When the City of Spruce Grove converted its fixed-route service to an On Demand system in May 2021, it moved local transit forward into a bright transportation future and never looked back. After the switch, Spruce Grove Transit saw tremendous growth in ridership, shared rides and customer satisfaction.

However, when the City decided to expand the service in January 2023 to include the neighbouring areas of Stony Plain, Parkland Village and Acheson Business Park, there were legitimate questions about whether the system could handle covering a larger, less populated area. Those questions have been answered – with a resounding YES.

“Stony Plain switching to the On Demand system was embraced by the riders immediately, which was beyond our expectations,” said Angela Otte, PWTransit’s Operations Manager for Spruce Grove and Stony Plain. “Our ridership went up 20%, and our kilometres travelled increased by 8,000 kilometres. And every month since then, we’ve moved more and more people. On Demand has been very successful here – we can get to more people than what a fixed service could do here.”

What is most impressive is how the system has seamlessly expanded its geographical area. From the westernmost point of the new service in Stony Plain to the farthest east in Acheson, a passenger could travel over 20 kilometres – all for a $3.00 fare. With four vehicles covering the region during peak periods, riders in any of the three communities have easy access to all of them.

“That’s the beauty of the system. We’ve got a Stony Plain bus, we’ve got two buses for Spruce Grove, and we’ve got a bus for Parkland Village/Acheson. But all four of those buses can go anywhere in those three communities. The communities work well together, and the service runs beautifully, so we don’t have one community that suffers over the other.”

Expansion is a Big Win for Stony Plain Residents

Bill Sabey is the Transit Manager at Spruce Grove Transit, and he agrees that the expansion has gone better than expected, particularly in the Stony Plain community.

” Stony Plain had a fixed route before that served just a portion of the community, and it was not very frequent. This just opened everything up. Stony Plain now has full coverage, as opposed to covering just a small portion of the town. The travel times aren’t as restrictive as they were, so it’s gone very well for them.”

The Acheson Business Park has also seen a bump in ridership from the previous fixed commuter route from Edmonton. That has resulted in the area becoming more integrated into the economies of Stony Plain and Spruce Grove. The expansion to four vehicles has also been a big benefit to Spruce Grove residents, as the service level has increased for the city.

The Acheson Business Park has also seen a bump in ridership from the previous fixed commuter route from Edmonton. That has resulted in the area becoming more integrated into the economies of Stony Plain and Spruce Grove. The expansion to four vehicles has also been a big benefit to Spruce Grove residents, as the service level has increased for the city.

“It’s opened up all kinds of synergies between Stony Plain and Spruce Grove, having those additional buses in play. There’s more back and forth between the two communities than there was with the fixed route that there was before. It’s definitely a win for Stony Plain residents that we expanded there, but it hasn’t taken anything away from Spruce Grove – in fact, it’s added better service for them.”

Could the Spruce Grove Expansion be a Model for Other Bedroom Communities?

On Demand Transit has worked well in multiple areas surrounding larger cities, but combining multiple communities under one umbrella is something few jurisdictions have attempted. Sabey thinks the Spruce Grove model could work in similar-sized communities across Canada.

 

“It’s a really good model for similar communities – when you look at the coverage from east to west, it is actually a huge area. It’s almost as wide as the city of Edmonton itself, and it pulls together three or four different areas that were trying to have transit service on their own with a fixed route. The integration of those adjacent areas all into one system has seen exponential benefits. There is so much inter-municipal travel being facilitated because it’s all incorporated into one big system. It’s a very good model.”

Feedback From Local Residents Has Been Overwhelmingly Positive

The RideCo On Demand app allows passengers to rate their rides, and Spruce Grove Transit has seen a lot of 5-star ratings registered since the expansion rolled out in January. The app also features the ability to leave customer comments. One regular rider who recently lost her phone on the bus has been very impressed with the overall service.

“I worked 15 hours yesterday, tired and down, thinking I lost my phone. I arrived home last night with it on the table! So happy! Not only that you helped me save money with my travelling to work, but also because you make my life easier and fruitful by being able to travel anywhere in Stony Plain and Spruce Grove. I work as a healthcare aide, and it’s taking a toll, but just being able to travel within my budget is a tremendous help. Shout out to all your awesome drivers, especially to JOE! They are all amazing!”

PWTransit Operations Manager Angela Otte has seen the service grow each month and agrees that residents in all four communities have really taken a shine to the new On Demand service.

“We’re all shocked at how fast people have embraced this system and how it really took off this year. We made the change in January, and it’s been wonderful. This is the way to go. On Demand is the way to move people.”

 

In January, Innisfail town council voted to take local transit into the future. It unanimously approved a year-long contract with Pacific Western Transportation to provide a state-of-the-art On-Demand transit system launching on April 3rd, 2023.

