Princeton council directs staff to proceed with RFP for 12‑month bus pilot after TELUS presentation

TELUS consultants on Oct. 8 presented a feasibility and implementation plan for a new limited‑stop bus route linking the Dinky stop, Nassau Street and the Princeton Shopping Center, and the Princeton Council directed staff to issue a request for proposals to run a 12‑month pilot.

The proposal, presented by TELUS advisors Matt Thomas and George Piper, would run Monday–Saturday roughly 6 a.m.–9 p.m. on about 45‑minute frequencies and use existing bus stops to provide faster connections for commuters, students and residents who want to travel within town without a car. “It’s a relatively long route. It has a large number of stops, but it serves a very important community,” Thomas said of the current local route; the new service was described as an “express” alternative with fewer stops.

Council members and staff framed the pilot as a data collection exercise to establish ridership patterns and cost‑per‑ride metrics ahead of any permanent…