Regional transit expected by September

Public transit between Canmore and Banff is just a few months away from becoming a reality.

Bow Valley Regional Transit Commission general manager Koji Miyaji was in front of Canmore council earlier this month to update politicians on the progress of the organization.

Miyaji said after beginning work in September 2011, his priorities have been to get the commission up and running with offices, website and an updated three-year budget.

It has also been a priority for the commission to take over operations of Banff’s Roam bus service this month and order four new buses to expand it to include Canmore as a route.

“In September, we hope to launch the Canmore to Banff regional service,” Miyaji said.

Service design needs to occur before it can be operational and Miyaji suggested the original proposal of having an eight-hour service should be re-examined in favour of a 12-hour service.

“The commission is suggesting 12 hours of service – it’s how many buses travel and drivers are used,” he said. “A 12-hour service can increase frequency during peak hours.

“In the transit world, when you introduce new routes it is limited because of budget, but you also want to attract customers and meet demand.”

The cost difference (changing to 12 hours), Miyaji said, would be $40,000 to be split between the two municipalities.

However, the change is a departure from the approved business plan, which caused concern for some on council as it was not the only difference.

“There are adjustments to the currently approved business plan that needs to come back to council to adjust,” said Mayor Ron Casey.

Miyaji said any changes to the business plan will be brought back to both town councils in February for approval, including budget changes.

In 2012, the business plan set out an operating and capital budget of $117,000, however, only $90,000 is currently proposed. While that is a savings, 2013’s proposed budget is $33,000 over the business plan at $150,000 and for 2014, $41,000 more at $152,000.

Another potential change in the business plan is how much money is to be spent on buses given $900,000 and $225,000 from each municipality in Greentrip funding has already been promised and the projected fare box recovery rate.

Miyaji said several costs were not properly factored into the business plan, including fuel estimates, bus storage, office lease, contractual costs, wages and some capital costs like a transit hub in Banff and bus stops in Canmore.

In addition to determining hours of operation, route design, bus zones, park and ride options, marketing and advertising need to be determined.

Current Roam buses, added Miyaji, may need to have fare collection systems upgraded to match the new buses.

Miyaji said typically, procuring a bus takes a year to 18 months, however, Calgary Transit is ordering 40-foot buses and has indicated it can jointly procure with the Bow Valley’s transit commission.

“We could get a pretty good savings per bus because it would be part of a bulk order and we would have them in time,” he said.

While the business plan proposes 30- to 35-foot buses, Miyaji suggested procuring two 40-foot buses due to the savings and another two 23-25 foot shuttle buses.

Future services for the commission to take on include adding Parks Canada attractions to the routes, which Miyaji said is more likely to occur in 2014.

Internal bus services in Canmore and connecting the transit routes to ski hills are also future considerations, although outside the five-year scope, he added.