A public bus service could be back on the menu for Haliburton County, with councillors at the upper tier directing staff to investigate an on-demand service model.
The issue has been debated for several years, with the most recent update coming in May 2024, when the lone bidder on a fixed route system between Haliburton and Minden quoted annual costs of $685,000 – plus gas and $45,000 in start-up money – to operate. Council opted against the contract.
Scott Ovell, the County’s director of economic development and tourism, brought a potential solution forward at an April 23 meeting. While previously, the County wanted to establish a route that ran eight to 12 hours per day, six days a week, Ovell feels the most realistic option is proceeding with an on-demand service.
“Over the course of the fall, staff have been monitoring other systems that have been implemented in rural Ontario… some of those did indicate they’ve seen some cost savings by not running on a fixed-route system and [buses] being empty,” Ovell said.
“They also felt it provided a better service option to get to some of the more remote areas in their jurisdictions,” he added.
Ovell said both the District of Muskoka and County of Wellington had recently revamped their transit systems, preferring a responsive model – one that runs when people need it, rather than all the time. He said a similar model has potential to meet the County’s needs, both in demand and cost.
A new RFP will be posted in mid-tolate May, Ovell said. In it, the County is looking for potential operators to provide a scope of work for delivering a responsive transit service, which he says “differs significantly” from the fixed-route model.
Any plan will need to ensure compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, identify service delivery options, routes, and cost, provide a detailed outline of proposed fares and service schedule, details on the type of bus they plan to utilize, information on booking methods, and a proposed date for implementation.
Ovell said staff has outlined the service must run at minimum five hours a day, five days per week. While an initial route will connect Minden and Haliburton, with mandatory drop offs at places like the Haliburton hospital and Minden Urgent Care Clinic, Ovell said there’s also an option for bidders to outline a model that would service the entire County – including Algonquin Highlands and Highlands East.
Some councillors concerned
Coun. Liz Danielsen said that piece is important as Algonquin Highlands “is not interested in paying for a service that’s only going to serve Minden Hills and Dysart et al.”
That irked councillors Murray Fearrey and Bob Carter – mayors of Dysart and Minden respectively – who said there are lots of things those two townships pay for that benefit residents of the two more rural municipalities. Danielsen later noted she was supportive of starting a service.
Carter felt it was important the County first establish a service and potentially expand later.
“It’s got to start somewhere. It’s never going to get to the outlying districts unless it starts at the centre,” Carter said. “We have to look at whether we’re here as Haliburton County, or we’re here as four individual municipalities.”
Coun. Cec Ryall, Highlands East deputy mayor, wanted more assurance over the cost and timeline for expanding the service beyond Minden and Haliburton villages.
“If we’re going to be looking at a 10-year [window before expansion] that’s only going to benefitting the two municipalities, that to me is not fair. There needs to be some kind of adjustment in the fee structure,” Ryall said.
County CAO Gary Dyke said there are many intangible benefits to establishing a service, noting it can help attract doctors and businesses to the area.
While there was no mention of anticipated costs, Ovell said, “I don’t think I would be here if I thought I was coming back with a tender for $685,000 again.” He said the County has $182,601 in a transit reserve and could tap into provincial money, via gas tax funding, once a service is operational. Funding is not available in year one, though Ovell said the County could get up to $194,543 in years two and three.
The director noted he has heard from interested parties, hoping that will mean more than one company puts a bid in. He told council he expects to deliver another report in July, where, armed with more information, there can be more debate over how and when the service will be rolled out.
“This is a starting point to build off. We’ll make sure what comes back is a detailed response that will articulate not only where the starting point is, but where the finished product would land, and how long that would take,” Ovell said.
“We can have more detailed discussions and work through what this could look like… what we’ve seen, particularly in rural Ontario, is that as technology has evolved, there are different models that could be operated more efficiently and more costeffectively,” he concluded.
