A screen grab of the transit tracking site shows the locations of buses in Prince Albert. (Transitlivepa.com)

By Alison Sandstrom

City buses

Council looks to renew contract with Transitlive

May 5, 2020 | 1:00 PM

Prince Albert city council appears set to renew the City’s contract with the bus live-tracking system Transitlive.

The website allows riders to view the location of their bus in real time and see when it will arrive at any given stop. It’s been available in Prince Albert since September of 2019. City administration also uses the system to track ridership on the routes.

A city report shows Transitlive receives an average of 750 hits per day and around 55 per cent of all trips on the transit system begin with a visit to the website.

“Frankly the bus system has become more reliable,” Coun. Ted Zurakowski told the meeting. “Especially in the winter, you can see if you’re four minutes early or if the bus is seven minutes late. I think that’s very valuable.”

Transportation and Traffic Manager Keri Sapsford told council before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people using the transit system in P.A. was growing.

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“This tool will be invaluable in getting people back on the bus when restrictions start coming off,” she said, adding that during the pandemic the website saved people from having to call city hall to ask if the buses were still running.

Sapsford also highlighted the Transitlive system includes audible stop announcements on the buses. These make it easier for people with visual impairments or who may be new to the city to know exactly where they are, without relying on the driver, and decreases the chance of them missing their stop.

Council will make a final decision whether to renew Transitlive’s contract for another four years at a cost of around $30,000 per year at the next meeting on May 19.

Council voted 8-1 in favour of the measure at Monday’s Executive Committee Meeting, with only Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick voting against it.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom