The launch of the OnIT! regional transit pilot linking Calgary to Banff last weekend has been hailed as a success by project manager Ettore Iannacito with the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP).
“We had CRP staff at all locations,” he said, adding that a lot of passersby inquired about the service from the Crowfoot station he was posted at. “A few people just hopped on and decided to go for lunch in Banff.”
The regional transit will run on weekends and some holidays through to Sept. 4, with two morning pick-up stops in Cochrane at First Avenue and Centre Avenue (former KFC restaurant location) at 7:37 a.m. and 9:07 a.m. and three evening drop-offs at 8:31 p.m., 10:01 p.m. and 11:31 p.m.
Tickets are $10 each way and are on sale three weeks in advance, with some Canada Day tickets still on sale at onitregionaltransit.ca.
While only a few people climbed aboard in Cochrane – with the bulk departing from Calgary – Iannacito believes that this will only grow in popularity over the coming weeks as summer gears up.
If all goes well, it’s “quite possible” there will be some type of regional service during the winter months – a plus for ski bunnies.
Funding for the Calgary-Banff pilot has been an “interesting model” – where CRP member communities such as Cochrane have partnered with non-member communities Banff and Canmore, who are funding the whole pilot along with Parks Canada.
Iannacito sums up the overall reception of the pilot as favourable – and one more way to soften the possible integration of a regional system linking Cochrane to Chestermere and Strathmore.
The CRP receives core provincial funding, as well as municipal membership fee revenues based on per capita populations.
“It’s no longer a scary proposition for the CRP partners … they can actually see the success,” he said, adding that the recorded success of the southern pilot connecting south Calgary with Black Diamond, High River, Okotoks and Turner Valley has eased the minds of other partners looking to implement a similar regional transit model.
Iannacito is currently working on an in-depth feasibility study involving Cochrane, Chestermere and Strathmore – which includes online and telephone surveys. This research will help inform the proposed north pilot and if all partners ratified an implementation plan, he hopes to see it operational by the fall of 2018.
The two-year north pilot would be primarily covered by a CRP grant of $500,000 to each of the partnering communities, who would enter a cost-sharing agreement to split any cost overruns.
