On-demand transit has launched in Pembroke. Will it return to Ottawa?

An Ottawa River Transit bus in Pembroke, Ont. (City of Pembroke)

The City of Pembroke officially launched its on-demand transit project this week, offering a new way to get around in the community west of Ottawa.

Pembroke’s Ottawa River Transit service allows residents to book trips a minimum of 15 minutes in advance using a smartphone app, a web browser, or by phone, and trips can be booked up to seven days in advance.

The service uses three Dodge ProMasters, equipped to accommodate up to eight passengers each. Two of these vehicles will be in regular operation during peak service hours, with an additional unit on standby as a backup to ensure uninterrupted service.

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The three-year pilot project officially launched Tuesday.

Deputy Mayor Brian Abdallah told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron that there’s a lot of excitement for the idea.

“The response has been overwhelming and everyone’s excited,” he said. “This project is a culmination of five years of community collaboration and the support of the past city council and this city council. It’s a transformational change for the community and I know it’s going to be a success.”

As an initiative partly funded by property taxes, the on-demand transit service will operate exclusively within city limits, at a fare of $5 per ride, the City of Pembroke said in a news release.

The service operates on a stop-to-stop model, with “virtual stops” throughout the city. Passengers can anticipate an approximately five-minute walk to their designated stops, with exact details provided upon booking, though Abdallah says it’s often a shorter distance. Routing is dynamic, based on where passengers want to go.

“If you’re going from the east-end mall to the west-end mall, and nobody’s at the hospital, it doesn’t go there. It’s a more efficient system,” he said.

Abdallah said if the service becomes a success, it could be expanded in the future.

Will Ottawa see on-demand transit again?

The City of Ottawa tested an on-demand transit project in Blackburn Hamlet last year.

The pilot project on Sundays and holidays between Feb. 11 and June 23, with 191 trips taken. OC Transpo deemed the test project a success.

Orléans West-Innes Coun. Laura Dudas, whose ward includes Blackburn Hamlet, told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now she used the on-demand transit when it was available.

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“Everyone I spoke to had really go experiences, found that it was a very effective trip,” she said. “I was one of the riders who used it almost every Sunday… I think it was a wonderful addition to our community.”

Dudas says she hopes to see on-demand transit not only return to Blackburn Hamlet but also expand to other parts of Ottawa.

“This could be a wonderful success for some of the rural areas,” she said. “It has to be deployed in an area that’s almost like a village feel. Stittsville would be a prime example. Blackburn was perfect because it has a solidified boundary with the Greenbelt. It can’t be going too far away from its main source of customers because that would erode the service for everyone else, so you’d have to have a dense pocket of commuters that you can attach to.”

OC Transpo said after the pilot project ended that it was ordering 10 new minibuses to be used for future on-demand service. The buses were originally slated to arrive this year, but the current timeline is now the spring of 2026.

OC Transpo spokesperson David Jones told CTV News Ottawa in an email OC Transpo is also looking at an improved on-demand transit app.

“Staff will be issuing a Request for Proposal for a software solution to support a longer-term on-demand service across more areas of the city. Further details about the expansion of OC Transpo On-Demand will be shared with Transit Committee once the new service areas are identified,” Jones wrote.