The New Brunswick government is stepping in to provide a much-needed transfusion of cash to Maritime Bus, which services New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
The province confirmed on Friday that it will provide $720,000 in funding to assist the service, which has seen its ridership plummet from 191,000 in 2019 to just 69,000 in 2020 as a result of COVID-19.
New Brunswick says $360,000 of the funding will come from the public transit category of the Safe Restart Agreement, a federal program meant to help provinces and municipalities during the pandemic.
READ MORE: Maritime Bus delays route cuts, seeks assistance from N.B. government
That will be matched with another $360,000 coming from Regional Development Corporation’s Rural Economy Fund.
Mike Cassidy, the owner of Maritime Bus, says he was thrilled to learn the news.
“The nice thing is, you can tell your staff they still have jobs Monday morning,” he says.
“We can tell our customers ‘don’t worry, if you’re going to travel for essential reasons; if you’re shipping those parcels — same day delivery — we’re going to be there for you Monday morning.'”
The funding will be dispersed to the City of Edmundston, which will, in turn, enter into a contract with Maritime Bus to provide the $720,000 to keep the Edmundston and Campbellton bus routes operating until the end of 2021.
Cassidy previously told Global News he approached the Maritime provinces for financial support in April 2020. At that time, all three provinces agreed to a month-long pilot project.
But when it came time to renew the program, Cassidy said he was told the New Brunswick government would not offer a subsidy to a for-profit company.
Maritime Bus announced on Jan. 5 that it would halt its Fredericton-Edmundston route and then on Jan. 15 the company said it would cease its Moncton-Campbellton service. Two other runs would also see service reduced.
However, those reductions were paused until Jan. 31, as Cassidy appeared to be optimistic over a resolution for some funding from New Brunswick.
That optimism has now paid off.
Michel Soucy, the president of Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick and mayor of Atholville, near Campbellton, says public transit received government support, so Maritime Bus should as well.
“Finally, with the discussion we had with government, they realized that this is just like the same type of services we’re trying to provide to people throughout the province in different regions,” he says in an interview. “So it’s a public transit… Yes, it’s privately owned, but at the same time, it’s a service that was very needed for people throughout the province.
Soucy says maintaining the service will allow for easier access to transportation for people who need to travel for medical appointments.
When asked if public pressure impacted the change, Daniel Allain, the minister of local government and local governance reform, said the decision time.
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“I wouldn’t say that we resisted funding,” he said. “I think we just took our time to do our due diligence to work with Maritime Bus to better understand also the importance of the bus routes — and we worked with municipalities.”
“Without intercity transportation services, we would have been isolated,’’ said Edmundston Deputy Mayor Éric Marquis.
“Maritime Bus provides accessible and affordable transportation service for people in our region who need to travel to southern New Brunswick for medical care. We are very grateful for the intervention of the Government of New Brunswick.”
The $720,000 will also help Maritime Bus cover its losses from the pandemic and be contingent upon the company guaranteeing the continued operation for its routes in northern New Brunswick until the end of the year.
“We took the time to work with municipal stakeholders on this priority file and to do our due diligence to ensure this service continues to be available during the pandemic,” said Local Government and Local Governance Reform Minister Daniel Allain.
Under the Safe Restart Program, New Brunswick has already provided $1.6 million to support transit systems in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, and $360,000 for Edmundston.
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