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Tardy buses draw councillor's ire Kevin Allerston Northern News Services Published Wednesday, November 23, 2011
He said he made the suggestion to Dennis Kefalas, director of public works, but was told that the idea wasn't economically feasible. After his experience on Nov. 5, a day when the temperature hovered around -10 C, Falvo decided to begin collecting stories from riders about their experiences. "I'm trying to figure out what's going on with the buses because I get complaints time to time from people," said Falvo. "I don't really know if they are isolated incidents or if it's general." Falvo said he's seen some good indicators, such as drivers waiting at stops when arriving early, but he has also witnessed problems. "You almost may as well not have a bus if you're going to be that late," he said of his recent experience, especially when temperatures reach -30 or -40 C. Falvo plans to take the stories he's heard to city hall to discuss the issue during budget meetings with city council on Dec. 5. He suggested using smaller, shuttle buses or using GPS systems to let people know approximate arrival times. "Halifax had (GPS) for years when I left 10 years ago. I realize we are a smaller place, but at the same time, technology has improved so much in that time that I bet it's pretty cheap to do that now," said Falvo. "I want to do whatever is most cost-effective and that it provides the best service ultimately," said Falvo. The projected cost of operating city buses is $1,083,000 with expected revenues of $373,000 for 2012. A transportation study last year found buses are used by only one per cent of city commuters. Deputy mayor Mark Heyck said he is open to the idea of doing a cost-benefit analysis of having the city provide the service instead of its current contractor, Cardinal Coachlines. The city's contract with the company expires next September. "You are looking at purchasing probably several buses, so there's that capital cost and operations and maintenance cost and fuel costs and those types of things," said Heyck, adding the city would also have to build a facility for the buses. "So we would have to take a look at that overall picture to see if the benefits to the system and those residents who use the system outweigh all of those costs that come along with moving away from a contracted service," he said. Coun. Cory Vanthuyne said while he sees the need for improvements, he doesn't agree that the city should take over the service. "Do I think we have to pull it from a contractor? No, I don't think so," said Vanthuyne. "I think that as long as the city is giving consideration to these alternatives (such as smaller shuttles and GPS tracking), and finding contractors that are able and capable of providing these programs, then certainly I am interested in staying private." One person who submitted a letter to Falvo is Wendy Hebert. "My daughter has complained in the past when buses don't arrive, are very late, or skip stops altogether (like the hospital stop) but has never felt satisfied that it has made a difference to call and complain," states her letter. Hebert told Yellowknifer that on Monday her daughter had a problem with the bus earlier that day. "She was going to work and she takes the bus every day and she got to the bus stop six minutes early and she waited, and waited, and waited and saw it going past on the other side at least six minutes early and left. She called a taxi and paid more money," said Hebert. Hebert used to take the bus when she worked for the city and had to frequently explain her reason for being late. "But to be perfectly honest, and I worked there at the time, I don't think that any of those complaints were ever passed to anybody. Because it happened again, and again, and again. The same problems," said Hebert. Cardinal Coachlines declined to comment.
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