Mayor Jeff Genung is anxious to get the wheels rolling on a proposed mass transit link between Calgary and the Bow Valley that would include a bus and rail stop in downtown Cochrane. 

A study commissioned by Banff, Canmore, Cochrane, Calgary and Improvement District 9 released today suggests bus or passenger rail transit service between Calgary and Banff National Park is feasible but not without the help of the provincial and federal government. It provides ridership and cost estimates. 

The 312-page feasibility study examines mass transit as a way to reduce the number of low-occupant private vehicles traveling along the corridor and in the national park that would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease traffic in wildlife corridors.

Mayor Genung is anxious to get going on the project and would like to see the four participating municipalities meet as soon as possible to establish both a committee and terms of reference. 

"Now the challenge is to get it built," says Genung. "Today was about announcing the feasibility of the project and making the report public. But I've been excited about this for months, so let's go."

"This would transform the way our communities are interacting with one another and how we travel from one community to another and we would take a great many cars off the road. This has huge positive implications for all of the communities in the Bow Valley for economic development and tourism and will give people the ability for people to move and commute."

The study estimates a bus service could have total ridership ranging from 200,000 to 490,000 bus boardings per year. For passenger rail, ridership is estimated between 220,000 and 620,000 per year in the first year, on the full route.

The report calculated costs based on an adult fare of between $10 and $15 one way for either service to make them affordable, accessible and competitive.

For the bus service, year-round scenarios are estimated to have capital costs ranging from as high as $19.6 million to $8.1 million. The operating cost for bus – after removing revenue from fares – would be approximately $2 to $2.3 million per year, with the lower figure corresponding to the high ridership scenario.

For passenger rail, the consultants estimate the required capital costs would range from $660 million to $680 million. The estimated operating cost for passenger rail, after fare revenue is considered, would be between $8.1 million to $9.1 million per year, with the lower amount corresponding to the high ridership scenario.

Study partners believe that the costs would be too much for the municipalities, and any form of mass transit service in the region would require the involvement of the provincial and federal government.

Genung says obtaining operating assistance from the province and federal government for mass transit is nothing new.

"It's a model that has been working in other provinces. I believe Quebec, Ontario and B.C. all have provincially or federally funded mass transit projects. It's not like we're recreating the wheel here."

Cochrane's rail station would be located on the town's Railway Street parcel that will also serve as a hub for the on-demand transit system. It's through this property a new pedestrian crossing is also being developed into the Historic Downtown.

"We're really well positioned for this," he says. "We have the land there and it would just beautifully integrate with our on-demand system we're launching in the fall, so we can have everything come and go from that one central location. It's exciting to think of the possibilities of bringing tourists right to the centre of the community."

Genung has his eye on May convention of Federal of Canadian Municipalities in Quebec City as an ideal place to bring the proposal to the attention of federal government and CP Rail officials.

"I think it would be a great opportunity to very quickly to put us on the map as a group and start to move this along. The sooner the better."