Transit in Sudbury celebrates 50 years of service with free rides
To celebrate half a century of municipal transit service, residents in Greater Sudbury can ride the buses free of charge Sept. 28.
Brendan Adair, the city's director of transit services, said the goal is to get more people using the bus.
“I really am hopeful that people will see transit as something that they can use on a regular basis and that automobile traffic will decrease," Adair said.
"It will benefit us by reducing traffic, reducing pollution,” added Tracy Gour, member of the Friends of Sudbury Transit group.
Getting more people using the bus will help reduce greenhouse gases, as is the city's hope to convert its fleet from diesel to electric. A feasibility study will provide many answers, Adair said.
"It looks at things like ridership, topography and our temperature -- and that’s a big thing here in Sudbury," he said.
The goal is to come up with "a plan that we can then bring to council for a recommendation to eventually transfer through to battery electric buses and that aligns with our seat plan that envisions us being fully electric by 2035.”
Adair said about 14,000 people a day currently ride the bus every day, about 80 per cent of ridership before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That means people have come back and people trust the system," he said.
"We understand that there is now people who work from home and travel patterns have changed since the pandemic, so we’re looking to engage those new riders and help them in the new system.”
While ridership numbers are improving, Adair said staff is always looking at ways to improve the service.
“I’d love to be able to get on and connect to Wi-Fi," he said.
"I’d love to be able to get on and not have to carry money.”
The transit service is looking into the possibility of an app that would it make it easier for riders to better understand the bus service as a whole.
For more information on Free Transit Day click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Indianapolis 500 starts after 4-hour rain delay with Kyle Larson in the field
The Indianapolis 500 started Sunday after a rain delay of four hours with NASCAR star Kyle Larson still at the track and in the race.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.