Reliable Transportation Across Owen Sound

Reliable Transportation Across Owen Sound

Residents need dependable transportation connecting work, school, shopping, health care, education, recreation, and community life throughout the week. This plan combines reliable existing service, weekday evening service until 10 p.m., Sunday service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and later expansion toward a 6 a.m. to midnight service span.

Owen Sound needs low-floor access for everyday service and enough winter capability to keep buses moving through heavy snowfall. The plan moves toward City-owned, locally maintained accessible buses while connecting transit with cycling, walking, schools, mobility devices, regional transportation, and visitor destinations. Residents can receive better hours before a City-owned fleet arrives: service expansion and fleet localization proceed in parallel.

Municipally owned buses • Evening and Sunday service • Shared street stewardship

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One connected implementation timeline

This is a conditional planning schedule for a first-year reliability and transition programme followed by service expansion. Phase 0 adds $0 to the property-tax levy while preserving current routes, hours, and equivalent Mobility Transit service. Service expansion and fleet transition proceed in parallel, and each expansion date remains subject to verified recurring savings, sustainable funding, operational readiness, and Council approval.

The November 2026 to August 2027 sequence is: Stabilize existing service → expose the operating data → fix Mobility Transit capacity/reliability → prepare City fleet ownership and local maintenance → make the August 2027 contract decision → expand evening service using identified savings where financially feasible.

Meeting the applicable ridership, reliability, budget, accessibility, and public-support gate allows the following phase to proceed. A developing phase receives an additional six-month refinement period. Operational preparation can occur during the current phase, while spending commitments remain subject to the completed gate review and Council approval. Grants or unusually strong results may accelerate the schedule after a public report; fleet shortages, accessibility requirements, procurement timelines, or reliability problems may delay it. Publish any change with its evidence and revised target date.

Reliable buses and a local fleet transition

Owen Sound should use the upcoming transit contract decision to gain greater control over fleet reliability. The sequence is: establish the current facts, preserve service through a bridge arrangement, test suitable vehicles in regular service, select the fleet with published evidence, complete acceptance testing, and develop local maintenance. This is a staged path toward City ownership, not an immediate takeover.

1. Current reliability problem and independent audit

City records describe five permanent 2023 ARBOC Spirit of Freedom low-floor ramp-equipped buses. City reporting has also identified reduced fleet availability. Residents report that older substitute vehicles commonly appear and that, during difficult winter periods, service can reportedly be reduced to approximately two available buses. Residents also report that even the remaining buses can experience breakdowns, leaving little spare capacity. These are resident reports requiring verification, not a claim that the ARBOC design caused the failures.

Residents have described substitute vehicles that may lack working GPS or live Transit App tracking, visual and audible stop announcements, or pull cords or equivalent accessible stop-request controls. Residents have also described paper tickets being collected or held using paper cups. These reports describe inconsistent passenger equipment and improvised workarounds, with their frequency, cause, duration, and responsibility still requiring verification.

Residents have also reported buses receiving little preventative maintenance, vehicles being shipped elsewhere after breakdowns for lengthy repairs, difficulty obtaining replacement parts, only one bus allegedly having functioning GPS, missing or malfunctioning stop cords, missing ticket receptacles, and a spare vehicle allegedly lacking a wheelchair ramp. These are resident reports requiring verification through the audit and City operating records.

An independent fleet, maintenance, parts, and contract-performance review should distinguish:

• chassis and drivetrain failures;
• preventative-maintenance practices and completion;
• suspension, electrical, heating, door, and ramp failures;
• GPS, live information, stop-announcement, fare, and stop-request equipment;
• parts delays and repair priorities;
• winter traction incidents;
• regular versus substitute vehicle availability;
• contractor and City responsibilities; and
• contract remedies or penalties available under the agreement.

The review should establish the role of vehicle age and condition, road calls and breakdowns, kilometres travelled, contract requirements, and road conditions. It should also verify how often the reported equipment gaps occur, how long they last, and whether they relate to vehicle condition, maintenance, parts, operating conditions, or contractual responsibility.

