Ward 3 Candidates 2024 on Transit

Scott Fitzgerald

Metrobus has been a common election issue in St. John’s since at least 2009. Many, many candidates who have gone on to serve on council have talked about the importance of public transit and there has been little change over that time. That is, until very recently when ridership actually grew for the first time in recent memory. For years the catch-22 with Metrobus has been that we can’t make investments in Metrobus until we see that more people are using it, and we can’t get more people to use it without investing in it and making it a better service. We finally see an increase in ridership and what does council do but divert funds slated to be re-invested in Metrobus and use it in other areas! To make matters worse there has been very little transparency about why this was done and the report recently provided by Metrobus on plans for future growth has not been released to the public.

A robust public transit system is a must in a modern municipality like St. John’s. It is a service that citizens have been calling for improvements to, for a long time. Withholding funding that was earmarked for re-investment into the service is just wrong and it hurts our city in the long term when you consider such things as road maintenance and taking action on climate change.

Walter Harding

Metrobus has been a contentious topic during many municipal elections in the past dating back 20 years. While I am delighted to be able to offer my thoughts on the service, the cost associated with it and the stigma that still lingers about our public transit it seems many people before me and many members of council past and present have not been able to get the service to a proper level of quality for Metrobus users. Having said that, I think we can get there.
The increase in ridership is for many reasons. The high cost of living has led to many people wanting to save money as much as possible and leaving their vehicles parked is one way to achieve that. Many users of Metrobus have turned to the service as cost cutting measures and have mixed feelings on the service with some simple improvements required.
Our many newcomers to St. John’s regularly use Metrobus to commute around the city but complain about unreliable services on the weekends and as many are working multiple jobs and taking classes at the same time and the reduced schedule on weekends leaves them having to pay for much more expensive modes of transportation. We should improve our weekend service to match weekday service.
Our students avail of Metrobus services and the new on-demand system in place has proven to be quite beneficial for them while still raising concerns about our lack of direct routes and timely transport to and from their destinations.
Monies earmarked for the addition of hybrid smaller buses should free up some monies saved by lower consumption of diesel fuel and perhaps saving on maintenance costs and upkeep of the aging Metrobus fleet.
As well, monies available through the federal governments clean air fund should be targeted by city council and every effort should be made to secure the maximum amount possible, unlike our first attempt at securing a portion of the 4 billion dollar housing acceleration fund that was short on significant foresight and called “lacking” by the federal government. When we have opportunities presented to us as a city we must take advantage of the situation and maximize the benefits to our residents.
The development proposal for affordable housing on the parking lot of The Village Mall is an exciting opportunity as long as we take our time and make certain we do our due diligence and get it right.
I see an opportunity on that site to improve the current situation with perhaps a reconfiguration of the current sheltered bus stops to the rear of the mall to free up pedestrians and traffic congestion in the area. Moving the bus stops to the rear of the mall may also provide us the opportunity to integrate a more robust and efficient transportation network and provide a much safer environment for users of our Metrobus service.
Metrobus is headed in the right direction but there are many improvements required to attract and retain new passengers to our Metrobus network.
Covered bus stops, more direct routes, free service for the people who need it most, a gentle move away from fossil fuels and a weekend service that closely resembles our Monday to Friday service are all examples of improvements required to get maximum returns on the investments into our public transportation network.
We can work hard on lobbying , advertising more,  maximizing spending, using best practices to find ways of doing more with less and getting inventive with how we maximize the investment in our Metrobus network. Our riders and our tax payers deserve the best from us so they can enjoy the best service possible.

Mark House

Public transit is a lifeline for so many, especially during tough economic times. As your councillor, I would push for improvements to the Village Mall transit hub. These upgrades should include better shelter, accessibility features, and potentially covered walkways to the mall. Transit is an essential service, and ensuring it meets the needs of our community is key. While there are always budget constraints, I believe we need to prioritize investments that make life more affordable and accessible for all residents. Improving transit isn’t just an expense—it’s an investment in our community’s future, one that pays off in economic growth and environmental benefits.

Paul Morgan

Ridership does appear to be up in St. John’s and the Village Mall is certainly a major Metrobus hub
● With the proposal to build an apartment complex on the rear parking
lot I think this would be a good time to incorporate a bus hub as well – perhaps this initiative could possibly be cost shared between the
builder and the city
● The cost of such projects if deemed necessary to the area residents and ridership would have to be maintained by all parties involved
● Nobody wants more taxes

Greg Noseworthy

[To Come]

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