Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit (SMART) is seeking Northern Bruce Peninsula’s support as the service aims to be funded and governed by Bruce County.
A delegation was brought forward to Northern Bruce Peninsula council during its Feb. 28 meeting by Manager of SMART Roger Cook.
A report from Cook says SMART provides transit to those who are physically and mentally challenged residents in Arran-Elderslie, Brockton, Chatsworth, Hanover, Huron-Kinloss, Kincardine, Saugeen Shores, Southgate, and West Grey.
Cook says they will be starting services under a one-year contract in Grey Highlands starting May 1.
SMART operates as an independent non-profit entity incorporated in the Province of Ontario and is governed and operated under a membership agreement between the member municipalities.
It currently services a population of more than 80,000 in Grey and Bruce counties.
“We are primarily a medical transportation service where we are public transit, we transport people for work and for family events and social outings and shopping, along with medical appointments,” says Cook.
SMART found in 2020 its ridership was down by about 60 per cent compared to the previous year due to the Covid pandemic.
The report says like all municipal transit systems, SMART receives annual funding through the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Dedicated Gas Tax Funds for Public Transportation Program.
The Town of Hanover currently acts as the host municipality for the purpose of receiving and holding onto these funds.
The report adds all transit services submit their local population numbers and annual ridership numbers, and from these figures, the Ministry of Transportation puts together how much funding each transit service is eligible to receive.
SMART’s 2021 total municipal contribution was dropped from $750,000 in 2020 to $650,000 in 2021, due to lower ridership.
As of March 1, 2021, individual clients who travel within the local service area are charged a base rate of $2 with an additional $0.55 per kilometre. While a client may bring one attendant on a ride for free, if a driver and vehicle are considered to be dedicated to a client, then the ride is deemed a charter, resulting in a bill of $0.55 per kilometre, with an additional $22 per hour.
“There’s no question Saugeen Mobility is not an inexpensive service at this point and I would really like to be able to bring those user fees down which would be something I would want to pursue if the service were at the county level right now. Those are the fees that my board wants to charge but I would certainly like to bring them down,” says Cook.
Cook says he is hoping to get to a Bruce County Transportation and Environmental Services Committee meeting in March to get his request on the table for the 2023 Bruce County budget.
The delegation was received by council and Mayor Milt McIver says he felt it was important for councillors to hear what the SMART program was about.
