Last spring, both Lacombe and Blackfalds agreed to a proposal by Burman University to adjust the BOLT transit schedule to better fit their students' needs in an effort to increase ridership.

Lacombe City Councillor Chris Ross says after they made that deal, they've only seen an increase of about one person per day, and he wants to ensure tax payers are getting the most out of the $220,000 a year it cost Lacombe to operate BOLT.

Ross thinks the program is simply not cost-effective, and needs to be scrapped altogether or adjusted to fit the needs of riders who could use it to get to their jobs in Red Deer. 

“We have to take into consideration, in my opinion, to make better use of the cost, to either make the service significantly better in some way shape or form to increase the ridership, or you wait to see if it continues to not improve and hopefully the public has stronger input to dissolve it because of the cost, or the public inputs gets much stronger to have a better system.”

Ross' idea was to switch a model that offers more trips directly to and from Red Deer during in the morning and late afternoon, and cuts costs from $220,000 a year to $130,000.

“There’s always going to be a cost, its part of city services and has got to be taxed funded, but it’s got to be tax-funded within reason, and I just don’t feel the current system… it doesn’t serve the citizens efficiently for public transit, and it doesn’t serve as a wise use of tax dollars.”

But that model also has its drawbacks, such as a lack of local public transport within Lacombe would make it difficult for people to get around once they are here or to make it to the centrally located bus stop.

In the end, his motion was defeated 4-3, and BOLT service will remain as is for now. This is the second time Ross has brought up his concerns with BOLT since he was elected to council in October of 2017.