Charlottetown-Cavendish bus returning for Island workers and visitors
Bus services between Charlottetown and Cavendish will run from June 22 to September 3
A bus service between Charlottetown and Cavendish is expanding options for both Island employers and employees after a successful season last year.
At the Tourism Job Fair in Charlottetown on Saturday, several Cavendish-based employers displayed the City Beach Express summer bus schedule at their booths.
The bus service started as a pilot project last year, and while visitors were welcome to ride it, the shuttle was designed to improve transportation and increase employment options for workers during the tourism season.
"It's an added bonus to us because they do drop off at our front door," said Amy MacPherson, owner of Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers in North Rustico.
Transportation can be an issue when looking for new employees, MacPherson said, because her business is a 30 minute drive outside of Charlottetown, and many of her employees are students who may not have a car.
Two of her employees used the service last year, and she hopes having access to the bus service will encourage new potential employees who are on the fence about working outside of Charlottetown to consider other options.
"We had good success with it last year," MacPherson said. "I do think us, as employers in that area, if we can take advantage of it, it certainly will help attract people."
Increasing choice
Among the job seekers was 15-year-old Felix Theriault, who was looking for a summer job to expand his work experience.
"When I came here I was looking for a job more local, in Charlottetown or closer to Stratford," Theriault said. "With this opportunity that may open more in Cavendish because I have a way to get there easily."
He hadn't heard of the bus before the job fair, but once he found out the service existed, he said he'd hand in his resume at Sandspit Amusement Park and Shining Waters Family Fun Park.
That's exactly the kind of reaction Andre Hendricken, a representative from the City Beach Express, hopes for.
"We are offering the service so employees can apply for the job that they want, not the job that they have to accept," Hendricken said.
The provincial government has invested $35,000 into the project over two years. Additional funding for the service comes from tourism organizations and businesses in Cavendish and Charlottetown.
The bus service reports the shuttle was used more than 800 times by employees travelling between Charlottetown and Cavendish for work, said Hendricken, and nearly 600 times for tourists.
Service to expand
"We expected more tourists to use this service, but it turned out to be more employees and employers promoting the service than the tourists."
Henricken said the shuttle will increase the number of daily departures from four to eight for the 2018 season. The cost of a round-trip ticket for employees travelling to and from work will be $10, with options to purchase weekly or season's passes.
Coach Atlantic will operate the service and is working with Discover Charlottetown and Tourism Cavendish Beach on the development of packages for visitors.
The service will run throughout the summer months, from June 22 to September 3.
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