By Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

BOLT Transit ending Saturday service

Jul 27, 2018 | 1:53 PM

Changes are coming to the BOLT regional transit service.

Starting Sept. 1, the bus service between Red Deer, Blackfalds and Lacombe will no longer operate on Saturdays.

The decision was made jointly by the City of Lacombe and Town of Blackfalds, with low ridership cited as the main reason for the change.

Other changes taking effect Sept. 4 include new timing and route for the first morning trip running Monday through Friday. The first northbound trip will leave Red Deer (78 Street) at 6:03 a.m. daily instead of 6:15 from Sorensen Station. The first southbound trip from Burman University will leave at 6:46 a.m. daily. This will result in seven trips on weekdays instead of six.

There will also be an additional evening trip added to the schedule along with a second northbound express stop in Blackfalds.

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BOLT Transit launched in 2014. Ridership dropped from 20,149 in 2016 to 19,751 last year.

A review of the service was launched earlier this year after it was revealed less than a quarter of BOLT Transit’s $270,000 annual cost was recovered through passenger fares, with the rest being subsidized by Lacombe and Blackfalds.

Lacombe city council voted narrowly last month not to close shut down the bus service altogether.

Updated BOLT Transit schedule information is available on the City of Lacombe and Town of Blackfalds websites.