Saskatoon Transit’s aging buses are becoming a big maintenance issue, reportedly causing numerous cancellations. The transit director was recently in front of council to explain why this is happening.[1]
The city’s fleet consists of older Nova Bus and New Flyer vehicles, with an average age of 11 years (the industry standard is 7 years). The lack of replacement parts and retirement of worn-out buses has led to cancellations due to the reduced operating fleet,[2] with parts having to be taken from some of the vehicles to keep other buses running.[3]
The federal government has been funding transit improvements across the country through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), but this requires an application and a contribution by the province which hasn’t happened yet. The city received 66 new buses in the five years between 2014 and 2019 through the Gas Tax Fund and the Public Transit Infrastructure Program but hasn’t updated its fleet since then.[4]
Transport Action Canada calls upon the Province of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon and the federal government to jointly fund new buses for Saskatoon to improve the fleet reliability. This issue points to the need for ongoing capital and operating funding for transit to maintain fleets in good order.
[1] https://www.cjwwradio.com/2022/03/08/saskatoon-transit-manager-on-the-hot-seat-over-bus-shortage/
[2] https://www.iheartradio.ca/580-cfra/news/saskatoon-transit-director-says-aging-fleet-is-contributing-to-bus-cancellations-1.17277808
[3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/council-transit-cancellations-breakdowns-1.6368820
[4] https://www.saskatoon.ca/sites/default/files/documents/asset-financial-management/cos_assetmgmtplan_2021-transit_v7.2.pdf