BOW VALLEY – A look at potentially incentivizing public transit for regional riders between Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise will be further examined.
The Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission endorsed reviewing its potential – particularly if it would lead to more people relying on public transit rather than personal vehicles – when it undergoes strategic planning in 2024.
Though the commission expressed an interest in an incentive program, members were hesitant to follow through until more information was provided on what could increase the possibility of more people making the switch to public transit instead of using personal vehicles.
Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert, a Canmore representative on the commission, said he suspected people were still driving from Canmore to work in Banff or vice versa because of the convenience over taking the bus.
“If I knew it would mean there’d be less cars coming to Canmore and vice versa. … I don’t think it’s because of price, but accessibility, and I think that’s a different question,” he said.
Grant Canning, one of the two representatives from the Town of Banff, said more information was needed before making a decision.
“Is this going to increase the number of people who take the bus or is it really giving people using it a better deal? That to me is the real issue,” he said. “If I was convinced this was going to drive more people on the bus, I’d be much more in favour of it.
“I’m just not sure it will at this point. … I think diving into what the true motivations are and asking them what would encourage you to take the bus more, I think that could be helpful.”
Roam staff recommended financial incentives of 50 per cent for commuters who were using public transit between the communities if they were doing so regularly for work. Roam staff were recommending the 50 per cent discount be covered by the municipality where the employee works.
Martin Bean, Roam’s CEO, noted it was “a very initial report” and stressed there are ongoing capacity issues being felt across Roam’s network.
“We have a lot of capacity issues right now. A huge uptake could challenge our capacity at certain times,” he said.
A previous report to the commission highlighted there were more than 1,300 overloads between June and September this year, meaning a bus couldn't take riders because it was full.
This mostly happened on Banff routes 1 and 2, but also the regional bus between Banff and Lake Louise. Roam’s route 3 bus takes riders between Banff and Canmore, while route 8x is between Banff and Lake Louise. The service has one-, three- and six-month passes available as well as single rides.
“This would achieve the benefit of reducing vehicular traffic on the highway and parking for extended periods in the core areas,” stated the staff report.
However, with ongoing capacity and overload issues – particularly for route 8x in the summer – alternatives were explored to limit further stress to an already busy system.
Between March and May 2023, the report stated between 6 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., 55 per cent of 3,916 riders travelled from homes in Canmore to work in Banff and 45 per cent of the 3,124 riders went from Banff to work in Canmore.
Of the $338,200 in pass revenue for route 3, it is estimated $321,000 is from commuters.
If the 50 per cent discount were provided to regular commuters, the Town of Banff would lose about $90,000 in revenue and Canmore $70,500. However, the staff report expected more passes to be sold as people made the switch to public transit and generated $17,000 in revenue if ridership increased by 10 per cent or $42,000 if it jumped by 25 per cent.
A staff report highlighted route 8x between Banff and Lake Louise has fewer commuters for work than route 3, with 95 per cent of commuters going from Banff to Lake Louise.
If the incentive program was approved, it would lead to $25,000 in lost revenue for Improvement District No. 9 and Parks Canada and about $1,300 for the Town of Banff.
But if it led to a 10 per cent increase in ridership, an additional $2,800 in revenue would be generated and an estimated $7,000 if it increased by 25 per cent ridership.
However, the report noted with route 8x dealing with overload issues, “additional ridership would create challenges, particularly in the summer months.”
The strategic planning is expected to take place early in 2024. If an incentive program is ultimately endorsed by the commission, it could potentially return to its partner municipality councils for consideration as early as 2025.
“I suspect it has more to do with convenience, where the buses go within Canmore, accessibility from certain neighbourhoods, it just ends up being easier and more controlled over your time to take a car,” Krausert said, noting more information was needed before an incentive program could be implemented.
