ABOYNE – The county’s rural transit program, Ride Well, now offers accessible transportation options for residents across the county and Guelph.
The service launched as a pilot program in October 2019 and concluded in January 2025. The county made the program permanent following a rural transportation study and community survey.
This spring the program began incorporating accessible vans to align with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Ride Well is now funded in part by the provincial government’s Provincial Gas Tax program. The county’s net operating cost since the program began is $877,000.
The service travels through Guelph, but doesn’t service trips starting and ending there, county economic development officer Krista Chapman stated at a Dec. 3 joint accessibility advisory meeting.
“There’s lots of transit options within … Guelph, so we really want to focus on county connections,” she said.
From Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm, Ride Well uses ridesharing technology to increase efficiency and serve residents without access to a personal vehicle.
The county partners with Waterloo-based tech company RideCo, which manages booking and tracking software and also gathers program data.
The county is split into three zones with a standard vehicle servicing each.
There are also two accessible vans – one for morning shift and one for afternoon.
The accessible vans are serviced by transportation company Voyago, using vehicles owned and operated by Voyago employees trained to provide curb-to-curb service for riders with additional needs.
“Drivers are hired following a full criminal record and driving record check,” Chapman said.
Ride Well pays $65 per vehicle hour for the accessible vans and $45 for regular vehicles.
Chapman noted if a passenger has a support person coming along, the additional person will not be charged.
“We also incorporate these vans into rides for riders that don’t have accessibility needs just so we are using the vehicles during the available service hours,” Chapman told the meeting.
“This helps us fill gaps in the service.”
New accessible booking options include:
- standard booking up to seven days in advance for accessible trips; and
- extended booking up to 14 days in advance for riders who complete an accessible transit application form.
Staff created more options “to help secure accessible vehicles for riders with accessibility needs,” Chapman said.
“[Especially] because the vehicle services riders without physical accessibility needs, we wanted to make sure those with the need had that advanced window.”
A six-page application form asks riders for the following:
- personal information (name, address, email, phone number);
- emergency contact;
- designate contact information;
- physical disability information;
- medical/healthcare professional information; and
- attendant contact information.
Once the form is reviewed and approved by staff the rider will have access to the extended booking window.
Each rider will be charged 60 cents per kilometre with a $5 minimum and a $40 maximum fare.
A 70km trip from Mount Forest to Erin, for example, would cost a rider $40.
A 38km trip from Arthur to Guelph would ring in at $22.80.
