Partner Burgas Municipality

Title of the pilot/Case study Transferability potential of transnational designed DRT pilots and flexible transport solutions and the need for their adaptation to local mobility situations

Task Force TF 1

Verision (DRAFT/FINAL) Final

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Summary

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 4

General Context .............................................................................................................................................. 5

The Pilot in Miskolc ......................................................................................................................................... 5

The pilot expectations and objectives ...................................................................................................... 7

Pilot activities in Burgas ............................................................................................................................. 8

Pilot results & KPIs...................................................................................................................................... 9

Public Rent a Bike system

Tourist Bus Line Financial Sustainability ............................................................................................................................. 10

Plans for future full scale implementation and long term sustainability ............................................ 11

Conclusions & Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 12

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 19

Attachments ................................................................................................................................................... 19

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Document Title: Sub Title: Work Package 4 - act 4.3 – Integration and transfer of Task Force results

Document History

Version Comments Date Done by

Number of pages:

Number of annexes:

Prepared by: D&D Consulting Contribution:

Principal Author(s): D&D Consulting Contributing Author(s): Ruska Boyadzhieva

Peer Review Partner Date

Burgas Municipality 17.02.2014

Approval for delivery ATTAC Coordinator Date

Zoya Stoyanova

Table of contents and structure elaborated by

Institute for transport and Logistics Foundation - ITL Viale A. Moro 38 40127 Bologna – Italy

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Executive Summary

To elaborate a sustainability and transferability plan in the theme of DRT on the basis of the pilot of Miskolc project partner Burgas focused on gathering comprehensive local users and stakeholders data focused specifically on the quality of services provided, lack of available or convenience of services and areas of interest with unorganized Public transport where DRT or FTS can be introduced to avoid the economic burden of maintaining regular traditional PT services. Burgas Municipality and local public transport operator also shared their experiences in the field of flexible transport solutions and Demand responsive transport providing inputs and observations to the sustainability/transferability potential of Burgas in transferring the implementation of transnational designed DRT pilots and the need for their adaptation to local mobility situation. Regular data collection and analysis helped Burgas Municipality to better identify users’ needs and daily routines and in return modify and provide relevant services that address them. Potential areas and niches currently uncovered by the PT where DRT services can be introduced and tested locally were identified for and with the users and are included as part of the transferability study in the part of future plans and developments. All pilot activities tested various functionalities of flexible transport solutions with the aim if proven successful to provide them in the form of entirely new DRT service expanding the options for urban mobility in the city of Burgas. Pilots sought to investigate the interest and acceptance towards new kinds of collective mobility modes and to promote and support the establishment and integration of these mobility cultures in the already established traditional urban mobility context. The transferability potential analysed through the tested pilot activities suggests that there is unrealized niche for FTS services or integration of DRT components in existing services which if introduced gradually and marketed and communicated effectively could make services economically self-sustained and profitable as their potential added value and integration in the traditional mobility scheme are significant. Local rates of acceptance show a growing trend proportional to the time of testing and using the service which implies that switching to new services takes time to build trust and loyalty among the users. The case study concludes that spread and usability of recently introduced services is enhanced by wide information on real time availability of services and their better integration through pertinent operation, management, marketing and promotion in the traditional transport scheme. This significantly facilitates their quick catch up, acceleration and preference building, all prerequisites for turning them into real mobility alternatives to traditional modes of transport in the city.

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General Context

Lying on the banks of the Black Sea, Burgas, Bulgaria’s fourth largest city with 230,000 inhabitants. The lines serving the municipal transport system fulfill the accessibility requirements under Art. 18 of Regulation 2 of 2002 of the Ministry of Transport. This crucial role is played by the transport company "Burgasbus" LTD."Burgasbus" Ltd. is a company with over 30 - years of experience in the field of transport. Until 1997 the company is subordinated to the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Bulgaria. Since 1997 the owner of 100% of the capital is the Municipality. The main activity of the company is public transport of passengers, while its share in the Burgas municipality is over 90%. "Burgasbus" Ltd. currently operates 11 city bus lines and 1 trolley line, 10 lines from the municipal transport system, 38 bus lines covering directions of the regional transport scheme and 4 Republican transport scheme routes. Burgas is striving to make an urban mobility shift. To build an integrated transport system that is attractive and sustainable for the citizens and the many tourists is part of the city’s vision of sustainable urban development. In February 2013, Burgas replaced its entire bus fleet with clean vehicles. Likewise, a public bike sharing scheme was launched in the summer of 2013 and a bus rapid transit (BRT) line is expected in 2015.

