The following are excerpts from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward’s speaking notes at the event marking Burlington Transit’s 50th anniversary.
Since 1975, Burlington Transit has been an important part of Burlington, which officially became a city in 1974. Before the City took over transit, riders had to use the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), C.H. Norton, which also did the school runs, and Canada Coach Lines.
When Burlington Transit started out, it had five buses. Over the years, the fleet has increased and so have the number of routes. Today, Burlington Transit has 90 conventional and specialized transit buses. It uses a grid system providing 16 regular routes, and six of those routes offer 15-minute rush-hour service.
Over the next 50 years, we have a lot of great plans to grow Burlington Transit, along with the City. The City of Burlington is going to keep investing and advocating for investments in public transit to keep growing and improving.
Our increasing population needs Burlington Transit’s services and we are doing the work to help our residents get on the bus with long-term planning, upgrading, replacing, or modernizing current public transit and our active-transportation infrastructure.
Burlington Transit is an important element of our Integrated Mobility Plan. Burlington Transit’s Five-Year Plan looks at planned community growth, service expansion and connection to the City’s Integrated Mobility Plan as well as Burlington’s Climate Action Plan.
Service expansion helps support transit growth where there is community development around the Major Transit Station Areas, like the Burlington GO Station. It also helps the City reach its goal of being net carbon neutral by 2050, while supporting a growing population and connecting the community.