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The town of Innisfil, Ont. is hailing its two-month old experiment to subsidize Uber as the lone form of public transit as a success, with nearly 5,000 trips taken since the pilot project began in May.

Innisfil — located just south of Barrie and home to about 36,000 people — has paid $26,462.41, or an average of $5.43 per trip, for 4,868 Uber rides taken in the two months since launching the unique-to-Canada project on May 15.

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“We are really pleased we did go this route,” said Paul Pentikainen, a senior policy advisor with the town.

“This partnership with Uber had definitely proven to be a lot more cost effective for us, being able to provide this level of service to our residents. You don’t need to be within walking distance to a bus stop or a bus route, so it’s something that works for us for sure.”

Last summer, Innisfil’s city council was at a crossroads. Creating additional transportation options across the sprawling area was declared a key priority in the community’s strategic plan, but council found that a fixed-route bus service would be too costly, with a price tag of $270,000 per year for one bus, and $610,000 for two.