2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report -- Ministry of Transportation

Goal 2: Key transportation infrastructure is improved to drive economic growth and trade.

Core Business Areas: Transportation Improvements, Public Transportation

Objective: Effective use of regional and local input in setting transportation priorities.

Key strategy: Work with the Regional Transportation Advisory Committees (RTACs), which represent B.C.'s local governments, businesses and transportation industry groups.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Actual	2003/04 Target	2003/04 Actual	2003/04 Variance
Annual reports from RTACs	Committees and terms of reference established	Solicit input; review and incorporate input.	Interim and annual reports received and reviewed. Where feasible, input was incorporated into ministry activities.	—
Linkage to goal and objective
Eight Regional Transportation Advisory Committees were established throughout B.C. in 2002/03 to identify regional transportation needs and advise the minister on regional priorities. The successful incorporation of RTAC input will fulfill the overall government commitment to give regions a greater say in transportation planning.
Descriptive information
The RTACs are invited to offer advice and input during the annual planning processes on transportation investment at the regional level, to bring forward economic development and partnering opportunities, and to provide feedback on general transportation issues. The RTACs provide annual reports to the minister documenting their activities and recommendations.
Factors impacting results
The timing of RTAC input is a critical factor, as it must coincide with the ministry's planning cycle if it is to be successfully incorporated into the annual planning process. The ministry solicits input and responds to recommendations in a timely manner.

Objective: A practical long-term framework for an integrated, multi-modal transportation system in B.C.

Key strategy: Deliver a high-level integrated provincial transportation strategy by March 31, 2004.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Actual	2003/04 Target	2003/04 Actual	2003/04 Variance
Status of strategic framework document	Continuing consultations	Publish document by March 31, 2004	Broad stakeholder input collected	Document in final stages of completion
Linkage to goal and objective
An integrated transportation system, made up of diverse transportation modes, supports the economy of B.C. An integrated provincial transportation strategy will be implemented and will guide the development of a fully integrated transportation network that addresses all modes of transportation. This will fulfill the government priority to consider various regional transportation models and provide a high-level strategic plan.
Descriptive information
The strategy will be updated annually based on feedback from RTACs and other stakeholders to ensure it remains a living document.
Factors impacting results
"Opening up B.C." has been published to address current priorities. This reduced the immediate need for the high level strategic plan, and the work on strategic initiatives continues on the basis of input from stakeholders.

Objective: Best use of available provincial investment dollars.

Key strategy: Develop public-private partnerships, in consultation with Partnerships BC.

Performance Measure	2002/03 Actual	2003/04 Target¹	2003/04 Actual	2003/04 Variance
Partnerships Investments leveraged: Private investment capital leveraged through public-private partnerships and defrayed or reduced cost from efficient land use	$15.3 M	$20 M	$19.3 M	($0.7) M
Linkage to goal and objective
The availability of alternative funding approaches provides the opportunity to meet growing demands while spending fewer public funds. The ministry is working to develop new, more cost-effective partnerships to harness the innovation, talent and expertise of the private sector, to develop creative solutions that address public priorities, and to obtain the best value for tax dollars.
Descriptive information
The "investments leveraged" measurement represents the funds contributed by non-provincial treasury sources at the time of construction. These include contributions from municipalities, Crown corporations, First Nations and the private sector, but exclude contributions from the federal government, which are measured separately. The contribution/recovery from partners and the land contribution by the Province are measured against the gross cost of the capital project.
Factors impacting results
Although the ministry is strongly committed to pursuing alternative funding, potential partners may not finance transportation improvements to the degree anticipated. The above variance is due to delayed project work that will be completed next fiscal year.


¹	The 2003/04 target has been revised downward to $20 M as a result of the decision not to proceed with a proposal to lease the Coquihalla Highway to a private partner.

Key strategy: Aggressively seek federal government funding for projects.

