HALDIMAND—When he was in high school, Rae Rivard had friends who lived in more rural areas.
“I didn’t have access to a car, and so I realized firsthand … there’s a lot of this country that you just can’t get to without a car,” he said. “It’s a little bit almost depressing to be like, ‘There’s this whole group of people that I get along with, but I can’t access them without asking mom and dad to drive me or for my parents’ car once I turn 16,’ right?”
As time went on, Rivard ended up working in the transportation sector for seven years, and he has also done a lot of transit advocacy work.
Now, he and his wife, Manisha Rivard, are the owners of Southern Ontario Transit Inc. (SOT). They are hoping to soon start publicly operating their business, an affordable bus service, throughout Haldimand.
The plan is to offer transit service within Haldimand’s major population centres, like Dunnville and Cayuga, and then connect the communities to each other, and to other municipalities, like Hamilton and Brantford, so riders can connect to further transit systems.
Rivard said when it comes to public transit, there’s the concept of the network effect.
“It’s the idea that a bus is more useful, or a train is more useful, if it connects to another form of public transit,” he said, comparing it to a driveway, which needs to be connected to a road to be utilized.
Rivard said ultimately, “It’s our mission to make sure that every single address – initially in Ontario, but then across this country – will be accessible by public transportation, so that no matter where you live or no matter what your ability, you can go from any point in this country to any point in this country.”
Rivard said an important component to how they’re planning to run their business is affordability.
“(SOT is) formally registered as an Ontario business corporation, but frankly, we run it as a not-for-profit,” he said, noting the couple have “been busting our butts for years” to earn the startup capital for this venture.
Manisha added that working toward this dream of theirs has meant “lots of overtime”; she’s still working full time at a pharmacy and helping her husband in her off hours, while he recently transitioned to focusing solely on getting SOT operating in Haldimand.
While they’re hoping to eventually be able to access government funding or grants, they aren’t counting on it – particularly at the local level.
“The County is really stretching its funds right now. There’s a lot of priorities going on.… If the County can’t afford to contribute at this time, we totally understand. But it’s our company’s firm belief that there needs to be transit now; hence why we’re willing to do this on our own dime at this point,” Rivard said.
“It’s a matter of getting something started, proving it to the County, getting people moving, and then hopefully if or when the County finds some funds, support would be really helpful in allowing us to expand our service and make it more accessible.”
They already have the company’s website and equipment ready to go; what they need now is help with the ongoing costs, such as insurance, fuel, etc. They’re hoping to start service in mid-September, but need the community’s buy-in. They have a GoFundMe if anyone wishes to contribute to their year-one start-up campaign. They’re pre-selling tickets and passes for passengers as well.
They’re also looking for feedback from the community. There will be an in-person information session on August 19 at 2 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 142 Dunnville, 305 Queen Street; there’s also a survey on the company’s website at sotransit.ca/updates.
Rivard said there have been a few people unhappy with their efforts.
“Unfortunately, there is a stigma around public transit,” he said.
However, he and his wife maintain that there are many reasons why people might want to choose public transit. Some people might want to lessen their carbon footprint and choose a more environmentally friendly way of getting around. A family might want to save on their household budget. An older adult may not want to or be unable to drive into the city for appointments. Someone may want to go to a concert, sports game, or other event and have a few drinks without any impaired-driving related risks.
Manisha said having public transit as an option might prevent those who were born and raised in Haldimand from being forced to move away for work.
“There’s so many young individuals in Haldimand County who are very talented and bring a lot of excellent skill sets who aren’t able to access job opportunities without borrowing their parents’ car,” she said. “We want to help connect people to better job opportunities.”
Rivard pointed out that safety is another huge benefit of having public transit options available; right now, it’s common to see people walking along or hitchhiking on Haldimand’s highways, but that puts people at risk of behind struck by a vehicle or if someone does get picked up, “you never know who you’re riding with,” he said. “Even if you don’t have a car, it shouldn’t mean that you’d have to risk your life … to get somewhere.”
Editor’s note — This article initially listed the above meeting as taking place on August 18, based on information provided to us. We have confirmed with the Dunnville Legion that the above meeting date is now correct.
