Peterborough Examiner Referrer

Return to hub and spoke urged

Riel says transit’s new grid system isn’t working

JOELLE KOVACH EXAMINER REPORTER

The city councillor who has called Peterborough Transit a “failed system” is going to pitch an idea Monday night to city council to revert to the pre-pandemic route design Feb. 1.

Coun. Keith Riel, who is being recommended by Mayor Jeff Leal to become the city’s new transportation chair, will move on Monday night to return to the hub and spoke system — rather than the newer grid system — for Peterborough Transit.

The transit system was redesigned in 2020 from a hub system (where all buses radiated back to the main transit terminal on Simcoe Street downtown) to a grid system (where buses follow a grid all over the city).

The idea was to reduce crowding at the main terminal in the COVID-19 pandemic, but many riders have told city council the system is now slow and inconvenient.

“This system is failing the people who want to use transit,” Riel said at a meeting of the previous city council in September.

For months, Riel has told council he’s heard endless concerns from riders who feel ill-served by the new bus system — and now on Monday, councillors will discuss whether to abandon the grid system as Riel suggests.

Although the grid system was adopted as a temporary measure in June 2020, the previous city council voted in July 2021 to adopt it permanently in early 2022.

That vote came after city staff recommended sticking with the grid system because it provides more direct trips to most destinations.

Nonetheless, some riders told council that the routes are confusing and some bus stops aren’t accessible for people with physical challenges.

Meanwhile, Coun. Joy Lachica will pitch another idea related to transit on Monday night: she’ll ask councillors to consider asking the transit liaison committee, a citizens’ group to be struck in spring 2023, to develop a set of recommendations for transit change as early as April.

In a motion, Lachica states that the city’s on-demand bus service is one area in particular need of review because it’s inaccessible for some riders and environmentally unsound.

Instead of requiring riders to

follow a set bus route and timetable, the on-demand service — launched early this year as a pilot program — allows people to request a nearby pickup location and a drop-off location (whether at a bus stop or not) at a time they’d like to ride.

The routes may change from one day to the next: routes are adjusted daily, depending on the day’s requests from all customers.

The idea is to accommodate as many people as possible, so riders might not always follow the same route — even if their requested destination doesn’t change.

But the on-demand service is designed to be accessed through a telephone line or smartphone app — and Lachica’s motion points out that this isn’t accessible for people who don’t have a phone.

The motion also points out that the service is available only in parts of East City and downtown and therefore doesn’t offer the “equitable city coverage” that can usually be expected from a publicly funded transit system.

Meanwhile the service uses a full-sized transit bus (as opposed to a 15-seat community bus) and Lachica’s motion states that these larger buses are meant for busier routes.

Running a full-sized bus for fewer on-demand passengers isn’t saving on greenhouse gas emissions, Lachica’s motion states — and she wants the committee to consider that.

City councillors will consider this and more at their first meeting on Monday night, which is taking place in person at city hall with a livestream available on the city’s website.

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

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