Oakville Transit director looks forward, asks for the public's feedback

It's been a busy year for Oakville Transit with a new director, electric buses and new services.

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The staff at Oakville Transit (OT) is looking for your feedback to help inform them as they plan key projects and initiatives for the upcoming year. Riders and non-riders, Oakville residents and those who use transit in to or out of town are invited to fill out a survey and offer suggestions and comments on current routes and services.

"The survey that's now online is for our annual planning initiative," explained Adrian Kawun, director of Oakville Transit. "We, as staff, want to understand what customers need and want out of transit in Oakville."

Kawun continued, "This (survey) is something that I've used in the past and have found very useful in understanding what customers want. Staff are out there asking people: 'You ride our system; you see what goes on every day; tell us what you want changed or made better; or just tell us we're doing a good job.'"

Kawun joined Oakville Transit in January of 2022 after 16 years at York Region Transit as manager of planning.

This customer survey will also help inform Oakville Transit as it formulates its next 5-year plan, due in 2024.

The Covid-19 pandemic greatly affected ridership at Oakville Transit, as it did to all transit systems. Though ridership is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, aided in some part by the May 1 changes to fares (free) for youth and seniors.

"Having youth learn and use the transit system before their first car purchase is key," explained Kawun.

"Thanks to the mayor and council, we've been able to implement this free transit initiative. You get to see how transit works and you don't lose any money."

The initiative seems to be working. Transit usage for youth increased by 150 per cent between May 2022 and 2023. For seniors, the ridership increased by 183 per cent.

Interest in public transit was also piqued with Oakville's groundbreaking transition to electric buses, known in the industry as Battery Electric Buses (BEB).

"There's a lot that is required to get from one electric bus on the road to a fleet of buses," said Kawun. "We have to do a 180 to understand what does it take to 'fuel' a fleet of electric vehicles." 

Asked about the public's reaction to the BEBs on the road, Kawun responded, "You should see how people react to these buses. People stop in their tracks and start taking pictures."

Oakville Transit has purchased 15 small (20-foot) electric buses that are currently used in two services – Home to Hub (where riders can be picked up at home and delivered to a nearby transit hub at certain times) and the popular care-A-van service for those needing accessible transit service.

A pilot project has also been announced and will use electric buses. Ride On-Demand service will take place in two locations currently under-served by OT. 'North Oakville' serves the Uptown and River Oaks area. 'Southeast Oakville' serves along the lakeshore between Oakville GO and Ford Drive.

Fifteen larger (40-foot) buses are on order to be introduced to the overall system despite increases in cost due to inflation (see the Oakville News article). But before those can replace current diesel buses, new charging infrastructure must be installed at OT's Wyecroft Road facility. The eventual goal is to replace the entire fleet of 120-plus buses as they come to the end of their useful lifetimes.

Oakville decided to contract out the construction and maintenance of the electrification and charging infrastructure. The contract was recently awarded to PowerON Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation.

Kawun concluded by acknowledging, "The pandemic had a real impact on ridership. What we're doing is trying to focus on how our services are implemented based on demand and where people need to go." 

"It's an exciting time for Oakville Transit, especially with the transition to electric vehicles, because customers are telling us that this is the way we should be going."

We decided to take a trip on a few OT routes and ask some riders for their thoughts.

Nicholas Civiero, who rides public transit almost daily, said, "The plans that Oakville Transit had ten years ago, they're finally putting them into place, which is a good thing. But why do all the buses seem to go to the GO station?"

Nancy often has to take the bus because she is visually impaired and can't drive. She mentions that the signage could be larger. "Connections are always a challenge," Nancy observes. It's a common complaint for any transit service in North America.

Students like Liam take the bus to school every day, but he also takes it to his part-time retail job, "The fact that it's now free (for youth) saves me a lot of money," he said.

A few minutes later, Brenda got on the bus. "Why are you taking the bus?" I asked.

"Had a car accident," Brenda replied. "I had to wait two weeks for it to get repaired, and there wasn't a rental car provided. I can't wait to get my car back." Soon after, Brenda said goodbye and got off at the Oakville bus terminal to make her transfer.

Tatyana got off the GO train and was on her way to catch her bus. "By the time I get off the train, all I want to do is sit back and let someone else drive me home," Tatyana exclaimed.

You can add your voice by taking the survey and letting Oakville Transit know your thoughts, good or bad, on a service that serves the entire community.

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