The wheels on the bus will continue to roll down the highway for On-It Regional Transit.
Southland Transportation, the company that had been contracted to operate the commuter transit service established by the soon-to-be-defunct Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP), has agreed to take on the brand and assets of the service and explore new opportunities throughout the Calgary region.
“They actually see the vision,” CRP executive director Colleen Shepherd said. “We really were worried that all that time and the money, taxpayer dollars, and the long-term vision for transit was going to be lost. But it is not and we’re really grateful for that.”
“I’m delighted. I’m elated and I do believe that our partners who are taking this on now are taking it to the next level.”
READ MORE: Calgary region’s On-It transit ‘very likely’ to shut down in March
In recent weeks, it was considered “very likely” On-It would stop operations.
The CRP – which ran On-It – is set to wind down operations as a new, provincially mandated regional growth management board will take on many of the responsibilities the partnership once explored. However, regional transit operations are not within the scope of the new board.
“We were aware of what was going on,” said Jonathan Weal, regional director for Southland Transporation.
“As Southland, we could see the CRP shared our vision for regional transit in the area.”
The transportation company already operates commuter transit services connecting Okotoks and Cochrane with downtown Calgary. Those services will continue on, now using the On-It brand.
“There’s going to be a limited change to anything with regard to the On-It service from Okotoks,” Weal said. “Of course, we already run our commuter services from Okotoks and so the two will be blended together.”
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In addition to the regional commuter service, On-It operated a pilot project last summer to connect Okotoks, Cochrane and Calgary with the mountain resort communities of Banff and Canmore. The CRP and Southland both report the project was highly successful, with sold-out busses running toward the end of the summer test.
“At the moment, it’s not definite that we will [run the service],” Weal said. “We know Parks Canada, Canmore and Banff are very interested in running it again and we are too.”
“It’s just down to talking with Parks Canada and the other players and making sure we’re all on the same page and we continue to offer the service the citizens of Calgary want.”
Shepherd is relieved to know that the On-It brand and project will continue on in some fashion following the end of the CRP and feels growing regional transit is critical to the economic success of the Calgary region.
“We supported – from a regional perspective – the Amazon bid. And it was really clear in there; if you want a viable, functioning economic region, you need to be connecting your communities. To be able to have that possibility continue is amazing.”