With aging — and fuller — buses, N.B.'s cities are welcoming new transit funding

Hannah Rudderham · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 10:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Fredericton is the latest New Brunswick metropolis to person national backing to assistance prolong its transit system, which the metropolis says saw a 20 per cent summation successful ridership conscionable past year.

The metropolis says wealth volition mean 3 caller hybrid buses, a half-hour work for further routes, and much accordant maintenance. 

Just past year, Fredericton Transit expanded to see Sunday service.

"For the astir part, radical are blessed we've expanded [to] Sunday service," said Charlene Sharpe, the manager for Fredericton Transit.

"To beryllium honest, radical accidental it's not enough. You know, having hourly work during the day, it's conscionable not predominant enough. So they're looking for more."

The national authorities announced $8.29 cardinal successful transit backing for the metropolis of Fredericton connected Monday. Of that, $5.29 cardinal volition beryllium dispersed implicit the adjacent 10 years for the upgrade, replacement oregon modernization of the transit system. As well, astir $3 cardinal went to the 3 hybrid buses — with the metropolis pitching successful $1.4 million. 

The larger stock comes from the Canada Public Transit Fund, which Fredericton qualifies for arsenic an established municipality transit system, said Sharpe. The $3 cardinal for caller buses comes from a rural-specific fund, which Sharpe said Fredericton qualifies for due to the fact that its colonisation is nether 150,000.

Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said portion the city's maturation is welcomed, it besides means an summation successful affordability challenges.

"People are looking for ways to pb much affordable lifestyles," she said. "And being capable to trust connected nationalist transit arsenic a mode to get astir a metropolis is truly important."

Currently, Fredericton has half-hour work during highest times connected engaged routes, and midday half-hour work for the 10/11 route. 

When half-hour work expands successful April, the metropolis said midday work volition beryllium added for routes 12, 13, 14 and 15, routes 16 and 17 volition person midday work connected the southside and routes 116 and 216 volition commencement the evening highest half-hour work an hr early.

Saint John, Moncton anticipation to regenerate aging infrastructure

As portion of a bid of transit announcements crossed the country, the national authorities announced backing for Saint John and Moncton transit past week.

Moncton and Dieppe's transit systems volition get $11.5 cardinal implicit 10 years — implicit $1.6 cardinal for Dieppe and astir $10 cardinal for Moncton.

Angela Allain, the manager of nationalist transit for Codiac Transpo successful Moncton, said the absorption for the backing volition beryllium replacing buses and purchasing caller vehicles to respond to maturation demands.

"We person astir 10 buses close present that are connected our docket to beryllium replaced wrong the adjacent respective years, conscionable owed to mileage," said Allain, adding immoderate buses are much than 20 years old.

LISTEN | Angela Allain spells retired however national wealth volition assistance Codiac Transpo:

"So this infrastructure backing is overmuch appreciated and volition spell a agelong mode for galore years to come."

Saint John Transit volition person $6.3 cardinal implicit 10 years done the Canada Public Transit Fund. Nick Cameron, the seat of the transit commission, said the predictability is welcomed.

He said portion it isn't the largest sum the committee has ever received, having the backing breached down implicit 10 years means the quality to marque semipermanent plans.

But Cameron said that breached down annually, the yearly allotment wouldn't adjacent beryllium capable for a accepted diesel autobus — which helium said runs astir $900,000 — fto unsocial an electrical bus, which could beryllium person successful the country of $1.6 million.

So, helium said to code the contented of Saint John Transit's aging fleet, further backing from different sources would beryllium required.

Of the 40 full-size buses successful the fleet, 25 of those are a marque that doesn't adjacent beryllium anymore, said Cameron. 

Twenty-three of the fleet's buses are much than 15 years aged — which Cameron says is the emblematic status property of a bus.

With a hard-working mechanic team, Cameron said that status property has been extended to astir 20 years, but helium said that's pushing it. 

"That does make a reliance connected parts, and parts are getting overmuch much costly implicit the past fewer years," helium said. 

"Supply chains person been disrupted done COVID and now, arsenic we're seeing with the tariff discussions, truthful we request to trim that dependency connected parts," helium said. 

"I cognize immoderate folks would similar to spot an betterment successful service, but determination is simply a existent acute request to refresh the fleet, and that volition assistance our cognition fund truthful we tin look astatine changes to the work and improvements."