Project promotes carpooling, public transit

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

A couple of local students are working with TREPA in an effort to promote public transportation and carpooling.

Brendon Smith and Meaghan Pitman are employed by Nova Scotia Youth Conservation (NSYC) to help TREPA work on the project. TREPA applied to NSYC with their project proposal and brought in the students after getting approval.

One part of the project is looking at public transportation in the area. Pitman said they want to make people more aware of what is available and how to access it.

In Yarmouth, Hut's Transit provides bus services around town from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

"The transit in this area stands to be improved," said Pitman. Smith said they are hoping to dispel the myth that the service, which costs $2.75, isn't just for seniors.

"People from the high school could definitely use it," he said. "We really want to (get the word out) that it is a public service and anyone can use it."

They hope that through increased awareness and use, more funding can be procured for the service and more people will be encouraged to leave their cars at home and take the bus.

But public transportation isn't the only thing Pitman and Smith are working to promote. They have also created a carpool matching website. On the website — carpoolyarmouth.freeforums.org — people can look for other drivers interested in sharing the commute to work each day or look for rides in and out of town, such as people travelling to Halifax.

"It's basically for people within Yarmouth County," said Pitman. "You can register and say, 'this is when I go to work, this is where I work, this is where I live and what time I'm driving.'"

Smith said a similar website at Mount Allison University, where he attends school, is very popular.

"You put, 'I want to go to Moncton on this day,' and everybody uses it," he said. "It's really successful at school . . . That's kind of where the idea came from."