Final Transit Service Review and Optimization Study

The Town of Collingwood has now completed the final review of the Transit Service Review and Optimization Study. IBI Group , the town's consultant has provided a detailed review of the Town's transit system and on October 12th, 2021 presented 9 recommendations to the Development and Operations Committee. A summary of the recommendations have been listed below.

1. Receive and adopt this report and five-year transit plan as the basis for planning and managing transit services in the Town of Collingwood over the next five years.
2. Adopt the On-Demand service strategy including the use of the necessary technology required to implement the service as of July 1st 2022 coincident with a new operating contract.
3. Combine the conventional and specialized transit services into one contract to be effective July 1, 2022 upon the expiration of the current contract.
4. Implement the fare structure identified in this report with a fare increase beginning in April 2022.
5. Explore pooling service and operations management functions for the South Georgian Bay transit services (Collingwood, Blue Mountains, Wasaga Beach, Clearview, Stayner) with the neighbouring municipalities supported by a service contract between the municipalities and governed by a “coordinating committee” with staff representation from each municipality.
6. Pursue improved and additional inter-municipal connections to area municipalities with the County of Simcoe and area municipalities, as well as for improved fare and service integration, to include two routes - Nottawa to Collingwood, and Stayner to Collingwood.
7. Work with the County of Simcoe to the return the Collingwood-Wasaga Beach Link to the Town of Collingwood. While typically inter-municipal services are provided by LINX, there is an opportunity for cost savings both in terms of operations and for users if these routes are operated as part of an integrated service with Collingwood’s transit service contract.
8. Develop a strategy to assess the feasibility of introducing battery electric buses to the fleet, based on the outcome of the collaborative Metrolinx study.
9. Add staff resources to more effectively plan and manage the transit services with a technical support position equivalent to 0.5 FTE. Should the Town enter into a collaborative agreement with the area municipalities to manage their transit services, then staff resources would be augmented further.

The town would like your feedback. Please review the completed study HERE. Send us your questions, ideas, or comments in the Guestbook below, or email us at transitstudy@collingwood.ca.

Progress and PIC#2 Update

Since January 2021, the Town as been reviewing its transit service to help improve the transit experience and grow ridership. As part of the study, the following tasks have been completed:

• Review of the current routes and structure and identify opportunities for service expansion;
• Evaluation of the service delivery methods; and
• The first wave of public consultation to collect feedback on how transit can be improved.

With the identification of needs and opportunities complete, the Town and its consultant for the project have identified three service options. We would now like to hear from you to help us select a preferred option for transit in Collingwood. Once the preferred option is selected, we will develop a five-year service plan and present it to Council.

Join us for the second virtual Public Information Centre on July 21, 2021 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm, and on July 22, 2021 from 7:00pm to 8:00 pm.

PIC # 2 Session #2 July 22, 2021 7:00pm-8:00pm

Purpose: To collect feedback from Collingwood residents on the three options for transit service.

Agenda:

1. Introductions and PIC format (7:00 – 7:10 p.m.)
2. Presentation (7:10 – 7:25 p.m.)
3. Question and Answer Period (7:30 – 8:00p.m.)

Study Website: https://engage.collingwood.ca/transit-study

Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MzVkZGQzZWItOGM1MS00M2FjLTgwZTgtZTRkNDBkNTAyZDBj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%229093f1a3-8771-4fb7-8596-d51eeef18cda%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e4b36031-1039-4ef5-bdef-fde050b5f73e%22%7d

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To review the content of the PIC, please see HERE. 

Fill out our short survey below to let us know how the future of Collingwood transit might look for you, and let us know how the Covid-19 Pandemic has changed your travel habits. Deadline to fill in survey is July 30th, 2021.

or

Send us your questions, ideas, or comments in advance of the meeting at transitstudy@collingwood.ca

Steering Us to a Better Future

The Town of Collingwood has begun the review of the Collingwood transit system, with the assistance of a consultant, as part of the 2021 budget.

To help improve Collingwood’s transit/rider experience and provide a sustainable transportation alternative within the community, the study will complete the following tasks:

• Review the current routes and structure and identify opportunities for service expansion;
• Evaluate the service delivery methods; and
• Develop a five (5) year growth strategy.

Study Process

The transit study has three phases with two main public touch-points, as shown below:

You can help shape the future of transit in Collingwood by providing your input as we identify needs and opportunities to improve transit. You can stay up to date on the study website which will provide opportunities to engage with the study team virtually.

To participate in the study, you can:

• Attend a Public Information Centre – there will be two rounds of virtual Public Information Centres where you meet the study team and discuss your ideas for Collingwood’s transit service;
• Engage with us online, including responding to online surveys, reviewing the Public Information Centre boards and study documents as they become available; and
• Stay in touch! Keep up to date with the study progress and send us your questions and ideas.