Public transit connects people and places. It touches each of our lives.
Mission
To make transit the first and best choice for getting around Nova Scotia
Vision
Public transit is the essential public service that connects people and places. It can improve each of our lives. Transit is more than buses—it includes light rail, ferries, and trains, and exists beyond the needs of the commuter. Investment in great transit is not a choice, but the only way to meet our collective expectations for healthier, more environmentally responsible and economically vibrant communities. We should experience our streets as social, open spaces. Transit will meet these expectations by being efficient, frequent, reliable, passenger-centric, and accessible. It must also be permanent because it provides an essential public service, which is why transit infrastructure must be separate from traffic infrastructure.
Why are we “Leading with Transit”?
Leading with transit is the right vision for Nova Scotia because it has obvious, clear and immediate benefits that connect to our long term concerns. It touches on our aspirations and responds to the 5 most pressing needs of our time: climate change, health, equity, economy and growth.
We frequently hear that the solution to climate change is to realign our economy; that the answer to poverty is a guaranteed income; that the response to homelessness is to provide housing first; that to improve health we should stop polluting the environment and focus on preventative measures, like walking and biking; that economic development and growth depend on improving the quality of life. These prescriptions seen individually and together seem insurmountable and are often conflicting and frequently dismissed as unrealistic.
Leading with Transit is a bold initiative that addresses all these current needs that require urgent attention. It touches all of our lives daily. It lifts prospects and connects communities. The vision is to invent Public Transit that will respond to climate change, advance social justice, improve housing affordability, enhance our health, drive our economy and prompt urban and rural growth. To accomplish this it can’t be an afterthought nor can it wait. It has to lead.
Leading with Transit is a community based initiative sponsored by more than 20 public, private, institutional and NGO partners. This grassroots movement is advocating for a bold vision for the future of public transit. Our mission is to make transit the first and best choice for getting around Nova Scotia.
Goals
The difficulty with transit plans developed by government agencies is that they are limited, not only in terms of budget and policy, but also in their scope. By developing a plan that is “for the people and by the people”, we are not operating under these same constraints and are therefore free to do the kind of visioning that is desperately needed. The next step is to decide what kind of transit we want to enjoy, not only in 5 or 10 years, but 50 or 100 years down the road.
Develop the idea.
Establish and clearly define principles for the Leading with Transit system.
Develop the complete vision, illustrate the concept and identify/design the critical components.
Identify how Leading with Transit affects and could be integrated into current plans, bylaws, approval processes and budgets (a strategy for implementation).
Make the case.
Identify cost/benefits of investing in transit including -environment, economy, equity and health.
Make the business and non-business case for investing in transit now.
Develop a funding strategy for ensuring long term investment in transit.
Spread the word.
Build political support for the concept. Make transit a 3-level election issue.
Engage communities across Nova Scotia in designing, promoting, approving, and building Leading with Transit.
Make Leading with Transit highly visible, clearly understood, and broadly supported.
How we do it.
The coalition is made up of three task forces: Communication, which focuses on connecting with outside interests and spreading the word; Investment, which looks at possible sources of income and cost/benefit analyses; and finally, Concept, which is concerned with the actual design of the system itself. These task forces meet regularly to complete the above work. Task forces are open to anyone and report to a steering committee led by representatives of our partner organizations.
