City Councillor: Here’s Why I Think St. John’s Should Finally Improve Its Public Transit System
An excerpt from Councillor Dave Lane’s blog (LINK)
Here’s why we need a great public transit system
To help address our growing labour shortage issue, integrated transit enables:
- students to access education, leading to more available skilled workers
- job seekers to attend interviews and other networking opportunities
- new workers from away to transition into their new job and community
- companies to access skilled workers with disabilities, or otherwise find it difficult to physically access the workplace.
To help address rising healthcare costs, a regional transit system enables:
- people to seek care earlier, reducing the cost of treating serious disease
- seniors to be more active and social, leading to improved health
- persons with disabilities to rely less on personal assistance and care services
To help address rising house prices and homelessness, coordinated transit enables:
- those on low or fixed income to shift transportation costs to housing
- people to move to areas with more affordable housing without disrupting their career
To help address traffic congestion and parking issues, public transit enables:
- people to leave their car at home, meaning less traffic — particularly at peak hours
- “park and ride” solutions which move parking areas outside of dense areas like the downtown while still enabling access to offices, shops, educational facilities, etc.
The list continues: providing easy access will reduce energy costs as families and businesses reduce their gas consumption; reducing the number of cars on the road will help preserve a clean environment; low cost transit can reduce poverty, which in turn can lead to happier, healthier reisdents and possibly even crime reduction as fewer people break the rules to make an income.
Click here to read more.