Public Transit resources for Bus Riders of Saskatoon
Looking for public transit related resources? You’ll find them below. City of Saskatoon reports, blogs with frequent public transit related items, and even public transit related research to inform and educate.
Transit Problem
Saskatoon Transit’s website is always available and their Customer Service Centre has a dedicated page to respond to their customers needs, including Contact Information, Lost-and-Found, etc.
If you have had a problem with Saskatoon’s Transit system, report it using their Customer Feed-back Form or by phoning them, at 306-975-3100. Useful information to include in your report is the day of incident, time of the incident, four digit bus number, route number & name (e.g. 8 City Centre) and the direction of travel (e.g. northbound). The more detailed information you can provide Saskatoon Transit in your comments is helpful.
Also, consider participating in their Engagement program to have more input into transit decisions.
System Map & Bus Schedules
The 2023 Transit Network Map shows the current bus routes (paper copies available upon request from Transit’s Customer Service Centre): in this hub-and-spoke network transfers typically take place at dedicated bus terminals and most bus routes lead to the Downtown Terminal.
The On-Demand Pilot Project both augments and overlaps the traditional fixed-route network. For example, do note that On-Demand is the only transit service available to the new Brighton Neighbourhood and the south-east Costco.
The latest individual route maps & schedules are also available online (paper copies available from Transit’s Customer Service Centre).
Real Time Trackers
- Buskatoon is a real-time tracking website that displays the locations of all of the busses in Saskatoon.
- Saskatoon Transit is recommending the use of Mobile Apps, such as Google Transit or Transit App. From the Saskatoon Transit website:
- Saskatoon Transit has real time transit tracking through the third party developers, Transit App and Google Transit. This initiative provides GPS information for bus locations on individual routes throughout Saskatoon.
- Real time transit tracking will allow customers to see the location of their bus in real time and see how many minutes until the next bus arrives, which will limit wait times at bus stops. With Transit App and Google Transit you can create customized route maps without having to sort through schedules. Saskatoon Transit updates the necessary data as required, ensuring our customers have accurate information available.
- Transit App and Google Transit will also:
- Provide walking directions to the nearest stop
- Allow you to find your destination based on landmarks or place names rather than an address
- Google allows you to use “street view” to see what your departure or arrival destination actually looks lik
- Allows you to select a departure or arrival destination based on nearest intersection rather than address.
- Provides estimated fare costs and compares it to another mode of transportation, such as driving
- Real time transit tracking through Transit App and Google Transit will result in better trip planning, less wait times and fewer missed connections.
- Download Transit App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store today!
BRS Reports
Bus Riders’ Safety Initiative, 2017 — Report on outcomes of Community Engagement in Saskatoon and Policy Recommendations
City of Saskatoon Reports
2021 Municipal Manual — This nifty Manual, which is updated annually by the City Clerk, is a good resource on Saskatoon’s organizational structure, history, and statistics.
Saskatoon Transit’s Service Standards:
Service Standards 2021 and Terminology and BRS’s critique
Service Levels for the ‘introduction of transit service to New & Developing Neighbourhoods’ was commented on by Bus Riders and insightfully discussed by the Councillors in this 1-hour Video on agenda-item 7.1.1 from the SPCoT-meeting on 1 February 2021.
Reports impacting Transit Planning (see also Annual Reports and BRT-section below):
Official Community Plan 2020 – Bylaw #9700 — provides a comprehensive policy framework to ensure the community’s vision for Saskatoon is integrated into all aspects of planning, decision-making and priority-setting for the City (Transit on pp. 100-102 within Moving Around, pp. 92-102)
Transportation Master Plan 2021 is the current Master Plan for all modes of transportation. It includes the latest Goals & Objectives for Transit (pp. 5, 31-33).
Saskatoon Transit’s Five Year Plan 2016-2020 — includes Transit’s Mission/Vision-statements (pp. 6-7); it appears to be the first of three 5-year plans for the period 2016-2030
Fleet Renewal Strategy 2015 and Transit Asset Management Plan 2019 and Transit Asset Management Plan 2021
Active Transportation Plan 2016 – although not directly transit-related, all transit Riders use AT to get to/from bus stops and to move around
Growth Plan Technical Report 2016 (see Part 3: Transit) — This comprehensive report was the de-facto Master Plan for various long-term transportation developments in the City until it was recently superseded by the Transportation Master Plan 2021 above.
