PEI

Why you might see more students using T3 Transit in Charlottetown

A new pilot project by T3 Transit will soon see some students from Colonel Gray High School among the regulars on Charlottetown buses.

Colonel Gray students given free bus passes, asked to provide feedback

From left: Jacqui Scaman, City of Charlottetown sustainability intern, Julia Brown, Grade 12 student at Colonel Gray, Bill MacKenzie, T3 Transit driver, Ramona Doyle, City of Charlottetown sustainability officer, and Matthew Cassidy, vice-president of T3 Transit. (City of Charlottetown)

A new pilot project by T3 Transit will soon see some students from Colonel Gray High School among the regulars on Charlottetown buses.

The students who volunteered for the program were given free transit passes and are encouraged to use the bus system as much as possible until mid-June.

They are being asked to record their experiences and provide feedback on the transit system as a whole.

"This pilot project is going to allow us to get first-hand feedback from students on how we can make transit a part of their daily lives," said Matthew Cassidy, vice-president of T3 Transit, in a news release.

"By teaching students how to use transit we are hoping to create lifelong riders of our system."

Volunteer hours

The pilot is based on a similar project in Kingston, Ont.

The students participating in the pilot project will get volunteer hours, which they can use to apply for a community service bursary, according to Coun. Terry MacLeod, chair of the city's environment and sustainability committee.

The hope is to perhaps extend the project to other schools or offer a similar program in the fall to an even bigger group, MacLeod said.

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