Public transit in Prince Edward County has been a tough challenge but it appears council will take some serious action to make improvements.
Local residents, businesses, and tourists have all complained about the lack of public transit at the times it’s needed, particularly in the county’s very busy
tourist season.
At a meeting Thursday afternoon, county council’s Committee of the Whole recommended council approve a three-pronged approach to bring more options in public
transit.
One would see municipal staff enter into negotiations with the fast-growing ride-sharing service URide with an eye to launching a one-year pilot program.
Regional Operations Manager for URide Vince Scott called bringing the service to Prince Edward County a “unique challenge” because of its size and relatively
small population but he was ready to accept the challenge.
County staff had suggested a subsidy of as high as $100,000 might be necessary to make the URide pilot successful but many on council were wary of any subsidy being offered
as it would be seen as unfair by existing taxi operators. Negotiations between the company and municipality are ongoing and council will have the final say on whether an agreement
is accepted or not.
Also, the committee recommends that County Transit offer what’s called a “dinner hour shuttle” running between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from the May long weekend until Labour Day weekend. This shuttle service could be expanded to run seven days a week if funding is found to pay for it. It would involve two shuttles running between Picton, Bloomfield and Wellington, and ending at VIA Rail in Belleville.
It’s seen as a way of providing more on-demand public transit during the busiest hours for the county’s restaurants, wineries, galleries, and entertainment venues. It’s hoped the service will be
paid for by funding from the Tourism Relief Fund and not by local ratepayers. County staff had initially suggested that if senior government funding wasn’t available for the dinner hour shuttle, $115,000 could be taken from Municipal Accommodation Tax revenues but councillors turned that idea down, suggesting that if anything, the subsidy should come from the yet to be formed Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). At the earliest the DMO will officially be in place with $700,000 available to it by the end of May.
In other transit news, if council approves, a round-trip Sandbanks Shuttle service will continue to operate Saturdays and Sundays in July and August. The shuttle will connect the beach with Picton, Bloomfield, Wellington, Belleville and Trenton. The service is paid for by Community Transportation Funding.