Performance Measure	2003/04 Target¹	2003/04 Actual	Variance
Federal funding investment leveraged: Capital investment leveraged from federal government programs	28.7 M	28.7 M	—
Linkage to goal and objective
Participation in the Government of Canada's infrastructure cost-sharing programs will provide B.C. with long-term funding and allow the provincial government to make more improvements to key transportation infrastructure.
Descriptive information
The figures above refer to the amount of federal funding secured through B.C./Canada contribution agreements. Federal infrastructure cost sharing programs include the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program, the Border Infrastructure Fund and the Strategic Infrastructure Fund.
Factors impacting results
The ministry's ability to leverage federal funding depends on the availability of matching provincial funding, as well as federal funding allocation and prioritization practices. Recent years have brought a new style of cooperation between the province and the Government of Canada, with the result that cooperative transportation investments involving the two have grown significantly.


¹	The 2003/04 target has been revised downward from $45.9 M to $28.7 M as a result of: (1) unanticipated delays in federal environmental approvals, and (2) the preliminary nature of the funding figures that were available at the time the 2003/04 Service Plan was published.

Key strategy: Complete projects on budget and on time, using the best project management practices.

Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Actual	2003/04 Target	2003/04 Actual	2003/04 Variance
Capital performance: Per cent of work completed on budget	95%	100%	100%	100%	—
Per cent of work completed on schedule	100%	100%	100%	95%	(5%)
Linkage to goal and objective
These program management measures of the percentage of work completed on budget and on schedule indicate the degree to which resources have been managed effectively.
Descriptive information
Road construction near Cumberland	All projects under the capital program are aggregated each fiscal year to compare (1) the planned to actual cost of the projects and (2) the scheduled to actual progress of the projects.
Factors impacting results
Many projects in the province experienced weather-related and forest fire delays, and delays due to the finalization of environmental assessment requirements in 2003/04, resulting in the slight project completion slippage of five per cent.

Objective: Improved service and mobility in urban areas and major trade corridors.

Key strategy: Implement cost-effective highway upgrades that improve traffic flow, reduce delay-causing crashes and add new capacity, using partnership cost-sharing where feasible.

Performance Measure	2001/02 Actual	2002/03 Actual	2003/04 Target¹	2003/04 Actual	2003/04 Variance
Level of traffic congestion: Percentage of urban vehicle kilometres travelled in congested conditions	13.0%	13.6%	13.6%	13.4%	0.2%
Linkage to goal and objective
Provincial highways in urbanized areas provide the backbone of the urban economic system, linking business and industry, and trade corridors and gateways. High traffic volumes in these areas cause extended periods of congestion. The addition of highway capacity, better use of existing capacity, and public use of alternatives to single occupant vehicles will contribute to the efficient movement of goods and economic development.
Descriptive information
Segments of the highway system are categorized as urban or rural. Previous calculations for the rural congestion rate resulted in very low rates of congestion, so the reporting emphasis is now on urban areas where congestion is a growing problem. Congestion is said to occur when the measured hourly traffic volume exceeds 80 per cent of the highway's capacity.
Factors impacting results
External factors such as increasing population and travel demand cause congestion to worsen over time. The cost of providing additional highway capacity and the associated social and environmental impacts limit the ministry's ability to reverse the congestion trend; however, the ministry will continue to implement strategies to mitigate this problem.


¹	The method of estimating target values was revised after the 2003/04 Service Plan was finalized. The revised target for 2003/04 is 13.6% compared to a target of 13.9% as shown in the previous service plan. Note that targets and actual results are calculated for calendar years, so 2003/04 actually encompasses January to December 2003.

Key strategy: Improve mobility and reliability and reduce bottlenecks on major urban and rural trade corridors, using partnership cost-sharing where feasible.

Performance Measure	2003/04 Target	2003/04 Actual	Variance
Commercial trucking travel time between economic gateways	Under development	Under development	—
Linkage to goal and objective
It is critical that commercial vehicles have predictable and reliable travel times between important economic gateways such as provincial and international border crossings, major economic activity centres, and intermodal locations such as airports, railway re-load centres, and marine ports. Each year, more than 1.3 million trucks cross the B.C.-U.S. border and over $24 billion in goods cross all of B.C.'s borders. Roads serving these crossings must operate at peak efficiency, as road congestion drives up costs and causes delays. Projects at the border or on highway approaches will use infrastructure improvements and investments in transportation technology to keep international trade moving and B.C.'s economy strong.
Descriptive information
The ministry is measuring truck travel time on specific highway segments which service major economic gateways, using data obtained through satellite tracking technology. Sufficient data should be in place in time to develop a performance measure for the 2005/06 Service Plan.