While the first phase of Collingwood's switch to on-demand transit will start this weekend as planned, there will be some tweaks to the roll-out based on public feedback.
Peggy Slama, the town's director of public works, engineering and environmental services, announced the weekend roll out will include two buses running the conventional transit routes, plus one bus providing on-demand service. Prior to her announcement on June 5 during a council committee of the whole meeting, the weekend roll-out plan was for on-demand transit only.
"Based on our observation of enrollment on the on-demand transit system, and listening to what we are hearing from regular users, the town is going to pivot the phased implementation of the on-demand system slightly," said Slama.
Because of the changes, regular bus riders will be able to catch their bus at the bus stop and times they are used to, but there's also a chance for bus users to try the on-demand system with the potential of reducing the trip time.
"We will operate this hybrid method in the interim and evaluate when full implementation is best suitable for the community," said Slama.
The next phase of the on-demand switch roll out is for on-demand transit on weekday evenings as well as weekends. This would take place after a three-month review of the first phase of the roll out. The final phase is a fully on-demand system.
According to the town, on-demand differs from conventional (route-based) transit because there is no fixed route or schedule. In an on-demand system the buses are dispatched on a request basis by customers booking rides in advance. Rides can be booked as early as seven days in advance and up to 30 minutes before pickup. Rides can be booked via cell phone or landline by calling 705-446-1196 or through the Blaise website or mobile app. A free account is required.. More information on the town website, plus a "book your ride" link is available here.
The idea behind on-demand transit is a more efficient system and shorter travel time for riders since the bus is dispatched based on rider demands.
The Blue Mountains link route is not part of the on-demand pilot program.
