Specialist recommends public/private transit ser vice for Yarmouth/BRIAN MEDEL YARMOUTH BUREAU [email protected] @CH_bmedel YARMOUTH — A municipal transit system for Yarmouth is again being sought. The town has been without a bus service for more than four months after the contracted provider, Hut’s Transit, stopped operating. The town recruited transit planning specialist Wally Beck to look at needs and suggest a replacement service. On Thursday, Beck recommended a publicly owned, privately managed service be re-established and that a transit advisory committee be set up to help put a bus back on the streets as early as next spring . Yarmouth is without a public transit system for the first time in 18 years and doesn’t want to continue without one, said Mayor Pam Mood. An online survey initiated in June drew 225 responses from folks who answered a variety of questions that were aimed at helping council bring in a replacement. And more than 100 respondents took the time to supply detailed comments. The town, with a population of 9,000, was one of the smallest communities in Nova Scotia with a public transit service, said Beck. The previous transit system ended April 30. Hut’s Transit owner-operator Gary Hudson told The Chronicle Herald earlier that ridership was down but expenses were up. Hudson said the town’s annual subsidy of $60,000 was not enough to keep up with costs. But a bus service will likely return, Mood said Thursday. “All indications are that town council is ready to go forward with the next part of the plan. “We’re just looking at the best way to make the money work. We need this system in place. Four routes, which would be loops ranging from 14 to 20 kilometres, were proposed. “We want to make sure that . . . 95 per cent of the homes are within a five-minute walk of a bus stop, which is about 450 metres, said Beck. He also provided town council with some service options. A service of 2,500 hours a year would operate during the daytime on weekdays. Another option added several weekday hours and 10 Saturday hours, while a third option provided for Sunday service. A capital budget of about $250,000 in the first year would be likely if the town purchased everything, Beck suggested
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 15:03:03 +0000
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