Bus rapid transit moves ahead as city awards $3M for planning

The bus is finally accelerating.

After more than a dozen years of discussions and plans, Saskatoon city council on Wednesday approved a $3-million contract for an American company to start planning the city’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Council voted unanimously in favour of the contract, although some expressed concern about the price tag and wondered what exactly city hall is getting for the money.

Residents will likely see implementation of the dedicated lanes for buses along major corridors within the next three years, the city’s director of planning, Lesley Anderson, told council.

“This will be the detailed functional plan for the bus rapid transit system,” Anderson said.

The contract, awarded to Omaha, Neb.-based HDR Corporation, will oversee the development of 34 kilometres of dedicated bus lanes. The system is expected to cost an estimated $280 million, one of the largest single infrastructure projects in the city’s history.

City hall is counting on receiving federal money earmarked for transit infrastructure.

HDR was instrumental in helping develop the Silver Line BRT system in Grand Rapids, Mich., the state’s first such system.

Council was told HDR’s was the low bid, but Coun. Bev Dubois asked for information on the unsuccessful bids. City manager Murray Totland said city hall will make an effort to be consistent with reports and include such information in future ones.

Coun. Zach Jeffries said some residents have wondered why an American company was chosen.

“We do not have the ability to exclude companies from other countries,” Anderson said.

The city is paying about half of the contract; the remainder comes from the federal government’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. Anderson said the federal money has two deadlines in 2018 and 2019 and strict stipulations that contracts must be tendered. The plan must be completed by April 18, 2018, which is why the contract includes a contingency of nearly $600,000 to deal with unforeseen work.

Mayor Charlie Clark wondered whether planning for the system will take into account technological advances like the effect of autonomous vehicles. Anderson said “a lot of unknowns” remain when it comes to autonomous vehicles, but HDR is a leading engineering firm.

This will be the detailed functional plan for the bus rapid transit system.