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Owen Sound will request costs for five potential transit service options — from sustaining the established order to shifting to a completely on-demand system — when it seeks proposals this winter for a brand new operator contract.
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Coun. Travis Dodd stated the movement, permitted throughout a particular council assembly Friday, is an preliminary step towards the town deciding what sort of public transit service it can present when the contract begins Sept. 1.
“This is just getting enough information to make the decision. I think that will be the part that gives everyone the direction of knowing how they’ll move forward with this current service. But I would remind that this is just the RFP process,” he stated.
Council permitted in a 6-3 vote Dodd’s movement to request costs for sustaining the present degree of transit service, which offers 13,500 hours of service yearly, in addition to for offering one-hour service throughout the present working hours, which would scale back these annual service hours to 7,500.
The movement additionally seeks quotes for transitioning to a modified four-route, five-bus system advisable in a marketing consultant’s research, however with out extending service into Harrison Park or onto the Sunset Strip in Georgian Bluffs, as urged.
It additionally directs workers to hunt, by means of the request-for-proposal course of, costs for shifting to a completely on-demand transit system with rideshare options in addition to to a service with one-hour routes that operates till 9 p.m. on weekdays. The latter choice would supply 9,500 hours of service yearly.
Dennis Kefalas, director of public works and engineering, stated now that council has supplied its path, workers will full the RFP for a brand new transit contract, with a plan to put up it throughout the subsequent few weeks.
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“Once we get the proposals back, we’ll be able to go to council because we’ll know actual costs and say here are the costs to provide each one of these services — which one do you want to do? And we might provide a recommendation,” he stated in an interview.
Kefalas stated the purpose is for council to decide on a service degree by early spring.
Friday’s assembly got here a number of weeks after council realized throughout a price range session that the town’s internet cost to function its present standard transit system is anticipated to climb from $1.04 million in 2021 to $1.56 million in 2022 attributable to rising contract, gasoline and winter upkeep prices and lowering income, together with from transit fares.
Owen Sound’s present transit contract with First Student expires Aug. 31.
In anticipation of issuing a brand new contract, the town retained Dennis Fletcher & Associates to finish a research aimed toward optimizing the service.
It advisable the town transition to a brand new four-route system that covers comparable floor to the present community and providers a lot of the present stops, however offers extra direct journeys between frequent pickup spots and common locations, just like the hospital, Georgian College and Walmart.
Each of the routes could be 40 minutes, as an alternative of the present half-hour, however one could be operated with two buses, making a 20-minute service interval. Three of the proposed routes would have each a west-side and east-side loop, with stops across the 20-minute mark on the downtown terminal.
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City officers have estimated that adopting that system would improve the estimated 2022 internet cost of the service by one other $185,000.
Council acquired a report from Kefalas on the assembly that advisable the town search costs for three options — transitioning to the system advisable in Fletcher’s report, sustaining the present mounted four-route, 30-minute transit system and shifting to a one-hour service, which metropolis officers have estimated would scale back the projected internet improve for transit in 2022 from $499,000 to $150,000.
Fletcher made a presentation to council on the route optimization research.
Afterwards, Coun. Carol Merton requested Fletcher how a lot of a discount in service he would think about as being equitable with out making a “systemic barrier by disproportionately affecting” the individuals who want the service probably the most.
Fletcher stated he would solely think about implementing a service with one-hour routes if, at minimal, the town had been to increase the hours of service on weekdays additional into the night.
That led to council deciding to hunt pricing for a fourth choice — providing one-hour service however from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Buses now run from 6:30 a.m. to six p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and don’t run Sundays or holidays.
There was additionally loads of dialogue on seeking costs for an on-demand transit service or a rideshare-type mannequin by which individuals might request a bus that may decide them up at a “virtual stop” or their residence and take them to their vacation spot.
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Dodd stated he believes a completely on-demand system is price exploring.
“I think that is an area that could potentially do really well in Owen Sound. It may cost money — maybe when we get it back it says it will cost $2 million and maybe everyone says that won’t work. But maybe it costs a million-and-a-half; maybe it is comparable to a current fixed system (but) actually sees increased ridership and increased service,” he stated.
Thomas urged that along with seeking pricing for an on-demand system, the town additionally ask bidders to cite rideshare options, noting Innisfil companions with Uber and different suppliers to supply discounted journeys, 24/7, to its residents.
“I think the days of conventional bus service for Owen Sound are coming to an end. It’s not sustainable, it hasn’t been for a long time, but we’ve been limping along, trying to keep it going because, yes, you do need to have transit,” he stated.
“But given the news we got in December from our corporate services director that we’re going to be paying another half-million dollars this year towards buses, I don’t think this is sustainable at all.”
He stated he thinks the time has come for council to “think outside the box” and give you its personal method of offering a traditional transit system.
Coun. Scott Greig spoke towards an Innisfil-style on-demand rideshare service, saying it might make it dearer for transit customers to get round.
“You lose containment on what people are going to be paying. We’re going to be subsidizing taxi rides. So if you live in Brooke at 28 th Street and it costs you $9 to go to the grocery store or the hospital you’ve lost control of that. If the subsidy is $3, the user’s paying $6. And we’ve heard from people who are struggling to pay $3 or $4 right now. So we’re going to burden the user; we’re going to alienate people in our community who are vulnerable and need this service,” he stated.
The metropolis would additionally “lose control” of the working prices for transit if it strikes to a dynamic, on-demand system, he added.