DECISION AND ORDER 2015 NSUARB 259 M07180 NOVA SCOTIA UTILITY AND REVIEW BOARD IN THE MATTER OF THE MOTOR CARRIER ACT

Transcription

1 DECISION AND ORDER 2015 NSUARB 259 M07180 NOVA SCOTIA UTILITY AND REVIEW BOARD IN THE MATTER OF THE MOTOR CARRIER ACT and - IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION of STRAIT AREA TRANSIT CO-OPERATIVE LTD. to amend Motor Carrier License No. P02839 BEFORE: DECISION AND ORDER WHEREAS Strait Area Transit Co-operative Ltd. ( SAT ) of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, made an Application to amend its Motor Carrier License No. P02839 ( License ); AND WHEREAS the Application was received by the Clerk of the Board on November 20, 2015; AND WHEREAS the Board held a preliminary hearing by conference call on November 25, 2015, where Dwayne MacDonald appeared on behalf of SAT, provided clarifications, and requested further changes to the Application resulting in proposed amendments to Schedules C(1), D(1), D(3), F(1), and F(3), which were finalized on November 27, 2015; AND WHEREAS the Notice of Amendment Application summarized the amendments as follows: 1. Changes to service between Port Hawkesbury and Inverness as set out in detail in the attached Appendix A, :

2 -2- (a) Current schedule from Port Hawkesbury-Inverness-Port Hawkesbury will operate during high season; (b) Schedule will operate in the reverse direction, Inverness-Port Hawkesbury-lnverness, during the low season in accordance with the proposed low season timetable; (c) The afternoon service in the low season will commence from the Inverness Hospital three hours earlier so that its departure from Port Hawkesbury to Inverness does not change; (d) The pick-up in Port Hood will be from the Co-Op and not the Courthouse. 2. The Board has previously approved the Dial-a-Ride service area from Baddeck to Whycocomagh. The following licensed changes clarify the authority: (a) Schedule D(1) Coverage Area shall read: Inverness and Victoria Counties south of Margaree Forks and all of Richmond County. (b) F(1) Schedule Service Remove the words, counties of Richmond, Inverness, and Guysborough, and replace with, Inverness and Victoria Counties, south of Margaree Forks, Guysborough County, and all of Richmond County. 3. Clarification of bus pass in D(3) Rate Schedule shall read: $100 per calendar month. 4. Flag Stops: buses are permitted to stop enroute when flagged down provided the bus has a safe location to pull off the road and embark passengers. AND WHEREAS the Board directed various forms of public notification of the Notice of Amendment Application including posting on SAT s website, Facebook, at each stop along the affected route, and having it available to passengers on the buses; and was also posted on the Board s website; forwarded to licensed carriers by , fax or letter; and published in the Royal Gazette on December 2, 2015;

3 -3- AND WHEREAS no objections to the granting of the Application as amended were received by the Board by the stated date of December 9, 2015; AND WHEREAS SAT stated the following reasons for the amendments to the Port Hawkesbury and Inverness run: We had passengers travelling from Southern Inverness County to the golf course in Inverness during the golfing season, but with the seasonal closure of the course, the [early] morning run has been empty every day. The reversal of the route would provide better service to the general public, making the times later to Inverness, but retaining the current timing from Inverness, and thus not affecting NSCC students, or workers travelling to employment in Port Hawkesbury. AND WHEREAS after considering the evidence and submissions, the Board rendered its decision on December 11,2015; IT IS ORDERED THAT: 1. The Application, as amended, is approved as set out in this Order and attached Appendices; 2. Changes to the Port Hawkesbury and Inverness route will become effective on January 1, 2016, after notice is provided to its customers by various means including posting on SAT s website, Facebook, at each stop along the affected route, and having it available to passengers on the buses; and 3. All other changes to the License are effective immediately. DATED at Halifax, Nova Scotia this 11th day of December, 2015.

