Thunder Bay Transit will be reducing its services to a modified Sunday schedule starting this weekend, until the end of Ontario’s state of emergency.
It was approved at last night’s City Council meeting. The modified Sunday schedule is set to run from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM, with buses running about every 45 minutes. City Council gave its Transit division the go-ahead to adjust its schedule further as the circumstances change.
Transit Manager Brad Loroff says they’re experiencing some “crowding issues” but aren’t able to put more buses on the road. If they switch to a Sunday and holiday schedule, he says that would free up enough vehicles to put more buses on some routes.
There are other issues creating problems for the city’s bus service right now.
“We’re at a point where the service is unreliable due to staff shortages, for whatever the reason. We are experiencing need to miss trips, cancel pieces of service, where buses are not running on their regular schedule,” Loroff explains.
The Transit official says buses are seeing around 55% less use during the coronavirus pandemic. He told City Council the average weekday ridership has declined by about 60%, with similar figures for Saturday and Sunday service. Some routes have seen an 80% drop in ridership, although he says some are seeing the usual demand.
The city has also asked residents to only use transit when necessary.
Loroff says the city will announce the changes to the service before it kicks in this Sunday. Routes that aren’t normally serviced by the Sunday and Holiday schedule, like the Neebing route, will get service during the state of emergency.
A handful of Councillors were against the move, including Current River Councillor Andrew Foulds.
“I just don’t see how reducing the service serves those people who are serving us right now,” Foulds argues, “The people at Metro, the people at Superstore, Councillor Johnson I think mentioned people who still need to get to the hospital.”
Buses are still free of charge, and the city is encouraging riders to stay one to two metres away from other passengers. You are also not allowed to sit behind the bus driver, or approach the driver past the yellow line on the bus floor. Passengers are required to board the bus from the back doors so drivers are at less risk of contracting COVID-19.
Note of correction: An earlier version of this story indicated the service change is happening this Wednesday. However, Transit Manager Brad Loroff admitted to our newsroom miscommunication at the council meeting resulted in the error, as the change to service starts this Sunday.
