Niagara Transit hears concerns from Fort Erie riders ‘loud and clear’

More than a dozen people attended a public engagement session Thursday at town hall hosted by Niagara Region Transit in an effort to gather feedback on how the future of the service should be driven.

The event was scheduled to last two hours with four options on the table of how the transit provider’s facilities, strategic asset, and service network plan should be rolled out.

Some of the people in attendance included Councillors Ann-Marie Noyes and Joan Christensen, as well as Regional Councillor Tom Insinna.

There were also representatives from Strong Fort Erie Neighbourhoods and the Town of Fort Erie’s accessibility advisory committee.

At the meeting, transit staff fielded questions and also touched on the four options.

During the one hour Fort Erie Radio observed the discussion between 1 and 2 p.m., much of the dialogue involved concerns being raised.

Councillor Noyes reacted to transit staff saying delays and missed pickups being reported by riders are due to a lack of fleet.

“That’s more of a you problem,” said Noyes, who was visibly frustrated by what she has heard from residents.

“There has to be a failsafe,” she said, adding that “nothing has changed” and things are “getting worse” since an overhaul and reconfiguration of service was implemented last summer.

When communications consultant Leah Tracey said that fleet availability is a factor, Noyes replied, “You should’ve said to Fort Erie, ‘Sorry, we can’t handle you.’”

Lori Brant, chair of the town’s accessibility committee, claimed “people are afraid” to use transit, a result of delays in pickups and no shows. She also said there are difficulties with booking trips online.

Tracey said Niagara Transit is working to improve, and that the new master plan will address gaps being expressed by riders in Fort Erie and across the region.

She said the transit service, through its contract with local service providers, aims for a 95-per-cent rate of people being delivered and picked up on time.

“We’re working behind the scenes to make sure we’re doing that,” said Tracey, adding that Niagara Transit takes “these concerns very seriously.”

The session in Fort Erie was one of 15 taking place in Niagara to gather input. A survey is also available on Niagara Transit’s website.

In a statement to Fort Erie Radio on Friday, in response to some of the concerns about fleet availability raised on Thursday, Tracey admitted there are growing pains.

“Voyago (the contracted provider in Fort Erie) is using new drivers, new vehicles, and the service is now commingled, meaning it serves both our specialized and microtransit riders,” she said in the statement.

According to Tracey, Niagara Transit met with and instructed Voyago to add vehicles to meet demand before October 2024 and at Voyago’s cost.

“As ridership continues to increase, we are continuing to ask for the early introduction of another 20 per cent of vehicles,” said Tracey.

Eventually, the contract and the level of funding will “cap the availability” of service regardless of need.

“There are plans to bring a 2026 budget request to the transit board and regional council to ask local municipalities for more investment,” said Tracey, who alleges that there were inconsistencies in the information provided to Niagara Transit by previous on-demand contractors.

“For example, rather than not providing a trip, some contractors were dispatching additional vehicles without reporting them, or operating outside of service hours. This created expectation from riders that we were not able to meet,” Tracey told Fort Ere Radio.

Since 2023, Niagara Transit has experienced an “unforeseen surge” in ridership bookings as a result of pent-up post pandemic demand. Since assuming the service “in Fort Erie, neither contractor in Fort Erie was able to keep up with the surge in demand,” she said.

Plenty of feedback was heard regarding a 10-year master plan at Thursday’s session.

“What we heard loud and clear is that there is a demand that is not being met,” she said.

“To do so, we need support from regional councillors during our budget process to adequately fund transit,” added Tracey.

Niagara Transit is meeting frequently with Voyago and continues to bring residents’ concerns to “discuss changes in their operations that will ensure Fort Erie is receiving the service they pay for.”

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop told Fort Erie Radio that he will be meeting next week with St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, who is chair of the Niagara Transit Commission, to discuss concerns and areas of potential improvement.

One area of concern is that Fort Erie is in a way “subsidizing” big cities like Niagara Falls and St. Catharines by them paying “a lot less than they did for transit three years ago.”

Referring to smaller municipalities in Niagara, Redekop added that “we’re all paying more for the same or less service,” which “just doesn’t make any sense.”

Fort Erie will spend $4 million on transit in 2025, more than the roughly $2.2 million it spent before transit was amalgamated regionally, said the mayor.

According to the master plan, changes that could be implemented by 2025 in Fort Erie include rapid 10-minute bus routes during peak frequency, high-frequency corridor routes, and increased investment in specialized transit.

Microtransit service would serve all trips where there is no fixed-route transit and would connect to the nearest fixed route for longer trips.

Late night service is also part of the master plan.

Option one reintroduces semi-local fixed routes at 30-minute peak frequency, extends the Niagara Falls regional route to directly serve more key points in Fort Erie, and also addresses a “small improvement” to microtransit availability, says Niagara Transit’s website.

The second option “more than doubles level of service” with three fixed routes: one local, one regional and local, and one regional. There would also be “strong regional one-bus connectivity,” along with improvements to microtransit availability.

The third option has the “highest level of service” with three times the current levels, provides broad fixed coverage including areas slated for new development, and doubled microtransit capacity to meet 99 per cent demand, says Niagara Transit.

Option four would provide almost three times the current level of service, “good coverage” of new development areas, and more improvements to microtransit.

Any transit feedback should be directed by phone to (833) 678-5463, Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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