Cochranites concerned about how to get around town will be met with a solution by Sept. 1 of 2019 – as council voted 4-2 in favour of implementing a local on-demand transit system. The service will begin on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. with limited Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the capacity to expand based on feedback and demand. The on-demand system (think Uber-style) has been flagged as the most modern, efficient and affordable mode of public transportation. Days of giant diesel machines travelling around town with one or two riders are gone, replaced by a more compact mini-bus of sorts, with stops to be designated throughout town in order to achieve 100 per cent service coverage with wait times of less than 15 minutes. Council will move ahead with a five-year pilot transit project, having selected Southland Transportation as the successful contractor; five proposals were received by the town. Southland will also be expanding their regional commuter transit service to tie in the Cochrane service with the Crowfoot C-Train station, geared toward University of Calgary and SAIT students. The cost is included in the 2.98 per cent tax hike for 2019, which council will formally vote on at the Dec. 10 council meeting, translating to an annual operating cost of $551,812 or $3.82 per month on the average tax bill. This is based on anticipated annual ridership of 52,976 and based on a cost recovery rate of 21 per cent with a goal of reaching 33 per cent or 90,000 riders per year. The projected costs have come in under budget. As such, this will provide room to expand the hours of the service and make tweaks to improve the service, as needed. Social media reactions have ranged from positive to dubious over whether or not the costs will remain as manageable as predicted. It’s been around 10 years and three councils in the making since transit first made its way onto the town’s official radar, with proponents breathing sighs of relief at the long-awaited decision – including Couns. Susan Flowers and Tara McFadden. “In five years, I think transit will have become such an inherent part of Cochrane that to get rid of it would be a 30-year step backwards,” said Coun. Tara McFadden, who has been a voice for transit since the conversation began a decade ago. For McFadden, the yes vote was based on a lengthy list of reasons – to connect all areas of Cochrane, to provide safe transportation for seniors, youth and people with disabilities, to offer a traffic calming measure and to get more people into businesses and shopping locally. For Flowers, a retired manager for Cochrane Family and Community Support Services, the town could not afford to wait any longer. “I’ve seen the need for so many years ... it’s a flexible plan so we can add to it or change it as we go,” said Flowers, who has been reduced to tears in previous council talks at the potential of shelving transit once again. Mayor Jeff Genung who voted yes feels that the on-demand solution is the most affordable and efficient solution to fill a growing transportation gap in town – although he requested a revert to something similar to the shiny blue compact bus option versus the more old-fashioned option selected by the transit task force. Coun. Alex Reed said he wants to clarify that his no vote was purely financial and that he is sympathetic to the arguments and rationale for transit. “My concerns are totally about the additional financial burden this will place on the taxpayers of Cochrane over the next decade, which will become painfully apparent once all the “free” money is used up and if administration continues to come back to Council for more money during the pilot phase of this,” said Reed, adding that a five-year “pilot” implies permanency. Dan Overes has lived in Cochrane since 2012 and upon learning of council’s decision will be cautiously optimistic. “Obviously, the impact to taxes is probably the biggest concern – that said, it’s a good time to be looking at transit ... it’s not a service that I would likely use myself, but it doesn’t mean I don’t see the need for it.” Nagel also voted against transit based on his concerns over fiscal responsibility, although said that he understands the arguments in favour of connecting the community and getting seniors and youth around the town. “We have a ballooning spending problem in Cochrane. In this mayor and council’s first two budgets, basically everything the administration has asked for has been approved,” said Coun Morgan Nagel. Coun. Marni Fedeyko appeared to be sitting on the fence throughout the transit debates over the last several months, but opted to vote yes based on the final presentation by the transit task force led by transit analyst Devin LaFleche. Coun. Pat Wilson excused himself from the discussion and subsequent vote based on a perceived conflict of interest, given his day job as the owner/operator of Taxi4U.
