Will Cochrane continue to explore the transit model proposed by the Transit Task Force? That's a question town council will be debating on Monday, Sept. 10.

After almost a decade of examining whether and how public transportation should be provided has reached another pinnacle. None seem to currently question its value but coming up with the right model to make it effective and financial feasible has been the challenge.

Time and patience, though, is running out for proponents who believe it's crucial to make living in Cochrane viable for many.

Long-time resident Heather Serani says she and her husband are among those who are debating whether they can afford to continue living here without public transportation. They both spent part of their childhood here and opted to return in 2009. Now, though, with the high rent synonymous with Cochrane and having to spend an average of $212 a month on transportation, they are questioning whether they can stay or return to Calgary.

They love Cochrane life and are long-time volunteers but as adults, they are living with disabilities and have a fixed income.

"Sadly, after nine years here, we are exploring to move back to Calgary to reduce our cost of living expenses," Serani writes. "That transit continues to be a debate rather than a recognized need has also made us question the community we live in."

"Who does this community include, welcome, value? Only those who can afford vehicles and can drive them?"

Oddly enough, 2009 was the year the town completed its sustainability plan that is summarized in a series of pathways. Among them is the need for Cochrane to be a "complete community" where there are diverse options to "get around."

In a letter to council, Jenny Hutchinson, also a long-time volunteer and proud residents, also hopes town council understands transit isn't a want, it's a need.

"Transit is a community 'essential' service, not a 'nice to have' service," she writes. "The ongoing delay is creating problems for many families, both young and old."

She says she has witnessed many hardships to both residents and businesses caused by the lack of transit.

Finding solutions through a volunteer-based social net is a role that continues to grow for the Helping Hands Society of Cochrane and Area. Among them is a volunteer drive service to aid people in need where possible. When they started the service they fully understood they couldn't possibly meet all the needs of the community and gave it a low profile.

Helping Hands is mobilizing their volunteer force to offer rides to Monday's council meeting for those who have no other way to attend.

Rocky View Handi Bus provides a subsidized bus service for trips in and out of town and also fully supports the need for local transit. It was also largely perceived as a major need in the 1997 Cochrane Cares survey.

What the report proposes

The report being presented to council by the Transit Task Force is an on-demand system, taking advantage of ongoing technological advancements to help streamline costs.

The on-demand method proposed uses a mixture of ride-hailing technology with routes solely based on where people are and where they want to travel within the town.

"On-Demand Transit allows for more efficient routes and community coverage to a fixed route transit service because the bus does not go to a distant stop unless there is a rider requesting the bus," explains the report.

Trips would be booked through an app, on a website or by phone and the system is flexible enough to accept bookings days in advance or at the last minute. It's designed to have a wait time of 20 to 30 minutes.

What council is being asked to decide

On Sept. 9, council will be deciding if they accept the service model proposed. If so, the next step is to proceed with a request for proposals (RFP). The top proposals would come back to council in December at which time they will decide if any are acceptable. Should it receive approval at that point, the aim is to have the transit system operating by August 2019.

Crunching the numbers

So, what's it going to cost, or at least estimated to cost?

For 212 weekly service hours, varying in hours and buses operating from Monday to Saturday, the operational cost to the town is projected to be anywhere between a high of $686,000 to a low of $463,000, based upon a cost of $75 per hour per bus.

In a separate category, the capital costs are heavily based upon a $6 million GreenTRIP grant from the province that requires the town to also contribute $3 million, resulting in a $9 million capital pool. The current deadline to utilize the provincial funds is December 2020. The province has previously extended the time frame at the town's request.

The finer details of the report were provided to town council in late August (and to residents early last week) and since then town councillor Alex Reed has been painstakingly crunching the numbers.

With a master's degree that includes studies in statistical analysis and optimization modelling, he's acutely aware of numbers. He amassed a series of follow-up questions on the financial implications and remains concerned the ramifications of the costs to taxpayers are not fully defined.

He's not opposed to transit but believes it has to be efficient and affordable. He discards the idea of proceeding just because there's a government grant on the line and attempts to keep emotion out of the decision.

"Spending millions of dollars on a transit system just because there is a grant available is not a good reason to build transit," he writes. "Many people get roped into buying things they don't need or use because there was a limited time "freebie" available."

Recently, Reed indicated he will support proceeding to RFP but believes a clearer financial picture and further transparency by the town is required when push comes to shove in December.

He has expressed particular alarm over the mayor glossing over costs in a newspaper article. He says the mayor said it would cost less than $5 per month but does not state it's a preliminary estimate nor informs residents that it amounts to a 2.85 per cent property tax increase.

"While I can support the next step of moving to an RFP, I am only doing so in hopes that the report also have more adequate financial information to make an informed decision on based on the series of questions I have raised over this past week," writes Reed after a series of questions to Devin DeFleche, transit analyst. "My hope is that this is enough time to get some solid financial data. If on the other hand, the TTF report is all the information I am going to get other than tender results, then, it is hard to justify approval of the expenditure."