Transit Service Returns To Highways After COVID-19 Shutdown

PORT HASTINGS - After a five-month shutdown precipitated by the arrival of COVID-19 and the accompanying social-distancing protocols in Nova Scotia, Strait Area Transit (SAT) is back on the road and preparing to expand on the basic services it re-introduced to the public in August. 

Prior to mid-March, Strait Area Transit (SAT) provided route service between Port Hawkesbury and the Inverness County communities of Port Hood and Inverness, as well as making inroads to the Mi’kmaq communities of Waycobah in Inverness County and Wagmatcook in Victoria County. At this time, SAT was also providing Dial-A-Ride and charter services to Richmond County residents, while seeking further expansion into Victoria County.

However, the current route structure and any expansion plans vanished at the same time the Nova Scotia government placed the province under a state of emergency and leveled heavy social-distancing restrictions that also included transit services across the province. This led SAT to immediately pull its vehicles off the road, and these buses, cars and commuter vans remained in cold storage throughout the spring and most of the summer.

While Dial-A-Ride and most charter services remain unavailable for the time being, SAT board chair John Dowling is hopeful that the test-drive for a scaled down route service could lead to additional options later in September. 

"We're just easing our way into things at this point, and we're going to see how things go over the next couple of weeks, and what happens when schools re-open in September," Dowling told TELILE 24/7 host-producer Adam Cooke during an interview in August. 

In the meantime, SAT officials will continue to sanitize their vehicles in-between pick-ups and drop-offs in accordance to Nova Scotia Public Health guidelines, Dowling added.