The initial audit should seek the Voyago contract and amendments; maintenance requirements in the contract; maintenance logs; inspection records; breakdown and road-call records; repair invoices; out-of-service days by vehicle; GPS uptime; accessibility-equipment failures; substitute-bus use; complaints; missed trips; service penalties or performance provisions; and City payments under the operating contract. Publish available information for every regular and substitute vehicle: days available and unavailable; model year and fleet number; ownership arrangement; kilometres; maintenance history; road calls; substitution days; lift, ramp, kneeling, heating, and accessibility-equipment failures; parts delays; installed accessibility and passenger-information equipment; contractor and City responsibilities; and penalties or remedies under the agreement.

These rider reports are the main impetus for exploring a municipally owned fleet with local maintenance. City ownership would give the City direct access to:

• vehicle-condition and maintenance records, preventative-maintenance completion, road-call and breakdown data, parts delays, and repair priorities;
• clear contractor and City responsibility for service, equipment, repairs, and remedies;
• GPS and live information, visual and audible stop announcements, pull cords or equivalent accessible stop-request controls, and consistent fare and ticket equipment;
• heating and defrosting, accessibility ramps and securements, and properly equipped spare vehicles; and
• the information needed to select suitable buses, complete proper repairs, train local mechanics, and stock common parts.

The purpose is direct control and accountability: selecting suitable buses, identifying failures, completing proper repairs, training local mechanics, stocking common parts, and ensuring every regular and spare vehicle has the equipment and conveniences residents need. City ownership remains a preferred direction subject to the evidence and open-book study described below, with no automatic promise of savings.

Mobility Transit capacity and reliability

Residents report calling roughly two weeks ahead and finding Mobility Transit trips already fully booked. They also report pickups arriving substantially early or late, difficulty relying on the service for appointments, and capacity constraints alongside reliability problems. These are resident reports pending verification through City operating data.

Publish a Mobility Transit dashboard that makes the full demand and service record visible, including:

• ride requests;
• completed rides;
• ride requests declined because capacity was full;
• booking lead time;
• cancellations;
• average pickup deviation from scheduled time;
• excessively early pickups;
• excessively late pickups;
• vehicle availability; and
• trips affected by vehicle breakdowns.

A ride request refused because the system is full should appear in the statistics as a capacity-constrained request. It should remain part of the service record alongside completed rides, cancellations, and other outcomes.

Mobility Transit should offer straightforward telephone booking and an accessible online booking option, while preserving telephone booking for residents who prefer it. Ontario Regulation 191/11, sections 70 to 73, requires specialized transportation to provide at least the same days and hours as conventional transportation where the regulation applies, accessible means of accepting reservations, same-day service to the extent available or booking requests up to three hours before the published end of service on the previous day when same-day service is unavailable, and information about the duration of reservation-service delays of 30 minutes or more. The City should design the booking and dashboard systems to meet these requirements and make capacity and delay performance understandable to riders.

Basic equipment standard for every passenger vehicle

Every vehicle carrying regular passengers, including a spare or temporary replacement bus, should meet the required accessibility and basic passenger-equipment standard wherever practicable.

• wheelchair ramp or lift;
• wheelchair securement;
• functioning stop-request system;
• required audible and visual announcements;
• GPS and location equipment;
• fare and ticket equipment;
• heating and ventilation; and
• basic passenger safety equipment.

Where an emergency substitute falls below the normal standard, the City or operator should record and publicly disclose the exception, the equipment affected, the reason, and how long the vehicle remained in service. This standard supports the existing commitment to equivalent Mobility Transit availability and to accessible regular, spare, and replacement vehicles.

Auditable preventative maintenance

City ownership would give Owen Sound direct control of vehicle condition and lifecycle maintenance. The City could set the maintenance plan, inspect completion, see repair priorities, and act on defects through local oversight. The plan should follow manufacturer-recommended severe-duty service intervals for the selected vehicle, with preventative maintenance suited to Owen Sound’s stop-and-go service, hills, winter conditions, and road conditions.

The auditable programme should cover:

• oil and fluid servicing;
• brakes, suspension, steering, and tires;
• accessibility equipment, doors, GPS, and other electronics;
• legally required and routine inspections;
• outstanding defects and corrective action;
• kilometres between scheduled services;
• road calls and breakdowns; and
• repair turnaround time.

The City should avoid hardcoding an arbitrary interval such as an oil change every 5,000 kilometres. Vehicle procurement should score parts availability, local serviceability, repair turnaround time, maintenance access, and expected lifecycle cost alongside purchase price.

