More than three-quarters of residents who responded to a City of Moose Jaw survey do not use transit, while most of those who do ride buses use regular fixed-route services.
Of the 476 people who answered the questionnaire, 76.11 per cent said they did not use bus service, 22.41 per cent used fixed-route service, 4.02 per cent used dial-a-ride service, 2.75 per cent used paratransit, and 0.85 per cent used charter.
Of the 141 people who do use transit, 43.26 per cent use it to shop, 42.55 per cent use it to reach medical appointments, 38.30 per cent use it for work, 31.91 per cent have no other option, 16.31 per cent need it for school and 20.5 per cent indicated “other” as their response.
City administration presented the survey results during the recent city council meeting. The 24-question survey asked residents for feedback about 2022 budget priorities and transit service.
While 72.12 per cent of people never rode the bus in the past month, 12.74 per cent had taken transit one and 10 times, 10.82 per cent had ridden the bus 11 to 30 times, and 4.33 per cent had taken transit more than 30 times.
Obstacles preventing people from using transit service included preferring to use a car (47.51 per cent), buses not running late in the evening (27.91 per cent), buses running infrequently (23.26 per cent), buses not starting early enough (18.84 per cent), personal vehicles are needed for a job (16.05 per cent), bus stops aren’t close to home or destination (13.49 per cent), booking is limited for paratransit or dial-a-bus (8.84 per cent) and 13.02 per cent said “other.”
About 72 per cent of respondents said some areas or locations are underserved by transit, such as Yara Centre.
“I’m happy to see it showed up here because (the Yara Centre) is one area we need to add transit,” Coun. Doug Blanc said during the presentation. “I agree; our transit system is underused.”
Meanwhile, it didn’t matter to 62 per cent of people that the municipality had started a dial-a-bus service this year. However, 13.50 per cent liked it and 24.71 per cent preferred regular service on Saturdays.
The survey gave respondents eight options about which times the city could add for better transit service. Nearly 65 per cent said weekday evenings after 6:30 p.m. were best, followed by 47.81 per cent for Saturday evenings after 5 p.m.
Nearly 68 per cent of respondents said it was unlikely or very unlikely that they would take charter bus service. However, 23.17 per cent said they needed more information, while almost nine per cent said it was likely or very likely they would use such service.
Council discussion
Coun. Crystal Froese was pleased to see that more people had responded to this survey than in 2019 when slightly more than 200 answered the questionnaire. She asked city administration if it had pushed the survey using the city’s service app.
City hall did use the service app to push the survey and alerted residents several times, said communications manager Craig Hemingway.
“That to me would indicate we had better uptake than previously because we did not have the app last time,” replied Froese.
The transit department will summarize the information in the survey and create a report for the 2022 budget discussions, possibly making suggestions about the future of transit service, director Darrin Stephanson told council.
“That’s great. I hope this is not gathered and then left to collect dust,” said Coun. Jamey Logan.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Nov. 8.
