Transit service growing slow and steady

On-It Regional Transit has seen slow, steady ridership growth since it was launched last fall and officials with the service are hoping to give it a boost.

All trips on On-It buses to and from Calgary on Fridays will be free from March 3 to April 28. The promotion follows on the heels of a similar initiative in January, when all trips on Mondays and Friday were free to get more people to try the service.

Ettore Iannacito, Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) transit program manager, said the January promotion doubled ridership and he hopes to see a similar impact this time around.

“It definitely worked,” he said of the January promotion. “The whole strategy is to get people to try it and see if they liked the bus.”

The Calgary Regional Partnership launched the regional transit service on Oct. 11. Every weekday morning and afternoon four routes connect Okotoks, Black Diamond, Turner Valley and High River with the Somerset/Bridlewood LRT station in Calgary’s south end.

Ridership has grown slowly since the first buses hit the road.

Iannacito told the Western Wheel in October On-It carried 10 passengers on the first day of service.

Last week, he said ridership numbers reached a steady 54 people per day in the first couple of weeks in February, before dropping slightly during school break at the end of the month.

Iannacito said they always expected ridership to grow over time and they’re on target.

“Right from the get go,” he said. “We said it was going to take about 12 months for the service to get established. As long as we’re not heading in the downward direction, then we’re happy.”

The January promotion gave the On-It service a helpful boost.

Ridership in December averaged 25 passengers a day.

On Mondays and Fridays in January, the buses carried an average of 65 people per day, and dropped to 55 a day for the rest of the week.

Iannacito said it felt it was worth the cost to offer two free days a week in January and it wants to try again to get more people on the bus.

“It keeps the interest going,” he said.

As the six-month point approaches, the Partnership may look at some tweaks to the service, said Iannacito, such as adjustments to schedules or stop locations to make On-It more convenient.

Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson said there is room to grow ridership, but it’s steadily improving.

He’s happy with the service so far, particularly as the regional partnership is picking up the $1 million price tag, which is ultimately covered by a provincial grant.

“It’s a win-win situation,” said Robertson, who is also CRP chairman. “We’ve introduced transit to Calgary on a limited basis – some internal transit, but really it’s a Calgary connection – at an affordable price.”

He said work to bring credit card payments on the bus will be a good addition, though he doesn’t think there needs to be any major changes at this point.

Robertson wants to see stops added in the MD of Foothills as the Province looks to include the MD in a growth management board for the Calgary region. The new board will replace the CRP.

The MD is not included in the On-It service because it is not a member of the CRP. Robertson said service could be brought to potential locations in the MD if the it is included in the growth board.

“Stops in the MD of Foothills could make sense, perhaps at Cargill, perhaps at Dunbow Road and so on,” he said.