By Heather Killen
The Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
Bridgetown’s town council and residents are wondering how their public transit service will be affected by the County of Annapolis’ move to replace Kings Transit as its bus service manager.
The county’s decision to open contract talks with the Trans County Transportation Society generated more discussion during the regular council meeting on January 18 than the town’s current financial situation.
Council members and several citizens wondered how the recent move would impact bus service in their community. Mayor Bob Fowler acknowledged a letter sent by Annapolis Warden Reg Ritchie, updating residents of Annapolis County about its decision and clarifying its reasons for withdrawing from the longstanding agreement with Kings Transit.
“No one has come to talk to us about it,” Mayor Fowler said. “We need to understand how this new relationship will work and how it will affect us.”
Kings Transit
While its based in Kings County, Kings Transit operates bus service in Annapolis Valley communities from Brooklyn, Hants County through to Weymouth in Digby County. The Municipality of Annapolis owns two of the buses used along the main routes here in the county and already pays the costs associated with this service along with a $60,000 fee to Kings Transit for managing this service.
The service contract between the municipality and Kings Transit expired in 2009 and has been since operating on a month-to-month basis. According to Mayor Bob Fowler, one of the reasons cited for not renewing this contract is a lack of input on the Kings Transit board.
The county doesn’t have a voting member on the Kings Transit board, but then none of the communities outside Kings County have input, he said. Of particular contention is the issue of spending authority over special transit grants.
The Municipality of Annapolis objects to Kings Transit’s move to direct more than $400,000 that it was allotted, to help pay for a new bus facility in Kings County. Since the transit service manages the county-owned buses, the money allotted to Annapolis should have stayed in Annapolis, according to Warden Reg Ritchie.
Bridgetown Mayor Bob Fowler said that Bridgetown now pays about $7,000 to Kings Transit to operate the service in the town. The municipality pays a greater share of the costs associated with providing bus service to the area, but it hasn’t discussed with Bridgetown council or other local partners its move to replace Kings Transit.
Uncertainty
As a result, the Bridgetown council is not exactly sure how the change will be implemented particularly since the municipality didn’t yet have a contract with Trans County Transportation Society.
Mayor Fowler highlighted other key points such as the county’s expectation that routes and times will not change with the transition to the new service and that Annapolis passengers should be able to transfer to Kings Transit at no additional cost.
More questions and comments were made during citizens’ forum, while some expressed support for the change others were less optimistic about the implications.
Resident Lewis Falls said he believes the change could ultimately be very beneficial to Bridgetown and area residents, especially those who are outside the current service area such as in Carleton Corner. He pointed to longstanding requests for bus shelters and route changes that have been ignored by Kings Transit.
“This is a golden opportunity for municipalities to work together,” he said. “There could be real advantages in having a locally operated system.”
Other residents spoke up wondering how the changes would affect their regular bus service and council reiterated that it’s hard to know how things will be implemented because they are ‘in the dark’ about the negotiations for the new contract. Mayor Fowler said he hoped to know more after an upcoming meeting with other municipal leaders.
Employment concerns were also raised for the local people now employed with the Annapolis bus route and while it was suggested they would maintain their jobs through the transition of management, it’s not clear if the salaries will remain the same.
