New Brunswick releases report and recommendations on inclusive and sustainable transportation
– by Yves Bourgeois
“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transport.”
– Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogota
Yves Bourgeois stands in front of the iconic former Canadian Pacific station at McAdam, where New Brunswick’s report on sustainable and inclusive transportation was released on 11 December 2017.
New Brunswick citizens and policymakers need to pivot their thinking significantly from surfaces to services, putting “access” first and ratcheting up shared transportation services investments in balance with physical transportation infrastructure. This fundamental shift from roads and highways is crucial if the province hopes not only to reduce poverty, but also to improve population growth, physical health, job creation and the environment. This is the overarching theme of the report and recommendations on inclusive and sustainable mobility released on 11 December 2017 by the New Brunswick advisory committee on Rural and urban transportation (RUTAC) struck by New Brunswick Government’s Economic and social inclusion corporation (ESIC). http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/news/news_release.2017.12.1583.html
The first Rural Lynx/Maritime Bus departure left for Saint John from St. Stephen at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 25. SWNB Transit Authority Chair Stan Choptiany (third from right) poses with Maritime Bus staff before the first trip.
After years of hard work to make it a reality, the new bus service linking communities in Charlotte County to Saint John, New Brunswick, is up and running. RuralLynx, a partnership between the Southwest New Brunswick Transport Authority Inc., the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission, and Maritime Bus, successfully began operations on September 25, 2017. It will run as a 2-year pilot project, and proponents hope it will ultimately turn into a permanent service.
The new service includes:
7 DAYS A WEEK – TWICE DAILY – PASSENGER AND PARCEL SERVICE St. Stephen – St. Andrews – St. George – Upper Letang – Pennfield – Lepreau – Saint John Service to Saint John Regional, St Josephs, UNB, McAllister Place, Courthouse, Main Terminal
Monday to Thursday – Grand Manan (Blacks Harbour) Connection
Friday & Sunday – Return Service to Bangor Maine from Charlotte County and Saint John
More information and ticket sales are available on their website:
From left: Mike Cassidy, president of Maritime Bus; Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet; Premier Brian Gallant; Stan Choptiany, Southwest New Brunswick Transit Authority president; Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister John Ames; and New Brunswick Southwest MP Karen Ludwig. (PHOTO – Transportation and Infrastructure, Office of the Premier, July 27, 2017 – St. Stephen)
After five years of hard work by the Southwest New Brunswick Transit Authority (SWNBTA), a twice daily bus service from southern Charlotte County to Saint John is finally posed to become a reality. On Thursday, the province of New Brunswick announced a $500,000 investment to launch the proposed bus service as a 2-year pilot project.
Here is the press release from New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure:
ST. STEPHEN (GNB) – The provincial government is investing $500,000 to help provide affordable bus transportation through a community led pilot project in southwestern New Brunswick.
“Public transportation in our regions is important to the New Brunswick economy,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “It also helps improve New Brunswickers quality of life. This community led pilot project will help residents of Charlotte County and Saint John connect. It will also ensure southwestern New Brunswick businesses have the logistical support they need to get their products to markets.”
Funding will be provided to the Southwest New Brunswick Transit Authority Inc. to establish a two-year pilot project for bus transportation between communities in Charlotte County and the city of Saint John.
“It is tremendously rewarding to see the provincial financial support that is the result of our five-year, grassroots vision to establish an integrated transportation service for Charlotte County residents,” said transit authority president Stan Choptiany. “The entire board of the Southwest New Brunswick Transit Authority, and the public in general, are greatly looking forward to the Rural Lynx-Maritime Bus service commencing this fall.”
The project calls for Rural Lynx, in association with Maritime Bus, to provide twice-daily, seven-day-a-week passenger bus and parcel service between St. Stephen and Saint John, with proposed stops in Saint Andrews, St. George and Pennfield.
“With the province’s support and the will of the local communities, Maritime Bus is looking forward to travelling the roads of southwest New Brunswick and having its passenger and parcel freight network extend to St. Stephen,” said Maritime Bus president Mike Cassidy.
