This term has presented a lot of challenges to transit and transit users, not the least of which was ridership recovering following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, thankfully, not only returned but grown in the last four years. Logistically speaking though, there are other challenges to transit that have stacked up including financial pressures, but what else is coming for transit in the next four years?

Coming into this term of council, there was a lot to look forward to with Guelph Transit: investments to modernize transit routes, new real time update signs, new apps and tech, and a new fleet facility that would house this growing fleet of EV buses. The reality though is that whole portions of the Future Ready Action plan were delayed, the OnYourWay app will be discontinued this summer due to ongoing problems, and the construction on that new fleet facility has only just begun.

While Guelph has struggled to keep up with its transit promises, there’s been a lot of new pressure on transit too from the creation of major transit areas, the lack of new regional transit connections, especially on the weekend, and the passage of Bill 98, which gives a number of new powers to the provincial government that they can exercise over transit authorities and municipalities. Transit cannot be treated as some small issue in this election, but are our local candidates ready to make it a priority?

Lending us some insight is to Steve Petric, the co-chair of the Transit Action Alliance Guelph, or TAAG. He will talk about if we’re better off now than we were four years ago with transit service, and the reasons why we’ve seen an increase in ridership. Additionally, he will discuss transit management, and the disconnect between transit’s issues and the first-hand experience of council. Also he will discuss the concerns about Bill 98 and what TAAG is planning in terms of advocacy this fall.

So let’s talk about transit now and the next four years on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

You can learn more about the Transit Action Alliance Guelph at their website, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to their Substack newsletter here. You can comment now on the Guelph Transit: Future Ready Action Plan update by visiting the City of Guelph’s Have Your Say page. To learn more about the potential impacts of Bill 98 from the transit advocacy group TTC Riders here.

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