KCTI started operating a five-day-a-week Saskatoon-to-Edmonton line last November. The results were promising enough that the company decided to open a second route, from Prince Albert to Saskatoon.

After a successful first year, a Saskatchewan bus line is looking to expand further in the province.

KCTI started operating a five-day-a-week Saskatoon-to-Edmonton line last November. The results were promising enough that the company decided to open a second route, from Prince Albert to Saskatoon.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

Photo by Liam Richards / Saskatoon StarPhoenix

“It was an idea in our mind that once we are set up on this (Saskatoon-to-Edmonton) route, then we will extend our branches,” KCTI travel director Harkanwal Singh said in an interview.

“We were getting numerous calls from Prince Albert and Regina area that they need some kind of service. Then we decided that now was the time to start these routes.”

In recent years, Greyhound Canada, citing a range of factors including plummeting ridership, shut down its routes in Saskatchewan, as well as Alberta and Manitoba. That left the province without a major bus company, as the provincial government had earlier shut down the money-losing Saskatchewan Transportation Co. and sold off its assets.

Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

KCTI is starting with a 15-seat bus, but has plans to switch to a 24-seater if necessary. Singh said they already have a significant number of P.A. riders using the Saskatoon-to-Edmonton service, and their feedback helped convince the company to expand.

“We are getting a lot of calls from Prince Albert (asking,) ‘Are you not providing a service from Prince Albert?’ ” he said.

“So it was easy for us to calculate the figures a little bit and say, ‘OK, there are people who are willing to get the service from Prince Albert as well.’ ”

This is KCTI’s second foray into the P.A. market. The company started a five-day-a-week service to La Ronge in August 2018 but closed two months later. Singh said there wasn’t enough ridership to support that route, but he’s confident this will be different.

“I believe there are a lot of people who have to travel to Saskatoon from Prince Albert for their appointments,” he said.

The new route is scheduled to leave P.A. at 6:45 a.m. each Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Singh said KCTI would consider adding a sixth day of service if demand is high enough.