Okotoks, AB: Okotoks Town Council and administration are pleased to announce that the Okotoks On-Demand Transit program has been awarded the prestigious Minister’s Award for Municipal Excellence in the Service Delivery Innovation category.
“Receiving this award reinforces and recognizes the hard work and commitment that went into creating an innovative initiative; the first curb-to-curb on-demand shared public transit service of its kind in Canada,” said Deputy Mayor Florence Christophers.
“On behalf of Okotoks Town Council and administration, I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in the Okotoks On-Demand Transit program on winning this significant award. I commend you on your efforts and am so thrilled for your success. I also offer congratulations to the other winning municipalities: the City of Medicine Hat, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Towns of Devon and Bruderheim,” said Christophers.
Since 2002, the Minister’s Awards for Municipal Excellence program has encouraged municipalities to share their successes by recognizing accomplishments in the provision of municipal services in Alberta. Each year, municipalities, whether individually or in partnership with other organizations, highlight promising initiatives, new and unique approaches to issues, streamlined processes for existing practices and creative community partnerships. To learn more about the awards and this year’s winners, visit https://www.alberta.ca/ministers-awards-for-municipal-excellence.aspx.
The Okotoks Transit service aligns with Council’s commitment to provide residents with sustainable, flexible transportation options, and increases the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions.
The service, which launched on December 2, 2019 and operates Monday through Saturday from 6am to 11:30pm, has significantly improved the everyday lives of residents Okotoks. The program provides a customer-first service, increasing the ability for residents to move more freely around town, including youth, seniors, those with differing abilities, as well as residents who prefer not to use personal vehicles. It is also more cost-effective for a smaller town than a traditional fixed-route system. To date, the service has completed over 52,000 passenger trips at a consistently high service rating of over 96 percent.
The Town is deeply committed to ensuring the transit program’s continued success. To accommodate demand, a fifth vehicle is expected later this year. Finally, our goal, as part of the Town’s Environmental Master Plan, is to grow local access to transit and increase transit trips by 25 percent by 2033. For more information about Okotoks Transit, visit www.okotokstransit.ca.