The County of Simcoe is a largely rural upper-tier municipality containing multiple small and medium-sized communities. Several of these communities have their own local transit systems. The County has close economic ties to the Cities of Barrie and Orillia, which also have local transit systems.
The County of Simcoe wished to investigate the feasibility of transit service connecting the various communities with each other and with Barrie and Orillia.
How we helped
Steer developed the objectives for public transit in the County, and created and evaluated a range of service options. From this, we designed the long-term service plan and set out the prioritization plan for intermediate phases. We also devised a fare strategy that supported multi-agency transit trips and created a detailed financial plan.
We engaged in two rounds of public consultation. The first round was used to identify the public’s priorities and objectives for inter-community transit and the second round presented the draft plan and strategy. The second round included an online webinar, broadening the audience beyond those able to attend the traditional public consultation meetings.
Stakeholder consultation included meetings with local transit agencies, lower-tier municipal staff, and other County departments.
Successes and outcomes
Our study findings and recommended transit network and service plan was approved by Simcoe’s Council in September 2017. They have since allocated budget to implement the service, which is expected to start in mid-2019.
Yes, you are in the right place. After 40 years, we have changed our name from Steer Davies Gleave to mark our growing international footprint and our expanding portfolio into sectors beyond transport.
Explore our new website to learn more about Steer: who we are, how we work and what our future holds.