Winter Traction and Severe-Snowfall Resilience

Owen Sound’s snowfall creates a genuine operating requirement. The City reports approximately 330 centimetres of average annual snowfall, maintains approximately 282 lane kilometres of roads, and operates winter control around the clock. In the 2024–2025 winter, the City reported more than 400 centimetres by March 2, or 122% of the annual average. During intense or continuing snowfall, temporary accumulation can affect streets before every route is cleared.

Public Works operates continuously during winter, while buses still need to handle temporary accumulation, steep streets, packed snow, slush, and changing conditions. An AWD drivetrain may improve traction and service resilience, but it does not solve mechanical failures. The review should distinguish traction incidents such as wheel spin, stalled climbs, getting stuck, sliding, or weather-related route delays from mechanical failures involving engines, transmissions, suspension, electrical systems, heating, ramps, doors, or other equipment.

Use the City’s 24/7 winter-control report, excess-snow report, and snow-clearing plan as the operating context. Vehicle design, maintenance, parts, inspections, and duty cycle still determine mechanical reliability.

2. Apparent August 2027 contract decision

The official Staff Report OP-22-024 records the first year of the Voyago conventional and specialized transit contract beginning August 27, 2022 and publishes a five-year base-period cost schedule. The City’s 2024 terminal lease report, CR-24-005, says the related lease ends on August 26, 2027 to match the existing operating agreement. These records make August 2027 the apparent decision point.

The public reports reviewed here do not reproduce the executed agreement’s extension options, renewal provisions, or notice deadlines. Council and staff should confirm those clauses before making a renewal or bridge commitment. The campaign treats August 2027 as an apparent timeline, not a verified claim that the agreement automatically ends on that date.

3. Bridge-contract requirements

Before the apparent decision, Council should complete the audit and market investigation. Negotiating objectives for a bridge arrangement include:

• a short initial term with six-month extension options where needed;
• reasonable early-termination and fleet-transition provisions;
• permission for City-owned and leased pilot buses to enter service;
• full access to operating, passenger-count, maintenance, road-call, and availability data;
• measurable availability and missed-service standards;
• transparent separation of driver, maintenance, vehicle, administration, and profit costs;
• co-operation with demonstrations and winter pilots; and
• orderly transfer or recruitment opportunities for qualified local drivers.

These are negotiating objectives, not claims about what the current agreement permits.

4. Vehicle RFI, demonstrations, and comparative winter leases

Issue an open request for information to Canadian-qualified suppliers of low-floor accessible minibuses suitable for Owen Sound’s hills, winter, route lengths, passenger loads, Mobility service, and maintenance capacity. The RFI should explicitly invite any supplier able to provide a true low-floor AWD accessible minibus for Canadian municipal transit: factory or professionally integrated AWD or four-wheel drive, a simple accessible ramp, approximately 12 to 18 passenger spaces depending on wheelchair configuration, Transport Canada compliance, Ontario municipal-transit eligibility, established Canadian warranty and parts support, current production, and credible supplier continuity.

The preliminary market review found AWD accessible vans and two-wheel-drive low-floor minibuses, while a clearly supported Canadian-market vehicle combining AWD, true low-floor access, and fixed-route capacity has yet to be identified. This is a preliminary finding, not a closed market conclusion; the open RFI gives manufacturers and dealers an opportunity to identify a qualifying vehicle.

Invite demonstrations with dry-road and full-load hill starts and braking, accessibility boarding and securement, turning and stop alignment, driver and mechanic inspections, heating and defrosting, ground clearance, drivetrain protection, and basic fuel or energy measurements.

Use automatic passenger counts to measure peak simultaneous passenger loads by route and time period. Vehicle capacity should follow the maximum passengers aboard, not total boardings per hour.

Lease or obtain lease-to-own access to the top two or three vehicles for comparative winter testing. Where supplier availability permits, operate finalists in overlapping periods from November 2027 through April 2028; otherwise use sequential trials of approximately six to eight weeks per vehicle. Rotate vehicles through Brooke, Core, Crosstown, East Bayshore, and Mobility service where vehicle and operating rules allow. Regular passenger service through winter, rather than a short demonstration alone, supplies the evidence for selection.

