SUDBURY -- A year after a major overhaul, Greater Sudbury is making some adjustments to its GOVA Transit system as it hopes ridership devastated by COVID-19 will gradually recover.

After recording strong increases with its revamped system, ridership has dropped as much as 70 per cent since March, when COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

As the city gradually reopens services, the city has announced several changes to the system, which come into effect Aug. 29.

"GOVA will transition to new routes and schedules to support passengers where and when service is needed most, while maintaining enhanced protocols for the health and safety of passengers and staff," the city said in a news release Tuesday.

Face masks required

All passengers are required to wear a face covering or non-medical mask when riding buses and are encouraged to do so at bus stops. Facemasks are required when visiting any indoor municipal facility, including the Downtown Transit Hub. GOVA Transit monitors and manages passenger capacity on its routes on a daily basis to deploy extra buses when necessary to support physical distancing, the city said.

“Throughout the pandemic, the city has delivered safe and reliable public transit to keep our city moving," Mayor Brian Bigger said. "We are committed to this essential service and will continue to respond to the needs of passengers as we move into the next phases of recovery.”

“This is the first phase of a ridership recovery plan,” said transit director Michelle Ferrigan. “Like other communities across the country, we have seen our ridership numbers drop dramatically since the onset of the pandemic. Our goal is to remain fast and flexible to respond to a reopening of the community as it occurs, bringing back previous levels of service and introducing new services where there is expectation of revenue.”

During the first phase of its ridership recovery plan, the city is reintroducing high-frequency service on most routes, reinstate some previously suspended routes and introduce new services in parts of the city.

Route changes coming into effect Aug. 29 include:

- Route 101 Lively will serve bus stops in the community of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek near Naughton. Residents will no longer have to walk to the highway for transportation to Downtown Sudbury. Frequency of Route 101 will resume and no transfer is necessary to reach the Downtown.

- New Route 29 Martindale Local will transport residents of Martindale Road and Ramsey View Court to Health Sciences North and South End Sudbury. This new route is an example of GOVA Transit listening to resident needs with the expectation that anticipated revenues will balance additional service.

- Routes 22 Grandview Local and 23 New Sudbury Local will restart, following suspension of service in April for COVID-19. New schedules are in effect.

- Route 4 Laurentian University Paris has been temporarily suspended due to the effects of COVID-19. Students travelling to Laurentian University are served by Route 3 Laurentian University via Regent.

- Route 11 Donovan is not servicing Cambrian College due to the effects of COVID-19.

- Route 21 Grandview Commuter has been suspended due to the effects of COVID-19. Passengers are served by Route 22 Grandview Local.

- Route 105 Valley will remain one service, combining former Routes 105B and 105C. Buses travel directly to Val Caron, Val Therese, Hanmer and Capreol. Buses serve Outremont Boulevard and Blezard Valley on trips travelling to the Downtown Transit Hub. High frequency service will resume.

- Route 1 to New Sudbury, Route 1 to South End, Route 2 to Cambrian College and Route 2 to Downtown Sudbury will run every 15 minutes from early morning until late evening, Mondays to Fridays. Higher frequency service is also available on weekends on these Main Line routes.

Schedules for all GOVA Transit and GOVA Zone routes will be adjusted effective Aug. 29. Information is available at www.greatersudbury.ca/transit and by calling 705-675-3333.