Rural communities to get better transit connectivity through ‘Demand Responsive Transit’ pilot

The District Municipality of Muskoka is moving forward with phase 1 of ‘Demand Responsive Transit.’

That means users will be able to book their rides, monitor where their rides are, and coordinate accordingly. Demand Responsive Transit will be implemented through software developed by Blaise Transit Ltd., which has been awarded the contract.

Muskoka Transportation Network and Community Grants Coordinator Adele Gant told District of Muskoka Council at their August meeting that the service will also be provided via telephone, recognizing that not everyone has online access.

She said phase 1 will focus on the geographical areas of Gravenhurst and Bracebridge and is anticipated to run Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., which is a service expansion compared to the schedule of the previous rural and community connection bus, which ran on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The test phase will be a temporary extension of the Corridor 11 fixed bus service operated by Hammond Transportation. She said the company will be providing one vehicle and one driver for the test phase.

Gant said a funding application has been submitted for the phase 2 expansion of the project. “Depending on the success of that, as well as other things that we’re working on, we may implement and purchase a fleet of our own.”

She said the project is aimed at helping those living in rural areas of Muskoka connect to the system. On the back end, the District will also be able to gather ridership data such as demographics and where people are being picked up.

More money for transit will be discussed during the 2025 and 2026 District budget deliberations in November.

“The idea is to serve everybody, and it will be rolled out and increased depending on demand. We’re going to use a combination of surveys to get an idea of everyone’s community and their community needs—whether that’s school-related, after-school activities, work, regular schedules, and how many vehicles we’re going to need to service this area,” added Director of Planning Lisa Marden.

Fares will be as follows:

Council approved the following transportation service level change for 2024:

Councillor Heidi Lorenz said that while she appreciated the efforts, what was being proposed seemed complicated. “Have we exhausted all avenues to try and get a ride-share program in Muskoka? I mean, we are reinventing the wheel here, and it seems to be we’re basically building a taxi service, which to me is great, but… why can’t we get Uber here? I mean, it certainly doesn’t serve everybody’s needs, but it certainly would fill a huge gap,” she said.

“Uber won’t come here. There isn’t the density of traffic. They’ve said no, and the reality is a ride from Vankoughnet to Bracebridge is gonna run you about 30/40 bucks, and so, as a consequence, we’re not offering a transit system. It’s really just a larger taxi system, even if it’s a ride-share.”

Lorenz said she was grateful for the response.

More communication is expected in the future as phase 1 is rolled out.

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