Saturday Bus Service Goes Dial A Bus - We Ask Questions About It

There may have been calls to preserve it but when it came right down to it the figures show Moose Jaw Transit’s Saturday bus route was not showing an increasing ridership but rather the opposite.

“When we did Budget we looked at our customers. Our Saturday ridership was about 200 and our Monday to Friday (ridership) was about 800 (per day),” city manager Jim Puffalt said in response to questions from MJ Independent.

The City recently announced that coming this Saturday the transit system is eliminating their regular Saturday transit service and moving to a dial- a - bus system.

“Use the Dial - A - Bus it is a good service,” Puffalt said as part of his Tuesday morning post Council news conference.

The Saturday morning transit service came under scrutiny in the 2021 Budget and was extended to May 1st by utilizing Council’s travel budget. Council does not expect to do any travelling this budget year due to the the COVID - 19 pandemic and so they transferred that budget to Transit to allow the Saturday service to run from the start of January to the end of April.

Asked about if there had been a response from the ridership by increasing use after the announcement Saturday service was going to be eliminated he said “if anything it (ridership) went down.”

Figures show that the average Saturday ridership from January to the end of March was 146 riders. April ridership figures are not available at this time.

Puffalt did say there had been some response from residents about changing or eliminating the Saturday service.

“There was a few responses, but it wasn’t an outcry.”

Despite the move to a Dial - A - Bus service Puffalt said the City would still like to hear from residents about it.

“If this is a major impact to people let us know we always want your input” Puffalt said encouraging people to get in touch with the City and the Transit Department including the change to Saturday Dial-A-Ride Concerned residents are encouraged to email: transit@moosejaw.ca.

At the present time the City is reviewing the present transit system to make it more effective, cost efficient and provide the best service to residents.

This summer the City will undertake a public survey that will help inform future decisions on routes, fares and schedules.

If you want to use Dial - A - Bus this coming weekend you must telephone before this Friday.

HOW TO USE DIAL - A - BUS

To schedule a Saturday Dial-A-Ride trip, please call the Transit office at 306-694-4488 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

You will need to provide your name, the time and bus stop location for pickup, and the bus stop location for drop off, as well as details for your return trip if required.