Saint John Transit scraps schedule, turns two routes into an on-demand zone

Saint John Transit is throwing the schedule away on a couple of routes to make way for a new on-demand system.

The change, which began Monday, sees Route 13 Milford and Route 14 Churchill move from a fixed timetable to the new so-called FLEX West Zone.

By calling a Saint John Transit dispatcher (506-652-3539) or using the Saint John Transit FLEX app, riders can schedule a bus stop pick-up within the zone.

“You can travel anywhere within that zone from one stop to another,” says Nick Cameron, chair of the Saint John Transit Commission. “If you need to travel outside of that zone you can transfer at a typical transfer station.”

The new zone will also see transit expand into Dominion Park and areas west of Manchester Avenue.

Cameron says more areas of the city’s east and north end will be added to the FLEX system this year.

“The areas chosen here are lower density areas that tend to have a lower ridership,” says Cameron.

The city’s new Karsan e-JEST buses, which can each fit up to 22 people at 20 feet long, is central to the on-demand system.

“When you’re running a 40-foot bus to pick up just a couple of people an hour, each paying $2.75 for a fare, it’s not a lot of revenue to carry the service,” says Cameron.

About 20 other Canadian municipalities have a similar on-demand transit system already in place.

“I think it’s a great idea,” says Bernadette Hutchings, a Saint John Transit user. “People may not have to wait as long for the bus if they have the FLEX service. They can call in and not have to wait in the cold.”

Cameron says another benefit of the new on-demand system is longer service hours.

“If you’re in Milford with the old fixed schedule, it ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” says Cameron. “An 11 a.m. start time isn’t useful for a lot of folks. But with this new service, we can offer it as early as 6:30 a.m. on weekdays.”

Operating hours in the FLEX West Zone are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Saint John Transit says pick-up requests can be scheduled up to a week beforehand.

Regular service on Routes 13 and 14 will continue until Saturday.