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North Bay transit riders frustrated as they wait longer than ever for the bus

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Buses in North Bay aren't running as frequently as they used to and some riders are upset.

The city has cut routes from running once every 35 minutes to running once an hour. That change has had a big impact for some people.

"It actually hinders a lot of people -- half the people at my work complained about the busses," said Maghen Lefebvre-Speedie.

"Everyone is paying for a regular bus pas, but there's only half the buses so I don't really get that. It also makes us so that we're either late or early."

City officials told CTV News the changes are due to low ridership and lost revenue.

"Pre-pandemic we were running every 30 minutes until 6 o'clock, currently we are running once every hour," said Drew Poeta, transit manager with North Bay.

"At the beginning of the pandemic we made adjustments to the transit schedule based on demand and usage. We're running less than 50 per cent of the ridership pre-pandemic so there are (fewer) people on them. But by running once an hour we're actually having larger numbers per bus."

He said things should be back to normal in September.

"We are working now on reintroducing our frequency, and come September we're hoping to be almost back to normal," he said.

"Through next year we hope to be monitoring the ridership and introducing frequency and routes back to what they were before." 

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