Lethbridge Transit ridership numbers surge with return of students

Transit ridership in Lethbridge surged in the first full week of school in early September.

The return of students to Lethbridge campuses has meant a big jump in the use of Lethbridge Transit.

The city issued a release Wednesday that after two years of depressed pandemic levels, ridership surged in the first week of September.

The city said it was up 53 per cent over the first full week of school in 2021, which was the first year of the cityLINK network redesign.

What does that mean in terms of data? Basically the average weekday ridership on Lethbridge transit has risen from 3,042 in 2020 to 6,126 in 2022.

With the surge in riders, Lethbridge Transit is making some minor adjustments to service, in particular to the Route 52 Columbia and DRZ 101 in the hope of creating better consistency and capacity.

Transit will continue to monitor service and make adjustment as needed to address service quality issues.

Real-time information on service delays and trip planning can be obtained through the MyRide app or by calling 311.

According to Statistics Canada, transit ridership in the western region of Canada is approximately 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, which is similar to Lethbridge's numbers.