A deep dive into the Cochrane Online Local Transit (COLT) is being undertaken and recommendations on what needs to be done might come forward to town council in time for spring budget adjustments.

During budget deliberations, councillors raised concerns expressed by residents about the quality of service and cost.

"One of the biggest points of contention that I've heard from a lot of residents is that they're wanting improved service, and they're wanting to know when we can provide that," said Councillor Marni Fedeyko.

Stacey Loe, town executive director of Protective and Community Services, said they had hoped to provide a report before year-end but with the departure of Devin LaFleche, former Cochrane Community Connectivity Advisor, she anticipates that now won't be until January.

"There will be a comprehensive report brought forward in the future," said Loe. "The fact is, right now, our contractor is subsidizing the service by approximately $300,000 a year, and so that's something that at some point we're going to have to look at what the cost of that service the cost is, and how it's deployed."

The review will outline potential changes, identify the costs of those changes, and include a funding strategy.

"With that review, we'll need to look at what did we anticipate, and what did we say we were going to be able to achieve now that we've been operating in an environment that is not COVID."

She told council that COLT is seeing an increase in demand they have not been able to fully support, primarily, or at least exasperated, by a driver shortage.

Councillor Susan Flowers was encouraging the town to put aside some funds for when the proposed changes came forward but was assured there is still time to address that in the spring.

"It's one of the best things we've put in place, but it's also one of the things that has been struggling the most."

Councillor Alex Reed has stressed the need to keep costs in check on COLT before it was even instituted.

"I recognized that while there is certainly an appetite for additional services for COLT, it comes at a great expense, and I, too, am looking forward to that review. But I hope the public recognizes that it's already costing the community, the taxpayers, just under a million dollars and that it's being subsidized by our service provider, which I don't think is anywhere near what we projected in terms of COLT when it first started."

In 2023, the Community Connectivity budget is projected to cost ratepayers $912,278, or $25.94 per capita in the town's budget estimates. That's not strictly for COLT, though. It includes a $290,178 grant to the Rocky View Regional Handi Bus Society, which provides transportation to Calgary, quite often for medical appointments. The total budget is $1,022,278 with anticipated revenue of $110,000.

The budget was left largely unchanged for 2023 in anticipation of the review.

Loe pointed out that while their contractor Southland Transportation is subsidizing the service, there was an incentive for the company to get into the on-demand market.

"They saw the equitable value in that for themselves. I wouldn't say that they are necessarily losing money. What I would suggest is they are absorbing costs, but again without diving a little deeper into that in a fulsome way, I wouldn't be able to say for sure."

Last October, LaFleche said the long-term goal was to incorporate four fixed routes with the new The Station at the Cochrane Crossing serving as the transit hub. He recently joined Rocky View County as a regional planning strategist.

Loe says they will continue to look at the potential of transitioning to a hybrid of fixed routes and an on-demand system. Fees charged for the service will also be scrutinized.

"We will be pulling all of that information apart and putting it back together in a way that helps to answer some of those community concerns and bring it forward for consideration, probably in the New Year."