Public transit in the Acadian Peninsula

The transit project in the Acadian Peninsula is part of the development of an inclusive and sustainable transportation strategy in the province of New Brunswick. The project covers the entire territory of the Acadian Peninsula, including local service districts and municipalities of all sizes. The goal of this project is to propose transit system options that could integrate various modes of transportation, while reflecting the economic, social and environmental needs of rural communities. These modes of transportation could include shared cars, individual vehicles with volunteer drivers, active transportation and other solutions. Specifically, the project aims to: • Assess the transportation demand of the population of the Acadian Peninsula; • Define and prioritize the expectations of organizations and the public with regard to transit; • Develop a transportation plan and the related budgets; • Define the implementation strategy for the selected business model and prepare the business plan; • Determine available funding sources for carrying out and implementing the public transit project. The addition of transit services will facilitate the mobility of residents in the context of the specific demographic challenges faced by rural communities. Increased mobility is instrumental in achieving the region’s economic, social and environmental objectives, including access to the labour market, healthcare and education, the retention of young people and newcomers, and improved access to public services. The decreased number of individual car trips and the use of environmentally friendly technologies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and decrease noise pollution. This project is aligned with the regional urban development plan, which mentions the diversity of infrastructure related to transportation alternatives to cars and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and with the 2017-2020 strategic plan of the Regional Service Commission, which supports the development of public transit. Innovative aspects: · The concept of smart cities will be taken into consideration in the study’s design. · The public transit project represents an innovation in the rural context of the Acadian Peninsula, which seems to be very underserved in terms of active and public transportation options. Replicability: There is good potential to share the knowledge resulting from this study on a regional scale, particularly with the other regions of the province of New Brunswick that are looking into the possibility of introducing a transit system. (Project description from original funding application)