Nova ScotiaA new booking system has been created for Access-A-Bus users in Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Users of rebranded service will eventually be limited to two trips per day and a maximum of six trips per weekErin Pottie · CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoCBRM Handi-Trans is being rebranded as Access-A-Bus and its 12 vehicles will get a facelift to look like those in the municipality’s regular transit fleet. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Cape Breton Regional Municipality is making changes to an accessible bus service that has become overwhelmed by a more than threefold increase in user demand in recent years.Earlier this week, the municipality rebranded its Handi-Trans service to be known as Access-A-Bus. But the new name isn’t the only change impacting users across the municipality, as the service will soon roll out new policies and procedures. “We’re moving into a fairer service because the service is overwhelmed with patrons,” said John Phalen, the municipality’s director of public works.Phalen said Handi-Trans users in the past would call and book unlimited appointments. Users of the rebranded Access-A-Bus service will eventually be limited to two trips per day and a maximum of six trips per week. Bookings will be able to be made roughly two days in advance of a trip requested through Access-A-Bus, with a computer system and dispatch centre used to guide drivers to each stop. Advanced bookings can also be made on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to medical trips.Phalen said clients will also be expected to be ready for their scheduled pickup time, and no-shows or late cancellations will be tracked.”There’ll be a certain time limit that you’ll have to be there and be available,” he said. “Otherwise the service will have to go on to somebody else. So it’s more efficient and it’s better for getting everybody involved.”Phalen said a spike in demand for the service prompted the municipality to enforce new protocols. Over the last few years, the number of people using the service has jumped from 250 to about 800. And while people rely on it for social and recreational purposes, about 60 per cent of its calls are related to medical appointments, he said.Murray Morris of Sydney River is a frequent user of the CBRM’s accessible bus service, which is now known as Access-A-Bus. (Erin Pottie/CBC)Murray Morris, a resident of Sydney River who’s a longtime user of the service, said he would like to see the transit service expanded to ensure it is available to all who need it. He said in some instances, he’s been told he could receive a drive into Sydney but would need to find his own way home. That most likely would mean calling a taxi, which is more expensive and less convenient.”When I use the taxi, I either take my crutches or my walker with me, but I would much rather have my mobility with my wheelchair,” Morris said.CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke said the municipality is in talks with the province about the pressures that medical trips are having on the Access-A-Bus service. He said the amount required to ensure the service meets all of its requests is $1 million.”The province is working with us collaboratively, it’s just about can we get a long-term solution, because once you go to move to providing that capacity, taking it back would be very difficult,” said Clarke.The municipality’s Access-A-Bus service is available seven days a week, with the exception of holidays.As part of the changes, its 12 accessible vehicles will get a cosmetic makeover to resemble the municipality’s regular transit fleet. ABOUT THE AUTHORErin Pottie is a CBC reporter based in Sydney. She has been covering local news in Cape Breton for more than 20 years. Story ideas welcome at erin.pottie@cbc.ca.
Changes coming to ‘overwhelmed’ Cape Breton accessible bus service
