VLC was engaged by the Translink division of the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) to evaluate On Demand Transport (ODT) services in Queensland.

The purpose of this project was to successfully deliver an evaluation of ODT, Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) and Flexilink services in Queensland, including effectiveness and value for money relative to cost in existing ODT / DRT / Flexilink zones, and assess the viability of an extended roll-out to other potential locations.

Client requirements

TMR needed an assessment of the current and future state of On Demand Transport (ODT) in Queensland to support decision making around public transport rollout and the suitability of On Demand Transport in certain areas. A clear process for assessment and the data requirements related to these, had to be developed. Existing and potential ODT services were to be compared to other public transport options, and a recommendation for each area put forward.

Outcomes

VLC undertook an extensive exercise of in detail evaluations of existing and potential On Demand services. The project was conducted in two phases where Phase A undertook data review and evaluation of the existing state of ODT / DRT / Flexilink in Queensland while Phase B performed high-level scenario design and evaluation of potential future ODT services in Queensland. For each area, potential scenarios (ODT only or fixed route only) were developed and tested. ODT only scenarios were developed by VLC and tested by Liftango, whose model identified the number of vehicles required which allowed costing of scenarios, while the fixed route only scenarios were developed in Remix.

The evaluations were performed under a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and aligned with key principles (evaluation framework). For each zone, different scenarios (e.g. existing services, ODT only, fixed routes only) were assessed against each individual KPI, which were then aggregated to provide an overall scorecard for each principles. This allowed the project team to compare scenarios to one another at a detailed level, as well as to provide an overall understanding of the relative performance of each. The evaluation was then presented at a workshop where recommendations were identified.