Important Transportation Survey For The County

Above image: (L-R) Boyd Reid & Dan Borowec

Editor’s Note: This pilot shuttle service, announced earlier this year, will launch in September 2022. It will operate across Northumberland, from Trent Hills to Brighton to Port Hope and stops in between, with transportation to the GO network. Over a 12-month period, partners will collect and analyze data on ridership. This data will help to further define the extent of local need, interest and opportunity for increased transit options for local commutes - and between Northumberland County and the Oshawa GO.

Article and image by Bill Hornbostel News Now Network

Northumberland County wants your input on transit.

Northumberland County, working with Metrolinx and Hop In Technologies, is laying the groundwork for Commuter Connect, a pilot shuttle service that will link communities within Northumberland with each other and with GO Transit service in Oshawa. The County is launching a survey is to gather information to better understand peoples’ transportation needs: commuterconnect.ca/survey.

Commuter Connect will link up existing transit services, such as Port Hope and Cobourg transit networks, as well as the transit offered by Community Care Northumberland, with GO Transit.

Dan Borowec, Northumberland’s Director of Economic Development and Tourism, says, “It has a great deal of moving parts, and also creating the awareness to receive the type of input and data that we require to try and determine whether there’s some volume to justify this.”

“It needs to be orchestrated in such a way that we need the kind of expertise that Hop In brings to the situation to try and determine that we’re not buying buses, what we’re trying to do is utilize infrastructure that’s already in place, to better maximize their efficiency,” Borowec adds.

Boyd Reid, co-founder and CEO of Hop In, talks about what his company does. “We are a logistics software company that works on addressing the types of mobility concerns for organizations, companies and municipalities,” he says, “and how we do this is by looking at where there’s current transportation and transit gaps. We look at leveraging and hiring local transportation resources to fill that gap.”

“Those who don’t own their own personal vehicle, or even with the rising gas prices, now we’re looking at a potentially more affordable way to get around within the community and elsewhere, we’re looking at building a program to be able to meet those needs,” Reid states.

“What this survey allows the community to do,” adds Reid, “is have a voice to really articulate what are their current challenges, get it heard, and actually get a solution that is built towards solving that, instead of assuming what a solution could do and be building routes based on what we think may potentially happen. We’re trying to be as logical and data-driven in decision making as possible.”

Hop In has already worked in Northumberland with the Northumberland Manufacturers’ Association (NMA) to create a pilot shuttle service for workers. “What that was able to prove was that transportation is definitely a gap, a challenge that was impeding people to get job opportunities.”

Reid cites a woman helped by the NMA shuttle program as an example of what the Commuter Connect will be able to do. “She was able to secure employment because of the transportation service. And then what she was able to do then was able to save up and then get herself car afterwards as well, because of consistent work,” he says.

“This is a story that you don’t necessarily get by just looking at the raw data,” Reid says. “That’s why the survey is really important for people to share their voices so we can hear them and see understand how we can how we can go about building solutions and best meet their needs.”

Borowec adds, “It’s the only way we’ll overcome some of the labour challenges and workforce challenges we have, because in many cases, it’s not just about the money. It’s about, I can’t get there, I can’t get started.”

Make your voice heard: visit commuterconnect.ca/survey to complete the transit survey!

For more information about Commuter Connect, visit commuterconnect.ca, or follow them on Facebook (@Commuter-Connect-Northumberland-101762585941281) or Instagram (@commuter_connect).

For more information about Hop In, visit hopintech.com, or follow them on Facebook (@HopInTech), Twitter (@HopInTech), or Instagram (@hopintech).

Editor’s Note: The survey can be completed online at CommuterConnect.ca or paper copies can be picked up at:

• Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce, 51 Grand Road, Campbellford - (705) 653-1551

Residents are also encouraged to stay connected by subscribing to the newsletter to follow project announcements and progress by sharing their email address in the ‘Subscribe’ box on the Commuter Connect website.

#hopintech, #northumberlandcounty, #GO, #VIARail, #communitycare, #Communterconnect