Community Bus service OK’d

New public transit service for seniors and people with disabilities expected to debut next August

City councillors plan to introduce a new public transit service designed for seniors and people with disabilities next August.

On Monday at City Hall, councillors approved a plan to start a new Community Bus service that will work on a fixed route.

The bus would go to destinations such as malls, medical clinics, seniors homes and the hospital.

The idea is to give riders who depend on the city’s Handi-Van service another transportation option.

Coun. Don Vassiliadis, the city’s transportation chairman, explained that the service will use a new type of bus. This low-floor bus has seats for 10 to 15 passengers, plus four spots for wheelchairs. It will cost the city $175,000. Handi-Vans are smaller and yet are often more expensive, Vassiliadis said.

“So this is great value for money,” he said.

The cost to operate the new Community Bus service in 2017 will be $86,400. (That’s because it would begin only in August. The cost to run the bus for an entire year would be $210,000.)

On Monday, councillors also approved other improvements to the Handi-Van service.

Those changes include hiring a new part-time employee to help run the reservation system for Handi-Vans, as well as the possible introduction of an email reservation system.

The total cost for all these upgrades – including the new Community Bus – is expected to be $464,800.

On Monday, councillors also approved a plan to replace the five oldest Handi-Vans in its fleet of 11, at a cost of $500,000 (a federal grant could end up covering half that cost). Coun. Keith Riel said it’s high time the city improves the Handi-Van system.

He said he knows of several people who would have come to the meeting at City Hall, but they couldn’t book a Handi-Van.

“That’s a sad state of affairs,” Riel said.