Cochrane On Demand Local Transit (COLT) took a trip to the RancheHouse to share the results of their recent public engagement campaign at council's committee of the whole meeting on July 2.
The presentation was prepared by Ontario-based company Left Turn Right Turn Ltd., which specializes in traditional transit planning, strategic growth, and innovation.
After council returns in September, manager of community services Michelle Delorme added that the company will present options for council’s consideration.
In December 2023, council approved $100,000 for a transit study to explore options that address existing challenges, develop local transit options for 2025, and create a roadmap for Cochrane’s transit growth beyond 2025.
Over the last three weeks, the engagement campaign saw the participation of around 1,000 Cochranites or 2.8 per cent of Cochrane’s total population.
From the results, a top priority for COLT aims to address is reliability and usefulness.
“Many shared concerns and stories about being stranded after booking a trip one-way," said Delorme. "Seventy-four per cent of respondents identified ‘regular service, I don’t need to book in advance’ as their number one change. Additionally, many have mentioned the inability to book trips at all, with confusion, particularly prevalent among seniors, on how to use and book the service.”
Another finding saw 39 per cent of respondents hoping to see extended service hours for COLT.
In terms of safety and accessibility, seventy-eight per cent of respondents see COLT’s benefits in its affordability and accessibility.
“With 18 per cent of respondents age 65 and older, concerns were also raised about safe sidewalks and the conditions during winter, highlighting the importance of a transit system that supports an age-friendly community,” she said.
Delorme added that Cochranites are looking for a transit service that connects costs with benefits.
“The need for the service to scale with our community was identified, emphasizing the importance of balancing resident needs and community costs,” she said. “In Cochrane, there is a desire for transit to provide tangible benefits and be financially sustainable, with flexibility and scalability at the forefront of all decisions.”
With this, Delorme noted that six per cent of respondents believed that public transit is not a good use of public funding.
More findings from the engagements showed that residents seek a transit system that continues to adapt to the changing needs of Cochrane.
“The current system falls shorts for families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities,” Delorme said. “The limited-service span affects youth access to high schools and part-time jobs.
“We also heard an emphasis on establishing direct and efficient routes to Calgary, with 37 per cent identifying ‘more options to Calgary' as one of their top priorities," she added.
A key benefit for 94 per cent of respondents includes how transit connects Cochrane’s strategic goal of enhancing the local economy, environmental stewardship, and built environment.
Through a jurisdictional scan, similar communities in Alberta will be examined to better identify new opportunities to improve COLT.
“The communities included in this review are Leduc, Airdrie, Okotoks, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, and Spruce Grove,” Delorme said. “By examining these communities, we gain valuable insight on best practices and potential areas for enhancement in our own transit services.”
Four of the six municipalities operate stop-to-stop, on-demand service, with most of them operating past 8 p.m. on weekdays. In comparison, it was noted that COLT provides very limited weekend service.
In 2022, Cochrane had the third lowest cost per trip with the price dropping an additional $5 in 2023. As for bus fare, Leduc is the only community that currently charges less than Cochrane.
According to data from 2023, the current state of colt sees between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. as the peak travelling time. The average number of riders on COLT at any given time is between one and three, and COLT buses spend less than one per cent of all operating hours with an on-board occupancy of greater than 50 per cent.
“Most failed searches are from people trying to book [rides] within 24 hours of their trip, and most failed searches are afternoon trips,” she said. “Over half, 53 per cent, of scheduled busses arrive before the scheduled 10-minute arrival window, and just over 14 per cent of buses more than five minutes early.
“Only three per cent of busses arrive more than two minutes after the 10-minute arrival window.”
When looking at on-demand system data from 2023, 40 per cent of users experienced failed trip searches and around 30 percent of all trip searches result in failed attempts. Delorme also noted that at around 4 p.m., the number of failed trips is nearly equal completed trips.
Moving forward, another round of community engagement regarding public transit is expected to take place next month.
