After seeing nearly 70,000 riders use the Cochrane On-Demand Local Transit (COLT) service last year, The Town of Cochrane is looking for residents to voice their opinions with a survey on the future of Cochrane Transit and the COLT System.

CochraneNow's Lauren Meister jumped on a COLT bus with Mayor Jeff Genung to find out more.

Hundreds of Cochranites have already completed a transit survey that is now available to evaluate the service.

“Yesterday, we were at 420 completed surveys,” says Michelle Delorme, Manager of Community Services with the Town. “We're not looking at the data until the end of the three weeks of the survey so we don’t know exactly what we are hearing yet.”

"Our on-demand transit system in Cochrane is a pilot project. To examine the service, Council has asked Administration to gather and understand the community expectations going forward."

The survey hits on many topics to optimize Cochrane's transit system, including stop locations, frequency, and placement.

Cochrane has brought in a transit consultant and a third-party contractor to comprehensively evaluate the existing COLT data and formulate a new, scalable transit system.

"The advantages of this approach are multifaceted," says Delorme. "It allows for the creation of a forecasted long-term scalable plan, enabling a phased implementation that aligns with the community's evolving needs."

A pop-up event will be held at The Station tonight (May 30th) starting at 4 p.m.. Cochranites are invited to share their feedback in person and learn more about the service.

A second pop-up event will be held on Saturday during the Cochrane Farmers Market in the parking lot at the SLS Centre.

The survey will be available until June 7, 2024, and will be followed by a second round of surveys and a focus group scheduled for August.