The community of Canmore is but a few meetings away from a future with local transit on the streets.
Canmore council will consider approving local transit in its 2015 capital budget later this fall, after a feasibility study is completed into the expansion of transit within the community.
Bow Valley Regional Transit Commission chair and Councillor Sean Krausert was in front of Canmore council to detail the organization’s proposed budgets for next year, including expanded service.
“We are currently doing a Canmore local feasibility study and it is nearing its completion,” Krausert said. “There are currently some placeholders in the budget until this report is finalized.
“If (transit) is approved (by council), we would look at 2015 to build the infrastructure with service starting in 2016.”
Better known as Roam, the commission has been operating transit in Banff since 2012 and a regional route to Canmore since last year. Krausert was optimistic about the opportunity to expand services to a local service in Canmore by the beginning of 2016.
“What they are doing right now is finalizing potential routing and that leads to what the operational budget will be and any other capital necessities, because it will also give a sense of what rolling resources we can currently use and what new ones we would have to purchase,” he said.
Those details will form part of the third party feasibility study that will be presented to council in November. Beforehand, community members can expect a public open house to give further feedback on what is being considered.
Canmore must then approve the costs of expanding transit locally for the commission to implement the service. Until the budget is presented to local elected officials, Krausert said estimated costs for the service are not included in the commission’s budget.
“There is no use us making a decision at the commission level before we have buy-in from the municipal partner,” he said.
Krausert also presented current numbers for Roam and they are looking good. Year over year, fare and pass revenue for the Banff local service has increased and year to date it is 7.6 per cent more than originally budgeted and could reach $400,000 by year end. That is a projected 12.8 per cent increase compared to 2012.
The regional service has a 39.9 per cent increase in revenues compared to its first full year of operations in 2013. Ridership is up regionally as well. Compared with last year, ridership is up 67.2 per cent regionally.
But for Krausert, the number that showed what the commission has achieved is cost recovery and Roam is at 65.2 per cent. Compared to the national average of 55 per cent and provincial average of 46 per cent, he said Roam is doing well.
He also said in 2016 there may be an opportunity to partner with Parks Canada and Improvement District 9 to provide transit for Larch tree viewing in Lake Louise.
Krausert noted the high traffic congestion in the hamlet during this time of year and discussions are in progress, “as to how best deal with that and there is interest in having some form of local service in Lake Louise to alleviate the pressure on Moraine Lake and Lake Louise.”
