Transit in CBRM gets $1.2M boost from province

Cape Breton Regional Municipality will purchase six additional buses with the help $1.2 million from the Nova Scotia government.

Communities Minister Leo Glavine made the announcement Tuesday at the CBRM transit warehouse.

The additional buses will allow Transit Cape Breton to add more routes.

Glavine said the large influx of riders in the past couple of years, driven mainly by the huge increase of international students at Cape Breton University, prompted the announcement.

He said the international students will not be the only people to benefit from the transit expansion.

"We have from youth to seniors who don't have daily transportation and expanding the routes here is absolutely the right way to go," said Glavine.

Another $300,000 from the province will go toward a new bus shelter at Cape Breton University.

The president of CBU's student union, Gunny Brar, said a shortage of buses has made it difficult for students to get to and from the CBU campus, and he's excited about the announcement.

But Brar said more has to be done in the future.

"It is definitely a problem if we're asking people to stay here, if we're asking people to immigrate and a younger population to settle here, definitely more work needs to be done," he said.

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