Calgary looks on as Airdrie takes on TNC to help fill transit gaps

The on-demand service is launching this fall and will take the community from 50 per cent transit coverage to nearly 100 per cent.

Metronews.ca
June 21, 2017
By Helen Pike

Canadian transit authorities are eyeing a southern Alberta city for what might arguably become the future of transit service.

This fall, Airdrie will launch their on-demand service for communities they serve who don't have access to bus routes; and they're partnering with a transportation network company to offer rides for the same price as their bus routes.

"It's a big jump for us, and I daresay it wouldn't be possible without that perfect storm of legaslative changes at the province that allowed TNCs and the technology evolving to the point that it's more efficient and accepted by customers," said Airdrie's Transit Coordinator Chris MacIsaac.

In Edmonton, the city’s considering replacing some of their smaller feeder routes with on-demand service through Uber on underutilized routes. They're undergoing a re-organization, and city planners want to increase service in core communities, and reduce the frequency of low-ridership buses in the suburbs.

Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra has suggested that Calgary, too, will need to create more cost-effective ways to feed transit users from communities to the higher volume transit routes.

According to Chris Jordan, manager of Calgary Transit planning, the idea that feeder routes may soon be helped along with rideshare companies is a bit far flung; it's not in the near term business plans.

"Transit is looking for cost-effective options for areas of the city where we don't have service today, whether that's new communities, very low ridership areas, or times of day that are not productive to serve with fixed route transit," said Jordan. "It's something we'll begin to look at for those areas that don't have fixed route service today."

That said, he's monitoring what cities like Airdrie are doing in partnership with rideshares to see if it's a feasible model here in Calgary.

Jordan also specifically highlighted Innisfil, Ont. where the small town has partnered with the transportation network giant Uber to subsidize service. According to a Toronto Star article, it's costing them $100,000 in their first year and $125,000 in their second instead of a single bus route that would cost $270,000.

Already, the City of Calgary is going forward with an autonomous vehicle pilot that would do just that, but on a much smaller scale between Telus Spark and the Calgary Zoo. It’s expected to launch in 2018.

Final plans on what may happen in Calgary’s neighbouring city will come before Edmonton city council in early July.