OC Transpo's 'phone ringing off the hook' with microtransit pitches

OC Transpo says companies have been lining up to pitch on-demand transitoptions to the city, ever since the Ontario government required that municipalities study such "microtransit"ideas as a condition for getting COVID-19 relief funding.

"The phone is ringing off the hook since the announcement that the province made," said John Manconi, the City of Ottawa's transportation general manager.

Manconi told transit commissioners Wednesday that managers have metwith six Canadian or international companies already and a seventh is booked. Some are taxi companies offering to carry passengers, while others havesoftware they say could work with OC Transpo's buses.

OC Transpo had already been looking into the idea, but now that the Ontario transportation minister is requiring that microtransit be evaluated as a way to cut costs or boost service, Ottawa officialswill report back to the transit commission with their findings by end of year.

• Province tells Toronto to consider replacing low-performing bus routes with 'microtransit'

On-demand transitis on a list of 10 projects OC Transpo will tackle in 2021. The list includesinstalling protective shields forbus drivers and upgrading simulators to train rail operators on the new Stadler trains that will travel the expandedTrillium Line.

Ottawa could use microtransit for 'last mile'

Coun. Carol Anne Meehan has been a big champion of microtransit of late, because she has been concerned about buses travelling fixed routes carrying very few passengers and losing the city money during the pandemic.

She had pointed to Belleville, Ont., which uses on-demand bus service.

That citywould not be a good comparator because it has a tiny fraction ofOttawa's 190 bus routes and fleet of nearly a thousand buses, Manconi said.

• City councillor calls for bus-hailing tech as answer to low transit ridership

The idea is not new, he added,reminding commissioners Ottawa once had a "dial a bus."Tele Transpo served several areas that couldn't sustain fixed routes back in the 1970s.

"You've grown beyond that," Manconi told commissioners.

That's not tosay microtransitcan't work in Ottawa at certain times of day and in certain parts of the city, Manconisaid.

Abetter comparison would be Denver, Colo.,which uses smaller buses booked in as few as 10 minutes to help riders cover what's often called the"first and last mile" to and from a park-and-ride or transit station, he explained.

Unions in Ontario have been troubled by the province's push for microtransit, andManconi was also careful to underscore it would not be a substitute for traditional transit.

"This is not about outsourcing OC Transpo," said Manconi.

Meehan presents company with pilot

During the commission meeting, Meehansaidshe had been speaking with one company that wants to test an app, using OC Transpo buses and operators in a suburb, but transit managers haven't taken their calls.

She called on the city to explore a pilot project with any company, because the technology exists.

"It's the perfect time to do it, to recreate our transit system. Add to it, complement it."

Manconi, however, said the 10 projects for 2021, during a pandemic, leave staff with "zero capacity" to take on others.

Meanwhile, he cautioned that companies want the city's data, and often suggest they could start up quickly, but staff couldn't "arbitrarily just pick a route.

"Let's be candid. The private sector wants to be in this space. The mobility space is a trillion-dollar industry around the world. You've got to be very careful. What is the mandate of public transit? It's not to make money."