Some fares rise, others fall as firms revive STC routes

Companies hope to attract enough riders to make services economically viable

Two transportation companies have started offering select passenger services since the shutdown of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company at the end of May, but at what cost?

Lucky for some, ticket prices to larger urban centres have gone down, but passengers from smaller cities are experiencing an increase in cost compared to STC prices.

DiCal Transport has been in the courier, moving and delivery business for seven years. On July 10, it started passenger service from Yorkton to Regina for a ticket price of $56.95. The price is about $18 more than STC used to charge, but Diane Smith, owner and operator of DiCal, said without the government subsidies STC used to receive there is no way they can offer the same price. She said location of services is also a factor.

“We’re not doing a main route like Saskatoon to Regina,” Smith said. “Yorkton’s kind of rural compared to the two main centres. So no, we can’t offer $30 a ticket.”

But DiCal does run a frequent rider program. Smith said if a passenger buys four tickets at full price, they can purchase their fifth ticket at 50 per cent off. She said one customer has already benefited from the program in the 10 days the service has been available.

Based out of Regina, Riders Express Transportation began offering passenger service to larger city centres like Saskatoon and Prince Albert three weeks ago, but at costs below or the same as what STC was charging.

Firat Uray, owner of Riders Express, said he looked at all the old STC prices and made a decision to offer rides at a lower rate. He said because his company is using 15-person passenger vans, the cost of gas and operation is lower, allowing him to offer tickets at a lower rate.

Riders Express offers routes between Regina and Saskatoon for $45 including tax, compared to the old STC price of $51.20 plus tax; and between Saskatoon and Prince Albert for $23 including tax, compared to the old STC price of $30.95 plus tax. The company also offers routes between Regina and Prince Albert at $75 including tax, which is comparable to the old STC price of $71.80 plus tax.

Uray said they were offering routes between Swift Current and Saskatoon for $45 including tax, while STC had charged $53.40 plus tax, but due to slow business the route was removed from their website as of Thursday.

“We may not start it until next summer because there (are) not much requests for (it) now,” Uray said of the Saskatoon-Swift Current route.

But he said he hopes to add in routes to Estevan and Yorkton for three days a week starting next week. Uray said since their prices are already quite low, they don’t offer any seniors’ discounts or frequent riders discounts. If business picks up, he said he will lower prices even more.

But business is slow right now. With only three to four passengers in the afternoons and often only one in the morning, Uray said the company isn’t even covering its expenses. He is optimistic that will change once school starts up again.