History

1913

The first streetcar left the barn at Avenue C and 25th Street, heading for the Mayfair terminal. The routes were:

• No. 1, Mayfair – University
• No. 2, Pleasant Hill to the Exhibition Grounds
• No. 3, 7th Avenue to 2nd Avenue and 19th Street
• No. 4, Avenue H

Fares ranged from:

• 5 cents for adults
• 3 cents for children
• 6 adult tickets for 25 cents
• 8 children’s tickets for 25 cents

Late in 1913 the city purchased six more “double-truck, double-end” streetcars. These proved to be too heavy for the Traffic Bridge, and therefore could only be used on the West side of the river.

In the first year the Saskatoon Municipal Railway carried 3,401,000 passengers; generated gross revenue of $ 158,500; and travelled 640,000 miles, all in a city of approximately 12,000 people.

1914

1919

Wages paid to motormen and conductors with the Saskatoon Municipal Railway in January, 1919:

• For those with six months service- 40 cents/hr
• one year service- 42 cents/hr
• two years service- 46 cents/hr
• two ½ years service- 50 cents/hr

1922

On March 3, 1922 streetcar #4 Exhibition missed the turn heading down “Long Hill” toward the Traffic Bridge, and it rolled down the river bank. The operator reported the brakes would not hold. Thankfully there were no fatalities.

1931

1942

1946

1948

• New Bus Garage completed a final cost of $85,000.00
• First electric trolley bus introduced, marked the beginning of the end for the streetcars

1949

1951

1959

1962

1969

1974

1984

2002

2013

2015

Saskatoon Transit became a mobile art gallery! Riders could view their community in a new way as submissions from local photographers were featured inside buses as part of the Toon’s On Transit Exhibition. Partnered with PAVED Arts, a non-profit, community-based organization, and named after the popular Toon’s Kitchen restaurant that once stood where PAVED Arts has its gallery, Toon’s On Transit focused on exhibiting locally produced art work.

In partnership with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, as part of an ongoing effort to increase accessibility and improve customer experiences, Saskatoon Transit announced Automatic Announcements on City buses. This automated service provided a verbal announcement and visual cue of an upcoming bus stop, ensuring that riders do not miss their destination. Additional accessibility features on all new buses include:

• A front kneeling system which lowers the bus to curb height for devices such as baby strollers;
• An extendable flip-up ramp to ease boarding of wheelchairs and walkers;
• Extra-wide entrance areas which make it easier to move on and off  the bus;
• A mobility area with flip-up seats and floor anchors to secure mobility devices;
• A light and colour scheme designed to assist visually impaired riders; and
• Digital signage which displays stop locations and stop requests to ensure hearing impaired riders are aware of important destinations.

2016

Saskatoon Transit launched a real time transit tracking through the third party developers, including Transit App and Google Transit. This provided improved GPS information for bus locations on individual routes throughout Saskatoon. Real time transit tracking allowed for better trip planning, less wait times and fewer missed connections.

2017

Saskatoon Transit launched the Jingle Bell Express, a pilot holiday route that took shoppers to various malls and shopping destinations throughout Saskatoon. The Jingle Bell Express was designed to limit commute time between malls, eliminate the hassle of parking and allow shoppers to visit multiple shopping destinations as efficiently as possible.