In an effort to modernize city services, many are moving online, including a new system for booking ice time.
The city now offers an online system for last-minute bookings where people can see all of the ice times available and book immediately with a credit card.
A report on the new system showed 325 online bookings in the first two months leading to $43,000 in revenue for the city.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney says that he considers that money new revenue.
“This last-minute method wasn’t available before, so that’s 325 pieces of ice we’ve sold that theoretically we wouldn’t have sold last year,” says Tierney.
Tierney chairs the information technology subcommittee that developed the system as a part of the first phase of “ServiceOttawa,” which provides online access to some city services.
Tierney says he hopes to add several more services online, including water bills and pet licensing.
While Tierney considers the $43,000 new revenue, Dan Chenier the city’s director of Parks and Recreation, doesn’t jump to the same conclusion.
He says that in the past last-minute bookings weren’t labelled separately so it’s impossible to directly compare to past years.
“Even when people booked last minute at the arena counter it wasn’t tracked like the online bookings are,” says Chenier.
Finding a piece of ice in Ottawa can be difficult, especially during the prime evening hours. Between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., city rinks are normally booked more than 90 per cent of the time.
In the limited openings during these hours, the old booking methods didn’t make it easy to snap them up.
“We’re seeing the benefits already,” says Tierney.
“Whether it’s midday or when teams are eliminated from tournaments, when ice becomes free it’s now being gobbled up.”
The previous booking method required people to fill in a sheet emailed from the city, fax it back specifying time and region, then wait a day or two to hear what is available.
“Not only is it resource intensive, let’s face it, after 24-48 hours you’re pretty much fed up with it,” says Tierney.
Tierney has first-hand experience booking ice through coaching his son’s hockey team.
“In the past it’s been a nightmare. I would call other coaches to make a game if one had been cancelled,” says Tierney.
“You fill out paperwork, call back when you see what’s available and then decide. But now it’s just one step.”
Both Chenier and Tierney say they expect online bookings to really take off during the next winter season.
“This year was only a soft launch,” says Tierney.
“We haven’t gone through a series of advertising at this point or even marketed it to local hockey groups.”
Bill Graham often plays recreational hockey at the McNabb arena and handles the bookings for his group.
“I didn’t know there was an online option, but that sounds great and it’s something I’ll definitely look at,” says Graham.
He’s been booking the ice-time for his games for 15 years, adding that he hasn’t had too many problems because he books well in advance.
“I know it can be slow using ‘snail mail’ but that’s why I book for the whole year and avoid doing it last minute.”
Chenier says the system can help make things easier for residents while getting the most use out of the city’s arenas.