Hockey on pause in Weyburn after minor ammonia leak
3h ago
Crescent Point Place and Tom Zandee Sports Arena will remain closed for repairs.
Saskatoon Transit unveiled two new low-floor buses with special mobility ramps to help those with reduced mobility or flexibility more easily enter and exit Thursday.
Manager Tracey Davis says they help create more independence for their customers.
“Individuals no longer have to board or get of off the bus using what traditionally is a rear lift. Here with our prairie winds that lift can sometime be unfriendly. Our goal is to have a more customer centric approach to our fleet,” she said.
Each bus costs about $170,000 and Davis says the new buses are also safer than the high-floor buses for operators.
“Our operators are no longer moving up and down those stairs on every trip, because the expectation is that they escort each and every one of our clients to and from the door,” Davis said.
Davis says it’s all about a better customer experience and independence. The new buses have been tested for use in winter conditions and they are also used in several other cities like Calgary, St. Albert and Ottawa are already using them.
“We might not go to a full fleet of just low floors…but we are certainly looking to have more of these to give more of that opportunity for independence to more of our customers,” explained Davis.
Access Transit is an on-demand system. Appointments are made by clients who are picked up and dropped off at their homes or other stops. There are 28 buses in the Access Transit Fleet.
Davis adds that the goal is to have an Access Transit fleet that can hit as many levels of ability as possible and to add several more of the same types of low-floor, ramp-equipped buses in the next few years.