County council tables rural transit
By Dan Jensen

Camrose County residents will have to wait until September 14 to find out whether or not they will be getting a rural transit system.

Camrose County council has tabled a motion to start a two-year transit system pilot project  using a 20-passenger Ford Allstar bus with wheelchair lift and two wheelchair positions valued at $68,500, and a secondary bus purchased from Strathcona County.

"We need more time to consider this," said County councillor Doug Lyseng at council's August 24 meeting.

"We need to talk with our ratepayers."

Other councillors agreed, saying they needed more time to look at the information.

"We need to see what other sources of funding can be pulled into the pie to make the proposal stronger and look at what other options are available," said councillor Kathleen Ireland.

The motion was presented by County councillor Vern Peterson, who noted it is time that the County had an affordable transit system.

"There is thought among the masses that something would be very beneficial," he said.

"It gives people a way to stay in their communities."

Councillor Peterson said council needs to step out in faith and believe that a transit system in the County will work.

"It is scary to step out and break new ground but this country would not be what it is today if someone did not do that."

The transit system would be funded by the County's Future Municipal Reserve Account and the Debt Retirement Account, as well as government grants, ridership and sponsors.

Operating costs for one year, including wages, fuel, maintenance, insurance and marketing, are estimated to be $170,000.

Camrose County's Kati Olson told council in a rural transit initiative presentation that the current available transportation options for county residents are either the Rose City Handivan, which charges $16.50 per hour plus 90 cents per kilometre, taxi companies, which charge between $1.25 and $1.66 per kilometre, or private vehicles. She showed that residents from Kingman or Round Hill going to Camrose pay $66 for the use of the Handivan, and between $37.50 and $50 for the use of the taxi.

"For the average person, " said Olson, "commuting to Camrose is too expensive."

Olson noted that the rural transit system would provide safety benefits in that it would have a professional driver, environmental benefits, in that an urban bus would emit 3.5 times less C02 emissions than an urban car, and social benefits in that it would build relationships through various activities and make social events more accessible.

Health wise, Olson said public transit would provide benefits since most bus rides start and end with a pedestrian.

"There is a certain amount of walking that has to be done to get to the bus stop."

Camrose County administration has proposed two routes for the rural transit initiative. Bus route one would provide service to and from Round Hill and Kingman, while bus route two would provide service to and from Tillicum and Ohaton. Stops in Camrose would include the Cornerstone Shopping Centre, Smith Clinic, St. Mary's Hospital and Downtown (48 A Avenue).

"We would have early morning pickup and late afternoon drop off," said Olson.

"The bus would make four to five stops a day in each hamlet."

The regular fare for passengers would be $3 one way from a County departure point and $2 one way from a city of Camrose departure point.

A yearly pass would be $360 for transportation within the city and $600 for transportation within the County.

Olson said the transit system would be evaluated during the course of the first year to determine if it should be continued.

"It could gain popularity over time to the point that we add a second full-time bus."

Reeve Don Gregorwich said accessible transportation is one of the services municipalities are expected to provide, and that a public transportation system in the County would fit with the provincial government's official mandate.

"Alberta Health is trying to encourage people to stay in their homes. This would be an opportunity to help them do that."

Councillor Lyseng expressed skepticism about how much the transit system would be used, and questioned if there had been any research done as to show what percentage of the population would access the service.

"We need to figure out how many people will be using this before we embark on it," he said.

"I am not confident we can go ahead and try to drum up business."

Councillor Trevor Miller expressed the concern that the County, with a pilot project, would be creating a dependency on a service that it may not be able to continue to provide after the two years are up.

County administrator Steve Gerlitz agreed that studies must be done to determine ridership, but that most people want to see a bus going down the street before deciding if they want to ride it or not.

"We have to see it in black and white to decide if it is going to be successful or not.

"We have to get them (buses) on the road first before the studies are done."

Gerlitz said the rural transit initiative would be the first in Alberta.

"They have a rural system in B.C. and it is very successful because the communities are so spread out. Normally you don't see a lot of transit systems that take people from small communities to a major centre."