Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
I knew that this would be the initial reaction, because it was mine. However, on second thought, if you watch traffic patterns, you will find that a lot of people commute to the city by car from communities far outside the city limits. Maybe not 100km, but easily 50km. It would be interesting to see, if half of those commuters used transit, how much better the traffic situation would be within the city, even better if combined with really good transit inside the city (which would also help motivate the rural commuters to use transit, knowing that they had great options to get around once they’re here).
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It's true that a big portion of congestion in central parts of town arise from those coming in from elsewhere. The main concern I have is in how much subsidy such a regional service would require compared to urban transit services. If the province pays for it with no cost to the HRM then that addresses much of the issue, as long as the province isn't less willing to invest in urban services under the excuse that they're already investing X number of dollars in transit and therefore can't afford it.
But I actually do want to see the province create a better regional transit system. I think it's crazy that there's basically no transit option to go to places like Lunenburg and Bridgewater other than pricey tour buses. But that's more a general mobility service than a commuter service which have different scheduling which is an issue with the Metro X buses other than the airport. So I fear this is more a case of pandering to a the conservatives mostly rural base rather than a desire for something truly useful.
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