Garnet, Marcus "The Demand for Public Transport in the Advocate Area of Nova Scotia"

The research examines the factors underlying the low bus ridership that led to the abandonment of a daily round-trip service linking the isolated community of Advocate with the towns of Parrsboro and Amherst. Two possibilities are considered: that car-deficient residents had ready access to alternatives such as ride sharing, and that the bus schedule was inappropriate for the trips envisaged by potential passengers. A survey was done of high school students, homemakers, and seniors to explore these possible explanations for the low ridership. The research comprises two basic components:

1. An analysis of the travel behaviour and desires of the population groups most likely to consider using a bus service.

2. An evaluation of the former bus service in relation to these trip desires, and a consideration of the potential for increasing ridership by altering the schedule.

Ride sharing provides an alternative for car-deficient respondents, but a substantial proportion of them in each population group have difficulty obtaining rides or are inhibited from requesting them. Many of these people are interested in making more trips to Parrsboro or Amherst, but they comprise a very small proportion of the total population because of the high level of car ownership in the region.

The bus schedule was compatible with most trips to Amherst envisaged by adults, but was not suited to errands in Parrsboro or to Saturday trips by teenagers. An alternate-day schedule could satisfy all of these trip types, but the gain in ridership would not be sufficient to ensure economic viability for a bus service. Therefore, an informal ride-sharing club would be more appropriate, which could also charter a van for Saturday youth excursions.

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This document was last modified on January 9, 2001.