As the Calgary Regional Partnership (CRP) nears its termination, the On-It South Sub-Regional Pilot system appears to also be on its way out.

This Friday, Feb. 2, the CRP will hold a vote to direct the pilot project's fate as the organization moves into a new government mandated growth management board called the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board.

Mayor Bill Robertson, chair of the partnership, says once the CRP ends On-It will be left without a managing body.

"For the last number of years the government has paid a subsidy to run the CRP, and of course out of all the funds the CRP has had they've funded the south sub-regional pilot," he explains. "Because the funding is over as of March 31, there won't be a managing partner to run the On-It system, the new growth management board will not meet until March. With no authority to run the On-It pilot it's likely to be shut down."

The On-It transit pilot began in 2016, and was supposed to run until Oct. 5, 2018

Robertson says until the new Calgary Metropolitan Region Board understands what provincial funding it will receive regional transit will be up in the air.

The new board has been tasked with two definite things; a land use plan, and a water and waste water servicing plan.

He shares other than those two objectives it is up to membership to determine if transit will be a goal.

"If it came to a vote, I would vote to have the Calgary Metropolitan Board take on the transit pilot so we can see the pilot finished out to the conclusion."

The CRP has gifted all assets to the new board, which will consist of seven returning CRP members and three new faces.

Robertson says they've also handed over the intellectual property of several different programs.

"There's also other things such as the Economic Prosperity Committee, and all that entails. We are the Regional Economic Development Alliance (REDA) for the region, and that program is also going to hopefully be taken over by the growth management board."

Although the On-It pilot may end months earlier than anticipated, Robertson believes what the town has learnt from it makes it a success.

"Hopefully in Okotoks there will be an internal on-demand transit system, and I think that's one of the things that we probably wouldn't be looking at right now had we not had the On-It transit pilot system."

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