The winter comparison should include the existing ARBOC Spirit of Freedom buses as the operating baseline, the Frontrunner compact true-low-floor petrol candidate, the Forest River Gamechanger AWD high-floor lift-equipped candidate, the Karsan e-JEST where range and charging permit, and any qualifying true-low-floor AWD vehicle identified through the RFI. The final shortlist may contain fewer vehicles where capacity, compliance, support, or safety limitations are clear.

Use comparable commercial winter tires, passenger or ballast loads representing peak operation, route assignments, weather and road-condition records, driver training, and measurement standards. Test the steepest safe portions of regular routes during genuine winter conditions. The operator retains authority to suspend or alter service when conditions exceed safe operating limits.

5. Common vehicle scorecard

A proposed procurement standard is at least 98% fleet availability during scheduled service and 100% completion of legally required inspections, subject to refinement through the RFI. Accessibility, safety, cost, and service results all matter.

6. Procurement and acceptance testing

After winter testing, publish the scorecard, compare ten-year lifecycle costs, select the preferred vehicle family or compatible families, and authorize procurement only if the published standards are met. Prepare facilities, tools, diagnostics, lifts, chargers where required, initial spare parts, insurance, licensing, accessibility procedures, and driver and mechanic training. Complete full-load route, accessibility, reliability, winter, and vehicle-acceptance testing before City service.

City ownership and local maintenance

A unified family of accessible vehicles could reduce unrelated vehicle types, parts inventories, diagnostic systems, and training requirements. The preliminary operational minimum is six vehicles, all accessible, while the final mix depends on the winter trials and the vehicle market.

Preferred standardized outcome

• four true-low-floor fixed-route vehicles;
• one Mobility Transit vehicle; and
• one shared spare, with common drivetrain, accessibility equipment, parts, tools, and training across the fleet.

Mixed-fleet outcome

• four true-low-floor fixed-route buses;
• one AWD accessible Mobility vehicle; and
• one accessible shared spare selected according to capacity and reliability.

A seventh vehicle could be considered as service hours, winter resilience, kilometres, and ridership grow. Accessible conventional buses do not replace origin-to-destination Mobility service for eligible riders who cannot safely reach or use a fixed stop, cannot tolerate the fixed-route journey, need additional boarding assistance, or use equipment requiring specialized accommodation. An AWD Mobility vehicle would continue serving booked passengers; its use as a fixed-route substitute depends on Mobility obligations, capacity, and another suitable specialized-service vehicle being available. The fleet plan should not rely on one vehicle for two simultaneous assignments.

Preferred Direction: Municipally Owned, Locally Maintained Buses

The City should move toward owning approximately six right-sized, fully accessible buses selected for reliability, winter performance, common components, parts availability, diagnostic access, and ease of repair. Qualified municipal workers or a locally governed non-profit or worker co-operative could maintain the fleet through a transparent procurement process. An open-book study would establish acquisition costs, lifecycle costs, staffing, facilities, maintenance arrangements, timing, and the most practical transition path. Ownership is a preferred direction, not a promise of automatic savings.

Future procurement should consider full accessibility for every regular and spare vehicle; reliable GPS and live Transit App integration; visual and audible stop announcements; accessible stop-request controls; standardized components; service manuals and diagnostic access; parts availability; winter durability; lifecycle cost; repairability scoring; local technician training; warranty terms; City access to operating data; and appropriate bicycle racks.

Local maintenance and economic capacity

1. Secure reliable vehicles with Canadian parts and warranty support.
2. Train local mechanics during the pilot and warranty periods.
3. Stock high-use parts locally and share tools, diagnostics, and maintenance knowledge.
4. Establish municipal or locally governed maintenance capacity.
5. Consider a non-profit or worker co-operative after workload, facility, insurance, and financial models are established.
6. Build local repair and fabrication capability wherever the applicable engineering, safety, inspection, and certification requirements can be met.

Bringing the fleet under City ownership would give Owen Sound more ability to repair vehicles locally and reduce the need to ship a bus long distances for routine or specialized work. Where commercially supplied replacement parts are unavailable, backordered, obsolete, or unnecessarily expensive, qualified local shops and community fabrication capacity could help repair existing components or fabricate suitable replacements.

Grey Bruce Makers is a potential local resource with CNC metalworking, plasma cutting, welding, and related fabrication capability. Georgian College’s Owen Sound campus provides welding training that prepares students to seek Canadian Welding Bureau qualifications, as well as skilled-trades and millwright apprenticeship pathways. Professional mechanics, welders, fabricators, and machine shops in the area can participate where their qualifications, equipment, and capacity fit the work.

