Belleville’s manager of transit operations says a plan to get bus service to residents in Thurlow Ward is a definite possibility, but realistically, is still about a year away from council approval.
In a report presented to the Transit Operations Advisory Committee this week Paul Buck says, if eventually approved, Thurlow residents would be able to use an on demand service to request a pick-up, similar to the in-town service run in the evenings.
The bus would be able to pick up both passengers with mobility challenges and those who are able to get around freely, by using both door-to-door and bus stop options.
Buck says there is potential for all passengers to be picked up on a door-to-door basis to start, so they can track the usage and need for the service early on.
But he says they can’t move forward until the Federal Government opens the next window for infrastructure funding applications.
The initial operating cost for the program is around $708,600, broken down as follows:
Vehicle Purchase: $250,000
Farebox Technology: $63,000
Driver wages and benefits (based on 6,786 service hours per year): $243,600
Mainetenance and Administration: $152,000
The maximum that could be funded by the feds is about $481,848, with the rest of the cost being recovered through fares.
With an estimate of 600 trips per week, or 31,200 trips per year, the estimated fare to make up the costs would be $7.50 per trip, including transfers.
The ongoing costs after that would be about $410,600 per year, to be recovered through the farebox, or other funding sources.
