A feasibility study of Fredericton transit

Abstract

This study provides an insight into the problems faced by municipal transit services in the Province of New Brunswick. In particular, an evaluation of the present service in Fredericton has been performed in order to understand if there is a need to provide a more cost effective alternative to its present transit service. It was found that the City of Fredericton has been providing an acceptable level of service to its patrons, although the cost to do so has become increasingly high on account of the lack of ridership. It was for this reason that alternatives to this present system were analyzed in this report to determine a more cost effective approach, while providing the same level of service. Several public transit constraints were discussed in order to comprehend what might hinder the ability of Fredericton City Transit to provide a more cost effective service. These constraints included ridership, service and operating results, equity, and transit fares. Time-of-day transit fares, distance-based transit fares, the mini-bus approach, car pooling, and contracted services were the alternative approaches that had been evaluated to determine their feasibility. A recommendation was made to consider the time-of-day and distancebased transit fare approaches as they appeared to generate the needed revenue required to reduce the substantial amount of costs of Fredericton's transit service.