A new model for the handy bus service provided by Whitehorse Transit could be in place beginning in 2021, city council was told Monday.

In reply to a request for an update about the handy bus service from Coun. Samson Hartland, acting city manager Valerie Braga said the city is in discussions with the Yukon government to pursue a new model of service delivery.

The city and the government have agreed to a cost-sharing arrangement for 2020 to buy more time to further the discussions, she said.

Braga noted council has identified the partnership as a strategic priority.

The Transit Master Plan adopted by council last year also highlights a need to revisit the service model, because there are concerns about the financial viability of the service in its current form.

Changing the model should be given full consideration, the plan suggests.

The plan says the delivery of the handy bus service in Whitehorse is almost double the cost of delivery in municipalities down south of similar size that it was compared to.

The Yukon government contributes approximately 75 per cent of the city’s annual budget for the handy bus, which serves people with special transportation needs.

“The notional concept behind this timeline is that by 2021, if there is indeed a new system to provide handy bus service to the public, it would be in place at the beginning of January 2021,” senior city administrator Jeff O’Farrell told council.

O’Farrell said in theory, January 2021 is also the scheduled time to implement the new route structure called for in the 2018 master plan.