A pilot regional transit service project is being launched to connect five communities south of Calgary, moving a step closer to a similar project for Cochrane and Canmore.
Calgary Regional Partnership, a nonprofit organization that aims to address economic, environmental and community issues, received a unanimous board approval from 14 of its member municipalities Sept. 18 to carry out the two-year pilot project, the On-It Regional Transit Service, come next September.
The communities include Nanton, High River, Black Diamond, Turner Valley and Okotoks. The project will see transit buses ferrying commuters from the communities to the Somerset-Bridlewood LRT station in south Calgary every morning, with evening return trips.
The partnership will subsidize the first two years to a maximum amount and anything over that amount would be covered jointly by municipalities.
Ettore Iannacito, regional transportation program manager for the partnership, said that if the southern pilot project is successful, they would move ahead to conducting feasibility studies to determine the demand for a project in Cochrane and Canmore.
The Town of Cochrane received $6.1 million in 2011 in Green Trip funding from the province for a future transit system. Mayor Ivan Brooker said if they were to take part in the partnership’s program, they would have to make a decision in 2016 in order to make the 2017 deadline.
The western region pilot project would include not only Cochrane, but also Canmore and potentially Banff. Currently, Banff and Canmore are connected by the Roam shuttle service provided by the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission, but there is no transit option to Calgary. For Cochrane, commuters can take the bus provided by Southland Transportation to Calgary.
Brooker said besides joining the partnership’s pilot program, the other option would be to become part of the Roam service offered in Canmore and Banff. The cost of that option remains to be determined, he said.
Cochrane resident Barb MacDonald drives to the Crowfoot LRT station and takes the train into downtown Calgary every weekday to her job. She said her work hours don’t fit the Southland bus’ schedule, so another option would be welcomed.
“I would like to definitely see more options than just the commuter bus provided by Southland Transportation,” she said.
According to the partnership’s website, the Calgary region is expected to grow to three million people by 2076.
