An inability to meet rising demand for Red Deer’s Action Bus caused city council to unanimously approve some fundamental changes to the service on Monday.
Automatic eligibility at age 80 for the dial-a-bus service will be discontinued. Those who are over 80 and have a disability or medical condition can apply through the regular application review process.
People who book an Action Bus trip and then cancel at the last minute, or don’t show up for the ride — taking up a time slot that could have been used by someone else — can now be charged for the trip anyway.
And people who have been on the Action Bus client list for more than three years will have to recertify.
These are three of six changes that were approved by city council on Monday in order to deal with a rapid rise in demand for the Action Bus.
According to transit manager Kevin Joll, client number have risen by 40 per cent in five years — to a current 2,043 people in 2013 from 1,453 clients in 2007. Most clients are not yet seniors.
On average, Joll reported there have been 400 new clients per year. This has meant that not everyone who needs the service can get it.
He said the monthly average of “un-accommodated” trips is 543.
To create more capacity in the system, one adopted solutions is to penalize late cancellations and no-shows. They are a “significant problem, amounting to 5,200 unused time slots so far this year, he said.
Joll suggested creating a new “graduated” system in which a couple of warnings are initially issued and the third no-show results in the person being charged for the fare that wasn’t taken.
Other changes approved by city council are:
• Providing limited, conditional access to the Action Bus for individuals who have a medical condition that is not long-term or with which only certain trips cannot be taken on conventional transit.
• Exploring (perhaps with home care aides) the establishment of a site safety inspection program to ensure a customer’s residence meets proper ramp standards and other safety conditions prior to accepting an individual’s registration for the bus service.
• And exploring the value, benefit and potential cost of conducting in-person interviews and assessments for Action Bus service in future, instead of accepting written or phoned in applications.
Joll also suggested inactivating registered clients who have gone one year without making any Action Bus trips. But councillors did not see the point of making this change, since clients would have to recertify after three years, according to the new rules.
“It seems like just more administrative expense,” said Chris Stephan.
The changes were recommended after a review of the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s report, which surveyed 19 Canadian service providers, their models and strengths and weaknesses.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com