Belledune village bus back on the road with new user policy

Article Date:

Tue, 06/23/2009 - 12:00

By James Mallory

Northern Light staff

The Village of Belledune has a new policy in place for its community bus.

At the June 15 regular public meeting of Belledune village council, the policy was approved by council. Chief Administrative Officer David Hughes said the a change was needed to protect the village and the bus users.

"Such a policy is absolutely essential to minimize council's liability exposure to provide staff with direction for the use of the service, set standards of operation and safety for any users of the service and let the community know what the service is for and who can and can not use the service," he said.

On March 9, council voted to take the 24-passenger mini-bus off the road in order to review the policy. This came in the wake of an accident the month before where one of the wheels came off during a road trip to Hartland by members of the Jacquet River basketball team. No one was injured but the bus had been traveling at about 40 kilometres per hour and the accident grabbed the attention of Public Safety officials following media reports of what happened.

The bus was left at a garage in Woodstock for examination of two provincial motor-vehicle inspectors and a private mechanic. It was determined there was a wheel separation of one of the outside tires on the driver's side of the bus. The second inside tire became flat when the outside tire beside it came off.

New tires were put on the bus along with studs and a new alternator which had also been acting up during the basketball team's trip to Hartland. The village paid for these repairs and also reimbursed the basketball team for expenses incurred while on the trip.

Mayor Nick Duivenvoorden stated at the time that he had an issue with compensating a community group for added expenses incurred due to the fact the village bus is given out for free. He said he wanted changes in the policy to reflect his concerns.

"We want to make sure that we protect ourselves so that in the future if there are unexpected occurrences as result of a bus break down or malfunction or something like that, we will not be held accountable for any expenses incurred as a result of that," said the mayor in a previous interview with The Northern Light.

The new policy now states that the primary user of the bus is to be seniors in the community as a reliable means of transportation to extracurricular activities. Service clubs, sports teams and municipal groups are also entitled to use the service.

Before the bus leaves for any trip, the user/driver(s) and municipal mini bus custodian must complete a pre-trip mini bus inspection, ensuring the bus is equipped with four winter tires between Oct. 15 and April 30; and that the bus have a fire extinguisher, First Aid Kit and Emergency road Side Kit.

To driver of the bus is required to have a Class 4 driver’s license, compared to most people who only need a Class 5 license to drive a standard vehicle. The driver must also fill out a log book each time the bus is used.

The user/driver(s) are also responsible for fuel costs, seat belt usage, and all expenses incurred should be mini bus be immobilized.

The municipality is responsible for registration of the mini bus, regularly scheduled maintenance and a motor vehicle inspection every six months.

"The current policy addresses all of the important features necessary to operate a public transportation service," explained CAO Hughes.

Mr. Hughes concluded that while it's not in the policy now, he suggests that some thought be given in respect to user fees for people outside of the original intent for the vehicle's purchase.

"This could generate revenue which could be used for repairs that we have down the road or could be placed in reserve for the eventual replacement of the vehicle," he said.

Belledune village bus back on the road with new user policy

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