Smart transit plan leaves room to grow

An efficient and effective bus system is one of the basic requirements of a modern municipality.

Efficient and effective doesn’t translate to self-sufficient, however. Peterborough’s transit system ran about $6.7 million in the red last year.

That loss is accepted because transit is a necessary social equalizer.

The equalization factor is most true for people who simply can’t drive, whether because of some chronic impairment, old age or temporary illness.

On Monday, city council agreed to an upgrade of the handi-van system that serves those people. It also agreed to buy a new mid-sized, handicapped accessible bus that represents a different approach.

Over the years the city has tried to improve the system by using more private cabs, setting up different zone systems and fiddling with the way handi-vans are reserved. The success rate has been modest. However recent improvements seem to be working. Since 2013 ridership is up 25 per cent according to a staff report. More people are having their needs met. But serious problems remain. The key concern is that 15 per cent of those who try to book a handi-van find out there isn’t one available. That represents nearly 6,000 people who couldn’t get to a doctor’s appointment, to work or out to meet friends.

Reducing that number should be a priority. But it comes with a fairly steep price.

City staff provided four models. One would simply add more handi-vans at a cost of $600,000 a year. It would increase the number of riders by 16,200, about $37 per ride.

Three other options would all add some handi-van capacity plus include the new mid-size accessible bus running on a fixed route to the places most users want to go – shopping centres, the hospital, medical clinics etc.

The least expensive option is forecast to handle 20,500 additional riders and cost $400,000 a year. The Cadillac version would add 44,000 riders and cost $817,000 a year. Per-ride costs would be in the $19 to $20 range for all three.

All those numbers are projections, however, and ridership projections in the past have sometimes been highly optimistic.

A badly needed upgrade that would allow riders to book handi-van trips by email is being looked at and should be part of the plan. It already happens in other cities, including Kingston.