PEI Public Transit Coalition
The Public Transit Coalition is made up of over 26 members whose mission is the promotion and establishment of an innovative and sustainable public transit system for PEI. The members are listed below. Cooper Institute is represented on the Steering Committee. Over the years the Coalition has drawn public attention to the need for a publicly-funded system by organizing several symposia, presentations and by keeping the issue in the media. The PTC has been actively involved in various needs assessments, encouraging citizens to give voice to their concerns. A multi-year project, aimed at increasing understanding among communities and policy makers about the impacts of the lack of public transportation on marginalized communities, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada was completed in 2007.
In 2007-2008, the Coalition, with support from the PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, contracted ENTRA Consultants, a firm specializing in transit systems and issues, to study the feasibility of an Island-Wide public transit system. The report was released in a series of well-attended public meetings, in Alberton, Kensington. Stratford and Montague, in June of 2008. Since then, Coalition members have met with various government representatives to promote the ideas, including the plans for an Island-wide system that are contained in the study. For more information, see the report, Island Wide Transit Feasibility Study by ENTRA Consultants or a shorter Executive Summary.