Provincial Funding Keeps Maritime Bus On The Road

Maritime Bus will be able to keep operating its two routes to northern New Brunswick after all.

The province has announced $720,000 in funding to help the company cover its pandemic-related losses.

It comes just two days before the company was set to cut service between Fredericton and Edmundston and between Moncton and Campbellton.

“We took the time to work with municipal stakeholders on this priority file and to do our due diligence to ensure this service continues to be available during the pandemic,” Local Government Minister Daniel Allain said in a news release.

A one-time funding allocation of $360,000 under the public transit category of the Safe Restart Agreement will be matched by funds from the Regional Development Corporation for a total of $720,000.

The government will disperse the funding to the City of Edmundston, which will enter into a contract with Maritime Bus to provide the assistance.

“Without intercity transportation services, we would have been isolated,” said Edmundston Deputy Mayor Éric Marquis. “Maritime Bus provides accessible and affordable transportation service for people in our region who need to travel to southern New Brunswick for medical care.”

The funding comes with a stipulation that Maritime Bus keep operating its northern New Brunswick routes until the end of 2021.

The company first announced its intention to cut the routes in mid-January as it deals with pandemic-related operating losses.

But it later delayed the service cuts until Jan. 31 as municipalities and the province work on a cost-shared funding model.