INNISFAIL - At long last reliable two-way regional transit service to the City of Red Deer will be officially launched on Jan. 14.
The 2A South Regional Transit service, a two-year $700,000 pilot project funded by the province, will be free for the first four weeks. Beginning on Feb. 11 there will be a $5 charge for a one-way ride to Red Deer, which will include one free bus transfer on arrival in the city.
"A lot of people have fear about a new service, especially if they are not familiar with any kind of a new busing system," said Karen Bradbury, the town's community and social development coordinator, who was the town's driving force in forging a regional partnership between Innisfail, Red Deer County and Penhold to get the service and the $700,000 grant from the provincial government. "The first month will give people a chance to check it out a number of times until they get comfortable riding the bus, so they get comfortable knowing how they can go about it."
She said the new service will create many new opportunities for scores of Innisfailians, including those who will have easier and reliable access to essential government and health-care services, post-secondary education, including at Red Deer College, shopping, and employment opportunities between Innisfail, Gasoline Alley and in the City of Red Deer.
Mayor Jim Romane called the Jan. 14 launch date "historic" for the community, noting it was the first time there has been an attempt made to get a credible regional transit service, which is also now made possible through the City of Red Deer's cooperation in providing modern transit buses.
"We hope we can encourage and build on it, and hopefully we can continue it as a regular thing," said Romane. "I think it is a great opportunity for Innisfail and outlying communities to get regular service to Red Deer."
Bradbury said the pilot project will also help determine whether the service should be extended beyond its two-year mandate.
"All the data we get from this project is going to be given to the province, and that is going to help determine what some of the needs are when it comes to rural transportation for our communities," she said. "It is going to be up to the government if they are able to support ongoing efforts for rural transportation.
"It is one of those things that we really want people to jump on board to show what our level of need is," added Bradbury. "If it doesn't get used then it is not going to show that need."
In the meantime, the town is aggressively promoting the new service. Citizens are invited on Jan. 14 to come to the service's Chinook's Edge School Division stop on 50th Street at 8:25 a.m. to check out the service.
"Come and ride the bus, ask questions, get familiar, pick up your brochure and your schedule. Ride the bus," she said, adding later that morning in Red Deer there will be an informal ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Bower Mall stop.
The official transit run in Innisfail begins in the morning at Chinook's Edge at 6:55 a.m., with five-minute intervals between the rest of the stops at Innisfail High School on 52nd Avenue, the Innisfail and District Historical Village on 42nd Street and east on 42nd Street just west of 49th Avenue. The afternoon run begins at Chinook's Edge at 2:40 p.m. Both runs then swing north through Penhold and Springbrook before finishing in the City of Red Deer.
For more information on the new 2A South Regional Transit service the new brochures are available at town hall, and complete details are on the websites of the Town of Innisfail, Red Deer County and the Town of Penhold.
