WELLINGTON COUNTY – County staff and local politicians held an official launch for the new county-wide rideshare program, Ride Well, at the Wellington County Museum and Archives on Oct. 1.
As of 6am that day, the ridesharing program was operational with drivers and vehicles already on the road.
Ride Well is a five-year, publicly-funded pilot project, paid for through a provincial government community transportation grant of $500,000.
The program offers door-to-door service throughout Wellington County and two transfer points in the City of Guelph, from Monday to Friday between the hours of 6am and 7pm.
The service can be booked through either the Ride Well app (available through app stores), via www.ridewell.ca or by calling 1-833-900-7433.
Ride Well was developed to offer affordable transportation to residents within the county who do not have access to a vehicle.
“It will provide local groups, community centres and senior residents with a great resource to help networks travel throughout our expanded urban-rural landscape,” said Minto Mayor George Bridge, chair of the county’s economic development committee.
Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece also noted the app will help businesses retain employees and provide residents with transit between services spread out across the county, including healthcare and counseling.
Fares through the program are set at 60 cents per kilometre, with a minimum cost of $5 and a maximum of $40.
The county developed the program in partnership with Waterloo-based technology startup RideCo, which specializes in transit apps.
Centre Wellington Mayor and County Warden Kelly Linton thanked county staff for their efforts in developing the program.
According to Linton, residents voiced enthusiasm for the program ahead of the launch.
“We’ve already received a lot of positive feedback from various groups and residents who are excited about how the services are going to help them on a regular basis,” he said.
As the first rural municipality to provide residents an on-demand service with dedicated drivers, Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott said, “the county continues to show the way for the rest of the province.”
