Iqaluit Transit launch awaiting city approval
Private bus service ready to go but needs bylaw review to be completed
A private shuttle bus service hoping to launch a route between the Iqaluit airport and Apex is still waiting for approval from the city to get its wheels rolling. (Photo courtesy of Iqaluit Transit)
The wheels on the bus are not going ’round and ’round for Iqaluit Transit. At least, not yet.
The owner behind the proposed private bus operation says the launch of his service is still waiting for city approval. Once he has that approval, the bus will begin transporting passengers on a route with stops between the airport and Apex.
Jacinto Marques — who co-owns Nunavut Marketing, an Iqaluit media production company and delivery service — announced his plan in April to operate a 32-seat bus service, with hopes to launch before summer.
“At my end, I’m pretty much ready to go,” Marques told Nunatsiaq News last week.
“I’m just waiting for [the city] pretty much.”
Had he been able to launch before summer — when things in Iqaluit tend to slow down, school’s out and people are away from the community — Marques said it would have been a good time to test out some of the challenges that come from launching a new service.
The route would have 40 to 50 stops, but Marques said the company could be flexible about the route, depending on demand.
Earlier this year, the City of Iqaluit said it needed to conduct a bylaw review before allowing Iqaluit Transit to operate.
“The bylaw review is still in progress, and we expect this item to go back to city council in early fall,” Geoff Byrne, a city spokesperson, said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
While the process goes on, Marques said he’s still working on launching a website and exploring options on how he could eventually sell tap cards, which people can load up for $5 per ride.
The cash fare would be $8, but Marques is looking to sell monthly passes for $189 for the general public and $129 for riders aged 55 and older. Kids 10 and under would ride for free.
With no city-run public transit system, Iqaluit residents who don’t have a vehicle often rely on taxis to get around at a cost of $9.25 per ride. People 65 and older pay $7.50 per ride, and kids under 10 ride free.
Iqaluit once ran a public transit bus, but that shut down in 2004 due to low ridership.
As Marques waits for approval, his bus sits parked behind Nunavut Marketing’s office.
“I just wish the city would kind of speed up this process,” he said.
“Especially right now, things are kind of expensive and having this service, I think it would help a lot of people here in Iqaluit.”
From the December 17, 2004 article:
“But at $2 a ride, fare revenue wouldn’t have brought in much cash.
A recent study done by Dillon Consulting shows that ridership has dropped from a high of about 300 riders a week to only 200 – about 28 riders a day.
The city estimates this cost them a whopping $16.99 per user.”
Good luck to Nunavut Marketing, I guess
Those prices are just insane. Why would anyone pay that much to ride this bus when they can get in their own taxi for just 1 dollar more?
Nunavut marketing might need to rethink this lol
It’s actually $1.75 more, and those prices will obviously increase. Public transit is a great option, especially for those who feel unsafe in the current taxi’s.
Didn’t Nunavut Marketing not show up for this when it was under bylaw review?
The bus that looks like a prisoner transport is ironically owned by somebody who specializes in marketing.
Looks , like the bus , i took, to St-Jerome jail for my 8 month vacation.
Save a dollar and put up with 10 drunks or pay the dollar and put up with maybe 1 drunk. 🤔
Good idea for sure, but hard to implement. I just feel that its going to be hard to front load sales until people get used to it, that is to buy into longer pass, or even use exclusive bus pass to save the $3 a ride. Depending how they experience the first ride, one bus route with nearly 50 stops on one route for Iqaluit is going to be a tough sell IMO. Good luck though, Iqaluit does need better options.
I would try it out. It is good to have another option. The price difference will add up if you use these services regularly. Maybe walk and catch the bus on my way. I hope it will work and/or that the owner is able to adjust hia serviec as needed.
Taxis charged me $10 to put a small pet kennel in its back cargo area with my suitcase which is larger. That’s theft, plain and simple. Taxis are anti-trust and we need to break them up.
Why should I be forced to share a ride with drunks who then know where I live? Taxis should never be allowed to share rides! Women are at risk. A women gets a taxi who then picks up a drunk and then drops off the women and now the drunk knows where a woman lives alone.
Taxi greed endangers women.