Some Saskatoon students forced to walk or wait to get to school due to packed buses

It's been two weeks since the school year began and Amanda Spenst is still worried about her son getting there on time using public transit. 

Her 14-year-old son is among the high school students who have been vying for seats on crowded city buses.

The Saskatoon Transit buses have been operating at capacity at peak school times in newer areas, such as Evergreen, Stonebridge and Rosewood.

Meanwhile, some would-be passengers are jostling to get on buses or are left behind.

"What they're finding is kids are recognizing that that's going to happen and they're pushing and shoving trying to be the ones that get on the bus," Spenst said.

"We just want there to be enough room for all the students to get on the bus and so they can get to school on time."

Saskatoon Transit director Jim Puffalt addressed the issue with reporters Friday afternoon and said the city's transit service had been preparing for the fall all summer but was still hit by the typical back-to-school rush.

"Generally the problem is everybody is trying to get on the same bus at the same time," he said. 

People need to make as much room as possible for other passengers and some may need to take earlier buses in the morning, Puffalt said.

Saskatoon Transit also said it's been sending out three additional buses as needed and running larger capacity buses on routes with high schools and post-secondaries.

Supervisors to evaluate routes

On Monday, Saskatoon Transit supervisors are expected to join drivers to evaluate the issues on bus routes.

Puffalt also said the bus rush tends to peter out further into September.

But Spenst suggested that fewer people take the bus because it's not reliable.

Spenst had heard about the school-year bus issues before her Grade 9 son entered his first year of high school. 

She recently asked a local Facebook group about the issue and heard back from roughly 100 people. About half of them said their kids use the bus and almost all said their kids would use transit if it was a reliable and accessible.

"So many people said that they really hope that we find a solution to this," she said.

Spenst said she's had to leave work early on occasion to pick her son up from school and noted that without transportation he'd have a 45-minute walk.

Saskatoon Transit's Puffalt said that riders may not get on the bus they want and may have to wait for another one but "we're not going to leave anybody sitting at a bus stop."

Routes run every 30 minutes and Spenst said that strategy won't hold up in winter when the temperature drops to -40 C. 

In an email, a spokesperson for the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School board said they had not heard anything specific about transit for high school students.

The Saskatoon Public School board director of education Shane Skjerven said nothing has came across his desk about the issue, but the organization would work with the Catholic school board and the city if it became a problem.

In neighbouring Regina, the city said in an email its transit service monitors its routes and provides additional buses where and when they are needed.