'It's fantastic': Banff transit use jumps by 50% compared to last June

The August long weekend sees thousands of people pile into their cars to get away from it all, but in Banff, the town would rather you take the bus instead and passenger numbers show far more people are taking that advice this year.

Christine Schelstraete drove her car to Banff, but she's not using it today.

"Taking the bus is a great way to transport and not bring in extra congestion into the town," Schelstraete told CBC News.

The Sherwood Park native is one of manyusing Banff's local transit service called Roam.

Angela Anderson of Banff & Lake Louise Tourism says the service's numbers are way up.

"You can get almost anywhere you need to go," Anderson said.

"Whether you want to go to Sulphur Mountain, the Banff Springs Hotel, even Lake Minnewanka, Tunnel Mountain or Lake Louise, you can get there on transit and shuttles."

She says between new routes and increased frequencies, public transit use went up by 50 per cent this June compared to last June.

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"We're really thankful that we see people taking us up on this offer of increased transit and shuttles within the park."

Schelstraete was headed to Sulphur Mountain on Monday.

"It's regular, it's always available. It's easy to jump on ... it's fantastic."

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