Councillor Sharman suggests the Transit service should consider using Argo buses - they are already doing that Councillor
 By Pepper ParrMay 1st, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
In a lengthy comment published on Facebook, Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman shared his views on transit, They are evolving.
 Councillor Sharman: “We all can see with our own eyes, that most of the time buses in Burlington have mostly empty seats.” “I would catch the bus if they were more convenient. I spent my entire childhood and youth years depending on public transit. I have never described the Burlington Transit in any demeaning way. Indeed, a bus that now costs over $1m to purchase, which requires significant maintenance, and will be replaced after 12 years, is a thing of beauty. Our drivers are well managed, courteous and friendly people, who care about their work.
That never describing Transit in a demeaning way is a huge stretch.
“I have pointed out what we all can see with our own eyes, that most of the time buses in Burlington have mostly empty seats. Empty seats = idle capacity, which costs a fortune.
“The Burlington 2026 transit budget is $37m, fare collection is about $6m, ie 16% of cost. A very large proportion of riders live in Hamilton, coming to work here, for which we are grateful, but they are also subsidized by Burlington property taxes. Average daily number of rides is about 9500, which = about 4700 people riding to where they are going and back again. Deduct the riders who live in Hamilton and do not pay Burlington property taxes, you can see that for Burlington property tax payers it means that about 98.5% them of do not use the service for which they will pay $31m out of their own pockets. That is $157 annually collected for every person in Burlington who don’t use our buses or $516 annually from every property tax payer.
“There are reasons why Burlington property tax payers don’t catch the bus system. The system is designed around large capacity buses, fixed routes and a fixed schedule. Routes and bus stops are designed such that every home is within 400 mtrs walk of a stop, which is a long way for people in a hurry, or people who find such a walk difficult. Some stops have shelters others not, but they are pretty cold in winter…. especially if you miss the first bus you intended to catch. We can do so much better.
“Many of the increasing number of older adults continue to drive into their later years because walking to a bus stop or inconvenience does not work for them. Nor for most people. Further, did you know that Handy Vans are only available to people who have a doctors certificate. Handi Van riders find they have to book a ride up to 2 weeks in advance to be certain to get a seat, and may have to get a taxi home later if their appointment goes too long.
 Appleby GO station parking lot. “Burlington residents drive to the GO station because it is convenient time wise and access to their own transportation is at the door. They will pay the considerable cost of owning a car because of accessibility and convenience.
“Modern technology, suitable vehicles, operators such as Argo exist and are already operating around the world, in Canada and in Ontario. On demand rider cost would be the same as present
“Older drivers, commuters and everyone else can simply call for a ride when they want one. Ridership will increase dramatically at a massively reduced cost to tax payers. If anyone has any doubt of whether what other municipalities and people who need transportation already know, just order an Uber, that the cost will four times more than a bus for a local ride.
“Burlington can continue to offer large bus service on the few routes that justify them, but even on those routes, small vehicles will do the job outside peak hours. We might even need more bus drivers!
 Sharman: insists he is a numbers man. “I am a numbers person and it is my belief that 1) $37m is massively excessive; 2) riders will take advantage of a convenient on demand service that will pick them up where they are, when they want to be picked up, and dropped off where they wish to go; 3) that ridership will increase dramatically, which will have the effect of increasing $ total fares collected: 4) increased fare revenue will cause total cost to tax payers to reduce and therefore reduce taxes! Win, win, win.
“If nothing else staff should try this out.”
What Sharman fails to reveal is that Burlington Transit is already using Argo buses to transport people who had asked for HandiVan service
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Was it a coincedence that in Councillor Sharmen’s first year on Council the bus route was shifted off Spruce Av, so they wouldn’t go past his house?
How conveniant would that have been for him to ride transit?
Pepper,
Burlington Transit is not using ARGO. The senior who told you that is very much misinformed. The only outsourcing that BT does is for its Handivan and that’s to local taxi companies. ARGO is a company and not a type of bus. Contracting ARGO is not cheap as they are electric vehicles that have to be purchased and as far as I know hire drivers themselves. This senior was most likely on a ARBOC which is a model of bus which BT uses for its Handivan service. ARGO uses Kaisan buses. When you google the images of both they are definitely not the same.
Editor’s note:
I met with the individual and have hand writen notes she gave me setting out when she traveled.