P.E.I. group wants more wheels to go round in rural parts of the province
'There have been cases where the buses have been full and so there's not enough room'
Islanders who rely on public transport to get them where they need to go can find that challenging, especially those living in rural areas.
An organization called North Shore Climate Action for Resilience is working to help make public transportation more accessible for rural communities by conducting a survey and hosting public engagement sessions.
Brad Trivers is a member of the group and the MLA for District 18, Rustico–Emerald. He said that they plan to use the survey results to create a transportation plan to present to the government.
"The number of times the transit runs during the winter is not enough to be very practical for people," Trivers said in an interview.
The current bus goes from his district into Charlottetown only twice a day in the winter, although there are more daily trips during tourist season.
"There have been cases where the buses have been full and so there's not enough room — and that's not just from North Rustico, but in other routes in the province," Trivers said.
The MLA said the group is trying to help serve the most vulnerable members of their community, who either don't have a car or don't want to commute in one.
"The whole goal is to build resilient communities in the face of climate change and take action," he said.
The group will continue to collect data until April. Paper copies of the survey are available at the Town of North Rustico's office.