Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs Shaye Anderson made a stop in Cochrane yesterday morning to check out one of the para-transit buses made possible through a 2016 $250,000 Alberta Community Partnership grant.
“People don’t see lines on a map – they go to where the services are and where they are available,” said Anderson, applauding the Rocky View Regional Handibus Society for providing regional para-transit services to 970 Cochrane and surrounding county residents.
In early 2016, Rocky View County (RVC) partnered with the Handibus Society to apply for the grant dollars, receiving news that their application was accepted in March of that year.
These dollars have enabled the county to purchase four buses to be used by the society, in order to continue to provide transportation services to those in need – namely seniors, youth and persons with disabilities.
“We do a very bare bones operation, but we have the fifth largest para-transit fleet in Alberta,” said Paul Siller, executive director of the society, adding that they are “thrilled” that the county stepped up to the partnership; the society has 20 buses currently in operation.
Operating at $6.70 per capita – with a big win to get Cochrane to boost its shared of annual capital funding this year – Siller emphasized that the society is still operating at half the provincial average and while the eventual goal of $12 per capita may seem lofty, it will eventually be a necessity to maintain adequate services.
He added that “we are staggering under the weight of Cochrane’s demand” with over half of their registered users living in Cochrane and believes that a local transit system would alleviate some of this pressure.
To learn more or to donate visit rockyviewbus.ca. The society receives no direct provincial funding.
