Maritime Bus is happy with its South Shore bus service launched mid September; the first of its kind in over six years.
President Mike Cassidy says the company has received overwhelmingly positive feedback so far.
The service makes three round trips a day between Lunenburg County and Halifax. So far, 2 commuter passes have been sold, which include unlimited trips for a flat, monthly rate.
“It’s nice to see …working commuters taking advantage of the bus travelling back and forth, where it would be cost-effective to have a monthly pass. …We are certainly seeing the students and the senior adult travel. Very encouraging,” says Cassidy.
He says the company is also experimenting with new options. This is the first time Maritime Bus is offering curb-side drop-off and pick-up in HRM.
“Our first drop-off/pick-up is on Young and Robie, the second is in front of the Infirmary, then we have the Scotia Square area, and end up at the Via Rail/Maritime Bus terminal,” he says.
Cassidy says the highest customer volumes are on the 10am bus leaving Lunenburg, and the 4:30pm bus coming back from Halifax.
While other routes see at least 50% of passengers passing through the city to other destinations, 90% of South Shore passengers are using the bus specifically to get to Halifax and back.
The majority of passengers are using the service to travel to the Infirmary drop-off point, he says.
Cassidy says he hopes with the holidays approaching, more people will take advantage of the same day parcel delivery.
“We get the awareness, we get the confidence that the buses are here to stay, and that we do deliver on time. …We’re getting positive comments coming back to our call centre and to our drivers …and I’m expecting some bigger ridership numbers both in passengers and in parcels because we’re getting close to Christmas,” he says.
Story by Erin MacInnis
Twitter: @ErinEMacInnis
