TRANSIt SyStEM NEEDS tO BE FIxED

Again Saskatoon Transit speaks of things to come, using fancy buzz words like “DART” and “BRT — Bus Rapid Transit.”

The latest study version, Future Bus Rapid Transit Plans, calls for a restructuring of Saskatoon Transit to more of a grid network with direct two-way routes serving major corridors and development nodes. Hmm, that sounds like what transit had before the complete overhaul in 2005 — two-way bus routes abandoned for single-direction, supposedly to provide more coverage and, of course, the pre-2005 system was designed for the grid network of roads in Saskatoon, abandoned as well because it was inefficient.

I guess if you wait long enough, the old eventually does come around, but in the meantime, we have to listen every year to requests for more money for more studies, big plans like getting rid of the downtown terminal in favour of a new terminal on the lot next to the existing terminal.

How many times have we heard service will be increased but actually implementing it results in failure? Eco-green passes that never catch on, route planning that isn’t actually customer friendly — leaving people waiting for buses (transfers) that left before you got there or won’t arrive for 15 minutes. Stop taking for granted the captive customers.

Here’s a thought: maybe Saskatoon city council needs to put the brakes on and direct transit to go back to the basics and get the basic service right before launching the BRT system?

John M. Thomson, Saskatoon