The city's bus fleet was pulled off the road in April 2021 after it was discovered several had cracked frames. Three new buses will be added to the fleet. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Public transit

COVID and fleet issues crushed transit use last year

Mar 8, 2022 | 4:00 PM

A combination of people not wanting to be confined with others in a bus and significant physical issues with its new fleet led to a huge drop in Prince Albert city transit ridership last year.

From peak usage of over 400,000 riders in 2019, numbers dropped to below 250,000 in 2021.

Mayor Greg Dionne said the city is expecting six new buses that will be added to the three they now have to complete their fleet.

“They’re gorgeous and they also have wheel-chair accessibility, and they’re actually transit buses,” said Dionne.

Finding replacement buses has been an issue as they are not readily available and are built after being ordered, a process that took 18 months last time.

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The issue with the buses has led to the cancellation of routes at times and has made the entire service less affordable.

According to a transit review that was presented to council on Monday, the city aims for a 40 per cent cost recovery in a normal year. The remainder of the cost comes from sources other than fares, such as advertising.

In 2021, cost recovery dropped to 25 per cent. Using averages, the cost per passenger is $4.19 per ride in a normal year, meaning the city would be subsidizing a passenger for $2.68.

In 2021, the cost per passenger increased to $7.14, which was split into a city subsidy of $5.32 per passenger and a fare cost of $1.82 paid by the rider.

A subsidy of more than $5 per passenger makes the service not sustainable, reads the report. City staff will review the bus fares and bring another report back to council at a future date.

If ridership increases to pre-pandemic levels, the service is sustainable and operating at or above its 40 per cent target.

The city does not know yet when the new buses will be up and running.

This graph presented as part of a review to city council shows the impact of COVID and bus issues on ridership. (City of Prince Albert)

Vandalism costs

Along with reduced revenues from fares, the service saw increased costs caused by significant issues with vandalism.

Problems started in April 2020 and continued all that summer as vandals broke the glass or Plexiglass on 26 panels. In November, after it slowed, city re-installed the panels.

Some of those were also broken so the city ended up with 79 broken panels and 17 advertising panels that were broken or shattered beyond repair.

“It’s sad because they have a purpose and the purpose is to keep students, seniors and people that ride buses, out of the weather,” Dionne.

As a test run, the city will used perforated metal sheets as shelter sides which can’t be broken but also will not protect waiting riders from wind. They will have shelter from rain.

The trial panels will be installed this spring and with statistics and public opinion monitored the rest of 2022 and through 2023 to see if they are successful.

Additionally, a shelter glass repair program will be made to strategically replace glass throughout 2022.

City solicitor Mitch Holash said, in response to a question from a councillor, that it is feasible for the municipality to file a civil claim against vandals if it can be proven they broke a panel.

Another option, one that is already pursued at times according to Dionne, is for the mayor’s office to ask a judge to grant their request for restitution.

First the vandals need to be identified, however.

“I encourage people that if they ever see something, we don’t need a witness statement. Just phone us with a license plate number and we’ll do the legwork.”

Bus app

The application that allows riders to track their bus is not functional as it needs to connect to a bus’ GPS system in order to track it.

The replacement buses do not have the app but the city is hopeful that will change as soon as the new buses are operational.

“Hopefully when we do get some buses in place that are going to last for more than a short period of time, we could put that app back into the buses so we can get the app back working,” said Wes Hicks, director of public works.

The public will be informed when the app is usable again.

Student service

The city bus service will be accommodating high school students that attend public school in the fall, which will increase ridership.

The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division announced yesterday that they would end bus service for high school students, who will now have to find alternative ways to get to class such as a city bus.

The division in a study of its own found 315 students on average using a bus to and from PACI, Carlton, Wesmor and Won Ska schools.

Transit management expect that, while not all the 315 students will use city buses, enough will that ridership will increase over time along with better knowledge of the transit system.

They will be watching usage throughout the year to ensure that increased ridership can be handled at peak hours.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow