Saturday On Demand Transit begins September 11
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
With the success of its Sunday evening on demand transit service, the City is pleased to now include Saturday on demand. Beginning the evening of Saturday, September 11, Transit Service will implement On Demand Transit Technology in addition to its regular Sunday evening on demand service.
“Sault Ste. Marie is a leader in Northern Ontario pioneering on demand transit technology,” said Brent Lamming, Director of Community Services. “We continue to research and explore ways to ensure the most appropriate and timely service is being delivered to our customers.”
Similar to Sunday service, Saturday on demand will be delivered from 7:15 p.m. to 12 midnight with a final booking time of 11:30 p.m. to schedule a ride. Evening transit service on weekends is traditionally a period where ridership is low and the majority of bus stops are not being utilized.
“The addition of Saturday on demand presents an excellent opportunity to improve service delivery by making more efficient use of resources and reducing the number of buses used to service the routes,” adds Lamming.
Passengers hail a ride using the Sault Ste. Marie On Demand app (iOS and Android) created by On Demand mobility developer Via or by calling Transit Services to book a ride as needed. The user can set their pick up and drop off location, and the app provides the passenger with their real-time ride details including wait times. Service allows riders to travel from one pre-existing established stop to another as requested. Once the bus arrives, the passenger can proceed onto the bus and pay using their existing transit pass or cash. Benefits of the app include rider notifications and messages, real-time vehicle tracking and an opportunity for users to provide post-ride feedback.
For more information on Sault Ste. Marie On Demand Transit, visit
saultstemarie.ca/ondemand.