Closure of bus stops troubles some Fredericton Transit users
City says change will lead to ‘faster trips and reduced emissions’
It was just over a week ago that Natalie Flinn walked to her bus stop on the north side and learned from a sign that the stop would soon be dropped from the route.
The closure on the north side is part of a Fredericton Transit decision to shed a number of stops across the city on June 22.
"It's going to be hard when it comes into that icy weather, the slushy weather, the snowy weather," Flinn said.
She said she and her kids take the bus because a car isn't affordable. She also likes to be conscious of her environmental footprint.
But the stop at Fulton Avenue and Maple Street where she normally catches the bus to work is one of many about to be closed, forcing her to walk to the next stop or to one that would require a transfer.
Fredericton Transit has undergone several changes in the last couple of years. It closed some stops last year, increased half-hour service on some routes this year and added Sunday service.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Fredericton Transit said it would be "streamlining routes to support our growing ridership and keep our system sustainable" and reducing stops for "faster trips and reduced emissions."
The city said its transit manager was away and nobody else was available for an interview. It also did not provide a list of stops that would be closing.
Flinn said that from what she can tell, there isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to which stops were chosen to be cut.
"I don't think they're taking into account the geographic and societal needs for each stop," she said.
"There was a sign posted every other stop along Maple, so it looks like they just went, 'OK, cut, skip this one, cut.'"
She said some of the stops that get the most use had closure signs on them, and stop that aren't necessarily popular were left alone.
And just near her, she said, there's an independent-living home for adults with additional needs — and a lot of the residents use the nearby bus stop.
"I know that it would be a hard change on a lot of their routines to go to the next stop," Flinn said. "And for a few of them, it might actually be physically demanding on them, even though it's only, like, three Fredericton blocks away."
When Fredericton Transit posted the decision on Facebook, passenger Allie Robinson said things began to click. About a week earlier, she started to notice signs posted at stops along her regular bus route.
And as a home care worker who has a lot of clients with mobility challenges, she immediately feared the change would make things more difficult for people with disabilities or mobility issues.
"For somebody with mobility issues, taking out these spots, it would definitely add more stress … because they would have to go further than one to two blocks to get to the stop," Robinson said.
And in the midst of an ongoing push for increased transit ridership, Robinson said she thinks a change like this could have the opposite effect.
As well, Robinson said, she isn't sure if the city's goal of increased efficiency will actually happen since the number of people at each stop could very well go up, taking more time for people to get on and off the bus at each stop.
On Fredericton Transit's social media post, the nearly 100 people commenting brought up similar concerns, with many asking for a list of eliminated stops and others echoing Robinson's thoughts about people with mobility challenges.
Robinson said she would like the city to take these concerns into consideration, look at how a change like this "affects the community as a whole," and "rework their decision to take away these stops."
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With files from Allyson McCormack