Two Nations Crossing Transit Route Stays on the Road

Fredericton - (April 20, 2009) - Fredericton City Council has voted to keep the Two Nations Crossing transit route (Route #9) on the road for the remainder of the year.

"Despite the fact that the run didn't reach the ridership numbers Council would like to have seen during its six month pilot, the area has potential for future ridership growth," said Coun. Bruce Grandy, chair of the City's Transportation Committee.  "With City funds available to keep the route running until the end of the year, and ongoing discussions related to more residential, retail and business uses in the area, the decision to keep the service running is an investment in the city."

First introduced in October 2008, the three month pilot was expected to end in January 2009.  Based on initially strong ridership numbers, the pilot was extended until April 4, 2009.  Information presented at the Council in Committee meeting on March 16 indicated that the upward trend in ridership had flattened significantly.  At that time, Council asked staff to prepare a final analysis of the pilot for presentation at the Council-in-Committee meeting of April 20 and extend the service until April 25.

The ridership objective set by Council at the beginning of the pilot was 20 passengers per revenue hour; this roughly translates to a 40 per cent cost recovery.  Ridership figures for the pilot over the course of six months reached a weekly high average (weekday) of 12.6 passengers per revenue hour.  The lowest weekly average was 6.6 passengers per revenue hour.  The service operated from approximately 7 am to 7 pm, six days per week, with half-hour service in the peak times and hourly service the rest of the day.

"One of the other things we have asked staff to investigate with the transit route is ways to make the route more efficient and further facilitate east / west transit travel on the northside of the city without having to take a bus to the downtown just to get to another part of the northside," added Coun. Grandy.

Fredericton's transit system, like others in the country, 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.  In an effort to maintain a balance between municipal subsidy and transit fees, the goal is a 35-45 per cent cost recovery from users of the service.

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Media Contacts:  Coun. Bruce Grandy, Transportation Chair and Sandy MacNeill, Transit Manager, City of Fredericton, 506-460-2203 or 474-3242 (cell).