After launching in December, the regional Roam transit service between Banff and Canmore has reached over 900 riders in under a single week and now has its sights set on cracking 1,000 while exploring other measures such as relocating stops and extending service to Lake Louise.
During last week’s joint meeting between the mayors and councillors from Canmore and Banff, Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission (BVRTSC) General Manager Koji Miyaji presented each municipality with an update on the service and it’s future plans.
“Pretty much it’s gone up every week,” Miyaji said about ridership numbers. “The average works out to about 160 per day. I wanted to crack 800 in one week and we did that in about two weeks.”
In addition to installing four new electronic signs at stops within Canmore, and an additional two in Banff, which let riders know when the next bus is arriving, the commission is also looking at trailers that would transport bicycles between the two towns.
“It was always talked about; being able to pull a kind of bicycle trailer where you can load more than three bicycles,” he said, noting the current buses can only hold three bikes in one trip.
“I wanted to trial a trailer where we can carry around 10 or 15 bicycles,” he continued. “There are some logistical things that we may have to work through. The big 40 foot buses can’t pull this trailer, so then we’d have to use that small cutaway bus.”
Miyaji said the committee is hoping to obtain a permit and start a trial period with these trailers in place sometime this spring.
With the increase in ridership happening on a weekly basis, the fare prices and categories are also being examined as well as the different stops along the routes in each town.
“There’s possible categories that we could look at,” he explained. “I haven’t had a huge demand for us to review any of those. It’s just industry practice to see if there is a demand for a low-income transit pass or a youth fare and if so, what are the impacts if we did that?
“We’re open to some of those discussions,” he added. “Some fare categories may not work. Certainly the ones we have now are working.”
During his presentation at the meeting Miyaji showcased the statistics for riders getting on at each stop and noted that at certain locations, such as near the info centre and Rotary Park in Canmore, the numbers are low.
“If we do end up relocating stops it could be in spring or summer,” the general manager said. “The info centre is low because we weren’t actually going to run that stop in the winter time. It’s intended to serve the camp group folks and anybody that wanted to get to Legacy Trail.
“We’ll continue to look at those numbers and see what might be the better option for some of those.”
Since its launch in Canmore late last year, the commission has insisted the next step would be to extend the service to Lake Louise and, according to Miyaji, that partnership with Parks Canada is moving along.
“I’ve been working fairly closely with Parks Canada on their Lake Louise service,” he said. “So far it’s looking positive. We’re continuing to build on that relationship and hoping it will work out to them participating very soon.”
Miyaji also noted during the presentation that informal talks have begun regarding the possibility of using Roam buses to transport students between Banff and Canmore schools, although nothing is official at this time.
“We’re all thrilled to see the success,” said Mayor John Borrowman following Miyaji’s presentation.
“It’s wonderful to see how the people of Canmore have taken this opportunity,” added Councillor Leslie Taylor. “It’s a great service.”
