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Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown finds it frustrating that buses from Russell, Carleton Place or Smiths Falls pass right through rural Ottawa without ever making a stop. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as they hit the border of the City of Ottawa, they can\u2019t pick up anyone else,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Brown calls that a missed opportunity. The reason is a bylaw dating back to amalgamation, which says OC Transpo is the only mass transit provider within city limits. <\/p>\n
But Brown is putting forward a motion he hopes that one day will change that. It asks city staff to look at the feasibility of engaging private mass transit companies to supplement rural service and better link villages with destinations like park-and-rides. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s an opportunity there to leverage some of the resources that are already on the road,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly not looking to pick a fight with the good hard working folks at OC Transpo, but I do think it\u2019s important that we look at all options on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union that represents those folks is, however, preparing for a fight \u2014 or at least some words of opposition when the motion comes up for debate at council\u2019s agriculture and rural affairs committee on Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do have reservations and concerns, especially when we talk about anything privatization,\u201d said Noah Vineberg, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 279.<\/p>\n
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Noah Vineberg, president of ATU 279, says it would be better to boost funding for OC Transpo. (Mathieu Deroy\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Vineberg said Brown\u2019s motion left him surprised and disappointed. He predicts that relying on the private sector will create a “fragmented” system and end up costing the city more. <\/p>\n
Instead, councillors like Brown should boost funding for OC Transpo, Vineberg said, to expand the public service.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fine people of those rural areas absolutely deserve service,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are clearly the best way to serve that need. If there\u2019s a need for more service or busing out there then the pressure should then be on the councillor to bring motions for more buses.\u201d <\/p>\n
Laura Shantz of Ottawa Transit Riders shares some of those concerns about outsourcing public service to the private sector.<\/p>\n
But she still welcomed the prospect of staff exploring options to fix spotty service in rural areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real patchwork,\u201d she said. \u201cOC Transpo does not offer that much service. There\u2019s a few peak-hour buses, a few grocery and shopping buses, but there\u2019s not a real network in our rural communities in the way that folks who want to age in place would like to see.”<\/p>\n
‘Wonderful idea,’ says community group head<\/p>\n
Marc Sauve, president of the Metcalfe Community Association, can see the 304 bus stop from the window of his retirement home. <\/p>\n
The bus comes just once a week, connecting the village to Billings Bridge. <\/p>\n
Sauve’s only taken it only once. He said he would be more likely to use a more frequent service, including a private one, and called Brown’s motion “a wonderful idea.”<\/p>\n
“It would definitely benefit Osgoode ward,” he said, adding that a direct and regular link to Bowesville station would be best.<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s motion asks staff to look at several options, including contracted peak-period routes, on-demand microtransit, village-to-village shuttles and feeders to rapid transit. It could take the form of a pilot program serving just a few areas. <\/p>\n
It builds on an amendment to the city’s top transportation planning document that Brown got passed last year, asking staff to report back on “opportunities to further leverage” private and not-for-profit transportation service providers.<\/p>\n
“It puts a little more of that meat on the bone,” he said.<\/p>\n
He said fast-growing villages like Richmond and Manotick might be good candidates for private service. The program could use a city subsidy to support it, though Brown said there might be other options like provincial funding.<\/p>\n