Core Service Standards

CORE SERVICE STANDARDS
Coverage
The coverage determines the minimum percentage of the overall population (residential or mixed areas) or working population (commercial and industrial areas) that must be served within a walking distance from any public transit stop.

Peak periods
90% of the population must reside or work less than 500 metres from a bus stop (a maximum walking distance of 8 minutes).

Off-peak periods
90% of the population must reside or work less than 750 metres from a bus stop (a maximum walking distance of 10 minutes).

Spacing of bus stops
This is the distance between two consecutive stops along a route.

Load
This is the number of passengers aboard a bus.

The maximum load is...

... 65 passengers for regular buses,

... 105 passengers for articulated buses.

Service interval
This is the time between two consecutive buses along a route.

Minimum service frequencies:

Business days	On major thoroughfares	On other streets
Before 5:00 a.m.	Every 60 minutes	Every 60 minutes
5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.	Every 30 minutes	Every 60 minutes
6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.	Every 30 minutes	Every 30 minutes
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.	Every 30 minutes	Every 30 minutes
After 10:00 p.m.	Every 60 minutes	Every 60 minutes
Saturdays	Every 60 minutes	Every 60 minutes
Sundays	Every 60 minutes	Every 60 minutes

Service hours
The times at which service begins or ends on a route travelling to the main terminal.

The distance between 2 stops cannot be less than 100 metres, with a maximum of 4 stops per kilometre.

Minimum service hours:

On a continuous route

Business days
On major thoroughfares, service begins at 6:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 1:00 a.m.

On other streets, service begins at 6:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 11:00 p.m.

Saturdays

On major thoroughfares, service begins at 6:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 1:30 a.m.

On other streets, service begins at 7:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 11:00 p.m.

Sundays

On major thoroughfares, service begins at 7:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least midnight.

On other streets, service begins at 8:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 11:00 p.m.

On peak period routes

Business days only
On major thoroughfares, service begins at 6:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 9:30 a.m. It resumes no later than 4:00 p.m. and runs to at least 6:30 p.m.

On off-peak routes, on secondary streets only

On business days
Service begins at 9:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 4:00 p.m. It resumes no later than 6:00 p.m. and runs to at least 1:00 a.m.

Saturdays
On major thoroughfares, service begins at 7:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 11:00 p.m.

Sundays
On major thoroughfares, service begins at 8:00 a.m. at the latest, and runs to at least 11:00 p.m.

CONTROL STANDARDS
Performance
This is the ratio between the ridership (number of trips) and the level of service (productive vehicle-hours) on a route.

If there are less than 15 passengers per vehicle during a one-hour period, the service could be reduced during the next service modifications.

If there are more than 45 passengers per vehicle during a one-hour period, the service could be increased during the next service modifications.

Profitability
This is the ratio between the fares collected and the operating costs on a route.

At less than $0.15 in income for every dollar spent, the service could be reduced during the next service modifications.

At more than $0.45 in income for every dollar spent, the service could be increased during the next service modifications.

NORMES DE QUALITÉ QUALITY STANDARDS

Timeliness of service
The timeliness is measured by the percentage of buses arriving to or departing from a control point (most are shown on bus schedules) or a terminal.

At least 85% of buses must be on schedule at control points and 95% of buses must leave their terminal at the scheduled time.

Tolerance: 1 minute in advance and 2 minutes of delay.

Lags
A lag is the average loss of time for all routes during a given period.

A recurring 3-minute lag indicates a problem that must be examined.