Development of the Draft 2041 Regional Transportation Plan: GTHA Regional Traveller Personas and the Residents’ Reference Panel

By 2041 the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) will be home to over 10
million people, all of whom travel around the region by different modes, at different
times of day and have different lifestyles. Accommodating all these different types of
travellers was a challenge Metrolinx embraced as we started to draft the next
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The Draft 2041 Regional Transportation Plan
(Draft Plan) is an update to the Big Move, the GTHAs first regional transportation plan,
released in 2008, which takes a people centered planning approach. Two tactics, the
GTHA Regional Traveller Personas and the Residents’ Reference Panel set the stage
and helped shape the people centred direction of the Draft Plan. Both strategies
allowed Metrolinx to tests the policies, programs and directions against the views and
needs of GTHA residents. Through in person sessions with the Residents’ Reference
Panel and the focus groups and surveys used to develop the GTHA Traveller
Personas, Metrolinx gathered a wealth of data related to the attitudes, values, and
priorities for the people of the GTHA.

The two tactics are not limited in their use to the Draft Plan. Following the
development of the GTHA Regional Traveller Personas Metrolinx held several
sessions with Metrolinx Staff, Senior Management, and municipal partners who saw
the value in this work. Municipalities have also seen the value in this work and are
starting to look into developing their own personas to better understand their local
residents and users of their transportation system. The Residents’ Reference Panel
has attracted attention up to the Metrolinx Board of Directors as a valuable resource
for planning and by external partners as a clear voice for the needs of GTHA
residents’. The results of the panel and persona work have been shared with our
partners and all levels at Metrolinx, and used to inform Metrolinx marketing
campaigns and business development, in addition to feeding into the Draft 2041
Regional Transportation Plan.