Students face transportation challenges as winter sets in

Mohammed Ali Akhtar waits at a slippery Fredericton bus stop as winter conditions slow public transit across the city. (Suzanne Shah/AQ)

Winter has long shaped life in New Brunswick, but for students without access to a car, the season increasingly dictates how their days are planned. Those concerns intensified after a Fredericton Transit bus slid into a ditch on Hilton Road last December during icy conditions.

“I used to catch [a bus] but now … I’d be late, so I have to go one hour ahead,” said Jon Kenneth Guardo, a fourth-year international student at St. Thomas University.

For students who rely on buses, winter changes not just travel time but daily decision-making.

Mohammed Ali Akhtar, a second-year software engineering student at the University of New Brunswick, raised the concern of public transit delays, which leave little room for flexibility.

For Akhtar, even small delays affect his academic routine.

“At times I’m reaching to my class … four or five minutes late,” he said. “So it does get stressful.”

Transit challenges don’t end once students step off the bus. Icy sidewalks and steep campus areas add another layer of risk.

“Walking can feel risky … you have to move carefully and be aware of the surroundings,” Akhtar said.

Safety concerns after the transit incident

The Hilton Road bus accident sharpened concerns for students who use the same routes daily.

“We were just wondering … if it had been us on that bus, then things would have been really different,” Akhtar said.

Guardo uses the same 116 route bus to commute to school.

“I told my family about it … they were very concerned,” he said. “It could have been me.”

A system not built for winter walkers

Beyond individual incidents, students say winter exposes broader infrastructure problems for those without cars.

“Transit is not reliable and the city is not built for transit,” Guardo said.

He pointed to conditions around bus stops as a major concern.

“Some bus stops are just snow and ice,” he said.

As winter continues, students who rely on buses and walking say navigating Fredericton requires more time, planning and caution — realities that shape student life long after the first snowfall.