Explaining that he needs more time to come up with a proper business model, City Manager Jim Puffalt has asked council to eliminate a proposed Moose Jaw/Regina commuter bus from the budget this year.

The idea sprang up after the shutdown of STC left some local residents without a way to get to the Queen City for appointments and even post-secondary classes. Early in budget talks, Puffalt stressed that it was just an idea but there appeared to be a need and so a place holder for $160,000 was put into the budget.

At the time, he told us there was anecdotal evidence that residents would use the service enough for the city to recover all costs and maybe even make some money but there was no concrete evidence.

"Potential is a wonderful thing but we can't start spending money without having a solid business plan in place and customers to prove that this is going to work. Certainly, there are people who live in Moose Jaw and work in Regina so there's perhaps opportunities but we really have to nail this down before we go much further."

The buses that started the conversation are surplus to the city's needs right now and are set to go to auction in the near future so Puffalt believed it was a good time to review the idea. However, Puffalt reiterated that a full business model needs to be developed before the idea can go any further, so, for now, it needs to be put to the side.