Canada and Fredericton announce upgrades to the city's public transit

FREDERICTON, NB, April 21, 2022 /CNW/ - Reliable and accessible public transit gives people faster, cheaper, and cleaner ways of getting around. Investing in efficient public transit solutions today will create good middle class jobs, reduce air pollution, help local economies grow, and improve Canadians' quality of life tomorrow.

Today, Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and Her Worship Kate Rogers, Mayor of Fredericton, announced joint funding for enhancements to local public transit.

Through this funding, the City of Fredericton will acquire a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system and an automatic passenger counting (APC) system for each of its 28 fixed route buses and three para-transit buses. Funds will also support changes to bus stops that will make them easier for persons with mobility disabilities to use. Finally, this investment will contribute towards the purchase of a new, low-floor, accessible urban transit bus, which will replace an existing bus in the fleet that has reached the end of its usable life.

Improvements are focused on capacity, safety and accessibility. Public transit is a core resource within a community, helping people affordably get where they need to go, supporting workers and businesses with improved traffic flows, and reducing overall carbon emissions. The Government of Canada's investment in this project will help make the transit system more comfortable, safe and usable for more Frederictonians.

The Government of Canada is investing more than $452,000 through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The City of Fredericton is investing over $679,000.

"The benefits of investing in public transit are clear ? they make our communities greener and more inclusive. This funding will improve Fredericton's transit system to make it safer, easier to access, and more capable of meeting the needs of Frederictonians, especially those who rely on public transit to get to work or school."

Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

"On behalf of my colleagues at City Council, I want to thank the Government of Canada for their contribution to improving Fredericton's transit system. A new transit bus, automatic passenger counters, a closed circuit television system and ongoing efforts to make our transit stops more accessible will help with the implementation of initiatives identified in our 2019 Transit Strategic Plan and support our overarching goal of increasing ridership in our capital city."

Her Worship Kate Rogers, Mayor of Fredericton

• Under the Investing in Canada Plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.
• Over the past 6 years, Infrastructure Canada has invested over $692 million towards 463 infrastructure projects across New Brunswick.
• During that period, over $44 billion has been invested by Infrastructure Canada in communities across the county to support world-class, modern public infrastructure, including over $23 billion for public transit improvement projects.
• Fredericton Transit provides a city-wide public transit network, travelling on 12 different routes, using 28 low-floor buses. The service operates Monday to Saturday, except on holidays, and carries over one million passengers a year. Fredericton Transit also operates a Para-Transit system using two wheelchair-lift equipped buses and arrangements with Easter Seals and local taxi companies.
• Infrastructure Canada helps address complex challenges that Canadians face every day?ranging from the rapid growth of our cities, to climate change, and environmental threats to our water and land.

Federal infrastructure investments in New Brunswick
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-nb-eng.html

Investing in Canada Plan Project Map
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html

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Web: Infrastructure Canada

SOURCE Infrastructure Canada