Burgas is the first city in Bulgaria to entirely transform and modernize the look of its public transport system. With the new integrated urban transport system the city will save 1,500 CO2 emissions tonnes annually contributing to reaching the Covenant of Mayors objectives. The new transport services will provide the citizens with more attractive, affordable and safer mobility options. Sustainable mobility is on Burgas’ agenda since 2009, when the city launched an impressive €65 million investment to develop an integrated public transport system. Supported by a team of consultants, the city designed a comprehensive mobility plan which includes:

The creation of a bus rapid transit (BRT)

The replacement of the outdated bus fleet by 67 modern and environmentally friendly vehicles

The development of 20km of cycling lanes and facilities

The construction of new bus stops with real-time passenger information system

The introduction of new paying parking zones in the city center

The launch of a public bike rental system.

The BRT is the backbone of Burgas new integrated transport system. The line that should be fully operational in 2014 is expected to serve up to 60% of the city’s population by creating a North-South corridor. The BRT key features include segregated bus lanes, rapid boarding, electronic ticketing and bus priority at crossings. These assets should make the BRT the most attractive, affordable and fastest transport option in the city. On top of serving the local population, the BRT line will largely improve the transport connection between the city center and the airport where an average of one million tourists land annually.

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The new transport services will provide the citizens with more attractive, affordable and safer mobility options. The first big change happened in February 2013, when the city replaced its entire bus fleet by 67 new clean vehicles. The reorganization and modernization of the LPT will reduce emissions and costs both for PT suppliers and end users and will make the PT faster and preferred mode of transport in the city. Therefore, Burgas Municipality has an ambitious project to reorganize and enhance the entire transport system by introducing BRT, bus priority measures, ITS for public transport and traffic management, real time passenger information and integrated smart e-ticketing, and develop a complete bicycle lanes network .The city renewed the entire bus fleet with low emissions vehicles which are in operation and cover the public transport city network while the older vehicles are transferred to serve the connected villages and distant residential areas. The backbone of Burgas’ mobility transformation is a new fast bus corridor (BRT corridor picture on p.8 on the right). The line should be fully operational in 2015 and is expected to serve up to 60% of the city’s population by creating a North-South corridor. On top of serving the local population, this fast bus line will largely improve the transport connection between the city center and the airport. Burgas is also enlarging its cycling network to create an integrated network of bicycle lanes of 40 km that will connect the suburbs with the city center (picture on the left at p.8). The city is working on the promotion of cycling for recreational purposes and also for commuting. A public bike sharing system has just been introduced in the city. At the moment 120 bikes are available for citizens and tourists covering 13 urban areas.As a signatory to the Covenant of Mayors the city of Burgas commits to reducing its CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020.

The Pilot As an observing partner of the Miskolc pilot, Burgas does not implement a real pilot. Project partner’s contribution is to elaborate a sustainability and transferability plan in the theme of DRT on the basis of the pilot of Miskolc. To do so Burgas organized the local MobiLab event with the main aim to present the DRT pilot of Miskolc to local stakeholders and PT services users. Shared were Burgas Municipality and local public transport operator experiences in the field of flexible transport solutions and Demand responsive transport providing inputs and observations to the sustainability/transferability potential of Burgas in transferring the implementation of transnational designed DRT pilots and the need for their adaptation to local mobility situation. To gather users’ feedback, unaddressed social and transport needs and problems were discussed and analysed with stakeholders and locals during local Mobility Forums. Potential areas and niches currently uncovered by the PT where DRT services can be introduced and tested locally were identified for and with the users. To identify better users’ needs and daily routines, to provide better solutions that address them, the Burgas project team held a questionnaire on PT services quality and coverage. The data gathered throughout the European Mobility Week 2013 from September 16th to September 22nd which incorporates three central city locations for filling the questionnaire, online via the local PT operator website and during the EMW 2013 activities, was analyzed and used during the planning stage of the tested pilot activities in the field of DRT.

Needs assessment and expectations short summary:

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33%

20%

8%

8%

22%

9%

How often do you use Public Transport?

Everyday

Few times a week

At least once a week

Few times a month

Rerely

I don't use it

33% 11%

19% 14%

15%

8%

The purpose of your trip is: To go to work

To reach administrativeor health servicesTo attend cultural andsocial eventsTo visit relatives andfamilyTo go shopping

I don't use the PT

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Private vehicle

Taxi

Bicycle

Walk

43%

32% 12%

2% 11%

How many PT lines serve your residential area?

at least 3

2

1

the PT does not providegood coverage in myneighborhood

28% 14%

20% 38%

What alternative to the PT mode of transport do

you use?

