REGINA BUS ROUTE OPEN

Company gets approval

A second company has received approval to operate a passenger bus service in Saskatchewan, servicing some of the routes once operated by the now-defunct Saskatchewan Transportation Company.

Regina-based Riders Express Transportation was approved by the Highway Traffic Board on June 30 to operate services between Regina and Saskatoon. Firat Uray, owner and operator of the company, said Wednesday the first buses will leave Regina and Saskatoon on Thursday morning.

One-way tickets will be $45 plus tax with two routes operating daily at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Saskatoon and Regina. Uray has had trouble finding bus depot locations, so it will temporarily be operating from Tim Hortons parking lots at 1800 11th Ave. in Regina and 619 22nd St. W. in Saskatoon.

Uray is happy to finally have the company operating as the approval process was lengthy.

“We got approved actually one month ago but there was two oppositions to our case ... so we had the hearing and the hearing takes almost a month to get clarified that we can start operating,” he said.

Uray had previously worked in Turkey in the transportation industry and had been planning to start a bus company before the government announced the winding down of STC. He researched the STC routes and routes across the country before deciding where his vehicles would travel.

Riders Express Transportation will be operating 15-passenger vans for its routes.

Uray had originally planned to launch the company with service to Yorkton, Estevan and Swift Current as well, but the long approval process meant he wasn’t able to have enough vans delivered in time. He hopes to begin operating in those communities next week.

He believes his business will be successful due to the speed he will be able to offer transportation with. STC stopped in smaller communities between cities, however, Riders Express Transportation will not.

“I want to see how it’s going to be. If we make money then we’ll continue, if we don’t make money we’ll close,” he said.

This is the second company approved for operation. Last week, it was announced Melville-based DiCal Transport would take over STC bus routes for Regina, Yorkton, Melville, Balcarres and Fort Qu’Appelle starting July 10.