Brockville considering changes to transit bus stops based on rider data

Some bus stops across Brockville could soon disappear or be consolidated as the City considers ways to make its transit system more modern and efficient.

A staff report, prepared by Phil Wood, Director of Operations and Pat Brown, Supervisor of Transportation & Fleet Services is heading to Brockville City Council on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. The report recommends a series of modifications to the municipal transit system after staff spent the past year collecting detailed rider data through a new cellular telemetry tracking system.

The custom cellular telemetry system is capable of geo-locating passengers who use city transit, providing transit staff with detailed usage patterns and allowing them to identify which parts of the network are performing well and which may require adjustments.

Specifically, the telemetry system allowed staff to track exactly where passengers are getting on and off buses, providing a clearer picture as to which stops are heavily frequented and which see little activity by residents.

After accumulating 12 months of transit data gathered at 162 bus stop locations along the red, green and blue routes, city staff believe they have been given enough information to begin identifying opportunities to streamline service and improve operations.

Staff argue in their report that some of these underutilized bus stops may no longer be necessary and in certain cases, two stops located close together could be combined into a single stop without significantly affecting the service experience for riders, according to the report.

“The 148,000+ data points collected during the study period were organized by individual bus stop location and analyzed in descending order of activity,” outlines the report. “Based on a 365-day period, stops with fewer than 100 annual boardings and alightings equate to less than one use per week, indicating very low demand.”

Staff propose that by eliminating redundant stops, the city could reduce materials, labour and ongoing maintenance costs necessary to keep those locations operational.

The report also notes that ongoing analysis of transit data will also help staff determine what future accessibility upgrades should be prioritized and identify the bus stops where accessibility investments would provide the greatest benefit to riders.

In terms of modifications, the staff report outlined options for lighting, seating options, and garbage receptacles.

Based on the data gathered for this report, staff deciphered the top 10 locations utilized during dusk and dawn times, noting that a beneficial point of future investment would be additional button activated solar lighting to provide the rider safety benefits.

For seating, staff suggested an alternative to traditional bus benches. The Simme Seat is a pole-mounted, dual-seat design typically constructed of plastic or steel. “These units require significantly less
space and lower maintenance, making them well-suited for constrained locations or midtier ridership stops,” explains the report.

The report states that by incorporating Simme Seats into the amenity strategy, the city could expand seating availability while minimizing lifecycle costs and spatial impacts.

If approved, the proposed modifications would represent one of the first major uses of the city’s new ridership tracking technology, potentially reshaping the active transit network based on actual passenger behaviour rather than general assumptions.

The report emphasizes that the goal is to reduce maintenance costs for the city while maintaining an effective transit network for residents.

While staff have put forward recommendations, any changes to Brockville’s transit service ultimately require council approval at a future meeting.