Yellowknife unveils new city buses, rebranding of transit fleet

They're shiny, they're new, and most important — they're accessible.

The City of Yellowknife on Tuesday announced the arrival of its new transit fleet, which consists of eight accessible buses. 

Mayor Rebecca Alty made the announcement at the Yellowknife fieldhouse, along with officials from bus operator Transdev.

"A big thanks to staff and Transdev for bringing us here today," Alty said. "I know residents are really excited."

Each 30-passenger bus is capable of accommodating two wheelchairs, and features a sophisticated loading ramp, along with a button that notifies the driver when a wheelchair user is requesting a stop. 

The City of Yellowknife previously had only four accessible buses. 

Eric Moore is Transdev's regional maintenance manager for western Canada. He says an "easier" seating arrangement inside the bus allows for better cleaning and repair capabilities.

"It feels a lot bigger in here," he said, while giving reporters a tour inside a bus. "If you're familiar with the old layout of the seating arrangement on the previous vehicles, this is a lot more open-concept."

Moore said other changes include an upgraded driver barrier with dedicated heat, an upgraded fare box, and improved air-ride suspension. 

According to a news release from the city, the buses also have improved environmental emissions control.

Alty said an extra bus has been added to the fleet as a backup, in case another is taken out of service for repairs. 

The bus system is also being re-branded as "YKTransit," with an updated logo going on the new buses. 

More new transit features coming

The mayor said more features are coming to the transit system soon, including automated stop announcements, passenger counters and real-time bus tracking with the app PassioGo, which will replace Find My Bus.

Alty said route improvements are also on the horizon this summer, with more frequent trips to Grace Lake and Kam Lake, and pickup intervals dropping from every 30 minutes to 15 minutes in the mornings.

The city also says the Yellowknife Accessible Transit Service (YATS) will get a re-branding later this year to become "YK Flex," and will also receive two new vehicles.