Saskatoon Transit Increasing Bus Frequency for 8th Street Corridor

As the City continues its planning toward a population of half-a-million, Saskatoon Transit has finalized routing for the 8th Street corridor and surrounding areas, which will be implemented July 3, 2016.

“This is an exciting step into the future,” says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit. “These changes will allow us to offer high-frequency service along 8th Street which is the first step toward implementing Bus Rapid Transit.”

Transit riders will notice changes to many existing routes, including the addition of five new routes, adjustments to 22 existing routes and the retirement of six current routes. The 2016 route adjustments will allow Saskatoon Transit to provide 7.5 minute frequency along 8th Street during morning and afternoon peak periods and 10 minute frequency during off-peak times on weekdays. Transit will provide 30 minute frequency during evenings, on weekends and statutory holidays.

These service changes should allow for more convenience and a quicker daily commute for east-side customers traveling to-and-from downtown. It should drastically reduce wait times and missed connections along the 8th Street corridor. These service changes also support our new model of citizen service under Service Saskatoon.

“We are implementing transit industry best practices and working with existing resources to introduce higher-frequency service along major corridors” McDonald says.  “We’ve ended some pilot-project routes and understand adjustments to existing routes may mean a change in routine and may mean a few extra minutes on the bus, but these changes will be beneficial to the overall transit system and the majority of bus riders.” 

All new routing and schedules are available at saskatoontransit.ca and at the Transit Customer Service Centre. Customers are now able to plan their trip online through Google Transit with the routing that will be introduced on July third.

“To make sure this transition goes smoothly we’re strongly encouraging riders to check route changes now to see how this will affect their commute” he says. “Knowing before you go is the best way for riders to avoid confusion on July third.”