Transit Updates in District 13

The Rural Transportation Report and the JRTA Transportation Plan created both challenges and new opportunities. 

The challenges for commuter-shed districts like District 13 are already well known and articulated in the report: provincial funding limits current rural transit service providers (like BayRides) due to population density thresholds surpassing the provincial Community Transportation Assistance Program (CTAP) funding allowances to expand their catchment area, and the need for more Park & Ride facilities at the periphery of the transit service area, particularly to serve rural areas with limited transit options, to reduce reliance on personal vehicles. 

Shortly following that, the JRTA Transportation Plan was released from the province. I was hoping to see more direct actions for our District, but what I found was opportunities for alignment. From the JRTA report:

1.3.5 Collaborate with partners to meet demand and support new services to fill gaps and improve access. The introduction of new transit services needs to be coordinated with adjustments to existing transit services. This will help maximize the impact of investments in new transit services and support improvements to better serve demand over time. Adjustments could include increases in transit service span, frequency or coverage, new services in surrounding municipalities, or new service models such as  on-demand transit.

With that, I submitted the motion (here) asking for a staff report leading to on-demand transit for communities outside of the transit service boundary and not serviced by rural transit service providers (such as Prospect). At this time, I don't know whether it makes sense to find ways to expand BayRides catchment area to include Prospect, or whether Metro Transit will be exploring on-demand transit on their own.

There is still more work to be done, and in the next month I'll be meeting further with the heads of Metro Transit to continue the conversation of how we can better serve District 13, including how to better support BayRides, how to better service to Tantallon (including weekend service), and I continue to find opportunities for expansion.