Public transit should get council's eye
Comment
by Chris Simon

A call for public transportation from the chair of Innisfil's accessibility advisory committee should make council rethink their future budget strategies.

IAAC chair Margaretta Papp-Belayneh has suggested that town residents greatly need a cheap and reliable method of public transportation, for a variety of purposes. Although the request comes at a bad time, with council set to pass a 9.5 per cent town tax levy increase, she does raise a few very prominent points that need further discussion and investigation.

Innisfil is the largest geographical municipality within Simcoe County. It stretches across several small communities like Cookstown, Gilford, Lefroy, Belle Ewart, Alcona and Stroud. With the number of residents approaching 40,000 within the next few years, it also has one of the largest populations in the county.

Many of these residents are either elderly, physically impaired or students, who cannot drive and are without adequate methods of transportation.

And for many, seemingly simple tasks like grocery shopping, medical appointments and working are difficult. Taxi cabs are reliable, but expensive. And many of the people that would use a public transportation network would likely be on fixed or low incomes, making taxi transportation difficult to afford. According to Papp-Belayneh, getting to Royal Victoria Hospital for a doctor's appointment costs over $55 for a one way fare.

The lack of public transportation in Innisfil has other side effects. The elderly are left in isolation, and students have difficulty getting to jobs.

Innisfil is not the only municipality within the county without public transportation. Currently, only Barrie, Orillia and Collingwood have developed networks. County government will be looking into the issue during the development of their Transportation Master Plan.

But perhaps Innisfil needs to investigate the feasibility of bringing a transportation system to the town, along with any county decision.

Obviously, any transportation system would be expensive to start-up and maintain. Innisfil mayor Brian Jackson estimates it would cost between $500,000 and $600,000 per year to maintain, in addition to the initial start-up funding that would be required. And other privately-run transportation systems have failed within the town, due mostly to a lack of ridership.

Although the GO bus runs through the town several times per day, getting to a stop can be difficult without another form of transportation.

So perhaps that's why a feasibility study would be wise now. The town could survey residents, to find estimated ridership levels, and consult with other county and Greater Toronto Area municipalities to discuss fare rates and develop a cost/benefit analysis. The town could also use some of the information gathered to start planning future road projects.

True, there are concerns over the distance buses would need to travel across the municipality. But a transportation system would not need to be as intricate as those in Barrie or Orillia. Each community within Innisfil could have its own route linking residential areas to the major urban cores. A few times per day, a bus could run from those communities into a main station or access point. That access point could anchor a route into Barrie a few times per day as well.

A reliable system running along a few routes every couple of hours could be beneficial to the town, providing easy and affordable access to jobs, retail businesses and the New Town Hall and recreation complex. It would also appeal to new businesses looking to set up offices and industry within the municipality. If successful, it could also reduce traffic volumes on roads, eventually saving money for the town. Anything that could potentially save the town and its taxpayers money is at least worth a look.