As Saskatoon continues to grow, let's not miss the bus

Good public transportation is critical to having a livable city, writes Shantanu Datta.

I have a beef with Saskatoon Transit. Don't get me wrong. I love the public transport system. But not its slightly errant ways.

Having lived my entire life in massive Indian cities with a population upward of a million, I am used to decent public transport. In comparison, Saskatoon, where the population crossed 300,000 last year, is an outlier.

Even then, one of the first things I noticed after arriving this winter was the good transit layout and network here.

Of course, it's not all rosy. Otherwise, transit would have clocked way more than 4.89 million “electronic” rides in 2022, the last year for which the annual report has been published.

I live in Stonebridge, and the best bus to take me downtown, for instance, is number 83. Never mind the weather outside, it's a glide once you are in — 40 minutes and you are ready to disembark. If you get the bus, that is.

It arrives every half an hour, which is fine. But it does not run after 6:30 p.m., which is not fine. And not on weekends, which is anything but fine.

Take this Saturday. I had to go downtown for a volunteer shift. You guessed it — there was no 83. The option? Walk 25 minutes or so, get a different bus, and then a second one.

Truth be told, it was a nice walk; the weather was great. But what about days with bad weather? Besides, how many others will make the effort, if they have a vehicle?

At the end of the day, it is a municipality's responsibility that more people take public transport. Especially in a country that takes — justifiable — pride in working on sustainability.

It is a municipality's responsibility that more people take public transport.

“The government is taking action to help Canadians ... adapt to the effects of climate change, and make life more affordable on the track to net-zero. We're building a Canada-wide network of charging stations ... and investing in public transit, rail and ferries ...”

That's from the federal budget, announced last month.

Although the budget has proposed a push for zero-emission electric vehicles and has “committed more than $1 billion to build charging stations,” it's going to take time. The government's own national target of 100 per cent zero-emission vehicles is 2035.

As population and demand increase in the intervening years, the world is bound to get foggier — I should know; I come from Delhi, where the sky is clouded by haze half the year.

So, yes, making the bus on Route 83 more frequent will keep the smog at bay for a tiny second more by offering people an option other than driving.

One argument often bandied around is Saskatoon's relatively small population and its harsh winter conditions. It's argued the money spent is just not worth the effort.

My concerns aside, as one of the fastest-growing Canadian cities, Saskatoon needs better transit for sure. Last year, the city added nearly 14,000 new residents, a large portion of that immigrants.

Besides catering to internal migration from other provinces as housing costs head northward elsewhere, Saskatoon is also a university town, and will always have an influx of students — from within the province and outside, including international students.

From all accounts, those annual numbers are unlikely to dive back to four figures in the near future. Most of them will be forced to get cars eventually, which will evidently lead to relatively more choked roads. Is the city road network and infrastructure ready to handle a few thousand vehicles more each year?

Or — and I look back again at my India experience — are we looking at gridlocks, sooner rather than later?

Which brings us to the point about harsh winters. A valid point. But if European cities can do it, so can we. All we need are bus shelters — and lots of them — and increased frequency. The two main reasons that deter more people from using transit.