Bruce and Grey counties will be requesting delegations with the Minister of Infrastructure at the 2022 Ontario Good Roads Conference to talk about the challenges of providing public transportation in rural communities.
During a meeting on March 3, Bruce County’s executive committee approved a report by the Director of Transportation and Environmental Services Amanda Froese.
The report says Bruce County will be joining Grey County in requesting a delegation with the Minister of Infrastructure.
The delegation would also address how the lack of transportation options relates to the labour shortage and housing deficit many local towns in the region are facing, as well as look at opportunities for the province to support the viability of rural transportation systems.
The delegation and request to the minister would ask the Ontario Government to investigate and report back on the potential to extend the Community Transportation Program, with the aim of developing a comprehensive Provincial Rural Transit program.
The program would work in collaboration with rural municipalities and capitalize on economies of scale, provincial contracts for fuel, and vehicle purchases, according to the report.
In partnering with Grey County, the service could extend to those at the top of the peninsula and southern limits of both counties, and include Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
The service could operate even further by connecting Wellington and Huron counties to the Toronto Airport, London Hospital and other services needed by residents.
The report adds this plan could even be build on the work contained in the Transportation Plan for Southwestern Ontario completed by the current provincial government.
“The government will be asked to make inter-community transit in rural communities a priority in the next term to assist in addressing the housing, labour shortage and environmental initiatives that are already priorities for Ontarians,” says the report.
The report references how The Master Transportation Plan and the Plan the Bruce: Connecting Discussion Paper shows the need to connect municipalities to more people, goods and information throughout the county and beyond.
The 2020 Official Plan Best Practices report, recommends a stronger role in the county in planning, implementing and maintaining a regional transportation network, and to adopt policies in the Official Plan which would establish mobility-based transportation planning.
Recommendations from the 2021 Master Transportation Plan also include direct involvement of Bruce County in funding and operating transit services for a range of mobility needs as well as investigating opportunities to partner with Grey County on a transit program. The plan also recommends implementing a county-wide on-demand service as a modification to SMART or MovinGB to mitigate gaps in service and user eligibility restrictions. The plan also encourages other on-demand services through updates to regulations and looking at partnership opportunities with Bruce Power for scheduled transit services.
The report says county residents have different needs and desires when it comes to transportation.
“Some municipalities such as Sauble Beach and Saugeen Shores have many jobs in the service industry that are unfilled because potential employees cannot afford to own or rent homes in the communities, nor can they afford to own a vehicle to commute from where they are currently living,” says the report. “Public transportation can connect houses to jobs. The labour shortage extends beyond the service industry and enabling skilled workers to travel for work is paramount to the success of Community Wellness Initiatives such as in the Early Childhood and Long-Term Care sectors.”
The report says according to data from the Rural Ontario Institute, smaller transit systems recover 39 per cent of their operating costs from the fares they collect, with the remaining coming from governments.
The report references how the ongoing pandemic has changed the way people work and as more are working from home, it has led to an influx of residents coming to Bruce County away from cities. There is still a need, however, for these workers to still commute into the cities for meetings and other work requirements.
Having a public transportation system with a proper schedule alignment could potentially assist with the congestion on highways and reduce green house emissions for the more longer commutes, says the report.
In the past, Bruce Power has provided transit for their workforce.
Froese says she wants to take this chance to speak to the province at the conference to highlight the need for rural transit in the area.
The conference will be running April 10 to the 12.