Old transit to roll by month end
Nov. 27 given as a restart date for the system used before poorly received changes
Medicine Hat’s old transit system will be new again on Nov. 27.
On that date, city officials said Tuesday, the change back to the previous system will be completed after council ordered the reversion in late September.
A public uproar over a new feeder system began soon after it was announced in mid-August, then complaints continued after changes were implemented city wide on Sept. 5.
Council voted 6-3 Sept. 18 to revert to the previous system while also tasking officials to seek “a better solution” to find cost savings for the heavily subsidized bus system.
A city release states the restoration includes all routes, signs, schedules, weekend and statutory holiday coverage, and peak and non-peak services provided prior to Sept. 5.
The downtown transit terminal will again become the main transfer hub.
At Monday’s swearing-in ceremony of the new council term, Coun. Julie Friesen, chair of the public services committee, said she hoped the change was proceeding well.
“My understanding is that it will look like it was sometime in November,” she said, adding she hadn’t been briefed since the previous council meeting on Oct. 2. “It’s been a couple months already and I’m very eager to see people off the streets in the winter months (waiting for a bus).”
The entire transit review and subsequent change was the result of a cost-containment strategy approved by council in late 2016. It sought to save $750,000 per year from the service, one of the most expensive provided by the city, and most dependent on tax revenue to cover its costs.
Eventually, administrators found a cost savings of about $650,000 annually by scaling back service to only business hours on weekdays on feeder routes.
Riders quickly complained and council members said they had heard from transit users as well as employers who said workers were having trouble making it to work or declining weekend shifts.
Following a turbulent council debate and vote on Sept. 18, administrators estimated the change could take up to three months to implement. If the Nov. 27 date holds, it would be 10 weeks from the decision.
The city is hiring drivers to fill vacancies left unfilled before the changes took place.
The city’s transit line (403-529-8214) is operating to answer questions.
City staffers will also be present at the exchange point near the Esplanade from Nov. 14-24, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., to answer questions about routes and schedules.
At the time of the switch, an interim program for weekend door-to-door service under the “Fair Entry” program will cease.
Special Transit services will not be impacted.