At a Mobility Committee meeting on Sept. 3, Fredericton Transit manager Charlene Sharpe proposed increasing service to several city routes.
Her proposed changes included half-hour service all day for routes 12 to 15, and the south sides of routes 16 and 17.
It also included buses coming every 30 minutes for an additional hour for routes 116 and 126 during their evening peaks.
“So essentially this expansion would be 40 extra service hours per day,” she said, adding that the changes would require six additional employees.
Covering the cost
As for the additional cost, she said there’s currently no plan or proposal to increase fares.
“We’re hoping that the revenue generated from new users taking the service will help offset a lot of the cost,” she said.
The committee’s chair, Coun. Bruce Grandy, said covering the cost of additional service is part of upcoming municipal budget conversations.
“We have to take projected revenues into account, see what the difference is, and see whether it’s feasible, whether we would have to impact another service in the city or whether we can actually do it without raising fares or not,” he said.
On-demand service recommended
Sharpe also recommended switching bus routes 18 and 20 from a regular bus service to on-demand.
She said a recent survey of 56 residents found 77 per cent of current transit users didn’t know what on-demand meant, but once it was explained, 79 per cent said they’d be interested in the service.
“With on-demand, we provide more flexibility, because there’s a vehicle that could potentially pick you up today at 9 a.m. at that bus stop, tomorrow it could be 9:15,” she said.
Sunday bus service update
She also provided an update on Sunday bus service, which debuted June 23.
She said it did better than expected, with an average of 10 to 12 users per hour.
“For the first three to four months, when you introduce a new service, you don’t expect even up to eight passengers per hour,” she said.
“So the fact that it’s bouncing between 10 and 12 in the middle of the summer is quite impressive for us,” she added.
But some residents said the service isn’t enough.
“I go to a recovery centre, and I have to get there almost every day, and trying to get to and from on Sundays causes a huge problem for me,” said Kayla Ganong.
Edward Bartels is a graduate student, and said the service doesn’t run late enough on Sundays.
“In an instance where a student has to overwork past six p.m., there’s going to be a very big problem,” he said.
Sharpe said any potential changes in the Sunday service won’t happen until its one-year review.