In 2018, the town partnered with the local Royal Canadian Legion branch to offer a community shuttle program. However, when the Legion determined they could no longer provide that service, the Town of Innisfail felt this was an excellent opportunity to upgrade an underutilized transit service that was primarily being used by seniors and those with mobility issues.

Meghan Jenkins, the town’s Director of Community Services, is hoping for a jump in ridership.

“We’ll be able to increase our efficiency and the number of users that we’re able to service by going to an on-demand program – with the power of the app and a call centre, as opposed to the traditional dispatch system that was being utilized previously.”

Red Deer-Based Prairie Bus Lines to Operate New Service

While the town owns the two PACE buses that will pick up passengers in Innisfail and the surrounding area, Red Deer-based Prairie Bus Lines (PBL) will operate and staff the new service. Users can book a trip on the new On Demand system seven days a week by app, a website or by phoning the dispatch centre.

Jonathan Weal, Director of Business Development for PBL, says the data collected by the high-tech transit brand is a game changer.

“The app has the ability to learn the more data it gathers, and the time it takes to get between different points,” said Weal. “It can anticipate delays on rides. It gathers a lot of data from the movement within the town to allow the service to be more efficient.”

Town of Innisfail Hoping for Increased Ridership

Under the previous community shuttle run by the Legion, the vehicles averaged 117 trips a month in 2022. Jenkins agrees that the data collected from the On-Demand service will offer valuable information when the town decides to expand and improve the local transit operation.

 

That is just one of the many benefits we hope the intelligent software will bring. Accurate reporting and statistics will help us understand the needs and demands of the community. The trips, as well as the failed searches, are valuable data that we definitely don’t get from our current driver logs.”

The On-Demand System Will Service Nearly 12,000 People

The on-demand service will serve the 8,000 local Innisfail residents and the surrounding communities of Penhold and Bowden. The residents with access to this state-of-the-art offering will be almost 12,000 people. One-way rides within Innisfail will cost $5. There will be a $15 charge for rides to Bowden and Penhold and $50 for trips to Red Deer, Olds and Sylvan Lake. Citizens needing transportation to Calgary or Edmonton will also be able to use the service.

Jenkins says Innisfail will have two buses available – one will be used for local trips, and the second can be reserved for out-of-town trips.

“The town recognizes how important transportation is for the quality of life of our citizens. We want to ensure that service is accessible and is efficient as possible for everyone.”

It’s no secret that bedroom communities of large urban centres face multiple challenges in providing citizens with reliable and convenient public transportation. Spruce Grove, Alberta is a rapidly growing community of 38,000 located just 11 kilometres west of Edmonton. Officials found it exceedingly difficult to fund a local transit service that offered both robust mobility within the city and the ability to get riders to and from Edmonton efficiently.

The Growing City Needed a Reliable Transit System

Spruce Grove launched a traditional local transit service in 2019, but the route couldn’t offer riders bus stops within a reasonable walking distance of many of the city’s rapidly developing neighbourhoods. This is a community that has grown from 33,640 people in 2016 to 37,645 in 2021, so it desperately needed another transit solution. They found it with the help of Pacific Western Transportation.

The city converted the fixed-route local service to on demand on May 3, 2021, and it never looked back. After the switch, Spruce Grove Transit has seen tremendous growth in ridership, shared rides and customer satisfaction.

• Ridership has increased at an average rate of 15.7% per month for the past 12 months.
• Shared rides have increased from approximately 15% at the start of the service to over 42% at present, regularly exceeding 50% on busier days.
• Usage patterns show that the switch to on demand was both warranted and desirable for customers at a variety of times – even during off-peak hours.
• Customer satisfaction has remained consistently high, with an average ride rating of 4.93 out of five for the over 11,000 total trips delivered.
• In June 2022, Spruce Grove’s on demand transit service delivered an impressive 97.8% on-time performance and an average time spent in-bus of 8.6 minutes.

The Community of Spruce Grove has Fully Embraced the Switch to On Demand Transit

The numbers don’t lie. Spruce Grove’s on demand transit service continues to grow steadily after more than a full year of operating. In May 2021, just 220 riders used the service, but just one year later, that number expanded to a whopping 1,282. June 2022 featured another big increase, as 1,469 riders took advantage of the groundbreaking transportation service.

The city’s on demand transit system uses technology owned by Pacific Western Transportation and a mobile app called Pick-Up On-Demand – powered by RideCo. Customers can book trips in advance and on demand using the mobile app, a web portal and over the phone.

Pacific Western Transportation makes transitioning from a fixed-route local service to demand-based incredibly easy. PWT provides all call-taking and reservation services for the system using its Calgary-based call centre to minimize the expense associated with dial-in trip bookings.

The community of Spruce Grove made the switch just over a year ago, and with the help of Pacific Western Transportation, the On Demand transit service has been a major success story – with incredible growth in ridership and excellent customer satisfaction.