BOLT bus service under scrutiny in Lacombe

The BOLT service currently runs seven trips per weekday, with a change to four trips per weekday being proposed to start September 1, 2019.

Mayor Grant Creasey says the review is needed as the service is underutilized.

“Council is doing what they can to come up with ideas to make it more suitable for our citizens,” says Creasey. “Unfortunately, we have extremely low ridership numbers and the overall cost does not seem to be great use of our tax money at this stage of the game, so we’re just trying to come up with ways to make better use of it.”

Creasey says the ‘Commuter Model’ now being considered would essentially eliminate mid-day runs.

“We would have more in the morning and after-work time frames,” he explains. “Unfortunately, that’s a part of the issue, there really is no heavy usage times to put it quite bluntly. But certainly the majority of the usage seems to be around that period, so in an effort to help control costs, it would certainly seem to be one possible option to explore.”

In terms of what commuter times might be considered, Creasey says those exact times will be forthcoming at a future council meeting, so it’s status quo for now.

“Certainly Lacombe council as I’m sure does Blackfalds, looks forward to some additional recommendations by the governance committee and I guess that just leaves us as a wait and see thus far,” adds Ceasey. “I expect that within the next month, we will be discussing the item again and either accepting or rejecting the proposal from the municipal governance committee. I would like to try and encourage citizens to make their views known to their elected officials so we can make decisions that reflect their wishes.”

The BOLT Committee was formed by resolutions of the Town of Blackfalds and the City of Lacombe in July 2018.

Since then, Lacombe officials say the Committee has been exploring factors in the current service that may be limiting growth in ridership to satisfy sustainability concerns of both Council and ratepayers.

Factors of the existing routes identified as potentially limiting ridership include the comparatively infrequent inter-city trips, and the lengthy, indirect route between Lacombe, Blackfalds and Red Deer.

Potential positive impacts identified during an analysis of the issue include the proposed Commuter Model eliminating current local service within each community and improving directness and cost efficiency with each round trip shortened by approximately 30 minutes.

According to officials, the proposed model can be operated by a single bus allowing for operational cost savings and a reduced fleet replacement payment.

In addition, new riders may be attracted to the focused commuter service because of more convenient travel times between the three major centres and local transit services, if pursued, could be better tailored to local requirements.

Potential negative impacts identified include current potential users abandoning the service due to removal of the local component of the service and/or the loss of the new evening run.

The Burman UPass agreement potentially cancelled, as the service would no longer provide local service within Lacombe.

In addition, revenue from transit advertising agreements at bus stops would be reduced, as there would be less local exposure from fewer advertising stops and with half as many busses carrying ads, on-board advertising agreements would have to be renegotiated due to reduced exposure.

Finally, local transit collector services, if desired, would be up to the individual municipalities to design, implement and fund.

by Sheldon Spackman

BOLT bus service under scrutiny in Lacombe

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