Lethbridge City Hall (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

City services provide COVID-19 update

Apr 17, 2020 | 12:42 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Transit is reminding residents to only book a ride for essential trips.

Transit Operations Manager Scott Grieco provided an update of the ride-by-reservation service that has been implemented in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing social distancing measures.

He said since the service has come into effect, they’ve actually seen an increase in ridership. Under normal circumstances, that would be a good thing, but not in this case.

“We are seeing people using the service over and over throughout the day, and not necessarily for essential travel purposes,” he said.

“We are urging our customers to use the service for essential travel only.”

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Residents can book a ride by calling 403-359-6558 or online at via the City of Lethbridge website.

Grieco also reminded residents that the service is not provided door-to-door, and residents should wait at their bus stop for 20 minutes while waiting for their ride.

“if you see a bus, it might not be your bus, so we urge customers to stay at your bus stop for 20 minutes and the bus will be there,” he said.

Booking is cut-off at 4:30 for a ride the next day. So, if someone were to call at 4:45 and wanted to book a ride for the following day, they will not be able to do so.

The booking line is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“You can call in or email in after-hours, but that ride would only be accepted for the day after,” he said.

“Any changes to ride reservations, we require those as well from 8 to 4:30, just because it takes a long time to process these reservations.”

Grieco said customers are now being registered, receiving a client ID number to help streamline the booking process.

He added that there is a service line available for “last-minute emergency trips”.

“We understand that there’s going to be pitfalls, so we do have busses stand by and ready,” he said, explaining that anyone needing an emergency ride can call the regular booking line.

FIREFIGHTERS SPREADING BIRTHDAY JOY

Kelly L’Hirondelle, Lethbridge’s Deputy Fire Chief, was also on hand at City Hall Friday morning to provide an update.

He said they’ve received requests for fire truck drive-by’s for anniversaries, birthdays and other celebrations.

However, since members of the local Fire and Emergency Services department are equipped to respond to scenes as paramedics, they simply don’t have the resources to provide those types of visits.

The department has found a solution, though, in the form of an electronic birthday video.

“To keep our social distancing from the public and really, to be able to keep up with demand, we decided to work with City [of Lethbridge] Communications and put a video out instead that we can personalize a little bit for the kids, especially the kids that are stuck at home right now, to make that a little bit more personal,” L’Hirondelle said.

“This is something that, even though when we have higher call volumes and are not available, we’re able to still sending something out and hopefully brighten someone’s day.”

L’Hirondelle said that Captain Paul Wasylewich is known for his impression of the Despicable Me character ‘Gru’, and features this in the birthday message.

Parents and/or guardians of young children interested in filling out a request form for a video can do so at www.lethbridge.ca/birthdaywish.

L’Hirondelle added that local stations are practicing social distancing, even in their own workplace.

“We’re asking them [firefighters] to wear masks when they go into trucks together, so I think this is just something [that is] maybe a bit over and above, but it’s probably for the best.”