Free bus ride data could help Sudbury improve public transit: city rep

A free bus ride campaign in Sudbury on Tuesday could help the city to improve public transit moving forward — but some wonder if the right people were in the loop.

The City of Greater Sudbury promoted World Car-Free Day by offering people free transit vouchers. The idea was to boost awareness of public transit, and gather information on how it's currently being used in Sudbury. But, some commuters say neither transit staff nor commuters seemed to know much about the offer.

Patrick Blouin took the bus on Tuesday morning. He said when he presented his free ride voucher, the driver almost forgot what to do with it.

"It was probably the first time in the day that he saw someone use it," he said.

On top of that, Blouin said no one on either of his two bus rides showed a free bus pass to a driver.

Jennifer Babin-Fenske, coordinator of EarthCare Sudbury initiatives with the city, helped to promote the event. She said the vouchers that were turned in will be counted, and results taken from the city's survey that was part of the voucher offer will be examined to improve public transit. 

"We can use the survey to help determine why people aren't using transit, how often they use transit," she said. 

"If we, on EarthCare's side, if we need to help, [we can] add a little more to our education and awareness for transit use.'

​Blouin said he wasn't particularly surprised that the awareness of the program on his bus routes seemed to be lacking. 

"I was here last year for Car-Free Day and the same thing happened. So unfortunately, no. It did not surprise me."

The city said several hundred people usually participate in Car-Free Day, and expects the vouchers used this year to be counted within the next few days.