Riverview to purchase new buses, overhaul public transit system [video]

The Town of Riverview plans to buy a pair of new buses, while also improving transit shelters, hiring a coordinator, and adjusting routes as part of upgrades to the city’s public transit system.

Town councillors approved a set of recommendations following a presentation by David Forsey of Toronto-based Arcadis Professional Services Canada. He told councillors that Riverview, part of Greater Moncton, has “below-average transit ridership despite its proximity to a major city,” but that ridership is increasing quickly.

The purchase of two new buses would bring the southeast New Brunswick town’s total fleet to five, and would cost an estimated $1.8 million. The town currently owns just two buses, with another one on order and expected to arrive later this year.

Ridership levels in Riverview are low, primarily because of relatively low levels of investment in transit, Forsey said. For example, while Riverview has just two buses, Fort St. John, B.C., has four, and Moose Jaw, Sask., has eight.

Forsey told councillors that local ridership has recovered from the lows experienced by transit services around the world at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. The town’s overall ridership “has been growing sharply throughout 2023 and 2024,” exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Last year, there was an average of 9,800 passenger trips per month, compared to just 3,000 during the dog days of the pandemic.

“While this ridership growth is very positive, there is a limit to what the town can deliver and how much additional ridership growth can be achieved with only two or even three buses in its fleet,” Forsey said.

“If the town is serious about doing more with transit, more investment in operations is needed, and that investment in operations can only be delivered if the town expands its fleet beyond the three buses it currently owns or has on order.”

Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said municipal staff will prepare a financial report detailing the effects of the proposed changes. He said transit is important for the community as Riverview grows.

“Not everybody has a vehicle, as the economy is changing, we know not everybody can afford a vehicle as well,” he said. “And so it’s incumbent on us to make sure that we’re providing as many resources as we can.”

Proposed system overhaul

Riverview has just two weekday routes (the 85 Riverview Connector and 86 Pinewood) and two weekend routes (the 81 Riverview and 82 Riverview Place).

The frequency of trips on those routes ranges from every 35-40 minutes on the 86 Pinewood route to just three trips per week on the 82 Riverview Place.

All but one of those routes link to the Avenir Centre in downtown Moncton, where they connect to the larger Codiac Transpo network covering Greater Moncton.

The details of route changes will be confirmed later, but the general idea is to reorganize the current transit network into three routes linking Riverview to downtown Moncton, all of them operating seven days a week, at intervals of between 30 and 60 minutes.

The routes would be focused on “main corridors and growing communities” and the proposed schedule would result in an approximate doubling of service hours, Forsey said.

Two areas where ridership is low – the Patricia Drive and Bridgedale areas – would also have subsidized “on-demand taxi services” transporting passengers from their homes to certain transit hubs in Riverview.

“The town would pay the taxi provider for these trips as they occur, rather than on a fixed hourly basis,” said Forsey, who estimated the taxi program would cost $20,000 annually based on current ridership levels.

The review also found that most bus stops in Riverview don’t have amenities such as shelters, benches or garbage cans, and that many areas also lack sidewalks.

Altogether, the lack of infrastructure means catching a bus is risky for people with mobility issues, and it makes the “experience of walking to and waiting for the bus very unpleasant and treacherous in inclement weather,” Forsey noted.

The construction of stop pads and shelters is projected to cost about $350,000 annually over the next five years.

Other recommendations included the hiring of a transportation coordinator who would devote half of their time to public transit oversight, with a salary for that work estimated at $40,000.

Fare-free transit?

Councillors had asked the town to look into the idea of eliminating transit fares. Forsey, the consultant, said that free transit has been implemented in places such as Orangeville, Ont. and Salt Lake City, Utah.

He said the policy tends to boost ridership, but he stopped short of endorsing the idea, citing an annual “opportunity cost” of $220,000 in lost revenues or a “reduction in existing service to remain cost neutral.”

Asked by the NB Media Co-op whether he’s interested in free public transit services, Mayor Andrew LeBlanc was non-committal.

“I’m interested in anything that will help improve the transit system and if we can do that without impacting our taxpayers and do it cost effectively,” he said.

Councillor-at Large Heath Johnson, a supporter of free transit, pointed out that the town already subsidizes the vast majority of the service’s operating costs.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).