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Recent changes to Orangeville Transit should bring efficiencies, says town official

September 11, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Savings from Orangeville’s expanded transit operation will offset unbudgeted cost increases.

Route lengths, operating hours, time changes, and other updates were necessary to accommodate early morning customers and expanded transit coverage to the town’s west side.

Shift workers and others will benefit from a weekday 6:30 a.m. bus start time and the new 8:45 p.m. end time. On Saturdays, the buses will run from 7:15 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.

Those changes came online Sept. 2 and are hoped to provide more efficient transit services for Orangeville residents.

The 2025 operating budget for free transit in the Town of Orangeville is $2,550,903, of which $877,000 relates to the cost of services being provided by First Student.

According to a report to council, adjusting transit routes and the schedule results in operational savings in both 2025 and 2026 while maintaining transit’s expansion.

From the staff report: “There will likely be savings in the range of $54,000 in 2025 which will help offset unbudgeted increased costs related to providing accessible transit vans until new accessible buses are delivered in mid-2026.”

And that’s the detail that tripped up Orangeville resident Matthew Smith. He said he was confused about how the transit system could realize savings.

The town has leased three transit vans for five years. Each of those leases, which began in January 2023, costs about $30,000 a year. Those vehicles were brought into the system to accommodate the on-demand transit service, he said.

“But that service never really came to fruition,” Smith said. “If the town already owns the assets, First Student is supplying the staff, and the trans vans are being used in the evening or sometimes they travel behind a school bus for accessibility needs … where is the unbudgeted cost increase from using them coming from?”

Tony Dulisse, the town’s transportation and development manager, said there are always operational issues that happen.

“With every business plan, you’re always looking for efficiencies,” he said.

It costs the municipality about $2.5 million to operate Orangeville Transit every year.

“Because we have gone to an expanded route system, we’ve made it more efficient,” Dulisse said. “There was a business opportunity to save some money.”

Staff will continue to develop the 2026 budget and refine estimates over the course of the budget development, including other considerations such as maintaining free transit.

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