More riders are using the County Connector each month. That’s according to Grande Prairie Community Living Director Arlen Miller. Looking at numbers, Miller says they’ve seen a passenger increase since the first bus route started on December 5th.
“For the month of December, there was 77 riders that took the trip to the north and back into the city. For January there was 164 riders and to date in February, as of February 8th, there was 53 riders. The trend is upward and the ridership is increasing.”
Phase one of County Connector services between Sexsmith, Clairmont and Grande Prairie started on December 5th. Phase two to Wembley, Beaverlodge and Hythe started on February 4th.
According to Miller, the most popular stops in Clairmont include 99 Street and 101 Avenue as well as the Lakeview Seniors Home. In Sexsmith, it was 100 Avenue and then 103 Street at Heritage Point. Miller says so far the feedback from riders has been positive.
“They’re actually asking if we would consider expanding the service including weekend service and more regular trips to Sexsmith as well as maybe earlier into Sexsmith so that would allow for people that work in the city to jump on the bus and make it to work on time.”
Those recommendations will be discussed at an advisory meeting on March 12th. After that, they will be brought back to a committee meeting on March 26th.
