New tech will help justify Sunday bus service, city says, but not until at least 2024

Devices that track when and where people get on and off Fredericton buses are the first step in a plan to eventually get buses running on Sundays, say city officials. But a public transit advocate is not satisfied with the plan.

New technology, unveiled Wednesday, has been installed on the city's 28 buses, which will also allow staff to compile data on what days and times people are using the service.

Charlene Sharpe, the city's transit manager, will then use that data to present councillors with options for implementing Sunday service by the end of 2024, said Coun. Bruce Grandy, who serves as chair of the city's mobility committee.

"She'll be coming back to us with some substantive decisions about on-demand [bus service] and about Sunday service, and we'll be able to make some really informed decisions," Grandy said.

Fredericton Transit users have for years called on the city to implement Sunday buses, with some saying the lack of service forces them to pay expensive taxi fares to get to work or to run errands.

Saint John and Moncton already run buses on Sundays.

The new technology unveiled Wednesday includes machines that allow riders to pay fares electronically with a debit or credit card, as well cameras installed in various locations on every bus for added security.

Each bus now has an electronic sign displaying the stop as the bus arrives at it, along with audio announcements.

It all cost about $940,000 and was paid for by the federal and provincial governments.

Asked if the data would not be skewed due to a lack of Sunday service deterring prospective transit users from taking the bus in the first place, Grandy acknowledged, "It's a chicken and egg thing.

"But the decision that we made as a council is that we want to gather this data ... understand where routes are efficient, where they're not efficient, and if we can do that then maybe we can gather enough savings, or you know, financial capabilities to then say, OK, now we can start to implement that Sunday service."

Grandy added that the city would also use data collected on the six days of the week that buses operate and extrapolate it to get a sense of what the demand is like for Sunday.

Transit advocate not satisfied

Chris LeBlanc is a public transit advocate and travelled from Moncton to attend the city's news conference on Wednesday.

Speaking after the event, he said he was disappointed the city didn't announce a clearer commitment to adopt Sunday bus service sooner.

"It's not ambitious enough," LeBlanc said. "I think it should be sooner. I think that it should be now. I think they should already be doing it."

LeBlanc said he's a former Codiac Transpo bus operator and was inspired to become an advocate after seeing the impact that pandemic restrictions had on the accessibility of transit.

He said the new technology upgrades are good, however, based on what he's heard, Sunday service is what people really want.

"If you build it, they will come."