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It is recommended that the Commission receive, for information purposes, the following report on the status of the TTC's TimeLine Information System.

Funds were included in the 1999 - 2003 Capital Program as approved by City Council on March 2, 1999 under 7.1, #6403, Year 2000 Project for TimeLine ($750,000). These funds will be deferred until 2000 and put toward a TimeLine replacement, if a suitable system is identified that can significantly improve customer information, cost effectively.

The TimeLine system, which has been operational since 1987, provides bus schedule information for transit customers (in three forms), and for TTC Information Operators (who in turn use this information to answer public enquiries). The TimeLine system takes information from various data bases, converts the same into schedules, and feeds these schedules into several applications. (Attachment 1)

With respect to the first customer application, schedule information pertaining to 10,000 bus stops is available via TimeLine's voice-messaging system. Each bus stop has a phone number and when customers call the number for their stop, they are provided with the scheduled arrival times of the next two vehicles. Transit Control staff have a link to the TimeLine system which allows them to add a general delay voice message in case of a large-scale disruption. (e.g. snowstorm)

In reference to the second customer application, TimeLine data is used to create the InfoPost schedules that are posted at 3,600 bus stop poles (at transfer locations).

Finally, the data is downloaded onto the TTC's website and this allows customers to call up and/or print stop-specific schedules for 3,600 stops, via the Internet.

In terms of internal usage, Telephone Information operators are able to look up TimeLine information on their terminals, and advise customers accordingly as to scheduled vehicle departure times.

The TimeLine system is not Year 2000 compliant and because of the age of the system hardware and other factors, it cannot be upgraded in a cost-effective and timely fashion to allow for its continued use past December 31, 1999. In terms of the other factors, the critical issue is that Service Planning is upgrading its Trapeze scheduling system late in 1999 or, more likely, early in 2000. (TimeLine depends on Trapeze for schedule information in order to produce its timetables.) Given this timing, it is simply not possible to have a TimeLine replacement system in place by January 1, 2000.

While timing is one issue, a second important consideration is the current TimeLine system's criticality in terms of our riders. While it is difficult to measure the impact of TimeLine on TTC ridership, the attached Ridership Trends Graph does little to suggest that the introduction of TimeLine helped increase or even maintain ridership. (Attachment 2) Therefore, there is a need to review the importance of Timeline's current functions and consider customer input, in order to plan for the future.

To gauge customer input regarding the current system, a users survey was conducted by intercepting customers who were calling TimeLine. A total of 744 respondents were intercepted over 13 weekdays, 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays in March. The key findings were:

1) The 744 respondents reported making an average of 27 calls each to TimeLine in a month. Based on this it is estimated that the Timeline system is utilized by approximately 37,000 callers a month.

2) If the TTC did not offer a TimeLine-type system where customers could find out the next scheduled arrival time, less than 5% of respondents indicated they would use another way to make their next trip instead of on the TTC. More than 50% indicated they would just walk to the stop, approximately 20% said they would obtain a printed schedule and about 20% said they would call TTC Telephone Information.

In summary, it would appear that the current TimeLine customer base is small and the system is not a critical determinant in taking transit, especially if there are alternate information avenues available.

The TTC's Telephone Information Section is staffed by up to 23 operators, who provide customers with schedule, trip-planning and other general TTC Information. The phone number for this service is 393-4636 (393-INFO). This was a relatively costly service (approximately $1.00 per call) and, in a move to improve efficiency and lower costs, automated schedule information was introduced to the "front end" of the live operator network in March of 1998. The 'Octel' system, as it is known, allows customers to listen to general automated schedule information for 42 of the TTC's major bus routes. Octel also allows customers to obtain some TTC information via five 'Faxback' mailboxes; the customer keys in his/her fax number and information on TTC products, fares or route numbers is sent to their fax machine. (Attachment 3)

The success of Octel has been impressive. In February of 1998, the month prior to the system's implementation, 116,000 calls were handled by Telephone Information Operators. An automated voice messaging system (TONE), which was accessed via another phone number, handled 8,200 'static information' calls. (e.g. fares, subway hours of operation.) In May, two months after Octel's introduction, 89,000 calls were handled by Operators, while 34,000 customers (28%) received automated information. On a moving annual basis to the end of March 1999, over 30% of incoming calls have been handled via automated means.

In an effort to further promote pre-recorded schedule and Faxback information, work is currently underway to enhance the Octel system. Presently, audio information is available for a limited number of routes and customers must listen to a series of menus in order to access general schedule information for their route. The enhanced system, expected to be operational by July of this year, will allow customers to receive general schedule information on all 150 of the TTC's route's by simply keying in a route number. (The core Telephone Information service will remain as the default for customers requiring operator assistance.) The Faxback service, which currently provides only non-schedule information, will also be expanded dramatically. Customers will be able to obtain a hard-copy route map and schedule information for any of the TTC's 150 routes.

2) InfoPost

InfoPost schedules are posted at approximately 3,600 bus stops throughout the city. We have received feedback that the traditional version of InfoPost can be somewhat difficult to read. Work is presently underway to simplify the format to make it more user-friendly for customers. (Attachment 4)

The TTC introduced its site on January 1, 1998 and by April of 1999 over 2000 people were visiting the site daily. (Note, this is the number of user sessions as opposed to the number of 'hits', as one user can be responsible for a multitude of hits.) Customers using the Internet can click the "routes and schedules" link on the home page, and then download/print a map of any bus route and stop-specific schedules for major stops/transfer points. (Attachment 5) Presently, the map and timetable are similar to those in the old format in Attachment 4; formatting improvements will be made.

The 1999/2000 editions of the Toronto Yellow Pages Directories will have an expanded TTC Information section. (Six pages) This includes maps and references to the TTC's 24-hour automated information service and TTC website. Since the Yellow Pages Directories are in every Toronto household, they are viewed as an important tool for trip-planning purposes and customer referral to our automated services.

The existing TimeLine System will not be available as of January 1, 2000. The Marketing Department will conduct a campaign in the fall to notify customers accordingly. For example, customers calling their TimeLine number will be apprised of the system's status and advised of the other information sources that will be available to them. This includes the provision of a hard copy of the route schedule for their particular bus stop, given that this is exactly the same information (vehicle schedule not real time) that TimeLine currently provides.

There are some short-term needs in order for us to sustain current customer information applications without TimeLine. It will be necessary for us to continue to produce timetables that can be 1) used by TTC Telephone Operators and 2) loaded onto our Internet and Faxback applications. The present Trapeze system produces a route schedule that lists all trip start times and arrival times at major intersections. (Attachment 6) These schedules are somewhat difficult to read and some mechanism or program is required to convert the data into a user-friendly format. Although this matter has not been pursued as of yet, it is conceivable that this reformatting could be done as part of the Trapeze scheduling system upgrade.

In the long term, Marketing, in conjunction with Information Technology Services, will explore the marketplace to see what kind of TimeLine replacement systems are available. Voice recognition technology is improving and this could very well make operator-assisted calls redundant in the future. For example, a speech-enabled system would allow customers to phone one number and obtain custom trip planning based on a spoken origin and destination point. This would be a great improvement in terms of convenience and marketability, as the current TimeLine system has 10,000 phone numbers.

We will keep the Commission posted on our progress in this area.

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May 17, 1999

3-42-42

Attachments