By Brittany Woodcock [1]
BELLEVILLE – After almost 30 years of operating the public transit system in Quinte West, Quinte Access [2] is a step closer to bringing residents to Belleville by bus.
In late July, Quinte Access received 342,153 dollars from the provincial government for service expansions and technology improvements through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Project.
One of the new services would be a dedicated bus route to Belleville with one of the stops being at Loyalist College.
Executive director of Quinte Access, Shelly Ackers, says the project is still in it’s beginning stages because they’re waiting for funding from the federal government. But once it comes through, they’re hoping to do a study on the best way to run the route.
“Loyalist College is our only post secondary school in this area so there is a lot of people who would like to access it,” she said.
When asked how the route would be operated, Ackers said they’re planning to use a bus they already have and run it about seven times a day to accommodate the times residents may need it.
Ackers suggests the new route could also help students with the housing problems they face.
“Loyalist College is working very hard to try to find housing for their students. Quinte West is an option for some of these students,” she said. “However, in order to do that, they have to have transportation because a lot of them don’t have their own personal vehicles. They would rely on public transportation to get them back and forth,”
QNet News asked Loyalist students on Facebook what they think about the possible bus route.
Early Childhood Education student, Hannah Atkinson, commented that she thinks the route would be an excellent idea.
“Lots of people would use it and it would open up more space for students to be able to live. There’s minimal rental opportunities in Belleville. Trenton could absorb at least some of the overflow,” Atkinson said in her post. “It also reduces some of the vehicles that will be coming to campus, freeing up a bit of parking and saving gas.”
The funding will also provide new buses, bicycle racks, shelters, a smart card technology for fare boxes, a collision avoidance system and an onboard surveillance system.