4 -4- C(1) TIMETABLES APPENDIX A Strait Area Transit Co-operative Ltd. Delete the existing Port Hawkesbury-Inverness-Port Hawkesbury Timetables portion of Schedule C(1) and replace with the following (all other timetables remain unchanged): MORNING HIGH SEASON Port Hawkesburv-Inverness-Port Hawkesburv LOW SEASON Inverness-Port Hawkesburv- Inverness Tim Horton's (PHK) 5:25:00 AM Rorison s 6:40:00 AM Troy Trailer Park 5:35:00 AM Joe s Lane 6:45:00 AM Wayne s (Judique) 5:52:00 AM Inverness Hospital 6:49:00 AM Port Hood Co-Op 6:07:00 AM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 7:05:00 AM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 6:21:00 AM Port Hood Co-Op 7:16:00 AM Rorison s 6:40:00 AM Wayne s (Judique) 7:30:00 AM Joe s Lane 6:45:00 AM Troy Trailer Park 7:50:00 AM Inverness Hospital 6:49:00 AM NSCC Strait Campus 8:00:00 AM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 7:05:00 AM Tim Horton s (PHK) 8:25:00 AM Port Hood Co-Op 7:19:00 AM Troy Trailer Park 8:35:00 AM Wayne s (Judique) 7:33:00 AM Wayne s (Judique) 8:52:00 AM Troy Trailer Park 7:50:00 AM Port Hood Co-Op 9:04:00 AM NSCC Strait Campus 8:02:00 AM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 9:30:00 AM Terminus 9:51:00 AM AFTERNtDON HIGH SEASON Port Hawkesburv-Inverness-Port Hawkesburv LOW SEASON Inverness-Port Hawkesburv-lnverness NSCC Strait Campus 3:45:00 PM Inverness Hospital 2:06:00 PM Troy Trailer Park 3:59:00 PM Joe s Lane 2:10:00 PM Wayne s (Judique) 4:16:00 PM Rorison s 2:15:00 PM Port Hood Co-Op 4:30:00 PM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 2:35:00 PM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 4:46:00 PM Port Hood Co-Op 2:51:00 PM Inverness Hospital 5:06:00 PM Wayne s (Judique) 3:05:00 PM Joe s Lane 5:10:00 PM Troy Canteen 3:22:00 PM Rorison s 5:15:00 PM NSCC Port Hawkesbury 3:45:00 PM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 5:35:00 PM Troy Trailer Park 3:59:00 PM Port Hood Co-Op 5:51:00 PM Wayne s (Judique) 4:16:00 PM Wayne s (Judique) 6:05:00 PM Port Hood Co-Op 4:27:00 PM Troy Trailer Park 6:22:00 PM Mabou (Fresh Mart) 4:43:00 PM Terminus Port Hawkesbury 6:32:00 PM Terminus Inverness 5:03:00 PM

5 -5- APPENDIX B Dial-a-Ride (door-to-door): D(1) Coverage Area: Delete the existing D(1) Coverage Area which reads: Inverness County south of Margaree Forks, all of Richmond County and Port Hawkesbury And replace with: Inverness and Victoria Counties south of Margaree Forks, and all of Richmond County D(3) RATES Delete the following: $ monthly pass And replace with: $ per calendar month

6 -6- APPENDIX C Conditions, Limitations and Restrictions Schedule F is deleted and replaced with the following: F(1) SPECIALTY IRREGULAR RESTRICTED AREA PUBLIC PASSENGER SERVICE The transportation of passengers or parcel express from points within Inverness and Victoria Counties south of Margaree Forks, Guysborough County, and all of Richmond County. F(2) SPECIALTY IRREGULAR RESTRICTED AREA PUBLIC PASSENGER CHARTER SERVICE The transportation of any individual or organized group from any point within the counties of Richmond, Inverness and Guysborough to any point within the Province of Nova Scotia, one way or return. F(3) REGULAR GENERAL ROUTE PUBLIC PASSENGER SERVICE AND THE CARRIAGE OF PARCEL EXPRESS The transportation of passengers, their baggage, and/or parcels within the Counties of Richmond, Inverness and Victoria and all points in between, one way or return. Terms and Conditions: General Route Public Passenger Service between Baddeck and Waycobah First Nation is a pilot project from September 2015 to March 2016, with monthly reviews of the timetable. The High Season coincides with the operations of the Cabot Links/Cliffs Golf Courses and does not have fixed dates. It will start and end upon Strait Area Transit Cooperative Ltd. providing two weeks notice to its customers by posting the Notice on its website, Facebook, at each stop along the affected route, and by having it available to passengers on the buses. Generally, High Season currently operates between the third weeks in April until the third week in October. Buses are permitted to stop enroute when flagged down provided the bus has a safe location to pull off the road and embark passengers. Parcel Express is provided only when no local private parcel delivery service is available.