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The city’s four late-night routes of numbers 1, 4, 8 and 9 — which used to run past 3 a.m. — are ending trips just after midnight. Regular routes will continue to run as scheduled.

“Prior to making these service changes, ETS extensively monitored many late-night routes over several nights and determined nearly 95 per cent of passengers were non-destination riders,” city spokesman Ashish Mohan said in an email to Postmedia Tuesday.

“Therefore, in order to ensure operator and rider safety, as well as assisting non-destination riders in connecting to more appropriate supports, service changes were implemented based on observed demand.”

A solution to give frontline workers a reliable mode of transportation has yet to be implemented by the city and Taylor is hoping for an answer as soon as possible. Already 182 residents have voiced their concerns through an online survey or by calling 311 about the impact these changes are having on their commute. Of 32 respondents through 311, about 85 per cent work at a hospital or care facility.

Youth group home worker Katrina Poloway said she was shocked transit hours were reduced before the city had a grasp of how many people would be affected and a plan was put in place. Poloway lives on the south side of the city and relies on the Capital LRT Line to get home from Coliseum Station after her night shift ends at 11 p.m.

“I feel like it was fairly poorly thought out because it’s like they didn’t ask or look at what hours many essential workers work,” Poloway said. “I would like a solution by the end of this week to be honest. There’s already people affected by this. I don’t know how I’m going to get home next week if this isn’t resolved.”

Rather than resorting to an on-demand solution, Poloway is hoping the city sees the demand to revert back to previous service levels. With only the bus routes offered late at night, Poloway said it will be a lot more difficult for her to get home and her commute could increase from 20 minutes to about two hours.

Mohan said the city is working with impacted companies, including Alberta Health Services, and will make service changes if deemed necessary, but didn’t provide a timeline for implementation.

duscook@postmedia.com

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