One of the transit routes Grey County currently operates is set to be discontinued next April.
Council has decided to cancel route 6 which goes from Flesherton to Hanover and then Hanover to Walkerton effective March 31st, 2023.
A staff report to council says route 6 was not part of the original basic plan for service approved by the provincial government and has no grant funding, meaning it is taxpayer funded.
Staff told councillors, ridership on route 6 was slow to get started, but in recent months it had seen 100 trips per month. It is, however, the most expensive and least used route.
Community Transportation Manager Stephanie Stewart says the route has been used for shopping trips to Hanover and as a link for people to transit to the GTA and Guelph.
In April 2021, County Council decided to contribute $223,000 to enhance GTR service levels including days of operation. Staff say after that service increase, ridership went up 335 per cent in seven months.
Stewart told council, “This enhanced level of service was only possible due to the financial investment made by Grey County Council last year. As you can see, your financial investment has had a significant impact on ridership.”
Stewart says, for example, in November, there were 1,982 riders across all GTR routes, compared to November 2021’s 678 riders.
Staff say, for the current level of service on existing Grey Transit routes it would cost taxpayers $616,900 in 2023, which staff say, due to increasing costs, is a $336,600 increase over the 2022 budget.
Removing route 6 would reduce that cost to an estimated $447,400.
Council had a long discussion on the matter last Thursday, (Dec 8), which included exploring ideas that might help the County find a funding source for the route, with some advocating for more collaboration, perhaps with Bruce County or employers in the region.
Meaford Mayor Ross Kentner asked staff about the role of transit in economic development, saying, “I just would like to hear more about what the economic development potential is because we’re talking about people going to work, people going to education, people going to hospital, people going shopping– there must be another angle that we’re kind of missing.”
In response, Stewart said, “I do know that there is an economic development significant impact there,” adding, “In speaking with the YMCA, and in speaking with the United Way, we have their full backing, and recently, I was at their employment and income meeting and the United Way said they would happily write a letter. They represent 52 organizations within Grey and Bruce counties and they would write one on behalf of all those organizations to say that this (the GTR) is making a significant impact on people’s lives for employment and all of the other reasons like you just listed.”
Stewart says in speaking with the Four County Labour Market Planning Board in the past, the planning board said the GTR needed to increase to five days a week on most or all of their routes to enable people to commute to work and seek employment.
Director of Economic Development, Tourism and Culture Savanna Myers noted to council, her department hears about access to transit, housing and childcare as the main barriers to economic development and employment.
CAO Kim Wingrove recommended making a decision at the December 8th meeting in order to allow the finance department to move forward with planning the 2023 budget, noting, with the continuation of the route until the end March, “I think that would still give us some time and give Bruce County some time to consider their financial situations and to have a conversation about the potential of doing something more.”
In the end, council decided to remove the route from the service plan, to allow staff to move ahead with budget planning for 2023.
A number of councillors expressed interest during the discussion in pursuing funding to stave off route 6’s cancellation, or revive it later on.
Warden Brian Milne commented, “My understanding of the motion is that we would give notice that the route would discontinue at the end of March, but in the intervening time, as CAO Wingrove pointed out, I think there is time to get with the directly affected municipalities and the two counties to try to put their heads together,” he added “It would create that impetus for people to come to the table. Nothing focuses somebody like a deadline,” said Milne.
The routes the GTR operates are:
Owen Sound to Dundalk (7 days a week, 4 trips a day)
Dundalk to Orangeville (7 days a week, 4 trips a day)
Owen Sound to Meaford (7 days a week, 4 trips a day)
Meaford to Blue Mountains (7 days a week, 4 trips a day)
Owen Sound to Wiarton (5 days a week, 3 trips a day)
Flesherton to Hanover (5 days a week, 3 trips a day) (until March 31st 2023)
