It was a celebration of the past with a focus on the future as more than 50 bus riders, retired operators, city politicians and staff marked the 50th anniversary of Burlington Transit Sept. 5.
The anniversary year kicked off with an upbeat ceremony at the Burlington GO station attended by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, local MPP Natalie Pierre, and Councillors Rory Nisan (who handles transit portfolio at City Hall) and Angelo Bentivegna.
Burlington Transit Director Catherine Baldelli opened the event with good news: the number of rides over the past year beat projections by more than 20%.
“In 2024, Burlington transit aimed for 2.9 million trips,” she said. “We exceeded that and had 3.6 million trips. People are using our service.”
“Burlington Transit has come a long way since 1975, when climbing stairs and having the exact change was a requirement. Today, we have fully accessible buses that kneel and include technology like GPS, transit signal priority devices and of course Presto.”
Mayor Meed Ward emphasized that transit would continue to be a major priority under her leadership, calling it a critical tool to promote both personal independence and community connections.
Councillor Nisan, as deputy mayor for the environment, stressed the importance of transit in helping to reduce our carbon footprint. He particularly hailed the push to get more young people on the bus, saying the mobility it brought made a big change in his own life as a teen.
MPP Pierre outlined the investments made by the province in transit and said the Ford government would continue its support.
BFAST had a display table at the event which was a hit with a display of Steering Committee Chair Doug Brown’s comprehensive collection of old BT timetables and route maps. We’ll be working to digitize the material as one of our contributions to BT’s 50th year celebrations.
