Fort Erie requesting return of conventional bus service to east end

On demand and conventional bus service: Fort Erie’s mayor thinks increased ridership numbers means the town can have it both ways.

Wayne Redekop put forward a motion at the August 26 council meeting that called on the Niagara Transit Commission to implement a conventional bus route for the east end of town as early as next year. The motion received support from councillors and will be brought to senior officials at the commission during a meeting planned for Tuesday.

“There are sufficient riders now in the east end of town where a return to conventional service is possibly warranted,” Redekop said in introducing his motion.

Redekop’s motion envisions a future route that would be similar to the old “Green Route” that ran in town, while also maintaining the On Demand microtransit service that now exists. Having both would give regular, reliable service to that part of town, while also allowing residents to book trips elsewhere in town, and connect to intermunicipal transit options.

The former Green Route ran “between the town hall hub east to the Niagara River between Dominion Road in the south and Bowen Road in the north,” the mayor’s motion reads.

Redekop said the service would be implemented next year with cost-effective stops and timing considered. Ideally, he said he’d like to see half-hour loops, though that might not be immediately possible, he acknowledged, but it’s the target.

Councillor George McDermott voiced his support for the improved service. At a previous meeting he brought up concerns about the On Demand service, speaking of a person using the specialized service who’d been left waiting for his ride five times.

On Monday, he said that person had since been left without a ride a sixth time.

“I appreciate any motion that’s going to make transit better,” he said. “What the people of this community need is…a reliable, sustainable type of transportation in the area.”

Some changes to transit in Fort Erie took place earlier this summer, as the regional transit overseers move the On Demand service to one company for all of Niagara. Fort Erie’s specialized transit service moved to Voyago, the new provider, with the remaining service moving over to Voyago on October. 1 when the contract with Regional Limousine ends.

At the time, Niagara Transit Commissioner general manager Carla Stout said other communities that had fully moved over to Voyago had mostly positive responses. However, Redekop said he and other local politicians have been hearing complaints and concerns from residents.

One thing they all agree on is that ridership is up. In only a few short years ridership in Fort Erie doubled from 45,000 to 90,000, Stout said earlier this year.

That increased usage should be a sign that Fort Erie deserves improved service, Redekop said.

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