Transit Test Project

The City of Bathurst is currently completing Milestone 4 of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program. The implementation of a transit service will assist the City reach PCP’s Milestone 5, which has a target goal of reducing citywide emissions to 20 per cent below 1995 levels. This transit test pilot, based on a 2004 completed Green Municipal Funds feasibility study (GMEF 3677), consists of a one-year test of a two-route transit service having a fleet of three 30-40 passenger buses. Ridership will be encouraged by a community education and awareness campaign that will stress mobility and affordable transportation and link up the service with trails, recreation facilities and work locations. Estimates indicate that a mature and fully subscribed transit service would have the ability to displace two-thirds the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) currently attributed to local trips taken in personal automobiles. This would translate into savings of 100,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide, 10,000 kilograms of carbon monoxide, 1,000 kilograms of nitrous oxide, and 500 kilograms of volatile organic compounds. In addition, individual riders using the service every day and traveling an average trip length would accomplish 40 to 50 per cent of a personal “One-Tonne Challenge”. The City of Bathurst intends to develop and run an effective local transit service from this field test.