Bridgewater set to get its own public transit system
David Burke | CBC News | Posted: July 9, 2017 10:00 AM | Last Updated: July 9, 2017
The single bus system will make a 45 minute loop through the town
The Town of Bridgewater is gearing up to launch a single bus public transit system this fall.
The first bus route has been mapped out and a transportation coordinator has been hired to help promote the new service. All that's missing is the buses and a driver.
The town's mayor, David Mitchell, said they're waiting for two buses to be donated to Bridgewater by the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Only one bus will be run at a time. The second bus will be called into service whenever the first needs to be pulled off the road for routine maintenance, said Mitchell.
Buses bigger than expected
The 32 seat Metro X buses given to Bridgewater are bigger than the one recommended in the study, but Mitchell said the financial benefits far outweigh the cost of buying a brand new one.
Some small adjustments were made to the route to accommodate the bigger bus. The donated buses can't cross the LaHave River on the smaller of the two bridges, but Mitchell said that's a good thing.
"The bigger bus actually has created an advantage by forcing it to go on the larger bridge. It now covers both stretches of our downtown that are on either side of the river in its entirety," said Mitchell.
The bus will run a 45 minute loop through the town, ending up back at the same spot at the same time within the hour. This will make it easy, Mitchell said, for people to get to know the schedule.
The freedom to move
The public transit system is a six month pilot project and changes to the route and schedule could change depending on how people use the service.
One of the people waiting to use the new service is Ellen Johnson. She can't drive because she has a visual impairment.
That means if she wants to get around she either has to walk, pay for a cab, or wait for friends or family to pick her up.
It's inconvenient and it slows her down when she has errands to run.
"It can be frustrating and especially when you know a cab can't come right away and you have to wait and that sort of thing," she said
"I do what I have to do to get around and be as independent as I possibly can. But having the public transit available would just be that extra component, and I'm not saying I would take it to everything I have to do but it would give me that option."
'Transportation is a big barrier'
She said there are a lot of people in the community that simply don't have a car or the money to pay for taxis.
Public transit will give people the freedom to get around more easily, said Johnson.
"Transportation is a big barrier to participation in a lot of realms in your daily life. Obviously it plays a big role in being able to have employment, to get to social things, education things, recreation — all of those things."
The bus route that's set to go ahead in September would stop at major areas in the community including the mall, downtown core, grocery stores, residential areas, the lifestyle centre, the hospital, restaurants and the South Shore Exhibition.
Buses will help with economic stability
Bringing public transit to Bridgewater has been a long process.
The idea has been tossed around for many years and Mitchell said it's part of the town's sustainable, environmental focus by hopefully taking some cars off the road.
"There's also economic sustainability. We have people who can't afford a car or afford to always use a taxi. We have a lot of youth who need to get around the community. We know Nova Scotia being an older province, we have a lot of seniors who need it as well."
Bus drivers will be hired over the summer.