Regina’s free shuttle bus for Riders fans will be back up and running again this year, but there will be some changes.
For fans living in the Northwest who hop on the Normanview Crossing shuttle, that will no longer be an option as the mall has decided to sit this season out.
For several years, Normanview Crossing was one of five pick-up locations for the free shuttle service to Mosaic Stadium. But with the new Mosaic Stadium, demand for the service has increased exponentially.
“It was apparent to us that the number of parking stalls that we have are not able to accommodate both mall patrons who shop who are not Rider fans and don’t go to the game – as well as those who do not use the rider express service,” Klyne said.
Klyne also added that they polled a cross-section of tenants before making the decision, and received a mixed review.
“Some of them supported the service but some of them also did not,” she explained. “They didn’t receive the uptake and didn’t experience any increase in their business. They did receive feedback, however, from customers who could not get into their premise because there simply wasn’t a place for them to park.”
Last year, it was anticipated that nearly 3,000 people would use the service, but roughly 6,000 – 8,000 people took advantage of the shuttle.
“It was a successful program moving people in and out of Mosaic Stadium,” Regina Transit director, Brad Bells said. “Our mode share in 2016 was only three per cent, and we moved up to 24 per cent in 2017, moving that six to 8,000 customers to Mosaic Stadium.”
While the city has been unsuccessful in finding a new pick up spot in the Northwest, a new location has been added near the old Sears outlet mall.
“We think that Normanview customers will have two or three more options,” Bells said. “We will still tell them to use any of our other four or five locations coming up so they can go to Northgate Mall and they can use the downtown area and then the warehouse area which is on 6th and Hamilton Street.”
The new stop at the former Sears building is expected to be ready in time for The Eagles concert on May 17th.