To whom it may concern:



The city of Fredericton is not a centralized one. There are many people whom depend on the bus system as their primary method of transportation. The new changes have cut hours from the last bus being at 11:00 PM to 9:30 PM (From the Regent Mall) I have work where my shifts can end anywhere from 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM. Furthermore, I would have to walk approximately 45-60 minutes to get from work to home.

There are many people, not just students, who depend on this. In particular, the 11 Carlisle (as of September 2, 2014, the 10N Carlisle), the 16 Marysville (as of September 2, 2014, the 16N Marysville) and the 13 Prospect (as of September 2, 2014, the 13S Prospect). Each of these busses run from the Regent Mall as well as the Corbett Center (which is also a connection area). Workers, students, seniors and others use this service to get to and from their work and residences.

The City of Fredericton's website states that "...operates 28 buses on nine routes, Monday to Saturday, 6:15 am until 11:00 pm, providing safe, affordable mobility to those in the community who do not have access to or choose not to use a private vehicle."

For those, as it states, that do not have a private vehicle or do not live close enough to others to carpool with, they would have to either rely on this system, take a cab (which can get expensive over time) or walk (which can be very difficult in harsh weather, as well as long distances). So, why do they cut the hours and restrict when and for how long people can work? The Regent Mall closes at 9:00 PM, so the bus service ending at 9:30 is perhaps convenient for customers, but for the workers who may have to work until 10:00 PM or later are out of luck when it comes to using the bus system.

As well, the bus system does not run on Sundays whatsoever. When nearly every major store is open on Sundays (albeit most not as long). We believe this is unacceptable.

In other cities of comparable sizes, busses run longer, further, more often and most importantly, run on Sundays. The current price of bus passes (as well as the possibility of an increase is price) means that we are paying more money for less service.

We believe that, if the current changes were reverted, as well as routes instated on Sundays, the general public of consumers as well as workers at the Regent Mall (as well as the Smart Center, north side, and many other stores and work places that I have neglected to name) would be more willing to work more hours, thereby putting more money into the pockets of part-time and full-time workers, as well as students who study and work part time to pay bills, and therefore putting more money into Fredericton’s economy.