Transit’s Annual Reports (including plan for the next year):
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2022 — (including ‘Moving Forward’, p. 28)
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2021
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2020 — Note: this was the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2019 — (including ‘Moving Forward’, pp. 21-23)
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2018 — (including ‘Moving Forward’, pp. 18-21)
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2017 — (including ‘Our Work – Moving Forward’, pp. 19-22)
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2016 — (including ‘Our Work – Moving Forward’, pp. 17-19)
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2015 — (including ‘Our Work – Moving Forward’, pp. 16-20) — Note: ‘year of the Covid-pandemic’
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2012
Saskatoon Transit Annual Report 2011
Older Transit Planning Reports:
Saskatoon Transit Strategic Plan Study Final Report 2005 — This report has now been superseded by the ‘Growth Plan Technical Report 2016’ above
The Effects of a Reduced- or Zero-Fare Structure on Ridership — 2015 Fare Review by the City of Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the New Transit Network:
NOTE: The proposed BRT-network supported by a New Transit Network (still to be designed) are intended to go live in the Summer of 2026. More info on the new transit plan is available here on the City’s website.
BRT-FactSheet 2020 — this brief fact sheet describes the BRT-project in a nut-shell
NewTransitNetworkOverview 2019 — this document describes the concept of a New Transit Network built around the BRT-backbone
ICIP-Transit Infrastructure 2019 — list of transit-related infrastructure projects, including the BRT, that the City wants to build using funds from Phase 2 of the joint federal-provincial-municipal ‘Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’. The Saskatchewan Government is the only hold-out against getting these implemented
BRT-map 2020 — MAP of the approved Red Line, Blue Line and Green Line BRT-routes
NewTransitNetworkMap 2018 — MAP of a published, preliminary proposal for a ‘grid-shaped’ New Transit Network with no terminals, where transfers take place at any two intersecting bus routes. Here is another very preliminary network map from an open house in 2018.
CurrentTransitNetworkMap 2021 — MAP of the current ‘hub-and-spoke’ Transit Network, where most routes (spokes) converge at the Downtown Terminal (hub) while transfers take place at Bus Terminals. In addition, this traditional fixed-route network is augmented and overlapped by the On-Demand Pilot Project. For example, do note that On-Demand is the only transit service available to the new Brighton Neighbourhood and the south-east Costco.
Other websites about Transit in Saskatoon
There are several people and groups throughout the city who comment on issues regarding Saskatoon’s transit. Often, their views are well researched and written.
YXE Simon Says delivers not only his views, but also statistics, analysis, and history within the context of Saskatoon’s current events.
Better Transit YXE is run by transit enthusiasts with a mission “to catalyze discussion about public transit in Saskatoon and encourage change!”
Our YXE gives a voice to the concerns and ideas from people in Saskatoon. The website hosts a blog, a podcast, and links regarding our fair city.
Learn more about Public Transit
Blogs of interest:
Human Transit is the blog of Jarrett Walker. Jarrett is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy, based in Portland, Oregon. He is also the author of Human Transit: How clearer thinking about public transit can enrich our communizes and our lives (Island Press, 2011), an excellent resource for increasing the layperson’s understanding of transit planning.
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative and practical solutions to transportation problems. Lots of information here, everything from When are bus lanes warranted?, Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits, to Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs.
Though U.S. based, there is plenty of interest at CityLab. Dedicated to the people who are creating the cities of the future—and those who want to live there. The City Fixer tab collates stories into various topic areas, including Mass Transit.
Public Transit Related Research:
Economic Impact of Transit Investment, Canadian Urban Transit Association
Federal, Provincial and Territorial Public Transit Funding Programs in Canada, Canadian Urban Transit Association
Urban Transportation and Design: Getting Where We Need to Go Summary Report, Sustainability Networking Conference, May 2014, University of Saskatchewan School of Environment and Sustainability
Useful Life of Transit Buses and Vans, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration Report No. FTA VA-26-7229-07.1
Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
Electric Bus Feasibility Study for the City of Edmonton, MARCON
Will Canada Miss the Bus?, Clean Energy Canada