Saskatoon Transit buying 10 new buses

SASKATOON – City council has approved the purchase of ten new buses for Saskatoon Transit.

Council approved the request from transit administration on Monday recommending the purchase of the buses from Nova Bus at a total cost of $4.63 million.

Bob Howe, the director of Saskatoon Transit, says the new buses will benefit riders, drivers and mechanics.

“Providing a more reliable and comfortable service to riders, while ensuring our Operators and Mechanics have the best tools to do their job remains a key value at Saskatoon Transit,” said Howe in a release.

The new buses have low floors which are not as good in winter conditions as buses with high floors but do hold some advantages.

“We’re trying to get to a low floor bus fleet as much as we can because a low floor is a fully accessible bus,” said Jeff Jorgenson, the city’s transportation manager.

“They’re just easier for people to get on and off.”

If approved and the order is confirmed in September, the 10 new buses could arrive in May 2015 and allow transit to retire 10 buses nearing the end of their life service.

Howe said purchasing the new buses along with five previously announced new bus purchases will reduce the median age to the recommended nine years.

The current average age of a city bus is 14.5 years and Howe pointed out the way transit looks today is not how it will look in the coming years.

“Transit is currently being re-envisioned as part of the Growing Forward! Shaping Saskatoon initiative and is expected to include a significant Bus Rapid Transit system,” said Howe.

A shortage of mechanics that caused a backlog of bus maintenance was the biggest factor for cancelled routes prior to unionized transit workers being locked out by the city on Sept. 20.

Older buses were also partially to blame for cancelled routes after the Labour Day weekend.

Some of the buses currently in the fleet are over 20-years-old and have more than 1.5 million kilometres.

This story has been updated to reflect Saskatoon city council has approved the purchase of the new buses