Islanders celebrate the success of today’s referendum for ongoing support of transit on Gabriola.
The results of today’s vote are in. Residents and property owners on Gabriola, Mudge and De Courcey Islands have said a resounding “Yes!” to their community bus GERTIE and transit in their community.
As reported previously in the post Taking GERTIE to the Polls, Islanders were voting today on whether to fund Gabriola’s pilot community bus system on an ongoing basis through property taxes. Votes tallied are 930 “Yes” to 460 “No,” a resounding support for the new transit function.
The Gabriola Community Bus Foundation had this to say in response to the poll results:
WOOH HOO! It’s officially a big ‘yes!’ for Gertie on Gabriola! The wonderful people of this island have voted 2:1 in favour of making our bus a permanent feature of our community. The Gabriola Community Bus Foundation issues a huge thank you for your support.
We will continue to operate a bus service that is reliable, cost efficient, and tailored to the needs of riders as well as providing environmental, social, and economic benefits to all Gabriolans. Thank you so much! Love, Gertie
I offer much congrats to the many people who have been working to make GERTIE happen over the past few years, in particular its coordinator and the multitude of volunteers who have been working as its drivers, administrators, maintainers and cheerleaders.
A nod, too, to the Regional District of Nanaimo staff and elected officials who have supported the project’s development and created the opportunity for voters to provide their support.
Some of GERTIE’s many supporters.
And last, but by no means least, way to go to the people of Gabriola, Mudge and De Courcey for casting your ballots for mobility, resilience and equity in your community. You may be from a smaller community, but whether we’re from smaller towns or larger urban centres, you’ve shown that we can all dream and act big to help shift our collective future to one that is healthier, more connected and more beautiful. We can all learn from each other.
And speaking of beautiful, oh my, ain’t that little new bus system Gertie a sweetie. Cheers.