‘Game-changer’: Rural N.S. communities look forward to possible new transit system

Nova Scotia is hoping to make commuting from rural parts of the province to Halifax a little bit easier.

Those who could benefit from this inter-municipal transit system are applauding the move and are hopeful it’ll take shape soon.

“This is so positive for us because we don’t want to lose any residents because they can’t get to the city,” said Truro Mayor Cathy Hinton.

The province issued a request for information Wednesday from potential service providers for a new system connecting the capital city with Truro, Wolfville and Bridgewater.

It said the inter-municipal transit system would ideally offer regular, dependable travel along routes for daily commuting. The network would connect existing services run by the municipalities.

“It’ll be a game-changer, really, because right now a lot of people can’t afford a vehicle, so people with appointments or whatever (can benefit from this),” said Hinton.

“I think it’ll be wonderful.”

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The project is part of the Joint Regional Transportation Plan the Nova Scotia government is working towards. In addition to finding a service provider, the province is also looking for information on feasibility and what the system could look like.

“We want to take a blank slate approach to this and see what makes sense,” said Public Works Minister Fred Tilley.

The plan would also enhance park-and-ride facilities in the connected regions. The goal, Tilley said, is to combat traffic congestion provincewide.

“We’re taking a multi-pronged approach to try and combat traffic, both with our longer-term and our shorter-term projects that we have underway,” he said.

The proposed transit service would run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. The province expects the service lines will need between 11 and 15 wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

The general manager of Tidal Transit, formerly known as Kings Transit, in the Valley, said the route could be vital to improving accessibility and connectivity.

“It’s hard to get to appointments, it’s hard if you have accessibility challenges and you need a specialized vehicle to get to anywhere. The options can be either very expensive or fairly limited,” said Meg Hodges.

“So I’m hopeful that this will make life a lot more accessible and affordable for people.”

She stressed, however, that it will only be effective if it’s easy to use.

“So whatever this system turns into, it needs to be frequent enough people feel they can rely on it,” said Hodges.

“It needs to be connected enough (so that) people feel that it’s worth abandoning their personal vehicle, and it needs to be reliable enough that they know they’re going to get home or to where they’re going at the end of the day.”

Interested service providers have until May 20 to submit information to the province.

— With a file from The Canadian Press