Guelph – Wellington County’s Ride Well public transportation service will now deliver riders to destinations within Guelph.
County council approved a staff recommendation to extend the service at the March 26 meeting, which was held via teleconference due to COVID-19 restrictions.
A report from economic development director Crystal Ellis notes extending the service has been recurring theme in rider feedback.
“This would allow riders to be dropped off directly at their destination rather than the north or south transfer location,” explained Ellis, who notes service provider RideCo has indicated that the service area can be adjusted to allow for pickup and drop off in Guelph.
“There is also no restriction for picking up and dropping off in the City of Guelph as RideCo already has the required license obtained to allow for service to the current city transfer locations. This change would provide riders with direct, Wellington-to-Guelph and Guelph-to-Wellington rides but it would restrict Guelph-to-Guelph ride requests from being booked,” Ellis notes in her report.
The report notes that adding Guelph to the service could have implications on the quality of service.
“To accommodate increased ridership within our existing budget, the service may require longer wait times and longer ride times to encourage shared-ride frequency.”
However, the report notes positive outcomes would include riders not having to navigate service transfers and an easier flow of service between the county and city for both county residents and those coming into the county from Guelph. This could also increase ride revenue given the increase in ridership and additional distance of rides into Guelph, the report suggests.
Vehicle hours extended
Council also approved a recommendation to reverse a recent decision to reduce vehicle operation hours for Ride Well.
The report notes ridership continues to grow month-over-month, with 173 rides in December, 252 rides in January and 269 rides in February.
“Given this increase in rides from December to January and positive ridership numbers in February, RideCo recommended that we increase the previously reduced vehicle hours that was set at 155 hours per week, up to 180 hours per week. This ensures that we are meeting the increased demand and not hindering the momentum to the ridership increases that are occurring,” Ellis states in her report.
COVID-19 safeguards
Ride Well continues to operate despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but the service provider is taking proactive measures to limit transmission of the virus.
Members of the public are being asked not to book or enter Ride Well vehicles if they have:
– two or more symptoms of: fever, cough, or difficulty breathing;
– travelled on a cruise ship or travelled outside Canada in the past 14 days; or
– had close contact with either a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19.
Drivers are equipped with disinfectant wipes and sanitizer to regularly wipe down surfaces of the vehicles.
