Transit plan calls for increased bus service

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Various improvements to Miramichi’s bus service are being proposed for the next five years after changes were recommended by the consultant behind the Miramichi Public Transit Commission’s strategic plan.

The commission is seeking to achieve “mid-to-high levels of service,” and pursue growth and sustainability through technology and innovation, while connecting riders as part of the newly adopted plan for 2024 to 2028.

Evan Brown, a transit innovator with Left Turn Right Turn, a Toronto-based consulting firm, said the biggest changes expected to result from the plan include increased service, with more stops and frequency. On-demand transit may also be adopted in the coming years.

“There’s a lot to unpack with these strategic goals,” he said while sharing the plan with city council in September.

“There’s also a lot going on where this plan is within a five-year purview, but these goals are designed to be forward-facing and guide Miramichi Transit for the next five years and be considered beyond that.”

Brown, who’s based on Prince Edward Island, said exploring the possibility of an electric bus fleet, piloting green initiatives, and using mobile apps are among the recommendations for pursuing growth and technology.

Brown said other strategic goals include better collaboration with “stakeholders and rights holders,” with calls to action consisting of expanding alongside the city, serving vulnerable and growing populations, better defining the commission’s relationship with the municipality, finding operational efficiencies, and building relations with stakeholders and council.

On-demand transit is an increasingly popular way for transit services to provide cost-efficient service consistently to rural and low-ridership areas

Evan Brown

In addition, the plan’s goals include striving for more user and staff satisfaction, and being operationally efficient while finding new revenue sources. Brown said those involve prioritizing key routes, maintaining up-to-date systems, enhancing the commission’s charter service, keeping fleet levels up, and managing assets effectively.

Brown said an online survey was conducted in April during the plan’s consultation phase and received 115 responses. When asked what factors affect someone’s decision to choose transit, he said 71 per cent of respondents identified coverage as top-of-mind, and 63 per cent said hours of operation were important.

Brown said 14 per cent of respondents said they’re happy with the current hours of service, 72 per cent wanted evening service, and the noon-hour disruption was flagged as inconvenient. He said 41 per cent of respondents wanted “significant changes” to the bus network, with 76 per cent saying they wanted some form of changes.

Tweaks commonly requested included expanded hours, service in the city’s rural neighbourhoods, and an additional bus to reduce potential waiting times.

The new network proposed by Brown’s firm includes two routes instead of the current three, with one operating between Chatham, Newcastle, and Douglastown with 50 stops at a 35-minute frequency and the other operating from Chatham to Newcastle with 39 stops at 60-minute intervals.

The present-day bus network includes 36 stops on the Chatham-Newcastle line, 34 on the Chatham-Douglastown route, and 38 on the Newcastle-Douglastown route, with all three lines running at 60-minute intervals. Implementing various scenarios from the plan would increase the commission’s budget from $556,900 this year to $655,500 in 2028, with $320,000 to $481,300 coming from the city.

“The priorities in the strategic plan seek to create a more efficient transit service where it already exists in Miramichi, and to expand or explore the expansion of service coverage by looking into on-demand transit,” said Brown.

“On-demand transit is an increasingly popular way for transit services to provide cost-efficient service consistently to rural and low-ridership areas. It’s a heavy theme throughout the strategic plan and would mitigate many of the desires we heard about in the engagement process.”

Brown said the plan’s operational priorities include working with the city to prioritize bus fleet maintenance, better integrating transit requirements in snow-clearing and other services, and changing the department overseeing the transit commission from the Economic Development and Tourism Department to the Public Works Department.

Jason Babineau, the commission’s general manager, said the plan was shared with council for information purposes and to seek endorsement. He said requests for funding will likely come in future years, depending on the plan’s direction.

“With the city being the most significant funding partner for Miramichi Transit, we hope council will support the plan and give the transit commission confidence to pursue it,” he said.

“We are seeking an endorsement of a direction to pursue improvements to Miramichi’s transit system.”