GOVA Transit hours are expanding across much of Greater Sudbury effective Aug. 24, with various routes affected as part of a boost of 11,000 annual service hours.
The service-level boost was approved by city council last year.
Perhaps the most notable change is the addition of Route 106, which will travel between Downtown Sudbury transit terminal and Val Therese.
During the Sept. 26, 2023, city council meeting, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre submitted a petition signed by more than 160 residents requesting this route be reinstated. It was previously known as Route 105B, which was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During its loop through Val Therese, Route 106 will pass by the Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre and the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre before returning to Downtown Sudbury down Municipal Road 80.
This new route will be offered weekdays, every hour between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., and 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
“It’s through some engagement with the community” that this route is returning, city Transit Services director Brendan Adair told Sudbury.com, “so it’s great to have that back with the support of council.”
The 11,000-hour boost brings service levels up to what they would have reached if not for the pandemic throwing a wrench into the works, with specific bus route changes made in accordance to such things as ridership numbers and travel patterns.
Route 102 is another highlight, Adair said, and will bring service into Garson to every 45 minutes instead of every 90 minutes, which brings it back to pre-COVID service. Peak-time service to Coniston (Route 103) is similarly being boosted to 45-minute frequency.
A complete rundown of how service-level changes affect individual routes can be found by clicking here.
Beyond specific routes, Adair said broader changes are aimed at improving on-time service.
“There are lots of changes in here that really do improve the system reliability in terms of making connections,” he said.
“We’re really excited to have these changes in place and hopefully support current ridership as well as entice and recruit new ridership through increased frequency and more reliable service.”
On this front, he said that ridership has continued to rise and is on track to hit another record-setting height this year, with current projections pointing to a 2024 ridership of at least six million.
Last year’s record-setting ridership was approximately 5.2 million, which surpassed the pre-pandemic total of 4.6 million recorded in 2019.
Ridership truly jumped near the end of 2023, Adair said, adding that monthly riderships in excess of 500,000 they began recording late last year has persisted.
The May 2023 ridership total was 414,000, while the May 2024 ridership total was 539,000.
While various changes are being made to GOVA Transit service effective Aug. 24, Adair clarified that routes are a moving target and staff would continue to analyze bus use and factor in public feedback.
Although Greater Sudbury city council members voted to add 11,000 annual service hours to GOVA Transit during 2024/25 budget deliberations, the vote was not unanimous. Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc, Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent and Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin voted against the additional service hours.
During budget deliberations, Fortin and Parent also voted to increase bus fare by 50 cents instead of the 25 cents proposed by city administration, bringing it to $4. Only Leduc and Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann voted against the 50-cent fare increase.
During city council’s Dec. 19, 2023, budget meeting, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh championed the motion to add 11,000 annual service hours to GOVA Transit, which she said would help the city “meet our community energy and emissions goals, support those for whom public transit is their main means of transportation to get to school, work and appointments, and to support those for whom affordable housing is being sought farther from their jobs or destinations.”
During this same meeting, Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée called attention to Route 105B, noting, “there are a lot of people invested in that route.” Labbée sought and received assurance from Adair that GOVA Transit service would be restored to the area, which we now know will take effect Aug. 24.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.