Codiac Transpo 'not in a position' to serve new Moncton High School

The City of Moncton can't afford the estimated $100,000 it would cost to provide bus service to the new Moncton High School, says the assistant city manager.

Don McLellan says the provincial government has asked Codiac Transpo to serve the school, which is about a kilometre and a half from the last bus stop.

"We don't think the revenues would cover the cost of doing it, so we're not in a position to offer it," he said.

"So we're saying to them, if they think this is a crucial service that they want for their students out there, they should come to the table with some funding."

If the government had kept the school at its old location, students would have had access to multiple buses, said McLellan.

But the city can't spare any buses to serve the new area, he said.

"Our fleet as it stands right now is aging and at this point, we don't feel we can add new service till we improve the age and mechanical fitness of our fleet."

The city has to keep 15 buses on standby to fill in for buses that break down, said McLellan.

If the fleet were younger, only six buses would be required for standby, he said.