Innisfil council eyes Uber-style transit over bus system

Simcoe.com
Nov. 17, 2015
By Rick Vanderlinde

Need a ride to the recreation center? Have to get to Barrie for a doctor’s appointment? Looking for a ride to work in Toronto?

There may be a fellow Innisfil resident who can help you out.

That’s the philosophy behind an idea for an Uber-style, on-demand transit system being explored by town staff after council called for an alternative to starting a traditional bus-based system.

“It’s still early days, but there’s a real opportunity out there to match people up,” said planning manager Tim Cane.

“It’s quite challenging to have a traditional system here. “It’s a big ticket item that many wouldn’t get any benefit from.”

Instead of launching a one-route, starter system that would cost about $275,000 in the first year, council is opting to explore a non-traditional ridership program.

Mayor Gord Wauchope said he and the rest of council are “excited” by the concept.

“We really applaud the staff for thinking outside of the box,” he said. “The bus would only service Alcona, but an Uber-style plan could service the whole town.”

Deputy Mayor Lynn Dollin said while many questions still need to be answered, the concept could be more effective and less costly than trying to provide traditional transit.

“It’s not so much the initial cost of traditional transit, but once you start the ball rolling, you can never stop it,” she said.

Dollin pointed to neighbouring municipalities such as Bradford, that are much more compact, which are struggling to create a viable transit system.

“If they are struggling, how will we do it with our geographic challenges,” she said.

After hearing the idea at its Nov. 6 budget meeting, council voted to strike $275,000 from next year’s budget for a one-bus system. It added $10,000 to create a community action committee that will use the funds to study an Uber-style approach. The committee will report back to council in February.

Cane said the town might be able to create its own app that would connect local drivers with riders. A town mini-bus could also pickup passengers using the same approach.

With an estimated 5,600 residents commuting to work everyday, there is a huge resource that could be tapped, Cane said.

“How do we make use of that? How do we make use of residents who are driving the same routes at the same time?”

There appeared to be little appetite on council for a traditional bus system since the single route would only take riders from Alcona to south Barrie.

Both councillors Doug Lougheed and Richard Simpson have said they couldn’t support traditional transit because it would be highly subsidized by taxpayers who would never use it.

Dollin said she was disappointed with a consultants’ report that recommended the single-bus starter system, but did not study any non-traditional systems.

“They kept telling us that people wanted the traditional bus system, but they are talking to people who came from the GTA and that’s the only model they know.”

Cane said an action committee could take a closer look at other jurisdictions that have opted to use an Uber-style system.

“We are not the first to do this,” he said. “Areas in Europe and China do this and other (Ontario) municipalities are talking about it as well.”

Cane said the system could also benefit the town’s social fabric by introducing residents to one another.

“Getting people from A to B is critical, but to have a complete community we need to engage citizens,” he said. “It creates social interaction as well as making connections that you wouldn’t normally get.”

Council will revisit the idea Dec. 9 when it debates next year’s budget.