Potential local repair and fabrication includes brackets and mounting hardware, equipment enclosures, interior fittings, non-structural panels, obsolete trim or hardware, equipment mounts, diagnostic fixtures and shop tools, repair of suitable existing metal components, and other parts where the applicable specifications can be verified. Make and repair locally wherever the applicable engineering, safety, inspection, and certification requirements can be met.

Brake, steering, suspension, structural, restraint, accessibility-safety, and other regulated or safety-critical components require appropriately certified parts, engineering, inspection, testing, and qualified repair procedures under Ontario’s bus inspection requirements. Having a Makerspace provides useful infrastructure and training opportunities; it does not by itself establish the qualifications or certification required for regulated vehicle work. For higher-requirement components, the City could work with Georgian College and qualified industry partners to identify drawings, material specifications, approved procedures, inspections, tests, and certifications, and obtain the training needed to perform more work locally where economically sensible. OEM or certified replacement parts remain appropriate when local manufacture would be unsafe, legally unavailable, uneconomical, or dependent on proprietary certification.

The objective is to combine community fabrication infrastructure with qualified tradespeople, engineering, and inspection. The progression is to repair and fabricate straightforward components and shop tools locally; develop qualified welding, machining, and inspection capacity through Georgian College and local industry; manufacture more demanding components to applicable specifications and codes where regulations permit; and retain OEM or certified parts for work requiring them.

Money already spent maintaining public transit should circulate locally wherever practical. Local maintenance and fabrication can potentially shorten repair turnaround, reduce shipping and external-service costs, improve parts availability for an ageing fleet, retain skilled work locally, develop municipal repair knowledge, and extend useful vehicle life. The longer-term ecosystem could involve the City, qualified local businesses, Georgian College, Grey Bruce Makers, and a worker co-operative or operator. Grey Bruce Makers could be one qualified participant among others; Andrii Zvorygin serves as its Treasurer. Any municipal work requires an open, transparent, competitive, legally permitted process with conflict disclosure and recusal where applicable.

Bus procurement should include local repairability and local fabricability among lifecycle criteria. Prefer platforms with accessible technical documentation, drawings and specifications where available, obtainable replacement components, service information, conventional systems, strong parts support, and systems qualified local technicians can service.

Driver and mechanic worker co-operative option

Phase 0 should develop a realistic local operating option alongside the bridge arrangement. The City could invite current transit drivers, school-bus drivers, dispatchers, mechanics, and other qualified local workers to assess interest in a worker co-operative covering drivers, dispatchers, cleaners, and mechanics.

• Develop governance, membership, wages, benefits, scheduling, insurance, management, licensing, safety, and maintenance arrangements.
• Prepare a fully loaded, competitive operating proposal with transparent costs and measurable service standards.
• Respect employment continuity, collective bargaining, seniority, procurement, accessibility, and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain a bridge operator until the co-operative demonstrates operational capacity and can meet published safety, reliability, accessibility, and cost standards.

The City could own the buses, fare equipment, GPS, data, and major tools while a qualified worker co-operative operates the service. Any award would follow a transparent process and a public comparison with municipal and contracted models.

Preliminary fleet cost context

Public comparisons suggest approximately US$186,700 for an ARBOC Freedom and US$194,300 for a Frontrunner in an Iowa FY2026 procurement. Using the Bank of Canada exchange rate available during this research, those are approximately C$259,000 and C$270,000. Saint John’s e-JEST purchase-option exercise was approximately C$277,019 per vehicle in 2024. An initial planning allowance of approximately C$260,000 to C$320,000 per fully equipped vehicle gives a six-vehicle context of roughly C$1.6 million to C$1.9 million before facilities, chargers, diagnostic equipment, spare parts, financing, and contingency. These are market context, not quotations; capital costs remain separate from annual operating costs.

Connecting the whole journey

Streets and Shared Stewardship

Local Area residents could identify which potholes, minor street defects, and traffic-calming needs matter most locally. Local Representatives could organize priorities and bring them forward through the Participation plan and the Shared Stewardship proposal. This could include City-approved signage and visibility improvements where they improve street safety.

