GREENSTONE – The municipality is going forward with a new one-year transportation pilot program that will combine the existing aging at home transportation program and the Rural Transportation Program into one service and expand the service to include people with accessibility needs of any age.
Traditionally, the transportation services have been only for those ages 55 and older because 80 per cent of the funding was provided by Ontario Health.
The Aging at Home Transportation program is strictly volunteer-based and provided pre-booked, door-to-door, and shared-ride transportation of Greenstone seniors to medical appointments in exchange for the Northern Ontario Travel Grant.
The Rural Transportation Program works similarly to the Aging at Home Transportation program. Instead, the program uses staff drivers and is available exclusively to Geraldton and Longlac seniors to do day-to-day tasks such as going to the grocery store and post office.
However, because the Municipality receives the Provincial Gas Tax, the funding can be used to contribute to the specialized transit program.
Therefore, staff recommends that the municipality purchases a new accessible van and hire a qualified full-time driver.
Staff had received a quote for a 2022 Dodge Grand Caravan with a wheelchair-accessible ramp and Council-approved expenditure in the amount of $91,250. But, due to inflation, the price of the van had increased. Staff had also received a quote for a 2023 Dodge Grand Caravan without the wheelchair-accessible ramp for $ 84,856.78. The addition of the wheelchair-accessible ramp will cost between $20,000 to $25,000.
“The updated formal quote is still pending,” according to the report.
Currently, the municipal fleet for the Rural Transportation Program has a 2017 Paratransit Elkhart Coach 14 Passenger Bus and a 2019 Paratransit Elkhart Coach 14 Passenger Bus which were purchased through government grants and gas tax.
The report states that both buses have not been used since the start of the pandemic due to insurance requirements for drivers with experience in operating specialized passenger buses. Greenstone had not been successful in recruiting these experienced drivers.
Greenstone cannot sell or trade in these assets due to restrictions in the funding application. By violating these restrictions, the municipal will have to return 100 per cent of the funding to the Ministry of Transportation which is valued at approximately $253,000.
“The 2017 Paratransit bus can be disposed of as of March 31, 2025, without triggering the requirement to return the funds. The 2019 Paratransit bus cannot be disposed of until April 30, 2026, unless we return the funds,” the report states.
Immediate changes to Greenstone’s transportation service will also see an increase in fees for the Rural Transportation Program and the Home Transportation Program to $2.50 one way within the Ward and $8.00 one way between Geraldton and Longlac, and $350 for return trips to Thunder Bay or similar distance while the pilot program is being implemented and a transportation policy is being drafted for approval by September.
