Lack of Sunday bus service tops Sudbury transit riders' concerns
Volunteers trying to figure out how to make Sudbury's transit system run more smoothly
A volunteer group is trying to figure out what would make Sudbury's transit system run more smoothly.
The Friends of Sudbury Transit group is holding public information sessions to gather feedback from people who ride the bus, or people who would ride the bus if it was more convenient.
The group is also collecting information through an online survey.
Sudbury resident Pierre Bonhomme attended a public input meeting Wednesday at a downtown pub. He wanted to see express buses running to areas of the city where major employers are located.
"We've got 3,500 people, I believe, at the hospital, the data centre, New Sudbury shopping centre and the Four Corners. Those are very busy, dense areas," he said.
Bonhomme said he would also like to see bus routes that operate out of nodes around areas of the city, rather than just the downtown transit terminal.
As a South End resident, Bonhomme said he has to take a bus downtown to the terminal so he can transfer and return to Laurentian University, which is also located in the South End.
Other people at the public meeting cited infrequent service times, a lack of bus shelters and issues with clearing snow from bus stops as concerns.
Friends of Sudbury Transit co-chair Lilly Noble said the group has already received about 600 responses to the online survey. A lack of bus service on Sundays has emerged as the top concern.
"It's a new age. Sudbury is supposedly open for business, except we can't get there on Sundays. So we need to provide that service for people," she said.
Noble said the city is also gathering its own data on the existing transit system. Any feedback Friends of Sudbury Transit receives will be passed along to transit managers.