A voluntary, City-approved programme could let residents and qualified local participants complete suitable minor repairs with approved materials, training, tools, supervision, and traffic control. City staff or contractors retain high-speed and arterial roads, structural failures, underground problems, major pavement work, and technically complex repairs. Road-condition data remains a secondary tool for testing whether pavement correlates with bus failures; vehicle, maintenance, and service records establish the cause.

Frequency and route design

Higher frequency was selected by 47% of transit-survey respondents. A possible Hill Loop could connect Owen Sound District Secondary School → downtown transit terminal → Georgian College → Brightshores Hospital → 16th Street East shopping area → Heritage Place Mall → downtown → OSDSS. Two buses could operate opposite directions or travel in the same direction approximately 15 minutes apart; route pairing, recovery time, stops, and the best pattern require public and operational testing.

The current spare bus should support a limited test only when the reliability audit confirms adequate spare coverage. Increase an hourly period to half-hour service after at least 12 conventional boardings per revenue vehicle-hour for six consecutive months, evidence of crowding, missed connections, or suppressed demand, and a forecast of at least 8 boardings per hour after the added vehicle-hours. More vehicles can divide existing productivity, while a good frequency improvement can attract additional riders.

Cycling, school travel, and micromobility

The City should work with trustees, the Bluewater District School Board, the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board, schools, families, public health, road-safety partners, and cycling organizations. Municipal collaboration can provide resources, facilities, route information, and voluntary programming while respecting school and curriculum jurisdiction.

• Teach bicycle handling, helmets, signals, visibility, lights, hazards, safer routes, hills, transit racks, locks, and the rules for bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, sidewalks, roads, and paths.
• Use bicycle rodeos, supervised rides, route-planning workshops, and motorist education to help children and families travel independently and predictably.
• Map school routes with students, parents, staff, crossing guards, Local Representatives, and nearby residents, identifying crossings, missing connections, steep sections, winter needs, traffic concerns, bicycle parking, and transit connections.
• Inventory and improve secure, visible, convenient, well-lit bicycle parking at schools, parks, recreation facilities, the library, downtown, the terminal, shopping areas, Georgian College, Brightshores Hospital, and major destinations. Publish locations and support event parking or valet service.

Making Owen Sound a Bicycle Friendly Community

Use the Share the Road Bicycle Friendly Communities Award Program as a framework for an application group involving staff, Local Representatives, trustees, students, cycling organizations, public health, riders, businesses, tourism, and residents. The programme covers infrastructure, education, encouragement, equity and safety, and evaluation and planning. Nearby Collingwood, Saugeen Shores, and Wasaga Beach can provide relevant experience. The citywide designation is distinct from the Ontario By Bike Network, which focuses more on cycle tourism and bicycle-friendly businesses.

Ontario’s e-bike rules require operators to be at least 16, wear an approved bicycle or motorcycle helmet, use a vehicle meeting the legal definition and equipment requirements, and follow traffic laws. Education should distinguish ordinary bicycles, bicycle-style e-bikes, cargo e-bikes, electric mopeds, and other powered vehicles.

Ontario’s electric kick-scooter pilot runs until November 27, 2029. Riders must be at least 16, riders under 18 must wear a helmet, and a municipality must pass a by-law before e-scooters can operate legally on municipal roads. Published municipal records reviewed by the campaign have yet to identify an Owen Sound by-law opting into the pilot; the City Clerk should confirm the current status using the City’s by-laws and policies and Council records. Before any decision, survey users, pedestrians and people with disabilities, parents and youth, cyclists, motorists, police, by-law enforcement, public health, emergency services, businesses, school boards, trustees, and nearby residents about routes, speed, parking, sidewalks, enforcement, ownership models, reporting, accessibility, and a time-limited pilot.

Regional and visitor connections

Local transit should connect usefully with GOST, FlixBus, and other regional services at the transit terminal. Clear wayfinding can connect visitors with downtown, the waterfront, Harrison Park, museums, galleries, shopping, festivals, and other destinations. The City can map and coordinate information where it has authority, while regional operators and private providers control their own services.

Council can review local licensing, insurance, fees, pickup rules, and other barriers affecting taxis and rideshare providers, then engage potential providers. The arrival of any particular private company remains outside municipal control.

