OLDS — The Town of Olds' Sunshine Bus saw a 32 per cent increase in ridership in the second quarter of this year (April to June) compared to the same quarter last year, the municipality's community services director says.
Guy Lapointe relayed that statistic in a report discussed during the July 14 Town of Olds' council meeting.
The Sunshine Bus provides wheelchair-accessible transportation for residents over 50 years of age or those with mobility issues. It is equipped to accommodate one wheelchair user and three additional passengers per trip. A support person rides free with a paying passenger.
The report said 739 trips were taken on the Sunshine Bus in the second quarter this year, compared to 558 during the same quarter in 2024.
“Community Development attributes that growth to establishment of base and regular riders,” Lapointe said.
Volunteer hours remained the same for both quarters at 124.
In spring, 2024, Sunshine bookings were opened to the general public as part of a goal to make bus transportation more affordable and available for residents.
Coun. Heather Ryan asked Lapointe if the increase in ridership was due to a broadening of ridership, from seniors to other segments of the population.
“I don’t think it’s other users. I think it's primarily still seniors, but they're just more regular riders at this point, using it more frequently,” Lapointe said.
Ryan said she was “kind of disappointed in that answer” because the municipality made an effort to open up ridership to the community via the Sunshine Bus but apparently the wider community hasn’t taken up that opportunity, even though there were calls among residents for urban transit in town.
Ryan asked if the opportunity for those other than seniors to ride the Sunshine Bus wasn’t being communicated to the population as a whole.
“That could be part of it,” Lapointe said. “I would also think there's limitations in size. I mean, that bus only has four seats, three seats, really, if you think about it at this point.
“I mean, I'm surprised by the growth that we're seeing,” he added. “In all honesty, I do think that there's going to be an upper limit that we're going to reach, only because we can only manage so much.”
