The new Scotia Square terminal will be opening up in one week and it should mean less frustration and delays, according to the President of the Amalgamated Transit Union 508, Patricio Garcia.
For the past six months, 30 bus routes have been detoured in order to accommodate work on the Cogswell District Project- a multi-year initiative that will cost roughly $120 million and support more than 3,400 homes.
Starting next Monday, four new bus bays will reopen at Scotia Square for the first time since June, when construction began.
Garcia tells us, the project started soon after regular changes to their route came into effect, so there were delays were pretty immediate.
“There wasn’t any kind of adjustments right away for it, so there was a lot of time being lost. At the time, I was actually driving because I only got this role in July. I found you would run 20 to 30 minutes late during rush hour.”
Frustrations continued for months, Garcia says, with less space for layovers and difficulty finding a place to park for breaks, because of street closures.
“Drivers need to find a place to park their buses to go use the bathroom, have lunches and so on.”
He adds, having the washroom access closer is going to be nice.
Should be some relief
Right now, but stops are pretty spaced out, making for a bit of a commute for riders to find their transfer.
With the new bus bays as Scotia Square, Garcia says, routes will be closer together, making it easier on drivers and passengers.
“I think there’s going to be less frustration. Instead of having to tell a passenger, ‘Oh, you’ve got to walk four blocks that way to get to his bus’, it’ll be more, ‘you can go across the street to bay three or bay two and that is where your bus is going to be.'”
Garcia says it will be interesting to get feedback from members to see what they think of the new changes and if they are working for riders.
“Most of our members are very compassionate toward their passengers. When they see something isn’t working for their passengers, they become very vocal toward transit…transit schedule, planning and maintenance.”
The new terminal will have major upgrades including wider sidewalks and waiting areas, additional and heated shelters as well as more seating.
The new bays open Monday, December 16.
