Some college students who rely on public transit in Barrie are being left out in the cold because the buses they rely on are simply full.
“In some cases, there have been so many people that the buses have been having to turn people away because they are so full,” said Barrie Transit’s Jason Zimmerman.
There are currently two buses running along Johnson Street to Georgian College every morning. One of those buses is an express, and the other is on a regular transit route.
Ridership across the city of Barrie is up 40 percent from last year. The college line is busier than ever with the introduction of the new universal transit pass, plus the increase in international students who use public transit in big numbers.
The city is planning to add a third bus to the line during the busy morning hours, and a second express bus will start running before the two existing buses, with more stops along the way.
It’s estimated 13,000 riders utilize city buses in Barrie every day, and those numbers are only going to grow as the city continues to grow.
The transit service will have the new buses in rotation starting Dec. 10.
