By meadowlakeNOW

STC replacement passenger service in M.L. reduced to reservations

Sep 19, 2017 | 6:00 PM

Despite having demand for several weeks leading up to starting a bus passenger service in Meadow Lake, Rider Express has had to make some changes to its operations in the community due to a current lack of demand.

In late August, Regina-based Rider Express announced they were commencing a Meadow Lake to Saskatoon return route, running Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The plan was to run the regular route to help offset the impact of STC shuttering in late May of this year, but according to the company’s manager Firat Uray, only three people have used the service in its first two weeks. 

On its first day in the community on August 29, no online bookings had been made, and no day-of passengers showed up at the pickup point at Meadow Lake’s Tim Hortons restaurant. 

Now, the service is running reservation-only, and only if a minimum of four people pre-book a trip. The schedule has also changed to a 7 a.m. departure.

Uray said it was not an easy decision, as the company would like to be able to offer more regular service, but felt it was not economically feasible for Rider Express to send a van for so few passengers.

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“Once we started, it’s been two weeks and we didn’t have enough passengers,” he said. “Most times we ended up empty, then it starts costing us [too much] to make the run. People need to call us to reserve the seats.” The cost is $48 per person each way.

He said the cost of only having one or two passengers was not covering the gas or wages it took to travel to Meadow Lake. He said last week there were bookings for four passengers, but only one showed up, which also has a financial impact on the company. 

The company originally started its service runs earlier this summer, with regular daily trips between Saskatoon and Regina, and has since expanded to regular service between Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The service is mostly regular between North Battleford and Saskatoon, but still requires reservations. 

Uray said if the frequency and number of bookings start to increase and, Rider Express would consider adding Meadow Lake as a regular route again.

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath