Yellowknife’s New Busses Ready for Service

Yellowknife’s brand new busses are ready to go, and will be out on the streets later this afternoon.

Mayor Rebecca Alty appeared alongside several spokespeople for Transdev to show some of the features of the busses before they hit the streets for the first time.

The busses are equipped to hold up to thirty passengers, which includes two spaces on each bus that are reserved for residents who use wheelchairs. Instead of stairs, the busses also have an accessibility platform that can fold out and onto the street to allow for easier entry for residents who may have mobility issues.

Some of the seats are equipped with special buttons for wheelchair riders. Once pushed, they will let the driver know that the passenger requires assistance, either with securing themselves and their belongings, or to help unbuckle themselves once they reach their stop.

The barrier door for the driver has been upgraded, which allows them to stay warm during the winter months, and helps to keep them safe in the event of an altercation.

Mayor Alty shared some details on how the City came to have these busses.

“It was in the last contract that we were looking to get these updates, but it’s been in the works for a number of years, looking to grow our fleet and become more and more accessible. So in the last contract renewal, we got four of the seven busses as accessible, and now we have the full eight, so we also have one extra bus to be there in case of any maintenance issues with the others.”

She also commented on how high the demand was for the new accessibility features.

“Particularly with Yellowknife Accessible Transit seeing more needs for riders, so with our whole fleet being accessible, we are hoping that more residents will be able to take transit.”

More features will be coming for the busses later in the year, such as real time bus tracking with an app, automated stop announcements, and automated passenger counters.