Paradise Metrobus route no longer in purgatory, pilot project extended

Paradise has decided to continue a Metrobus pilot project that was slated to end this coming June.

The commuter route had 940 riders in a 20-day period, proving the ridership is already there, according to Mayor Dan Bobbett.

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"The Metrobus has got great numbers already," he said. "[It] gets people to work in the morning, gets them home in the evening... So that's 940 car trips taken off the roads."

Pilot project announced 2016

Bobbett and St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe signed a memorandum of understanding last February to establish a one-year public transit pilot project in Paradise, running June 2016 to June 2017. The route runs five days a week.

Earlier this week, Paradise town council voted to continue funding a bus route from the community to St. John's for all of 2017.

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Bobbett said more than 60 per cent of the cost of the Metrobus service to Paradise is subsidized by the town, but he believes it is money well spent.

"We're pleased with it. The ridership is there," said Bobbett. "It is subsidized, but it's a service for a community that offers an alternative that can take you to work or drop you off at the Avalon Mall."

Airport bus service

Metrobus has added stops at the St. John's International Airport to a route that travels between MUN and Airport Heights. Paradise's mayor believes there would be interest in expanding that to other parts of the northeast Avalon.

"I think that could be utilized by any area in the region," Bobbett said. "If you go to most cities they do have a bus route to the airport."