Councils to decide budget for regional bussing

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A regional bus service in the Chaleur region is inching closer to fruition as 2024 budget talks for municipalities take place later this fall.

Prior to the municipal reform, the region’s municipalities agreed to a feasibility study on a regional transportation service, which wrapped up in the spring of 2023.

The study reached out to various community groups to gauge the opinions and needs of different demographics for regional bussing.

“It was a good study to show us a portrait of what was currently available in the region and what could be done,” said Jessica Poirier, transportation co-ordinator for the Chaleur Chamber of Commerce. “It had many options in it. It was made to give us more ideas of what was done elsewhere so we could then take a decision for ourselves.”

The next step is to get a budget and a final description of the project approved by the commission’s board so additional funding can be secured, she said.

Transportation sub-committee member and Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain said mayors will be presenting the feasibility study’s findings to their councils as part of budget talks this fall.

She said the project will likely roll out in two phases. The first, the purchase of four 24 passenger mini-buses with a route that begins in East Bathurst and travels as far as Pointe-Verte.

Chamberlain said the study also raised the idea of a taxi bus – a shuttle to pick people up at their homes in more rural areas, and drop them off at bus stops on the main route. That would likely be phase two if it’s determined there is a need for that type of service.

Once councils decide what they’re comfortable contributing financially, and the commission’s board votes on a path forward, a five-year operational plan will be finalized by the commission, she said.

The majority of funding for the project will come from the federal government and the committee hopes to secure some from the province. The remainder will be covered by the municipalities.

Chamberlain said Bathurst and Belle-Baie will split the operational costs of the bus service for the first year and the rural districts and Belledune would contribute if the taxi bus service is expanded to those areas in subsequent years.

Once buses are ordered, Chamberlain said it will take six to eight months to receive them.

We don't want to rush this and have it flop

Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain

With the increase in the cost of living, Chamberlain said there are many people who can’t afford a vehicle or to take a taxi, and the housing shortage means not everyone can live in the municipality of their choice.

“I can’t tell you how many calls we’re getting at city hall asking if there’s public transportation, and when public transportation is going to come,” she said.

The file was delayed because of the municipal reform, Chamberlain said, and while she’s eager to get buses on the road, she said everyone is working as diligently as possible to ensure the process is done right.

“We’re being careful,” she said. “We don’t want to rush this and have it flop.”

Poirier said the service commission’s board is expected vote on a final plan during the October public meeting.

Bathurst previously attempted a public transportation service with full-sized city buses. The project failed because it did not have enough ridership.