Regina Transit makes adjustments to keep up with increasing ridership, physical distancing

As Phase 2 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan ramps up and more people are out, bus users in the Queen City might have to wait a little longer to catch a ride.

Regina Transit is sticking firm with a 10-person limit on its buses to maintain physical distancing, despite some COVID-19 restrictions easing across the province.

With ridership down more than 80 per cent since the pandemic hit a few months ago, Nathan Luhning, the manager of transit administration for the City of Regina, said the limit wasn't causing any issues.

But now, with weekday trip totals slowly increasing to 6,500 from 4,800 last month, he said Regina Transit has made some adjustments.

"We have a fleet of spare buses sitting throughout the cityso, if our regular bus has too many people on board, the operator will radio that bus to come and help and pick up passengers until there's a lesser amount of passengers on the bus," Luhning said.

He said Regina Transit is still encouraging people to save bus rides for essential trips only.

Bus fares staying free for now

Luhning said the main goal in Regina Transit waiving its fares during the pandemic was to reducephysical interaction between bus drivers and passengers.

"The revenue coming in is secondary to making sure that our staff, our operators and our customers on board are safe," he said.

Luhning said Regina Transit will continue to monitor ridership numbers and the province's reopening plan for a while longer before bringing back fares.

According to the city, Regina Transit typically brings in between $650,000 and $700,000 in fare-box revenue every month.