A senior transit planner with Codiac Transpo says they are optimistic more people will begin to use the system after offering the service for free during Environment Week.
Marie-Claire Pierce says while they don’t have the final numbers, Codiac Transpo staff certainly noticed an increase.
“We saw visually a lot more people using the bus, but we don’t have the final numbers yet,” says Pierce.
She says it was a great opportunity for people to try out the system.
“And again it’s not for everyone, we know it’s not convenient for the entire population but for those that were maybe on the fence, and got to try it out during Environment Week, we hope they come back,” says Pierce.
Pierce says last year, they saw an increase of 3,000 riders per day to a total of 9,000.
She adds they have systems in place to monitor if that temporary spike will translate into long term use.
