It looks like the people trying to create affordable transportation might be running on fumes.
Last week, Lisa Tolentino of Rural Transportation Options and Tina Jackson of the Transportation Taskforce met with Dysart et al council to address the work both groups have done in nine years. Tolentino explained since forming in 2010, RTO has tried several avenues to get some kind of public transportation for Haliburton County.
In 2014 they had researched and developed a proposal for the Ministry of Transportation. From 2015 to 2018 they had partnered with the MTO and the County for a transportation project. As well, they were able to secure Local Integration Project funding from the Haliburton County Development Corporation to keep that project operational with limited resources and funding. According to Tolentino, they also provided 50 percent of the funding for that project, which she says is notable given the fact they are entirely volunteer based.
The future of the Transportation Taskforce is up in the air says Tolentino, who points out their current term comes to a close on March 31st. Tolentino emphasized that if the Transportation Taskforce comes to an end, so too does the help of Tina Jackson which she believes would be a huge loss.
Although the term is coming to an end for the taskforce, Jackson and the rest of the members managed to provide a number of business models to the county, including their suggested model, the bookable ride-share model.
Jackson explained to council the bookable model is their preference because it is best suited to deal with the needs and location of Haliburton County residents. She also says this model is designed in such a way to work in tandem with the services that already exist like the health services accessibility van or the DYNO bus in Dysart.
Tolentino echoed the statements of Jackson, suggesting that model is designed in such a way that it can start small and grow the more it gets used.
After going over all of the things the two transportation-focused groups had accomplished, Dysart Mayor Andrea Roberts pointed out that the County is reluctant to commit to funding things that still have a lot of variables and unknowns.
Roberts says that the county has included a $50,000 placeholder in the budget for transportation.