‘A lot of people need this service’
Bridgewater Transit passengers hope council keeps buses around
n a bus, your eyes, ears and pores are open, absorbing in the variety, the wonder and the magic of the city. It’s a wonderful way to get to know the city.” — George Takei, actor.
Fourteen months after Bridgewater’s transit service was rolled out, the bus is more than twice as popular with residents as was originally envisioned by town council and transit planning staff.
Planner Mackenzie Childs said her town’s research paints a positive ridership picture.
“Over the span of service, our average ridership has been 76 passengers a day. The last 18 weeks have shown an average of 89 riders a day,” said Childs.
When the service was launched in September 2017 — thanks to Halifax Transit’s donation of two near- end- of-life 32-seat buses — the target was 1,000 passengers per month. Instead of 12,000 passengers at the one-year milestone, ridership hit 25,000. To date, total ridership approaches the 28,000 mark.
“We collect quantitative and qualitative data fairly consistently and one of our most recent times was during our one-year anniversary in September when we held some draws on the bus,” said Childs. “On the ballots we asked people, ‘What is your favourite thing about Bridgewater Transit?’”
Childs said the responses included “always on time”, “convenient”, “being able to move around town easier”, “helps everyone who doesn’t have transportation”, “the kind and friendly bus drivers” and “it’s a lot easier to get to work.” According to Childs, no negative responses were submitted.
The feedback revealed many people ride the bus regularly — commuting to work, conducting daily errands or getting to appointments or activities — while others use the bus occasionally for a variety of reasons. Some folks even consider the bus ride a social outing, a time to interact with others.
The bus runs on an hourly figure- eight route inside town limits. Stops include locations such as the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre (LCLC), Bridgewater Mall, South Shore Regional Hospital, Bridgewater Woodland Gardens, Generations Active
Park and points in-between. Riders can also flag down the bus in selected areas.
Provincial regulations prevent the bus from venturing beyond town limits, so public transit is not available to folks wishing to shop at big-box stores such as Walmart, Canadian Tire and Staples.
Terry Dicks drives the Bridgewater bus two hours a day, sandwiched between his morning and afternoon shifts driving a school bus. “A lot of people need this service,” said the affable Dicks.
“The best part of my job is meeting new people. The passengers know the drivers’ names and we know the names of the regulars. The bus keeps getting busier, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Bridgewater seniors Dorothy Nowe and Laura Trimboli both use the bus on a regular basis and are representative of riders who enjoy a first-name relationship with the drivers.
“I take the bus to the mall, doctor and the LCLC,” said Nowe. “Oh, yes, I want the town to make this a permanent service. The drivers are friendly and helpful if I need assistance with parcels.”
Trimboli, who recently moved to Bridgewater from Halifax, where she relied on public transit, said she appreciates the convenience of the town’s bus service.
“I use the bus for shopping, visiting friends and getting to physio appointments. It’s a blessing for someone on a fixed in- come. It’s cheaper than taxis and the drivers are excellent,” said Trimboli.
“But it would be nice if the route was expanded and using the second bus on the route would make the wait time much shorter, but I realize changes like that take time and money,” she said.
A burly retired lobster fisherman who grew up in Northern Quebec, Arthur Mann now lives in Bridgewater with his wife. They use the bus service to get to all their activities around town.
“We have no other means of transportation, so I encourage the mayor to keep this thing going. I mean, it’s all we’ve got,” said Mann.
Indeed, Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell would like to see the bus service progress beyond the demonstration stage and become a permanent fixture. And he also has his eye on the environment.
“The project has exceeded our expectations. We have gone from a pilot project to a demonstration project. Now we have to grow ridership if we want to achieve the next goals, which are a permanent service and carbon neutrality,” said Mitchell.
“We need to convince people that leaving their cars at home and riding the bus will have a positive impact on the environment. It will take time to get there, but we’ve made a fantastic start,” he said.
“People who have two cars might decide to give up one car, with one family member taking the bus while the other family member takes the car. Until council makes this bus service permanent, families might be hesitant to give up their cars,” he said.
When asked about the financial viability of the bus service, Mitchell responded that “people need to realize there is not a public transit service on the planet that makes money. Imagine if municipalities everywhere decided if they are not making money on their transit system, they are going to pull the plug on them. That would create chaos.”
Initially, people did express concerns that their taxes were going to be increased to fund the bus service, said Mitchell. Or that Bridgewater is a small town, so who needs to ride a bus? “Well, nearly 28,000 riders later, we don’t hear those concerns anymore,” he said.
Mitchell said council’s goal was to lose as little money as possible. “The buses that were gifted to us from Halifax are old and battered, so a new bus will be more efficient and will accommodate more passengers, which will mean more money in the fare box,” he said.
Mitchell believes the bus service must be accessible to people who often struggle financially.
“In my view, the majority of our residents understand that those individuals have a right to be able to get around our community using a safe, affordable and accessible transit system,” said Mitchell.
For Bridgewater Transit hours of service, fares and guidelines, visit www.bridgewater.ca/transit.