Saint John Transit
Encyclopedia
Saint John Transit is the public transit agency serving Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada. Established in 1979 to provide scheduled transit service to the city, it is the largest public transit system in the province in terms of both mileage and passengers. Ridership on Saint John Transit’s system is about 2.5 million passengers per year and growing.

Saint John Transit’s ridership is approximately 50 percent higher than the average for Canadian cities with a population of between 50,000 and 150,000.

History

The agency's roots can be traced back to its six predecessors:
  • People's Street Railway Company (1869-1876)
  • Saint John City Railway Company (1887-1892)
  • Consolidated Electric Company (1892-1897)
  • Saint John Railway Company (1897-1917)
  • New Brunswick Power Company (1917-1948)
  • City Transit Limited (1948-1979)

Main lines

  • 1 Lancaster Mall via Rothesay Avenue
  • 2 McAllister Place via Rothesay Avenue
  • 3 Regional/UNB via Causeway
  • 4 McAllister Place via Causeway
  • 5 Regional/UNB via Churchill Blvd
  • 6 Lancaster Mall via Churchill Blvd

West-side routes

  • 10 Lower West
  • 11 Fundy Heights
  • 12 Martinon
  • 13 Milford
  • 14 Churchill Heights
  • 15 Harbour Bridge
  • 16 Lorneville

North and south routes

  • 20 Wright Street/Fort Howe
  • 21 South End/St. Joseph's
  • 23 Crescent Valley
  • 25 Millidgeville/North End

East-side routes

  • 30 Champlain/Lakewood
  • 31 Forest Glen
  • 32 Loch Lomond
  • 33 Champlain Express
  • 34 Silver Falls
  • 35 Red Head
  • 36 Latimore Lake

Current fleet

Saint John Transit maintains an active fleet of approximately 60 buses.
  • GMDD
    General Motors Diesel Division
    General Motors Diesel Division was a unit of General Motors and was a manufacturer of locomotives, transit buses and military products.The locomotive unit was acquired by private investors, the transit bus divisions were purchased by TMC in the U.S. and MCI in Canada, and the GM Defense unit was...

    /MCI
    Motor Coach Industries
    Motor Coach Industries International Inc. is an American bus manufacturer based in Schaumburg, Illinois, and is a leading participant in the North American coach bus industry. It has various operating subsidiaries:...

    /Nova Bus
    Nova Bus
    Nova Bus is a Canadian bus manufacturer in North America, owned by Volvo Buses, and headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada.- History :The factory was originally a General Motors plant for building city transit buses intended for the Canadian market...

     Classic
  • Nova Bus LFS Artic (Ex. NovaBUS demo 40881 and 40882)
  • Nova Bus RTS
  • Orion VII and Orion VII "Next Generation"

Past fleet

  • GM "New Look" GM New Look (Fishbowl) Bus
    GM New Look (Fishbowl) Bus
    The GM New Look bus, also commonly known by the nickname "Fishbowl" , is a transit bus introduced in 1959 by General Motors and produced until 1987. More than 44,000 New Look buses were built. Its high production figures and long service career made it an iconic North American transit bus. The...

  • GM "Old Look" GM "old-look" transit bus

ComeX (Community Express)

Comex is a BRT (bus rapid transit) service that provides morning and after work service to citizens in outlying areas to and from Uptown Saint John. ComeX serves residents of Grand Bay-Westfield, Rothesay, Quispamsis and Hampton from Monday to Friday. Four buses form the basis of the ComeX service. ComeX was made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and support from the Province of New Brunswick.

Grand Bay-Westfield has three runs in the morning and three in the afternoon/evening, while Rothesay and Quispamsis has six runs in the morning and six in the afternoon/evening. The last run in the morning and the last run in the evening begin at McAllister Place. Hampton has three runs in the morning and three in the afternoon/evening. The last run in the morning and the last run in the evening begins at McAllister Place.

The service uses two Nova Bus LFS Artics and numerous DaimlerChrysler Orion VII Next Generation Bus. Saint John Transit purchased the first Orion VII Next Generation bus to roll off the assembly line in Mississauga, Ontario.

Employees

In 2001 there were 92 bus drivers, mechanics and dispatchers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union locals 1182 and 1229.

Current issues and developments

  • In 2005 the ATU Local 1182 representing Saint John Transit workers tried to enter and share in the City Of Saint John pension plan. The City of Saint John has indicated that if ATU 1182 had the support of the International Association of Fire Fighter's Union 771, Saint John Police Union Local 61, Inside Workers Union 18 and Outside Workers Local 486 there would be no need to fight for a pension in court.


The City of Saint John Pension Board has claimed that the transit workers are not City employees because they belong to a "transit commission." It is, however, in the opinion of ATU that the bus drivers have been employed by the city-run commission since 1979. The issue is currently tied up in the courts.
  • The City of Saint John, along with the Federal and Provincial governments are investing in ComeX to reduce auto emissions. With the implementation of ComeX, greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop by 1,500 metric tonnes and downtown traffic will decrease by 800 vehicles a day over the next five years.

  • Saint John City Council has asked Federal MP Paul Zed to look into consolidating Saint John City Transit with the Saint John Port Authority, Saint John Airport and Saint John Parking Commission.

  • Transit service will be downsized drastically if funding is not solidified by early December 2011. Saint John Transit needs $900,000 to maintain current service. It is not much money, but the powers at be in City Hall do not seem concerned. There are a few that do care and may see another term in Council if they choose to run again.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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