are implemented in collaboration with municipal partners. For example, prohibiting on-street parking to ensure safety and reliability of the transit route.

Minimum productivity: New routes or trips will be planned where projections indicate they will meet minimum productivity targets (see Ridership Productivity Guideline).

Headways:

• Urban area: buses will be scheduled 30 minutes apart or better.
• Rural area: buses will be scheduled 90 minutes apart or better.

Ongoing monitoring: Route performance will be reviewed regularly. Based on demand, routes may be modified, extended, reduced, or transitioned between scheduled service and On Demand.

Ridership productivity measures the average number of customer boardings for each service hour of a bus route. Resources for a route that does not meet productivity expectations will be redeployed to areas of higher ridership demand.

Productivity expectations vary by service type:

Additional guidance:

• Routes in their first 12 months are not expected to meet minimum thresholds.
• In priority neighbourhoods, each boarding is counted as 1.25 toward productivity calculations, consistent with Social Equity Guidelines.
• Service periods for a route that consistently fall below thresholds will be reviewed for potential adjustments, without cancelling the entire route.

Service will operate at least every 30 minutes, per the Service Deployment guideline.

Higher-frequency service will operate where trips regularly exceed the vehicle capacity guideline and additional trips are required to meet observed demand.

Higher frequencies are implemented routes serving Frequent Corridors, with service every 15 minutes or better during peak periods and every 20 minutes or better during other periods.

Service on DSBRT is planned to operate as frequent as every five minutes.

The vehicle capacity guidelines provide a level of customer comfort and reduces the risk that customers are not left behind at bus stops. The guideline is used when designing services, and customers’ experience may vary due to unplanned operational issues and day-to-day variability in travel demand.

The following guidelines are used when designing the service:

*Customer load is measured at the busiest point of the route during the busiest hour.

Service proximity means the walking distance between dwellings and the nearest bus stop.

For Scheduled service within the urban areas:

• 80 per cent of dwellings will be within a 500-metre walk of a bus stop.
• 95 per cent of dwellings will be within an 800-metre walk of a bus stop.

In rural areas, 100 per cent of dwellings will be served by On Demand at the curb (such as the entrance to a property).

For applicable day-time On Demand trips in urban areas, and to improve trip pooling and utilization of fleet capacity, 100% of dwellings will be within a 1,000-metre walk of a bus stop.

For applicable overnight On Demand trips in urban areas, and to improve trip pooling and utilization of fleet capacity, 100 per cent of dwellings will be within a 1,250-metre walk of a bus stop.

Pick-up and drop-off locations for customers registered with Specialized transit receive On Demand service based on their approved eligibility.

As ridership grows on a particular route and more trips are added, there are opportunities to realize efficiencies and improve the customer experience by operating at a limited number of stops along the route, sometime referred to as Express trips. Express trips can take different forms: some can skip long segments entirely, and others stop only at the busiest stops along a route or operate directly between the first and last stops.

Express service will be considered under the following conditions.

• The total travel time savings for customers is significant, considering the “whole trip time” including waiting at the bus stop. Replacing a frequent local service with less frequent local and limited stop services can make overall trip times longer if the wait time at bus stops increases significantly.
• A significant demand for the express service exists. Allocating resources to increase frequency on an existing local service can also benefit large numbers of customers; a case-by-case analysis should be conducted to balance these priorities.
• Both the express service and any corresponding local service will meet minimum productivity and vehicle capacity guidelines.
• Customer impact is consistent with DRT’s Social Equity Guidelines.
• The service is more efficient to deliver.

Bus stop amenities are bus stop signs, shelters, benches, waste cans and lighting.  

Some amenities are installed based on ridership and nearby land uses. 

Bus stop signs

• All bus stops will have a bus stop sign with its unique stop number.
• Customers can refer to the stop number when speaking with Customer Service and when booking On Demand trips.

Bike racks

• Bike racks are installed at select bus stops around Durham Region to ensure that the majority of dwellings and workplaces in the urban area of Durham Region are within a 10-minute bike ride of a bus stop. 
• Stops are chosen with bike lanes, trails, and bike-friendly roads in mind. 

Benches 

• Benches will be considered at stops meeting one or more of the following criteria:
  • The bus stop has 20 or more boardings (a boarding is classified as a customer getting onto the bus) on an average weekday. 
  • A bus stop is near seniors’ residences, hospitals, and community centres. 

Hard surface 

• All bus stops will have a hard (concrete) surface for customers to board and exit buses. 

Shelters 

The main purpose of a bus shelter is to provide protection from the elements for passengers waiting for buses. It creates a safe and comfortable waiting area, offering shelter from rain, wind, and sunlight. Additionally, shelters can provide a place to rest, increase passenger comfort, and even offer a feeling of safety and security.

• Shelters are installed at bus stops which meet one or more of the following criteria:
  • The bus stop has 20 or more boardings on an average weekday. 
  • A bus stop is located close to seniors’ residences, hospitals, and community centres. 
  • Bus stops are located at intersections where customers transfer from one bus to another. 
  • At transit terminals.  

Lighting

• All shelters will have solar lights, where the environment makes it difficult for them to work properly.
  • This includes:
    • Shelters where a street light shines on the stop and a solar light is not required. 
    • Urban areas with tall buildings or near heavy foliage, where solar lights cannot charge.

Waste cans 

• Waste cans are installed at bus stops which meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • The bus stop has 20 or more boardings on an average weekday. 

  • At transit terminals.

Note: Amenities at Durham Region Transit (DRT) bus stops differ from stop to stop, and placement is dependant on sufficient space being available at a stop.