Routing Announced for Transit Pilot Project
Fredericton (September 18, 2008) - The routing for the Two Nations Crossing / Cliffe Street transit pilot project was announced today at the City of Fredericton Transportation Committee meeting.
The route, to be known as Route 9 - Two Nations Crossing, will travel from Kings Place, across the Westmorland Street Bridge, and then travel along Maple Street, St. Mary's Street, Union Street, Clark Street, and MacLaren Avenue, before turning north on Cliffe Street, then west on to Two Nations Crossing.
Transit buses will pull into the SmartCentres Shopping Mall, where for safety reasons buses will use the access road along the parking lot as opposed to travelling along the front of the building where there are numerous pedestrian crossings.
From the shopping centre, buses will turn back on to Two Nations Crossing and then north on St. Mary's Street, continuing to Killarney Lake Lodge, where it will connect with the Transit Route 13 - Brookside. The southbound routing will simply be in the reverse direction.
The service will run six days a week during the pilot, on an hourly basis from 7:10 am to 6:35 pm. There will be some half-hourly service in the morning and evening peaks to provide better connections with established routes.
"The routing and times have been carefully selected to connect to other transit routes and cover peak times," says Coun. Bruce Grandy, chair of the City's Transportation Committee.
King's Place is the City's transit system main transfer point, connecting transit passengers with all the other transit routes. While transit passengers do use the transit system during all hours of the day, the pilot project has been purposely designed to coincide with the morning and evening peak times.
Passenger count data will be collected during the pilot and compared to the service standard contained in the City's Transit Master Plan, which indicates passenger volumes are expected to reach 35-45% cost recovery over a 12-month period. By monitoring passenger numbers and comments during these times, the City will be better able to determine the long term viability of the route.
To view the new transit schedule, or to get information on any of the City's transit routes, simply visit the City of Fredericton website at www.fredericton.ca and look for the transit link - or contact the Fredericton Transit offices at 460-2203 from 8:15 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday, and 8 am to 3pm on Saturday.
The pilot was announced on September 8 and is an outcome of Fredericton's recently received Transit Master Plan. As is the standard within the industry, Fredericton's transit system is designed to transport people from area to area, not door to door. The goal is to have buses travel along interconnected routes, moving passengers between residential and commercial areas of the city. As with any municipal service, it is important to maintain a balance between municipal subsidy and recovery from users of the service.
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Media Contact: Wayne Knorr, Communications, City of Fredericton, 506-460-2181.
