CBS reconsidering public transit options

By Craig Westcott \ April 28, 2023

CBS council does see public transit as a priority, councillor-at-large Joshua Barrett said last week.

Like a number of larger communities outside St. John’s, CBS is bereft of any form of public transit, making it difficult for low-income workers without cars to get to jobs, for students to access post secondary schools in the capital, and for seniors and other citizens without reliable rides to make it to medical appointments and shopping without hiring a taxi.

Neighboring Paradise is served by Metrobus, which also reaches into Mount Pearl and the Goulds, but CBS, where council has looked at the idea a number of times in the past, remains unserviced.

Barrett said council actually talked about public transit during its budget talks last fall.

“Council remains committed to exploring options for the provision of some sort of public transit within the town,” Barrett insisted. “This was discussed again at committee last week. Bearing in mind that the capital cost to purchasing these types of vehicles would be quite a high expense, we are trying to ensure that we put in place an implementation plan that is sustainable for our town and meets the needs of our residents. And so, we’re continuing to explore partnership opportunities on what this would look like over the next number of months and hopefully we’ll have more to say on that front soon.”

Coincidentally, Avalon MP Ken McDonald is scheduled to be in Holyrood today to announce a new federal fund for rural public transit.