NEW PLAN PROPOSED FOR PR TRANSPO
PR Transpo may be in limbo again but the regional transit project is not dead.
Carole Lavigne, economic development and tourism director for the United Counties of Prescott-Rusell (UCPR), is looking into feasibility of transforming the PR Transpo system into an on-call regional transit service. Her efforts have the support of UCPR Warden Pierre Leroux and the mayors sitting on the economic development advisory committee.
“It’s great to have a plan,” said Leroux, "and I look forward to seeing the (final) plan come back.”
Lavigne presented a preliminary report on the proposal to the advisory committee during its October 28 session. The report included results of two computer simulations of how a successful on-call regional transit system could work. said, during a later phone interview. “This would be something that we could try for six months or so.”
The UCPR received a provincial transportation fund grant for a four-year pilot regional transit project. PR Transpo began operations in October 2019 but shut down in spring 2020 because of the pandemic. The regional transit system restarted in September and shut down again in October because of low ridership due to the second wave of the pandemic.
The province will not let the UCPR use the transportation grant for any other purposes. Lavigne’s research into on-cal transit service may offer a way to maintain PR Transpo on a limited but cost-effective basis.
“It’s not an Uber and it’s not a taxi service,” Lavigne said, regarding the concept. "It's still bus service. They (buses) don't pick you up at your home. They pick you up at a stop.”
Desoronto, a town in Hastings County,has an on-call transit service for its rural area. The town has the same population size and general geography as Prescott-Russell and Lavigne’s research will include details on how that system operates.
Lavigne hopes to have a more detailed report to present to the advisory committee and UCPR council at a later date.