Despite Fredericton’s efforts to improve accessibility for non-car owners, residents argue there’s some room for improvement.
Residents find public transportation inefficient
Pearl Gyamfi is an international student from Ghana, entering to her fourth year at St. Thomas university.
In her three years living in Fredericton, Gyamfi says travelling around the city without a car has been difficult.
“I live in Forest Hills and just to get to work [in Prospect St.], I’m usually on the bus for 46 minutes when in a simple cab or vehicle the ride is usually four minutes,” says Gyamfi.
The confusing bus routes, the lack of other affordable transportation services, and the unreliable and inconsistent bus schedules are some of the challenges Gyamfi has faced.
Moreover, Gyamfi says these challenges make the city less accessible for everyone.
“I’m privileged to have the partnership with the city of Fredericton to give us [St.Thomas university students] our bus pass with our tuition,” says Gyamfi. “But I know that for some other people, the monthly passes are too expensive.”
Additionally, Emmanuel Jackson, a third-year student at St. Thomas university says she shares similar difficulties navigating Fredericton without a car.
“I don’t drive so I normally take the bus as much as I can, but I find it can be difficult trying to get to places,” says Jackson. “I either get to places really early or I’d have to get there late because of the bus schedule.”
Furthermore, Jackson says that the city is also lacking in accessibility services.
“It’s really hard to travel around if you don’t already have your set ways of doing that,” says Jackson. “And for people with disabilities like me, it’s hard to walk and get around, even if it seems like a shorter distance to most people”.
Fredericton’s initiatives to address the transit service gaps fall short according to residents
To update the city’s urban planning, address accessibility, and reduce carbon emissions, the municipality of Fredericton has developed strategies over the past decade to optimize land use, circulation, including traffic and parking services, and infrastructure, among other aspects.
Projects like the City Centre Plan, Main Street Urban Design Plan, the Transit Strategic Plan, Paratransit Plan, and active transportation projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions are detailed on their website.
Within these projects, some have successfully addressed residents’ concerns about navigating the city.
For example, Fredericton’s downtown has become a more walkable area, providing citizens with a variety of services within a five-to-ten-minute walk.
Fredericton Transit is introducing a Sunday bus service starting on June 23, which aims to meet the weekend transportation needs of some of the citizens.
However, residents agree there are still blind spots to address.
Monica Riccio, a third-year student at St. Thomas university, says Fredericton is divided by two centers, uptown and downtown, making travel from other areas complicated.
“I find the bus routes kind of go on the busier streets,” says Riccio. “There’s not [enough] services accessible in every area of the city, like you have to be in certain areas to have that sort of convenience.”
Riccio says that it feels like areas like the northside, and Bishop Dr. lack public transit coverage.
With updated data, Fredericton transit is working on new projects
Charlene Sharpe, Fredericton’s transit manager, says they have heard the people’s concerns and are working to address them.
Sharpe says Fredericton Transit is focusing on implementing the 2019 Transit Strategy technology recommendations to improve the efficiency and convenience of the transit system.
Sharpe says they are studying the city densification and ridership trends, which have increased 40 per cent in the past five years, to determine needed service changes.
“I wanted the technology in place [ridership trackers, cameras], so we could truly understand when people were traveling; when they were using the service,” says Sharpe.
Fredericton Transit has assessed the service gaps that need to be addressed, which will be outlined in an updated transit plan they are presenting to the council in the city’s Mobility Committee on May 16.
Planned changes include smart centers in highly frequented sites of the city, affordable on-demand transit in low-density areas without fixed routes, the increase in frequency of bus routes, within other changes that will make Fredericton’s public transit system efficient and user-friendly.
The prospect of these changes excites frequent riders of the bus like Riccio, who says that it was time that the city addressed people’s concerns.
“I felt like [before] the city wasn’t listening to people who need to use the public transportation system,” says Riccio. “So, it’s reassuring to hear that they have a plan going forward.”
Katherine del Salto is a fourth year international student from Ecuador, majoring in journalism and sociology at St. Thomas University. Katherine enjoys reporting on marginalized communities and social issues. You can read some of Katherine’s stories in The Aquinian and Huddle.
