Bus line revives service to P.A.

A private bus company that sprang up after the provincial government shut down the Saskatchewan Transportation Co. says it has resurrected its route linking Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

Rider Express began making the 140-kilometre run in June before cutting service to three days per week in the face of low demand. Earlier this month, the Reginabased company stopped making the trip altogether.

However, on Monday the company’s owner said he changed his mind and reinstated the route about a week after cancelling it, having resolved a business licensing dispute with the City of Prince Albert.

“I believe this route will pick up if we spend some time on it. … But there is not much (business) right now. It’s been slow again — it’s the same as before,” Firat Uray said in an interview.

That comes as little consolation to Ingrid Gatin, who found herself stranded in Prince Albert on Nov. 6 after paying $35 for a Rider Express ticket on the route, which had been shut down days earlier.

Gatin, who lives in Brandon, Man., was in Saskatchewan visiting her grandparents. She said the temporary closure left her with few options.

Rider Express eventually refunded her money, but the experience left a bad taste in her mouth, she said, adding the loss of STC has made simply getting around the province more difficult for everyone.

“It would affect my willingness to come there without a vehicle,” she said of her experience earlier this month. “I don’t see that as a viable option anymore, to come to Saskatchewan without my own vehicle.”

Uray told the Star Phoenix earlier this month that while Rider Express runs vans to Swift Current, Estevan, Yorkton and Prince Albert, it only makes money on the Saskatoon-to-Regina trip. Without subsidies, that’s unlikely to change, he added on Monday.

“I want to keep this route open if there is demand. I will see (in) another couple months how people respond. Otherwise I’ll have to close it (again). It’s all expense; there is no income on this route yet.”

The Saskatchewan Party government pulled the plug on STC in its unpopular 2017-18 budget, which aims to halve a $1.2-billion deficit this year. It said the decision would save $85 million-$100 million over five years.

The Opposition NDP and the activist group Stop The Cuts have suggested the decision was made hastily and without a clear picture about what closing the Crown corporation would cost over the long term.

“We have seen over recent months that the private sector is looking for those opportunities and recognizing demand. Like any other competitive sector in the province, there will be fluctuations and adjustments,” provincial government spokeswoman Trelle Kolojay wrote in an emailed statement.

“Businesses will need to find the operating model and area of service that fits their business. We expect their (sic) will continue to be fluctuations as these new services enter the sector in Saskatchewan.”