Company approved to offer bus route between Regina and Saskatoon

A new transportation company is one step closing to filling the gap left by the closure of STC.

On June 30,the Highway Traffic Board approved Rider Express Transportation's application to provide passenger service within Saskatchewan.

An opposition hearing was previously held for the company on June 8.

With four, 14-passenger buses, it will serve Saskatchewan beginning with routes from Saskatoon to Regina and vice versa. An expansion to offer routes in Estevan, Yorkton and Swift Current is also in the plans.

Owner Firat Uray said he was happy to hear about the approval, but it was a long road.

"We were planning to start last month but finally we got approval, so it's good news for us and for the province," he said. "After STC [shut down], people are contacting us [saying] that they need service to go to the hospital, to go shopping from small towns.

"From Yorkton and Estevan for example, people are calling us for medical appointments. So there is definitely a need for this kind of service."

Currently, Uray said they are dealing with Greyhound to see if they can use their terminals and offices across the province.

"It is very hard to find a specific location for the bus depots because their are some city requirements on that. But we are working on it," he said.

For now, the company has an agreement with the Tim Hortons in downtown Regina, at1800 11th Ave.,and theTim Hortons closest to the Saskatoon STC bus depot, at 619 22nd St. W., to use their parking lots to pick up and drop off their passengers until they find permanent locations in both cities.

Originally, the company wanted to start driving on Wednesday but have postponed their first trip until Thursday.

There will be four routes daily, except on Sundays. One-way tickets will be $50, but depending on popularity, Uray said he may drop the price.

Starting routes:

• 8 a.m. Saskatoon to Regina.
• 8 a.m. Regina to Saskatoon.
• 5 p.m. Saskatoon to Regina.
• 5 p.m. Regina to Saskatoon.

Uray saidis planning to buy two or three more buses in the near future.

According to the Saskatchewan government, five other applications have had hearings and are currently awaiting a decision. Three applications are currently being reviewed.

Information about buying tickets can be found at the Rider Express website.