The Mayor’s Plan for Transit
The Transit Vision is a plan to dramatically improve the transit service in Barrie, by running buses more frequently on major roads, extending service hours, and creating more direct routes. It’s about getting you where you need to go faster, more conveniently, and more reliably.
The system will change from being focussed on a single downtown terminal to one that will serve multiple transit hubs at major destinations in different parts of the City. Routes will now double up on major roads, so there will be 15 minute service on many of our busiest streets, instead of the 30 minute service today. The new plan will allow riders to get to more destinations without changing buses. Also, real time scheduling information will now be available online and on your mobile phone, meaning riders will be able to obtain up to the minute prediction times as to when their desired route will arrive at their desired transit stop.
These improvements will increase ridership and put in place a transit service model that will meet the needs of our growing city. We want to hear from you on these proposed new service enhancements and route reconfigurations. Take some time to view the presentation and let us know your thoughts!
- Mayor Jeff Lehman
Frequently Asked Questions
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| What’s this all about? |
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It’s a plan to expand transit service in Barrie, by running buses more frequently on major roads, extending service hours, and creating more direct routes. It’s about getting you where you need to go faster, more conveniently, and more reliably. It will increase ridership and help meet the needs of our growing city.
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| What are the big changes? |
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The system will change from being focussed on a single downtown terminal to one that serves seven transit hubs at major destinations in different parts of the City. It will make it much easier to get to these seven areas of the City. Routes will now double up on major roads, so there will be 15 minute service on many of our busiest streets, instead of the 30 minute service today. You’ll be able to get to more destinations without changing buses. Also, real-time scheduling information will now be available online and on your mobile phone.
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| Where are the new hubs? |
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Barrie South GO Station, Park Place, Holly Community Centre, Allandale GO Station, the Downtown Terminal, Georgian Mall, and Georgian College/RVH. Getting to GO will be much easier, as 8 of the 10 new routes will directly serve Barrie’s two GO rail stations.
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| Will I still be able to catch the bus at my local stop? |
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96% of current bus stops will still be served, and there will be dozens of new stops in areas not currently served. The 4% of stops that will not be served any longer will have service within one block of where it currently is. However, many routes will now travel to local hubs, where other buses will be available.
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| How will all of this improve reliability? |
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The new routes are scheduled to account for Barrie’s growing area and traffic congestion in peak periods. Also, by serving local hubs instead of always going downtown, the model reduces the time it takes to get out from downtown to the far corners of the city – meaning the system is more efficient and schedules are more realistic.
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| What will this all cost? |
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Capital costs of $2.0M are anticipated, for two new buses, real-time bus schedule technology, and marketing/communications. The additional net operating costs will be about $0.6M in 2013, $1.0M in 2014, $0.6M in 2015, and $0.8M in 2016. The City’s total operating budget is about $250M – the additional costs associated with the Plan represent less than half of one percent of the City’s budget each year. There may also be additional costs associated with the proposed performance-based contract for operating and maintenance; these will be determined following a competitive RFP.
However, the cost of doing nothing is likely to be just as high or higher. Currently, City buses cannot meet their schedules due to the growth of the city and the unrealistic route structure. If the current model continues, it is anticipated that an increased number of buses would be required just to maintain current service levels. These costs would likely exceed those in the Mayor’s Plan for Transit. The alternative would therefore be service cuts.
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| Will there be a fare increase to pay for all this? |
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Fare increases are being proposed at 3% per year (about 7 cents on a standard adult fare and about 6 cents on a seniors/student fare). 3% is roughly the rate of inflation.
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| How many more riders are expected on Barrie Transit as a result? |
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Ridership is forecast to increase by 20% over four years with this plan, from 2.6M riders today, to 3.1M riders in 2016.
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| Has this been approved by Council? |
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Council gave approval in principle to overhauling the route system in early 2011. This route plan is the draft of the proposed overhaul. It has not been approved by Council, but will be coming forward in a staff report in Jan 2012, and the associated costs will be considered in the budget in January 2012.
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| If approved, when will all this happen? |
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The switch over to the new route model would happen in the summer of 2013, to leave enough time for the new buses to be delivered at fit out, and to ensure we can get the word out to everyone in Barrie about the changes! Additional service improvements would occur over each of the next 3 years.
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| What about the idea of turning the bus terminal into a food market? |
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This can only happen if the transit system no longer needs a downtown terminal, and intercity bus operators such as Go and Greyhound are able to relocate. If Council approved the new route model, we will be approaching operators about a different base of operations than the downtown Terminal.
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