13. Accessibility: Gaps in Information Systems in Public Transit

Institution: Algonquin College

CSWB plan priority: Integrated and simpler systems

Project Term: Fall 2023/Winter 2024

Course Code: DSN8014/DSN8023 Industry Project I & II

Professor: Jed Looker/Raphael Joseph

Group Members: Daniela Mercado Vilchis, Meryll Shaine Tiu, Mihir Sonalkar, Ritish Goyal, Sharika Sadaf

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Background: OC Transpo, Ottawa’s public transit service, has been an integral part of the city for over 150 years, catering to the transportation needs of approximately 340,000 daily riders across Ottawa and parts of Gatineau with a fleet of over 700 vehicles (OC Transpo, 2023). The City of Ottawa lists transport accessibility as one of its four strategic priorities. Specifically, Strategic Objective 11 aims to improve transit reliability by 2026. This is further emphasized by the Transportation Master Plan (2023), which states that the City aims to increase ridership and enhance existing services. The City of Ottawa and OC Transpo have spent considerable funding to develop and operate Ottawa’s public transport system (Raymond, 2023). Despite this, there is still dissatisfaction among the users or riders.

Objective(s): What are the gaps and barriers in communication between OC Transpo and its riders, particularly young adults? How does communication impact the users and ridership? How can these information channels be improved to promote effective two-way communication?

Approach: The methodology included a survey and interviews for study participants, and interviews for subject matter experts. Results and subsequent insights were used to build solutions to improve two-way communication between OC Transpo and riders.

Potential for Impact: There is potential to improve the experience of riding public transit in Ottawa and increase satisfaction and ridership.