As of Monday, May 31, Saskatoon Transit’s On-Demand service area will expand to cover the Brighton area from 6:30AM – 6:00PM from Monday to Friday. (no stat holidays)
On Demand Transit provides bus service from established bus stop to established bus stop and can be booked in multiple ways:
· Mobile App – “On Demand Transit” (code: Saskatoon)
· Online – OnDemandSaskatoon.ca
· Phone – 306.975.3100
Regular transit fares apply and trips can be booked within 15 minutes (ASAP), or up to two weeks before riding. Spots can also be reserved for wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Here are some answers to your FAQ from the City of Saskatoon:
Q. When booking a trip, can I say I want to be picked up at a specific time and then am I taken directly to my destination?
A. When booking your trip, you will have 3 options:
1) Set your pick up time and await approval of that trip
2) Select a drop off time (i.e.: must be dropped off at St Paul’s by 8:00am)
3) Select an ASAP trip and the app will suggest an available time for pickup. For ASAP requests, if a bus is in the area and available, the system will send the bus to that stop within 15 minutes of your request.
Q: How long would it be expected to take?
A: The bus can take up to 15 minutes to arrive at your bus stop after your pickup time. The system is designed to not come early but it has a 15 minute window and can come up to 15 minutes after. (if you book within the app you will get pick up time updates) The system is set up to complete your trip from point A to point B within approximately 30 minutes so once you are on the bus, you are prioritized to be dropped off within ~30 minutes.
Q: Is it direct?
A: Yes, A to B. However, it may be picking up other people along the way. The service is somewhat like Uber Pool.
Q: Can I use the bus pass I have already?
A: Yes, regular fares apply and a transfer is available if you are transferring to another fixed route. *mobile ticketing will launch on June 15 so you can purchase fare via your smart phone
Q: What size of a bus?
A: We are using 30’ Vicinity buses. It is possible that if a 30’ foot bus is not available, we could use a 40’ bus
Q: Can I have a standing pick up time or do I have to call each time?
A: Each trip needs to be booked. Trips can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance. There are no “subscription” trips as there are with Access Transit.
Q: If this becomes really popular with my particular neighbourhood, will you be able to meet the demand?
A: As we see the service become more popular, the On Demand service will certainly meet capacity. At that point, there are ways in which we will be able to reconfigure the system so it remains favorable for On Demand customers. For example, we do want those riders who live along a fixed route and their destination is on that route to use a regular fixed route service or to at least transfer onto a fixed route service. Ideally, this service will work best when riders are using it in conjunction with fixed routes and helping them complete either the first mile/last mile of their journey. Of course, for those “hard to get to” places on transit, it will make sense to use On Demand from A to B. In the future (2022), we will be setting up an integration between the On Demand app and the Transit app so customers can integrate the 2 services. This will greatly help with meeting demand in the future.
