City Makes Changes To Transit

In response to ridership needs the City has made temporary changes to Transit.

In addition to Transit and Paratransit being free until further notice the City has instituted additional changes to make the system more user friendly during the Covid - 19 pandemic.

Buses on routes will now be operating at new hours. Transit will now operate regular routes from 9:15 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.

To assist in continuing to meet rider expectations a “Dial a Bus” service will be implemented and filled based on availability between 7am and 7pm.

At the March 23rd regular Council meeting City Manager Jim Puffalt said Transit and Paratransit ridership was down massively due to Covid - 19 and the hours of the necessary service may have to be temporarily adjusted.

“Transit and paratransit is something we need to keep our eye on and see where ridership goes,” Puffalt said, adding “Driving a bunch of empty buses is not much of a success to us.”

To assist seniors and higher-risk individuals, Transit will take bookings to meet the high-risk customer shopping hours offered by Safeway/Coop/Superstore/Wal-Mart.

At the Thursday March 18th news conference Mayor Fraser Tolmie said the City was looking at adding a service to Transit to get seniors and those with weakened immune systems to stores who have set aside a specific hour at the start of certain days to allow them access to necessities in the stores.

“That is one of the conversations we have been having and you know if this turns out to be a long term situation we want to coordinate that with the grocery stores and pharmacies withn our community. Those things are being discussed because again we are doing this to protect the most vulnerable in our community and we want to insure those people are looked after. So that is a good question,” Mayor Tolmie replied to a question from MJ Independent.

To book the service you are asked to call with as much notice as possible as bookings will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. - Phone 306-694-4488.

The City advises local cab companies and ride sharing firm U-Ride continue to operate as other transportation options.