Regina Transit adding over 25,000 hours of service to busiest routes

Expansion of transit service in YQR WATCH: Wayne Mantyka explains how the city is planning to increase service on some of its busiest transit routes.

Regina Transit will be adding more than 25,000 hours of bus service to some of its busiest routes.

Starting on Aug. 25, buses in Regina will be running more often on evenings, weekends, and holidays on select routes.

“We as a city need to expand our service hours to make sure that we have trips available for customers in a variety of ways and in a variety of locations,” explained Nathan Luhning, director of transit for the City of Regina.

Sunday service will run every 30 minutes instead of hourly on routes 2, 4, 7, and 9. Some enhancements to evening and holiday service will also be rolled out.

“Some of those routes are at capacity so providing more trip options will allow people to choose their trip but also lower the crowds that we have on those buses at this time,” Luhning said.

New service to the airport added last year has experienced a tripling in ridership from 300 passengers a month to 900.

“Like anything, even when we see with air service, bus service as well, it takes time for people to learn about the service, try and use the service and help fill up that bus. So we do hope that over time it will be self sustaining and won’t require a subsidy from the airport but we’re happy to partner in helping get it off the ground,” said Justin Reves, Director of revenue development, public relations and customer experience with the Regina Airport Authority.

Regina Transit also recently announced the introduction of a new fare option called Umo, which allows customers to pay for rides with their phones.