North Bay residents have taken to proposed new transit changes. Photo by Dennis Chippa.
It has been a busy two weeks for Craig Wallis.
The North Bay transit driver has been off the bus, and all over the city, talking to people about proposed new changes to the city’s bus system.
Wallis has been hosting public information sessions to outline the changes, which involve everything from routes to times to even the buses themselves.
Wallis says the idea is to make sure the public has its say on some already pretty public-friendly changes.
“We are having a lot of runs going to twenty minute runs instead of half hour runs. The current hour runs are going down to a half hour run. So there are going to be a lot more buses out there to make things easier for the general public”
Wallis says buses will be running earlier and later in some routes.
Among the proposed changes are extended hours on Sundays, some runs being out even two hours longer than they are now.
Wallis sees that as a benefit to shoppers, stores, and store employees, often part time workers and students who need the later runs.
“People like the idea that they can come and go easier. We’re also looking at implementing transfer location points, ten to twelve of those in the city where you can get off a bus and get on the next connecting bus to your destination without having to go downtown. So you save yourself anywhere from fifteen minutes to even a half an hour”
It’s a long shot, but there could even be a couple of changes to the buses themselves.
“We want to have live GPS tracking where the customer can go on an app and download the app and find out where a particular bus is, how long it gets to a particular stop. And also have call stops on the bus, automated through the speaker system that would be calling out the next stop"
That will help people relax and stop worrying about when their stop is coming up.
Wallis, who’s been driving for seventeen years, says the changes are a long time coming, and positive for everyone, including the men and women at the wheel.
“We’re in the service industry, and if you’re driving a bus you’re here to provide a service for people and if you can make your people happier you’ve done a good thing”
The service enhancements, which at this point may not come with an increased fee for riders, will be presented to council when budget discussions begin.
