Charlottetown buses have more hourly commuters than the national average

By Daniel Brown

Jan. 11, 2019

Charlottetown’s bus system is well used according to the national average, the owner of T3 Transit said.

Charlottetown commuters share their thoughts on the city's bus system. Daniel Brown video.

In Canada, the average amount of bus passengers per hour is 19 – in communities with a population under 50,000, that is.

Charlottetown’s ridership per hour is close to 28. This is a good indication of how effective the system is, Mike Cassidy said.

“There is no question in my mind that we would be one of the most efficient operations.”

Commuters hop on the Route 1 bus at the Confederation Centre bus stop on Jan. 9. Daniel Brown photo.

T3 Transit runs 11 routes between Charlottetown, Stratford and Cornwall, but only operates 12 old diesel buses. Cassidy is working with the municipalities to replace the entire fleet.

They applied for federal funding to purchase 18 new buses, 14 of which are electric. Lowering emissions and improving air quality are two benefits of a mostly electric fleet, Cassidy said.

The buses would be implemented over the next seven years. Reduced noise pollution would be Cassidy’s favourite part.

“Just think about how quiet our city would be,” he said.

All the new buses will be easier for drivers to operate, easier to maintain, and more comfortable for passengers, Cassidy said.

Rob Gushue is a regular passenger. He catches the bus at the Confederation Centre bus stop.

He finds it’s usually on time, but at busy hours the amount of people riding make it a tight fit. If there are more buses running, it might mean more room on each bus, he said.

“Instead of having an overpacked bus they might actually not be packed that much.”