Tillsonburg’s new inter-community transit service brings choice in travel

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For Tillsonburg resident Kim Dennis, visiting her daughter in Woodstock was an exercise in planning ahead. “I don’t have a driver’s license so if I needed to get there, her partner would have to pick me up and take me,” she said.

That changed with the launch of the town’s T:GO inter-community transit offering in August. Since then, Dennis is able to hop on the bus and get to Woodstock when the time suits her.

“I just have to catch the bus at the mall and I can go whenever I want. No one has to come out of their way to pick me up. It’s a great thing to have. And the price is only $10, which is good considering what cabs charge.”

She’s also telling friends who need to go to medical appointments or other errands out of town about the inter-community service that extends to surrounding communities, including London. “A lot of people like it once they know it’s there,” she said.

The inter-community offering is the result of a working partnership with other community transit services in Norfolk County, Woodstock and London. Currently, T:GO runs four different routes to Tillsonburg, London, Woodstock, Ingersoll, Norwich, Delhi, Port Burwell and Dorchester. The 20-seat buses are fully accessible, air conditioned and heated, and currently carry up to 10 passengers to ensure appropriate social distancing.

“It’s a concept that fits the need of small-town communities,” said Alex Piggott, transit coordinator with the Town of Tillsonburg. “The inter-community routes allow users to connect with hospitals and community centres within the region without having to drive or take cabs.”

Piggott notes that many of the riders using the bus are seniors who can’t drive and may have to face moving closer to services.

“For many, the biggest issue was having to leave loved ones without a way to connect. With this service, residents who love the lifestyle here don’t need to leave their friends and families behind.”

Since the launch, interest has been growing from healthcare patients who need a stress-free way to get to regular appointments, job seekers exploring employment opportunities outside of town, and people who simply want to visit friends and family.

“We are getting great feedback from passengers,” Piggott said. “One person who just moved to the area from Brantford is excited to use the service to visit their regular physiotherapist in Ingersoll. A case worker shared with us that it opened up employment opportunities outside of town for some of their clients.”

Tillsonburg mayor Stephen Molnar said it’s all part of a bigger vision to connect communities. “Local mayors got together to discuss how we could provide opportunities for choice for people in our regions so people are not forced to move from their farms or homes. We may be small communities, but we have great visions around building relationships and tearing down barriers that are merely lines on a map. We understood that by tearing down those borders, each municipality will become stronger.”

Molnar credits much of the success to the support provided by the provincial government over the years, as well as regional teams that worked on the project.

The T:GO inter-community services designated stops at malls, hospitals and community centres in each location, where passengers can then connect with local transit services if they need to. The service also opens opportunities further afield. Woodstock, for example, is a hub for VIA Rail services to Toronto. “They can take the T:GO service then hop on a train where they can connect to the airport. You can literally go anywhere in the world,” Molnar said.

Although travel has been curtailed with COVID-19, he assures riders that all precautions have been taken to protect passengers using the service. “COVID changed so many things. But we worked together to ensure flexibility in the scheduling and put in protocols so passengers could travel safely.

“Our job is to find a way to partner with our neighbours to ensure our own population of 17,000, plus the tens of thousands of individuals that visit us throughout the year, have all the services they need,” Molnar added. “In creating a regional transit system, we are doing what is right and equable for everyone.”

T:GO inter-community service fares are $10 each way for adults and $8 for seniors over 60. Veterans, support persons and children under the age of five ride for free. For more information on all T:GO services, including fares and schedules, visit www.tillsonburg.ca/TGO.

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of The Town of Tillsonburg.