Old buses on the way to prop up Saskatoon fleet

Saskatoon is putting its faith in some old buses, as the public transportation system strains under the pressure of too many mechanical problems.

With so many broken down buses, Saskatoon Transit was forced to cancel high school special and direct routes to the university.

Now, used buses are on the way. Saskatoon Transit is bringing in 20 refurbished buses from Calgary.

Transportation Manager Jeff Jorgenson believes the used buses will be a big help.

"We think they'll very quickly be on the road in Saskatoon here as well, so it just adds to our complement, and if they're good solid buses that have been refurbished and rebuilt, and so we think it's going to have a big difference for us."

The roughly 20-year-old buses will mean the average age Saskatoon's transit fleet will get even older. The average age of a Saskatoon bus is 14-and-a-half years right now. The industry standard is six to nine years.