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Citizens suggestions and recommendations for PT improvement per urban and residential areas were gathered by collecting their comments on a map placed in the central plaza in the administrative centre of the city within the framework of the EMW 2013 campaign.

The pilot expectations and objectives In defining the transferability and need potential of DRT services Burgas Municipality presented the DRT pilot in Miskolc overview and implementation outcomes to local auditory. Miskolc Holding Plc., the Lead Partner of the ATTAC Project is the member of Task Force 1 who is testing a Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service as a pilot project in Miskolc. The design and operation of the DRT system was implemented by the public transport company of Miskolc, MVK Plc. The DRT system is a user-friendly system, where passengers need to book their journeys in advance and

17% 17%

31% 22%

13%

Do you think there are uncovered by the PT urban areas where Flexible demand

transport services can be introduced? Yes

Probably yes

Cannot decide

Probably no

No

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buses will run according to passenger needs. The Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) system was integrated into the regular public transport system of Miskolc. The purpose of the pilot project is to assess the passengers’ willingness to use such system and to analyse the economic and operational circumstances. Following the design phase, the actual testing period lasted for 4 months (13/05/2013 – 12/09/2013) and during this period 4 lines have been tested. During the pilot period 1,159 reservations have been registered and 4,349 passengers have been transported. Following the test period, MVK Plc. has decided to maintain the operation of the most successful DRT line (called ZOO line) which has also been integrated into the public PT service. In order to plan the implementation of local pilots in the field of DRT the institution focused on defining local supply and understanding the specifics of local demand the Burgas team made an extensive review of the gathered results from the EMW 2012 questionnaire on public transport services needs to identify potential niche DRT services and potential customers for extending PT services coverage. Another objective of the transferability study was to analyze and evaluate the local supply in the field of flexible transport solutions and more particularly demand responsive transport services. The aim of the transferability study is to provide enough data on PT services characteristics and users’ preferences in order to facilitate better planning, implementation and adjustment of ready DRT pilot and best practices models into successful future local services. Analyzed were existing and recently introduced flexible and DRT practices & services

Call and get a ride Call and get a Ride! – Door to door transport service for handicapped persons providing special transportation. Service "Transport serving disabled persons" is a separate unit within the municipal company "Burgasbus" LTD. It operates from April 1, 1998 and was established by the Municipality, together with "Burgasbus" Ltd for participation in the "Pilot Project for Transport serving disabled persons with special road and rail transport "Program of the Commission of the European Union / National Transport Phare - Project № BG 9308 04 /. The work is funded in large part by the City as a municipal budget activity "Transport serving disabled persons." The Office has a control center at bus station „West" and 7 adapted vans - all equipped with hydraulic platforms to serve citizens in wheelchairs. In the "Call and get a Ride" every eligible citizen, can make a telephone request and after placing an order is then transported from one address to another throughout the municipality at value price equal to the value of the ticket for a single journey with the public transport. Customers can place their orders for the whole day and all days of the week. The Office also supports the national transportation system "bus - train - bus", ie persons with reduced mobility traveling by train specialized wagons to / from Sofia and other cities to / from Burgas and the region. With the specialized transport service everyday children with disabilities are transported to three day care centers in the city, this service is completely covered by the municipal budget. In the " Call and get a Ride " every eligible citizen , can make a telephone request and is then transported from one address to another throughout the municipality by paying 1.10 leva Demanded requests can be placed and are accepted via the following procedures:

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o On dispatcher by phone 831 431 from 8:00 to 16:30 o CDT on phone 810944 after 16:30 on weekends o By Site " Burgasbus" www.burgasbus.info Customers can place their orders for the whole day and all days of the week. Queries made through the CDP and the company's website must be confirmed by the manager of the Office Increased capacity of the service- acquired new vehicle equipped to the latest standards

Pilot activities

Public rent a bike system – Velo Burgas The new operating rent a bike system VELO BURGAS- www.veloburgas.eu also falls in the category of flexible transport solutions and has the ambition to enlarge as to provide automatic high density and conventional scope that would be an alternative to DRT door-to-door transportation service. The scope of the system encompasses 13 rent-a-bike stations hosting a total of 120 bicycles located within various urban zones and residential areas. The project promotes and supports energy efficiency, low-carbon transport at community level and is calculated to reduce the CO2 emissions by 500 tons on a yearly basis. In the long term the project will assist the fight against climate change through expansion, upgrade and multiplication of good practice for the use of bicycle as a means of daily transport in urban environments. Through the introduction of the rent-a-bike service the pilot system encourages bicycle use not only for sport and leisure, but for daily transportation as well. Providing safe, easy, fast, inexpensive, green and energy-efficient transport mode further enhances intermodality and accessibility of central administrative and recreational city areas from peripheral and residential zones, while simultaneously works toward improving climate and environmental conditions in the city. The project is unique also in a way that it aims to promote and establish cycling as an urban public transport mode preferred by all and integrated in the transport scheme of the city. The unique software of the system provides an easy and fast access to using the system and calculates the rate per minute and also provides preferential rates to various target user groups. In order to improve the quality of the service and attract all kinds of target groups including families and also add value to the service experience the team introduced children racks and kids’ chairs attached to some of the bicycles right from the start of the system. This step was a huge success and resulted in many positive customers’ feedbacks which resulted in increased number of hours of bicycle use and attracted higher number of new customers.

