A decision on expanding the on-demand Zunga Bus service will be delayed for two weeks so staff can provide an update to City of Powell River councillors on the service.
At a June 3 meeting, council was presented a list of $591,519 in expenditures from the COVID-19 safe restart reserve. Proposed allocations included expenditures at Powell River Recreation Complex, expenditures for Townsite planning, electronic timesheet implementation and budget software, three staff positions, Wildwood fire hall improvements, a bylaw review, new bike racks, plus the Zunga Bus.
Regarding the Zunga Bus, councillor George Doubt said several options were outlined for additional capacity. He said they went from $26,000 for increasing operation by four hours a day, and $78,000 for a second option, which was an additional bus, or $130,000 for an additional bus and four extra hours per day for both vehicles.
“I’m wondering if we could separate this particular item and ask for a more detailed report on those three options and the current situation with the Zunga Bus,” said Doubt. “The $130,000 is a lot of money to invest in a pilot project. I would like to have more details. Doing it in three paragraphs of information is asking a lot.”
Councillor Jim Palm agreed with Doubt that more information is required and said he would like to see a thorough report so council has all of the facts to make an informed decision.
Mayor questions Zunga route
Mayor Dave Formosa said at the time the Zunga Bus came into play, he owned Powell River Taxi, which he has since sold. He said when council was contemplating Zunga, it was understood to be a fixed-route bus that would go off-route with users using an app.
“I understood it would be a bus like any other bus that had a route around Westview and if you were at a particular place, you could contact the bus and they could come and get you,” said Formosa. “The talk of having the bus act as a taxi, where you can phone them and have the bus go to your house and pick you up and then drop you off, was never discussed.”
Formosa said his taxi drivers started complaining about a $2.25 taxi going to people’s houses to pick up customers.
He said at the time, he voted for a Zunga Bus that would make the best routes possible for people who needed transportation and knew how to use an app.
“Now, it turns out that it’s a taxi,” said Formosa. “I’m not in favour of competing with taxpayers’ dollars on private business.”
Formosa said the new taxi company owner has grave concerns about the Zunga Bus. Formosa said he told the owner it’s a pilot project that’s one year in duration and one bus. He said that subsequently, he read the COVID-19 funds report and there’s mention of a second bus.
“I will be voting against using taxpayers’ money in this particular situation,” said Formosa.
Leishman, Southcott support expansion
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said it is important to note that a pilot project is being discussed, not a permanent service, so a lot of the mayor’s arguments would be good for discussion at a later date. She said the city has received $200,000 of federal funding for the project to develop an app and an on-demand service. She added that perhaps some members of council and the public did not understand what on-demand meant.
“It was always the intent that this on-demand service will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce car trips by being more effective for people to get around,” said Leishman. “I would argue that any other means of transportation, including the private vehicle, are in competition with the taxi. This is not in competition, per se. It’s a pilot project and we are the only community in BC in a BC Transit service area that has the opportunity to provide this pilot opportunity to get the data on how it can work.”
Leishman said current operating parameters are limiting data that could be collected with an expanded service.
“It’s a very different model than a taxi service,” said Leishman. “I’m totally in favour of going ahead and funding this additional COVID-19 restart money into the pilot so we can do the best job we can to do the pilot and provide the facts. We can decide as a council at a later date whether this kind of service is something we want to continue with as an ongoing service.”
Councillor Rob Southcott said this very much is a bus. He supports using the $130,000 for expanding the pilot project.
Councillor Jim Palm said it’s the Zunga Bus, not the Zunga taxi service. He said when council was sold this idea, he believes council was told it would be on a fixed route. He said the bus is going to individual houses, which is, in his estimation, a taxi service at a very cheap rate, driving the private sector out of business.
Council considered an amendment to the main motion by changing the funding approval to be up to $461,153, including a clause that states the project would be removed from the COVID-19 safe restart reserve funding, and providing direction to staff to provide a detailed report about the project, to return as a separate decision item.
Leishman said she is disappointed to hear concerns about the Zunga Bus competing with a private business as a reason to effectively hurt this project and not take it to full capacity. She said she is also concerned that delaying a decision might kill the prospect of expanding the program.
Council voted for the amendment motion, with Leishman and Southcott against. The main motion, as amended, then carried.
