Bus Riders Left Scrambling After Hampton Comex Decision

A Hampton-area resident says she was mortified to learn that the town had decided to stop funding the Comex service.

Debbie Burke is one of dozens of people who rely on the weekday bus service which travels between Hampton and Saint John.

Burke, who is an essential worker, uses the bus to get to and from her job in the Port City every day.

“I do not drive so it’s rather convenient for me because you just buy your monthly pass and get on and get dropped off at King’s Square,” said Burke, who has been using the service for three years.

Town councillors recently voted to stop funding Comex at the end of the year. It comes as the town faces higher costs for a service which the mayor said is only used by a few dozen people.

In a recent interview, Mayor Ken Chorley said they were told their annual subsidy for Comex would rise from $68,000 this year to more than $100,000 in 2021.

“Times are tough for everyone and to put $100,000 into a bus service is a little bit rich for our blood at this point in time,” said Chorley, who noted there are only 40 to 50 people who take advantage of the service.

“I feel very bad for those people that do take it, but I think most people would agree that that’s a little bit much of a subsidy for the town at large to be paying for approximately 50 people to go back and forth to work in Saint John.”

Comex, which is operated by Saint John Transit, shuttles commuters from Hampton and the Kennebecasis Valley to and from Saint John each weekday. The Hampton Comex run includes two trips from the town each morning and two trips back later in the afternoon.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced many people to work from home, Burke said the 7:20 a.m. bus — the later of the two morning runs — was often so full that it was standing-room only.

She said Hampton’s decision to pull the plug on funding — and lack of information around it — has left herself and many other riders feeling uneasy.

“We tried to call city transit, they sent us back to the town of Hampton, the town of Hampton sends you back to city transit,” said Burke. “Everybody is giving us the runaround with no definitive answer whether yes it’s going to continue going or it’s not.”

Chorley said they notified the transit commission of their decision but have not received any details from them.

We contacted the City of Saint John for comment from the commission, but spokesperson Lisa Caissie directed us back to the Town of Hampton.

“Where I don’t drive, if I cannot find a drive back and forth, then I lose my job because obviously, I can’t get to it,” said Burke. “A lot of people are the same way.”

But Burke is feeling a bit of optimism after a response from the Town of Hampton just hours after her interview with our newsroom.

She had written a letter to the town asking them to consider reducing the number of daily runs from four to two — one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Burke said she was told by the town that the letter would be brought before council during their regular meeting Tuesday night.

But in a Facebook post on Monday morning, the town said it would not be revisiting the decision.
“Unfortunately, the current service is not sustainable. We have advised Saint John Transit that our subsidy will conclude on December 31st, 2020,” said the post.

“The service is operated by SJ Transit. They have not advised the Town if they intend to continue the service without the subsidy.”