Funding moves Saskatoon's bus rapid transit system fully forward
Saskatoon’s long-awaited bus rapid transit system is fully funded and moving forward thanks to the latest joint announcement between the city and the federal and provincial governments.
Around $120 million announced Friday will go from the feds and the province toward the city’s blue and red BRT lines on top of funding announced months ago for the BRT’s green line.
Overall, the funding touted on Friday — $55 million from the federal government and $63 million from the province — is part of more than $300 million from the two governments for infrastructure projects in Saskatchewan.
“As ridership continues to increase, it is important that we have a system that meets the needs and expectations of users,” Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said on Friday at the city’s civic operations centre.
“With three orders of government working in partnership, we will modernize and enhance our public transit system to move residents and visitors more efficiently and sustainably.”
The three levels of government jointly announced last year $152 million to be spread over a variety of projects. Four are related to installing the bus-rapid transit network, while the fifth is the construction of a new leisure centre to serve growing neighbourhoods on the city’s east side. That proposed facility is set to include a swimming pool, fitness and weight room areas and multipurpose and childcare spaces.
The green BRT line announced last year is set to run between the west and northeast parts of the city. The red BRT line announced Friday will run from east to west, while the blue line will run north to south.
The city on Friday said the two new lines “will help Saskatoon Transit accommodate the city’s continued growth while making transit a more attractive option for all.” The city will contribute around $20 million toward the two new lines.
City of Saskatoon chief financial officer Clae Hack said in February that $3.5 million of a $9.9 million surplus in 2023 was due to higher-than-expected transit ridership. He said it appears that the uptick in bus ridership is connected to high population growth, with about 14,000 new residents added over the course of the year.
In addition to funding for the BRT lines, a fibre optic network will be implemented to improve tracking and reporting of the bus routes, making them more efficient, according to the city.
A timeline on the project is expected to be available in the coming weeks.
A BRT system for Saskatoon was first proposed in a 2004 consultant’s report. The idea featured prominently in a 2016 plan meant to address the city’s eventual growth to a population of 500,000.
“Improving infrastructure is critical to growing Saskatchewan cities, villages and towns,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman said on Friday.
“Projects like the ones announced today are crucial to building and protecting a growing Saskatchewan. These important projects will benefit residents both today and into the future.”
Among the other major projects receiving funding are SaskPower’s distributed generation enablement project, which the province says will result in new power lines and improvements to substations to enable new generation projects, including wind and solar facilities.
Also, a new water supply and treatment plant in Rosthern will be built to meet current drinking water needs while accounting for future growth.
“This exciting improvement to our fresh-water infrastructure is crucial for our community’s future,” Rosthern Mayor Dennis Helmuth said.