Cold Lake Transit’s new buses ready to roll

The City of Cold Lake’s award-winning transit system is set to hit the road with two new buses on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

“It’s an exciting time for Cold Lake Transit,” said Mayor Craig Copeland. “We have been building this service for the last three years, and to see these new buses come onto the streets of Cold Lake is a proud moment for us.”

The two new buses are kneeling, low-floor models from Nova Bus Montreal, designed specifically for Cold Lake Transit. Each has 35 seats, or space for 29 seats and two wheelchairs.

The buses will be on display at the Tri City Mall parking lot at 11:30 a.m. before entering into regular service at noon. The public is invited to come out and browse the new buses at this time, as well as hop on for the inaugural runs.

“Public transit has proven to be a necessary amenity in Cold Lake,” said Copeland. “I’m thankful to staff for all the hard work they have put in to making these new buses a reality. Everything from the Cold Lake Transit logo and colours, to the details of the insides is due to many hours of dedicated work.”

At this time, Cold Lake Transit remains free of charge to use, though this topic will be revisited during City Council’s upcoming budget deliberations. Funding for the purchase of the buses was provided by the federal Public Transit Infrastructure Fund and provincial GreenTRIP grants.

In March 2017, Cold Lake Transit won the Minister’s Award of Excellence for Transit/Accessible Transportation Innovation during the 20^th Annual Tri-Party Transportation Conference.

Though the new buses are wheelchair accessible, the old buses may be swapped in during periods of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. During this time, accessibility will be limited, as the old buses do not have the same capabilities as the new ones. Passengers are advised to download the TransLoc Rider App, as any changes in service will send a notification to your phone.

For more information on Cold Lake Transit, or the use of mobility devices on the new buses, visit www.coldlake.com