Council hears update on local transit services

August 5, 2021 · 0 Comments

By: Paula Brown

Grey Transit Route (GTR) ridership is continuing to increase, as more residents access the public transportation system to travel to and from Shelburne.

Shelburne Town Council, during their latest meeting on July 26, received an overview of the Grey Transit Route, after being implemented almost a year ago. The presentation from Stephanie Stewart, Grey County’s manager of community transportation, provided details to councillors on ridership status, and the recent weekend service expansion.

“Your route between Dundalk and Orangeville is definitely our most popular and there’s definitely a demand and need for transit,” Stephanie Stewart, told councillors.

While restrictions due to the pandemic have impacted ridership, the local public transportation service have seen an uptick in residents accessing the bus route. According to Grey County, 392 riders in the month of July accessed all the routes they provide, with 94 of those between Owen Sound and Dundalk (Route 1) and 120 between Dundalk and Orangeville (Route 2).

Grey Transit Route ran an online survey for bus users from May until June for feedback on the system. The survey received 149 responses, with 23 of the respondents being users of Route 1 and Route 2.

Individuals noted that they were looking for a seven day a week service, which was implemented as a pilot project in July.

The survey also showed that the primary purpose for travel is shopping and employment. As well, data from the survey showed that preferred travel times were 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“We’re always looking to add more complements to our staff,” said Stewart. “With the weekend service we had to hire more additional drivers.”

Deputy Mayor Steve Anderson, questioned Stewart about wheelchair accessibility.

Stewart said that to date, the GTR has not received any request regarding wheelchair accessibility, but is open to those requests from the public.

“We will not leave anyone unserved,” said Stewart.

GTR fares for Route 1 and 2 (Owen Sound to Orangeville) are $5.00 for adults (18+), $4.50 for seniors (55+) and students (6-17), and free for children five and under.