Livingstone/Macleod MLA Pat Stier is applauding High River Town Council's move to get out of the "On-It" Regional Transportation System.

Stier says it was never going to work.

"I was always skeptical about it because I'd had experience with the local commuter bus in the 70's and 80's in the region before and knew that ridership would be predictably low as it was in those days. So, it wasn't a surprise to me that Council came to the decision they did, and I think it was a good one."

He says it was a bad idea from the start.

"I think this was probably one of the biggest white elephants the CRP (Calgary Regional Partnership), came up with a few years ago. And this was all part and parcel of the CRP project plan as a teaser to try and get "buy in" for the local municipalities to belong to the Calgary Regional Partnership and start to comply with the bigger project which was regional planning."

Stier says the system was too rigid in it's planning and scheduling with the buses just going to LRT stations in the City's south end.

He says most rural people don't necessarily want to go just to the LRT or downtown Calgary, but other places and "On-It" wasn't flexible enough to do that.

He says he doesn't see a future for mass transit in the Foothills anytime soon.

 

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