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Planning phase- 2 years From 01.01.2011 to 01.05.2012 Birth of idea Part of the modernization of the public transport – the construction of interconnected network of bike lanes Municipal policy for energy efficiency Target groups Potential customers – Students,Tourists,Working,Elderly,Families Purposes of using the service -for recreation and sport, transport in the city, city sightseeing Testing phase

3 months

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Results Working time: from 8 am to 9 pm all week from 15th June 2013 to 6 of October 2013 a total of 114day and overall of 1456 hours Number of users7 230 contracts with users Working time 12170 hours usage of the system 36 510 km cycled 13 bike stations 120 bicycles Speed of response: immediate due to available staff at the stations % of acceptances: 65-75% due to lack of availability of bikes in rush hours weak organization of the support office, not enough personnel to redistribute bikes per stations in a timely manner Embedded software for reporting, Tracking of the bikes and billing

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Return on investment was not planned to be reached within the first season of the system. However, payback period was expected had the operation been exceeded from 4 to 7 months. As the stations reached full operability at different stages payback period was delayed and is expected to be reached within the second season of system operation with full automatization taking place. The cycling culture in Burgas is gaining ever more popularity not only for recreational purposes but even for daily commuting. With the completion of the bicycle lanes network a huge increase in bicycle use is expected adding to the climate and landscape benefits of the city geographic location which already play huge role in supporting this alternative mode of mobility. As such municipal preferences to maintain and improve the service are very strong and future investments in its automatization are already contracted to guarantee its sustainability and support further its promotion through increased attractiveness, accessibility, safety and convenience of use. Possible improvements

Automatic unlimited 24/7 operation

Partnership with tour operators and local hotels

Marketing

Corporate and business clients

Integration with public transport and blue paid city parking zone

Integrated service package with other municipal services

Integrating demand placement practice for group usage

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Tourist bus line

On 1st of August 2013 was introduced experimental bus tourist line for the high tourist season July-August. Initially as it was a high tourist season the service was introduced as a regular line in order to market the new tourist bus line and rapidly attract customers. However apart from the high season (July-August) when the bus line will run on regular operation hours, it is planned to continue its operation upon demand and request throughout the rest of the year. Planned bus route-major stops and main tourist sites of the city – Wetlands, Atanasovsko lake with birdwatch camp, Sea Casino, Maritime Garden, Pantheon, Cathedral St. Cyril and Methodius, Sand festival of sculptures, Museums etc. Schedule From Tuesday to Sunday - 4 course daily route - at 10:00, 11:00, 16:00 and 17:00 Day off - Monday The route of the tourist bus incorporates 12 tourist site stops that were identified by the Tourist information center as the most visited places in Burgas by tourists .

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Planning phase 2 months From 01.06.2013 to 01.08.2013 Birth of idea Transfer of Miscolc idea – DRT line Marketing of tourist sites Target groups Potential customers –Students,Tourists Reasons for using the service-education and tourism

Testing phase 45 days Results Working time -45 days 4 hours a day a total of 180 hours Number of km 4 courses daily – total mileage of the day - 66.5 kilometers, fuel costs per day (for 4 courses)

- 25.34 l diesel or 65,12 lv. / 33 euro Personnel costs (driver, guide)

- 75lv./38 euro per day Or total cost per day - 140.12 lv./ 71 euro Number of users 350 tickets sold – 1 ticket = 1 lv./ 0.5 euro Speed of response : immediate as the entire month for marketing reasons bus ran and collected all passengers through all the bus stops on the pre-approved itinerary % of acceptances: about 98 % Not effective and long enough pre and during launch phase marketing campaign due to the experimental short testing period which explains unsatisfying results. Return on investment was not achieved as payback period was not reached due to the short operation time of the service. However the importance of the service is highly valued due to city’s seasonal touristic character and for these reasons the sustainability of the service is maintained

