It was clear after town council's budget deliberations, Nov. 15-16, that a five-year pilot on-demand transit system for Cochrane was going to become a reality; all that remained was the decision on who would be the contractor

Last night, town council voted 4-2 in favour of awarding the on-demand local transit service to the Calgary-based Southland Transportation Ltd. who already provide extensive services to Cochrane, including transportation for downtown Calgary commuters and for students attending local schools.

Southland will provide general transit operations, dispatch and scheduling and maintenance and technology management. The town will be responsible to purchase the buses, allocate land for a transit hub and build bus stops. Town costs will be heavily offset by a $6 million GreenTRIP capital grant from the province that the town is required to supplement with a $3 million contribution.

Price wise, it came in under budget. The gross annual operating cost is projected to be $699,252 per year based coming in below $70 per hour. The net operating cost is projected to be $551,812, based upon an annual ridership of 52,976 at $2.50 per trip. With a cost recovery of $132,440 per year from fares, amounting to a 19 per cent recovery rate, and advertising revenue of $15,000, the town anticipates a 21 per cent recovery rate.

In it's proposed 2019 budget, the town will contribute $300,000 and that amounts to 1.17 per cent of the average household municipal tax bill for 2019. The town estimates the average ratepayer will pay $25.56 in the first year. 

That contribute is projected to increase from 2020 to 2022. In those years, the town has budgeted $600,000 per year that is offset by a combination of Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding and operating reserve funds amounting to $246,164 in 2020 and $100,000 in 2021. The average household would pay $29.64 in 2021 and $36.36 in 2021. It climbs to $43.32 in 2022, a year in which no MSI or operating reserves are forecasted to be utilized.

The proposed service hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. It would not operate on Sundays. The response time for the on-demand system is 12 minutes on weekdays and 14 minutes on weekends. Bookings will be made via a custom-made phone app, through a website or by phone. 

The number of buses required has not been finalized and the town is favouring buses that have a 16-seat capacity, although 25-seat buses are an option or perhaps even a blend of the two for the fleet. Southland has proposed four vehicles would be required during peak hours, two vehicles in off-peak hours and two vehicles on Saturday. While final choices haven't been made on what buses will be purchased, Mayor Jeff Genung expressed a need to have a fleet that stands out and is distinctly branded to add flare to the entire presentation.

The vote was close and in the end. It was Councillor Marni Fedeyko who prevented the vote from being lost. She had been riding the fence on the issue but during budget deliberations sided with the value of a five-year pilot.

In their 2017 council campaigns, Susan Flowers and Tara McFadden both advocated for the establishment of the service. While Mayor Genung offered McFadden the opportunity to bring the motion forward at last night's meeting, she deferred to Flowers who has been a strong proponent of transit.

McFadden believes the decision was a huge victory, pointing to its value for all residents and in particular for seniors and youth. She also believes it's a win to help solve the town's traffic issues.

"It's just a win for Cochrane and after 10 years of work it's finally here."

Councillors Alex Reed and Morgan Nagel remained opposed, as they were during budget deliberations.

While sympathetic to those who would benefit from the service, Reed said he is concerned with the long-term financial burden. He believes the town already has many financial challenges on the horizon and questions how much more ratepayers can afford.

Nagel says he's not entirely opposed to transit but is 100 per cent opposed to the town's current taxation plan. He also questions how many people will actually utilize the service.

Councillor Patrick Wilson was not present during discussions or for the vote because of a potential conflict of interest.

Chief Administrative Officer Dave Devana remains confident in the numbers. In fact, they came in lower than had been anticipated.

"We feel that these numbers are conservative and achievable," Devana told council.

He believes this proposal is innovative, affordable, accessible, should reduce traffic and takes advantage of GreenTRIP funding from the province. He also believes it will be a key component to the future tri-site developments.

Transit Analyst Devin LeFleche says the town aims to launch the service on Sept. 1 and provide the service free of charge for the first two months. That will allow people to become familiar with the innovative transit system and also gives the town time to complete some finetuning. 

He says now the Southland contract and GreenTRIP capital funding will be finalized.