Saskatoon Transit boasts route and capacity improvements in September
By Brody Langager of Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Bus route improvements are coming to Saskatoon after residents raised concerns around overcrowding and reliability.
That’s according to Saskatoon Transit, which said it aims to bring a more frequent service starting in September, with school-focused trips and longer buses on high-traffic routes.
These improvements come as a total of 20 new buses are expected to arrive in Saskatoon over the next few weeks and into October.
Frequency is expected to increase on routes affecting Evergreen, Willowgrove, Arbor Creek and 115th Street, as well as Stonebridge and the University of Saskatchewan. These routes include 4, 17, 43, 44, 45 and 46.
Capacity increases up to 50 per cent are expected on routes 10 and 43 as new, longer buses run at the same time as high-school bell times.
The new Route 340 for Holy Cross and Walter Murray high school students replaces Route 338 with an expanded service for Rosewood.
SERVICE DISRUPTIONS
Due to the new buses not arriving in time for the new school year, Saskatoon Transit said there would be temporary disruptions for a few routes.
Short-term peak-time service reductions affect Route 2 for Meadowgreen during the afternoon, Route 22 in Confederation and Route 55 in Lakeridge/University.
Saskatoon Transit said high school routes 325 and 336 will be temporarily unavailable.
RIDERSHIP INCREASING
A previous city council report noted that 2024 bus ridership exceeded pre-pandemic levels. While he didn’t have exact numbers, Mike Moellenbeck, director of Saskatoon Transit, said they are seeing further ridership increases.
“We have seen a lot of fuller buses in a number of our neighbourhoods, especially ones that are serving high schools and the university,” Moellenbeck said.
He said northeast neighbourhoods like Aspen Ridge saw reduced service times during the pandemic, but those service levels will be brought back up with these service improvements.
REPLACING THE FLEET
Moellenbeck said additions include 10 40-foot buses and 10 60-foot buses, which are undergoing final builds and inspections. He adds that their arrival will be weeks apart, with everything on the road by October.
These new buses arrive as some older ones reach the end of their lifespan, but Moellenbeck said they are cautious about taking any buses off-line right away.
He said the peak number of buses on the road will sit at 92 once all the new ones arrive, and the total fleet number isn’t intended to increase once some of the older buses are retired.
SAFETY ON BUSES
Moellenbeck said a future report to city council aims to highlight the effectiveness of the fire community support workers that help monitor bus stations and patrol buses.
“We also are continuing to look at our patrols that we have in place, and also the safety measures that we put in place in June.”
He said the vast majority of riders probably aren’t seeing disruptions, noting those issues tend to be contained to buses going in and out from downtown along 20th and 22nd Street.
“I will stress that safety is something we absolutely are always looking at how we can improve,” Moellenbeck said, adding they are having discussions on how to better support riders and operators.