INNISFAIL – The town is discontinuing its participation in the two-way regional transit service to Red Deer.
The two-year provincially funded pilot project, known as the 2A South Regional Transit service, began in Innisfail on Jan. 14, 2019. It officially ends March 31.
Town council was told March 1 at its Agenda & Priorities meeting that low ridership numbers and the project’s inability to attract significant commuter interest, along with the province’s apparent unwillingness to provide additional funding, no longer made the project financially feasible.
Council agreed to support a motion to cancel the service as of March 31, with another motion to have the town’s Transportation Committee look into different transit options.
“Golly, I am sorry. It would be nice to see it continue but I am inclined to agree with Option 1 (cancellation), I am afraid,” said Mayor Jim Romane.
Karen Bradbury, the town's community and social development coordinator, briefed council with a Red Deer County-sponsored report from representatives of the project’s participating municipalities, including Innisfail, Penhold, Springbrook and the City of Red Deer.
The report was to be formally presented last week to Red Deer County and Penhold.
The two-year $700,000 provincial government-funded pilot project was scheduled to end last December but was extended by the province to the end of March, with no further funding beyond the pilot project phase.
While ridership more than doubled from the first quarter in 2019 to the third quarter, from 657 to 1,478, the report also showed it declined dramatically by the second quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
In March of 2020, ridership plummeted by 50 per cent due to the impact of the pandemic. Ridership figures for that period was just 487.
Total ridership in 2019 was 4,875. However, ridership for all of 2020 fell to 3,774.
The 2020 boarding numbers also showed there were about three riders per day in Springbrook, and in Innisfail between one and three. In Penhold, there were days when there was no ridership.
The report also showed most users, notably seniors and others needing medical appointments or surgeries not available in Innisfail, used the service just once or twice a month.
While discontinuing the service was one option presented to council, others advanced were an on-demand system for transit services and continuing the existing service with municipalities funding the project for a five-year term.
However, both the latter options would cost each participating municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating and capital costs.
“I am certainly not in favour of committing a lot of funding from the taxpayers of Innisfail,” said Coun. Gavin Bates.
Nevertheless, Coun. Don Harrison insisted many citizens have used the service, adding he’s heard positive comments from users.
“When you have something and take it away it’s never good,” said Harrison. “I would really like to have some kind of idea of how we are going to replace it.
“You don’t need to run a 45-passenger bus between Innisfail and Springbrook, and maybe it is something our transportation committee could look at with a smaller bus,” he added. “I really think it’s a service that is needed.”
Bradbury countered by saying there is “definitely a need for the service”, with citizens who did use it regularly. However, she told council the service did not attract the number of commuters as the town hoped.
She added it was up to the town’s Transportation Committee to look at other options, perhaps a smaller bus, or new partnerships.
“It has been a really, really positive learning experience, and a really good opportunity for future conversations if there are future opportunities for funding,” said Bradbury. “Transportation is on the plate for a lot of communities and it will be for a long time, so I think we just keep trying to figure out where there are other options.”
