Seniors confused by bus schedules: deputy mayor

Many seniors who use Charlottetown’s new public transit system are complaining the schedules are too confusing, says the city’s deputy mayor, Stu MacFadyen.
“We had some concern with the schedules,” MacFadyen said at a city council meeting on Jan. 12.
Yet, the bus drivers are very helpful, he added.
Until the last couple of years, P.E.I. had been the only province without a publicly funded public transit system. Trius was given the go ahead after 2005 to implement a bussing system with city council subsidization to decrease with each year of business. Routes began in Charlottetown only and have branched out to include outlying areas since it started.
“No matter what bus you are on, you are never on the wrong bus,” MacFadyen said. A user can always get a transfer once he discovers mistake.
Coun. Rob Lantz of ward three agreed with MacFadyen’s synopsis.
“I find it very hard to parse the schedules myself. These concerns have been brought to my attention a number of times.”
Those who approached him had previously used transit systems all over the world, he added. Many of them found the Charlottetown system hard to use. The major complaint had been about the overuse of asterisks in the printed schedules.
Lantz had taken a bus earlier in the day and he noticed it was half to three-quarters full. H e noted UPEI students use them a lot.
“And it’s true; the bus drivers are very helpful.”
MacFadyen added once a user learned what route to take, the schedules were easier to use.
“We’re going to ask Trius to take a look at it.”