City looking at ways to make Regina public transit more attractive

REGINA — Waiting for her bus, Leona Denomie jokes about why she loves public transit so much.

“You get to sit and look at everything,” she said. “Sometimes you see things you didn’t know were going on!”

For Denomie, public transportation offers everything she needs.

“I don’t drive, I never drove,” she said. “I take the bus back and forth all over the place to my grandkids.”

And she loves it. The City of Regina hopes more people did, too. So this summer, they are trying to make public transit more attractive.

“We will be restructuring what our routes look like,” said Nathan Luhning, the manager of the city’s Transit Business Development. “A lot of express routes, a lot of new services in residential areas.”

That’s just one of the recent initiatives to get more people on the bus. Last year cameras were installed to add more security, and a GPS system was introduced to keep tabs on your route. According to the city, it’s all making a difference.

“We saw an increase of over nine percent in ridership, which is a large amount for a city our size,” explained Luhning.

In 2012 the city provided 6,000,000 rides, but transit advocates say that number could be a lot higher. Terri Sleeva, the chair of Regina Citizens’ Public Transportation Coalition, worries transit is not a priority in Regina.

“If it’s their only lifeline to get around for mobility, a lot of people told me it’s not a very good system,” she said.

Sleeva does have some suggestions based on what she has heard from residents.

“Get more buses, get more routes, make it affordable,” said Sleeva.

The city is considering a way to make it more affordable. At Wednesday’s Executive Committee meeting, a report was considered to allow city administration authority to offer reduced rates as a promotion.

Luhning said the transit system is improving, and pretty soon, buses could be the best way to get around.

“As you see fuel prices continue to increase, as you see congestion continue to increase, people are going to be looking for alternative modes of transportation and we’re that option,” he said.