Town of Innisfil and Uber begin partnership

Town of Innisfil and Uber Taxi App  begin partnership 

The Town of Innisfil's innovative ride-sharing transit system with Uber, a partnership that has caught the attention of municipal leaders across Ontario, was launched on Monday.

Through the agreement with Uber, the town will subsidise rides for residents.

Trips to designated hubs such as the South Barrie GO Station, the GO bus line and the Innisfil Recreational Complex will cost residents $3 to $5 while other ride-sharing trips will receive a $5 discount.

To provide handicapped-accessible transportation, Innisfil has signed a similar agreement with Barrie-Innisfil Taxi.

“We are going from a municipality with no transit to one with door-to-door quality transit,” said Innisfil Mayor Gord Wauchope. “We are doing something that's never been done before.”

Rather than investing heavily in a fixed-route bus system, the arrangement with Uber will provide “safe, affordable, accessible transit for our residents to connect with their communities," he said.

A traditional bus service would likely serve only 25% of the population, while creating a burden for taxpayers, Wauchope said, adding with the Uber partnership, which was first proposed by town staff, “we've got transportation here for all of our citizens.”

The partnerships are seen as “transitional,” according to Deputy Mayor Lynn Dollin.

"Real quality data will tell us where residents want to go,” allowing the municipality to “make smart informed decisions when it comes to transit in our future," she said.

A staff report for the on-demand transit service was approved by town council in March outlining how the service could work in Innisfil. The transit service is going to be rolled out in stages and will be evolving and changing over time, according to staff.

“Ride-sharing has truly become the first mile and last mile in transit systems,” said Ontario's Uber public policy manager Chris Schafer, adding the service not only reduces dependence on private automobiles, but provides an affordable alternative.

Adding a bus would have cost the town $270,000 annually for one route and $610,000 for two, which they thought would be too expensive.

Mr Cane said the town council wrestled for years with the question: "How do we afford a transit model that on a good day would serve maybe 20% of the population?"

Senior Innisfil official Jason Reynar issued his staff the challenge, and the idea for a "demand-responsive transit service" was born.

By the time the driver came to take the mayor on what we thought was going to be the first Uber drive, he'd already done five trips that morning," Dollin said.

One expert hailed the partnership as an innovative solution, but raised concerns that only one player was currently allowed to provide regular service.

Murtaza Haider, who teaches travel demand forecasting at Toronto's Ryerson University, said mass transit makes no sense for a town like Innisfil that combines sparse population with vast territory.