Two new buses on the way for Strait Area transit service

A community transit service for southern Cape Breton is expanding its fleet with funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The Strait Area Transit Co-operative, established in 2008, has ordered two new 16-seat accessible buses to complement its charter services and increase ridership on fixed routes between Port Hawkesbury, N.S., and the Inverness County communities of Port Hood and Inverness.

Ottawa is contributing $340,000 through the federal Rural Transit Solutions Fund, while the province will kick in an additional $85,000. 

The new buses will bolster the co-operative's fleet to nine vehicles. They are operated by 11 drivers who provide the fixed-route travel between Port Hawkesbury and Inverness as well as pre-booked Dial-A-Ride operations in Richmond County.

Local transit use on the rise 

While the co-op's charter services often cater to large groups, they are also popular among those attending licensed public events, according to general manager Nichole Briand. 

"We primarily do this for weddings or social events where drinking would be a huge factor, so our service definitely limits the amount of drinking and driving that people would be doing," said Briand. 

The new buses are due to arrive by midsummer, the busiest time for charter operations, she said.

The fleet expansion coincides with increasing demand. While the co-operative pulled vehicles off the road during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it saw a rebound in usage once the province lifted social-distancing restrictions in early 2022. 

"It certainly took an upswing in 2022 and 2023, and actually in 2024 we pretty much doubled our numbers from the prior year," Briand said. "So we're definitely on the right track when it comes to ridership."

'We need this service so bad'

The co-op's place in the community is clear to Zelma Mariner, a resident of Grand River, Richmond County, who has been a driver for the past nine years. 

She's currently on Dial-A-Ride duty, bringing students to Arichat's French-language school Ecole Beau-Port and delivering seniors to medical appointments, shopping trips and visits with friends.

"They're all very happy to get where they're going, and a lot of them, if they didn't have this, they wouldn't be able to go at all," Mariner said. "We need this service so bad. Everybody appreciates it."

While she and her fellow drivers await the new vehicles, she said they're grateful for the government support. 

"I'm happy that we're getting funding for new rigs," she said with a grin.