T3 Transit rethinking New Year's Eve bus schedule

Growing ridership for T3 Transit could lead to changes in service for New Year's Eve 2019.

There was no bus service on New Year's Eve after 6 p.m. this year.

"We have never operated on New Year's Eve," said Mike Cassidy, owner of T3 Transit.

Once shops begin to shut down, the transit company has traditionally stopped service for the evening.

Cassidy said the company did not receive any customer complaints about the lack of service over New Year's Eve.  

Perhaps we should be looking at a task force to understand what should be done better.— Mike Cassidy, owner, T3 Transit

Since 2005, the transit service has been operating in Stratford, Charlottetown and Cornwall.

The first year of transit service saw about 100,000 riders — that number has grown to over 500,000 riders over this past year, Cassidy said.

Time for a task force?

"I'm very happy that people are asking for bus service," he said. Cassidy remembers a time when there was discussion over whether there should be a bus service at all. 

Cassidy said if there is a void in service that needs to be filled it might be time to reach out to taxi companies and local governments to see what improvements could be made to local transit.

"Perhaps we should be looking at a task force to understand what should be done better," Cassidy said.

A possible solution, he said, could be a text-based service for New Year's Eve where riders could text dispatchers and buses could transport between 24 to 40 people at a time, collecting groups of people at an agreed upon location and taking them to their destinations.

Customers could then book a time when they would like to be picked up and taken back to their original location, he said.

Cassidy said he is eager to collaborate on figuring out new ways to "provide a good experience for our residents of the city getting back and forth on New Year's [Eve]."  

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