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and it will start full operation the beginning of May 2014 initially relying on municipal subsidies and effective marketing to achieve the expectation for payback period within the season May-September 2014 Possible improvements Partnership with tour Operators and local Hotels and tourist sites Effective Marketing Expansion of the target groups Integrated service package Flexible based on demand pick up for organized group tours

Plans for future full scale implementation and long term sustainability Public rent a bike system

Automatization - increased flexibility, easy, user friendly and unlimited 24/7 access at affordable price

Expansion-more bike stations covering different city areas, and more bicycles- higher accessibility to service, improved bike network with good and well-connected bicycle lanes

Attracting corporate and business clients to invest in bike stations positioned in front of their locations as part of their CSR, monthly bike passes for employees, advertising bike space

integration in the public transport scheme– intermodality Integrated smart e-ticketing for all transport services Introducing demand response delivery of bicycles for organized group request

placement Marketing the service to tour operators, local hotels and popular tourist sites.

Tourist bus- VISIT BURGAS Partnership with tour Operators, Hotels and Tourist sites Marketing Expansion of the target groups Integrated service package- combining the service with

other tourist related activities and products Introduction of DRT service -airport night shuttle line upon request for night departure & arrival hours

Airport –city transfer night time shuttle (There is a regular public transport bus line 15 that goes to the Airport but runs only until 23:00, as such night arrivals and departures have no choice but to use only taxi ,rent a car or pre-booked privately run transfer). Main risk that hinders the sustainability of the service is its seasonality which relates to the high tourist seasonal flow starting from May and running until October.

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Opportunities to mitigating such risk is the newly built Airport Terminal 2 where all year around flight connections will be served and more airline connections with foreign destination further introduced shaping the image of Burgas as all seasons tourist destination or connecting comprehensive airport and optional stop on the way to final destination reach.

Another optional route requested by locals Lake Vaya- recreational area for fishing and water cycling as well as a bird watch destination

( no such service exists currently the area is a transit point on the transport scheme of the city and no regular bus line stops there)

Introduction of Smart interactive I travel info platform

A well-connected and a sustainable metropolitan area, a so called ‘smart city’ an advanced system of info-mobility and a real time communication network providing added value service to the city transport’s users Full access to all public transport schedules and travel and event information around the clock will be guaranteed by using the interactive digital signage totem installations across dynamic city transport hubs and intermodal terminals. Manages the entire public transport system of the city and the nearby villages and tourist resorts, and also provides request placement for the sustainable transport service network consisting of ‘Bus on Demand- Call and get a ride, Tourist bus line – Visit Burgas’ and local district Bus networks, car sharing, rent a bike system –www.veloburgas.eu and car parking facilities near public transport hubs, interactive maps and journey planner

I travel info platform will comprise of: Real time travel services information Interactive maps Journey planner DRT reservation requests City’s events and tourist sites info

Benefits of having such platform

a range of information services for the public, easily accessible and updated in real time.

interactive multimedia system to enhance the customers’ experience, providing a service level that cannot be reached by traditional static communication media

user friendly and multi-lingual system

Conclusions & Recommendations All pilot activities tested various functionalities of flexible transport solutions with the aim if proven successful to provide them in the form of entirely new DRT service expanding the options for urban mobility in the city of Burgas. Pilots sought to investigate the interest and acceptance towards new kinds of collective mobility modes and to promote and support the establishment and integration of these mobility cultures in the already established traditional urban mobility context.

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Even though local experimental services in the field of FTS and DRT have not shown impressive financial indicators the ATTAC project team along with the service providers and local stakeholders consider it is a matter of time and effective marketing and communication campaign to make services economically self-sustained and profitable as we all were evident of their potential. The suggestions and recommendations on future improvements are very practical as they make a note to better integrate through pertinent operation, management, marketing and promotion these recently introduced services in the transport scheme in order for them to quickly catch up and gain speed to turn into real mobility alternative to traditional modes. Burgas Municipality has reached great insights through its experimental interaction with users and tested pilot stages and is confident that now it better knows its users’ needs and daily routines. Collected data and discussions have effectively contributed to ever closer planning and providing of new services with and for the users. Expansion of DRT services is ongoing with the planning of a new night-time airport transfer PT line and introduction of request placement for bicycle rent for organized groups. Most importantly, the Municipality of Burgas is now better prepared and more flexible in adjusting its transport services to user’s preferences and addressing appropriately consumers’ needs. As such the Municipality understands its role in better promotion and integration of transport services along with making them widely available through real time citizens’ information. Smart city info travel platforms are part of the near future municipal plans in achieving more informed societies, better integration of services and more effective and efficient choices as a solid foundation for smart and inclusive economic growth of cities.

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