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From the North Bay Nugget:

Transit terminal rolling to completion; Officials also taking 'big step' by changing routes

Rob Farnholz
Local News - Wednesday, April 11, 2007 @ 08:00

North Bay Transit is getting a facelift it can't wait to show off.

After several months of construction, the new $3.2-million transit terminal is set to open later this month or in early May.

The new terminal will house the transit's head office and boasts a coffee shop, concession stand, ATM machine, customer-service window and public washrooms. Bus passes will also be available for purchase.

"It's very important for the people to have access to our staff if they want to make an inquiry," said acting transit manager Dorothy Carvell. "With our offices so close, they don't have to go far."

Security has also improved and Carvell said she is confident riders will feel safe.

"We'll have state-of-the-art security," she said.
"Cameras will be inside and out, and it will even have glass break motion sensors. With customers being able to wait inside in the lit area, they can feel safer than being alone outside in the dark."

Finishing touches continue to the interior of the facility.

Along with the new terminal, bus schedules are being revamped in an effort to better accommodate passengers. Transit officials have tweaked routes after getting input from drivers and passengers.

"This is a big step," Carvell said. "It's been years since the routes have changed, but traffic has grown and North Bay has grown and we have to grow and change with it."

She said routes have been redesigned while maintaining the ser-vices and territory the buses cover.

Transit will move toward giving drivers 45 minutes to complete routes instead of the current 30 minutes. The college run, for example, will leave the terminal on the hour and half hour, and return 45 minutes later. Some routes will be changed, like Marshall, which will depart at a quarter after and a quarter to the hour.

Other changes include combining the Ski Club and Chippewa buses.

"That's the biggest change," Carvell said of the combined routes. "Instead of going out to the mall, coming back to the terminal, then going out to Ski Club and such, both will be combined into one 45-minute route, but we will cover all the same territory."

Other routes like Graniteville and Birchaven will cover a greater area by circling in routes rather than going in a straight stretch and back.

"It will be a change for sure," Carvell said. "But we've left enough familiar so it won't be a major change."

The schedule is expected to change June 3 after all drivers are trained on the new routes. New schedules are being printed and should be available to the public by the end of April.

"We believe that we've thought of everything and just need to market it out to the public," Carvell said. "It's important the public realizes that these will still be fairly new routes for the drivers and we ask for their patience."