Skip to content

I suggest the City ...

← MAKE A SUGGESTION

Establish a Barrie Transit Advisory Committee

Barrie Riders urges Barrie City Council to establish a Barrie Transit Advisory Committee (BTAC) to enhance community engagement and improve our transit services. Currently, Barrie stands out as one of the few larger municipalities in Ontario without a dedicated advisory committee for its transit system, despite having an Active Transportation and Sustainability Advisory Committee. Especially given the recent concerns regarding the New Transit Network and more specifically, Transit On-Demand, riders must be at the table informing Council on Barrie’s transit system.

At least 16 Ontario municipalities, including Toronto, Guelph, Windsor, Peterborough, and Orillia, have successfully implemented transit advisory committees. These committees incorporate resident and stakeholder group participation and have the support of subject matter experts and staff. These committees allow communities to have a meaningful voice in transit planning and operations, ensuring that the needs of all residents are addressed.

Importance of a Transit Advisory Committee:

  1. Enhanced Community Engagement: BTAC would serve as a forum for transit riders and stakeholders to share their experiences, concerns, and suggestions directly with city officials, fostering a collaborative approach to transit planning.

  2. Feedback Mechanism: Given the recent significant changes to on-demand transit services in Barrie, there is an urgent need for consistent and effective channels for transit-rider feedback. BTAC would enable the city to gather valuable insights and address challenges proactively.

  3. Collaboration and Representation: Transit riders deserve a seat at the table. By including diverse perspectives, including those from accessibility advocates and various demographic groups, BTAC can help shape strong, rider-led recommendations for city staff and council.

  4. Alignment with Best Practices: The establishment of BTAC would align Barrie with numerous other municipalities that prioritize community input in transit decision-making. This would not only improve local transit services but also demonstrate the city’s commitment to transparency and inclusivity.

Alignment with Barrie's 2022-2026 Strategic Plan: read more in attachment.

333 votes
Vote

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close
You have left! (?) (thinking…)
Brandon Rhéal Amyot shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →
How important is this to you?

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close

We're glad you're here

Please sign in to leave feedback
Signed in as (Sign out)
Close
Close
Submitting...
An error occurred while saving the comment
  • Tyler Gerrard commented  ·   ·  Report

    I live at younge and Mapleview. Your transit app is saying it will take 56 mins to get to Anne and Cundles. Google maps says the same and it also says I can ride my pedal bike to Minesing in the same amount of time!!! Absolutely pathetic!!

  • Arne Larsen commented  ·   ·  Report

    City staff have zero staff that have ever worked in Transit, and sit behind a desk making decisions that impact residents and Transit staff in a negative way. Sadly, any input they receive appears to to be ignored.

  • Tyler Gerrard commented  ·   ·  Report

    The entire on demand system is a joke, they just added a zone that is literally two blocks. How does that help anyone but the person sitting in a bus all day not driving it because nobody has any use for a bus that will only take you one block further from where you want to go. Wake up Barrie and design a proper system or just cancel all together and use uber like Innisfil

  • carrie dixon commented  ·   ·  Report

    A transit advisory committee could give a voice to the people, when we don't currently have one! How many of these people making decisions are regular users of the bus system? With the recent changes, I'm guessing not many, if at all.

  • K commented  ·   ·  Report

    so important

  • Cris commented  ·   ·  Report

    This city is catering to only 2 specific groups and the seniors and low income are not the groups they think of, if they did Saturday service would start so much earlier so people could get to work for 7am minimum.
    Barrie is only car car-centric because they want big city transit but don’t invest in it, it never should have been changed up in 2013 they should have just added to the existing system.
    With constant changes people give up on the system because each change the system becomes less convenient (combining routes 1 & 3 last year was a big mistake, ridership has gone down in both areas these routes are covering and having one busy trip is not considered having ridership in my opinion

  • K commented  ·   ·  Report

    So Important

  • Kim commented  ·   ·  Report

    The only way to have some say in improving Barrie's Transit Services is to VOTE! Please take the time to vote...

  • Kim commented  ·   ·  Report

    So badly needed. Barrie Transit just doesn’t listen to passengers nor drivers who drive this mess every day.

  • Janelle E commented  ·   ·  Report

    So badly needed. Barrie Transit just doesn’t listen to passengers nor drivers who drive this mess every day.

  • Arne Larsen commented  ·   ·  Report

    So badly needed. Barrie Transit just doesn’t listen to passengers nor drivers who drive this mess every day.

  • Harmony Ackerson Delacruz commented  ·   ·  Report

    I support this, the transit system needs an overhaul.

    Unfortunately, Barrie just doesn't have enough people that use the transit system. The city isn't willing to make any real investment as Barrie is very car-centric and it's mostly low income individuals and seniors who use it, not working professionals like in Toronto and other cities. If more people could rely on the transit system maybe the city would make better changes to it.

  • Steve Tsaparis commented  ·   ·  Report

    As a retired transit operator ( 12yr bus/10yr subway train operator) I could offer a valuable perspective. Born, raised and lived in Toronto for over 60 years, now proudly a resident of Barrie ON.

  • Bonnie Jackson commented  ·   ·  Report

    Like other cities, Barrie has rush hours and transit should accommodate this, at which we don't right now.
    We're making our city bigger- new roads, housing, more people moving to Barrie but not increasing any extra buses.
    Transit has an opportunity to grow and grow now!
    COB should look at all avenues. What makes our city are the people and its the people that needs , voice. Let us be heard.
    T - less TRAFFIC
    R - Runnability
    A - Assurance
    N - NICE city
    S - Stability
    I - Initiating
    T - TONS of happy
    people!

← Previous 1

MAKE A SUGGESTION

Categories

Feedback and Knowledge Base

(thinking…)