Feedback and sources

Residents can share feedback with the campaign about service hours, reliability, City ownership, accessibility, cycling, local maintenance, or relevant experience as a rider, driver, mechanic, fleet manager, accessibility advocate, or supplier.

For the concise, flyer-compatible summary, see the transportation section of the platform. For Andrii’s preparation and current policy work, see the candidate page.

Sources and Supporting Analysis

• City of Owen Sound adopted 2026 Mayor’s Budget, Public Transit division.
• Owen Sound Route Optimization Final Report, including Table 9’s Sunday on-demand model and rider engagement.
• Owen Sound Route Optimization Technical Report, including 2019 boardings per vehicle-hour and requests for evening and Sunday service.
• Reported latest Owen Sound transit results, citing the City’s annual report for just over 200,000 trips and approximately $412,000 in fare and pass revenue.
• 2022 Staff Report OP-22-024, Transit Service Delivery, including the five-year Voyago award and contract cost schedule.
• 2022 Staff Report OP-22-032, Transit Service Delivery, including the August 27, 2022 commencement, interim fleet, planned five-bus fleet, and draft-contract context.
• 2024 Staff Report CR-24-005, Lease Agreement at the Owen Sound Transit Terminal, including the August 26, 2027 date set to match the existing transit operating agreement.
• Sarnia Conventional Transit Master Plan, including its 8-passengers-per-revenue-vehicle-hour standard.
• Guelph Transit Business Service Review, including off-peak and Sunday productivity standards.
• Municipality of Jasper Transit Service Standards, including its 85% on-time and 98% reliability targets.
• 2023 Staff Report OP-23-008, Transit Service Delivery, including the planned five-bus ARBOC Spirit of Freedom fleet and Consat data system.
• City of Owen Sound, “Owen Sound’s New Transit Buses More Accessible”, April 17, 2023.
• City of Owen Sound, “Owen Sound Gears Up with 24/7 Winter Control”, including annual snowfall, road lane-kilometres, and winter-control operations.
• City of Owen Sound, “City of Owen Sound Shifting to Overnight Excess Snow Removal Due to Safety Concerns”, including the 2024–2025 snowfall total reported by March 2.
• City of Owen Sound Snow Clearing & Winter Maintenance, including road classifications and winter operations.
• Frontrunner vehicle resources and the Altoona Bus Test listing, used for initial market investigation only.
• Crestline Gamechanger transit van information, MobilityTrans Gamechanger information, and Ford Transit specifications, used to investigate an AWD, lift-equipped accessible candidate.
• Karsan e-JEST specifications and Saint John’s e-JEST lease-to-own report, used as electric-minibus examples rather than endorsements.
• Grey Bruce Makers, including its metal shop, CNC machining, plasma-cutting, and welding capacity.
• Georgian College Welding Studies and Manufacturing Techniques – Millwright Apprenticeship, for local welding and skilled-trades training pathways.
• Bank of Canada daily exchange rates, for the illustrative currency conversion in the fleet-cost context.
• City of Owen Sound Public Transit information, including advertised Transit App features.
• City Transit App release, including the distinction between live vehicle data and scheduled times when live data is unavailable.
• Ontario Regulation 191/11: Integrated Accessibility Standards, including specialized transportation’s same-days-and-hours requirement.
• City of Owen Sound Multi-Year Accessibility Plan 2024–2028, including transportation accessibility and consultation with the Grey County Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee.
• Ontario bus inspection requirements, including under-vehicle and semi-annual inspection requirements.
• Share the Road Cycling Coalition Bicycle Friendly Communities Award Program.
• Share the Road Bicycle Friendly Communities frequently asked questions and application information.
• Share the Road current Bicycle Friendly Community award winners.
• Ontario By Bike Network, a complementary cycle-tourism and bicycle-friendly-business programme.
• Ontario e-bike rules, including age, helmet, vehicle-definition, equipment, and traffic-law requirements.
• Ontario electric kick-style scooter information, municipal guidelines, and Ontario Regulation 389/19.
• City of Owen Sound By-laws and Policies and Traffic By-law 2009-075, reviewed for e-scooter authorization context.
• Ontario 2026 Candidates’ Guide: Campaigning, including candidate responsibility identification.
• Campaign GIS route modelling, integrated mobility findings, bicycle analysis, and cost scenarios are preliminary planning work and require operational testing and quotations.

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