The current fleet of Prince Albert transit buses. Use of the municipal transit system has soared. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

City transit system

Prince Albert Transit sees “massive growth” in 2023

Jan 29, 2024 | 7:12 PM

Overcoming twin hurdles of buying defective buses and the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Prince Albert’s public transit has more than bounced back.

Transportation manager Evan Hastings told city council on Monday that 2023 was a record year for bus users in the city.

“2023 was a year not only of rebound, but of massive growth,” Hastings said.

Last year, the transit system had almost no cancelled routes with buses completing their scheduled hours 99.4 per cent of the time.

Users on Transit Live, which allows users to track exactly where their bus is, almost tripled and reached 332,000 uses. Evans said that equates to about 70 per cent of riders using the transit GPS.

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With extra one time funding of $400,000, the city was able to extend transit hours to 10:15 pm on weekdays, add a trial run out to Little Red River Park and buy new buses, shelters and concrete paths and pads. The late weekday bus will remain in place until the end of 2024.

“We got to consult with Saskatchewan Polytechnic and this is now the busiest stop in the city so it was really well received,” Hastings added.

Just before the city decided to increase weekday hours from ending around 6 pm to ending at 10 pm, student union members spoke to council about the value of the later hours.

Students in the city who are on an education visa are the single biggest reason the ridership has increased. The student union leadership told council that almost all international students go to the school and work in the Cornerstone area and rely on public transit to get home.

If their shift ended at 9 pm, they would have to find a ride or walk. In fall of 2022, a deal between the City and Saskatchewan Rivers School Division resulted in all public high school students in Prince Albert now using transit rather than schools buses.

READ MORE: City signs deal with Sask. Rivers School Division

Passes for students cost $20 per month and when combined with post secondary students, the city now sells over 700 monthly student passes.

Another change from last 2021, saw a route added to include Crescent Acres, with five stops.

A rush hour route was extended to include Cresent Acres as well and run until 10 pm. That route now sees almost 500 users/day.

Hastings predicted an increase for 2024 as well. This year, Prince Albert Transit is planning a full review with public consultation. A fare review will also be done.

Mayor Greg Dionne told paNOW following the meeting that the lawsuit against the company that sold the city the defective buses is ongoing.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for sometime in February, at which time they will have a better idea of the future.

After hearing from both sides, the King’s Bench judge will then attempt to find a solution between the two parties.

In 2019, the City bought seven brand new buses from Vicinity Motors/Grande West Transport but pulled them from service in 2021 after inspections found several had cracked frames.

The City is claiming $6 million in costs to buy the buses and compensation for lost revenue from the buses not running.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com