The town of Stratford's new transit system started rolling Tuesday, with three buses running into Charlottetown in the morning and two coming back in the evening.

About 20 people took advantage of the service Tuesday morning, but Charlottetown Transit expects that number to grow as more people become familiar with routes and times, rising to as many as 200 riders daily by the end of September.

If the service reaches that level of success, transit manager Bobby Dunn said, council might allocate funds for a noon-hour bus: "That would be the next natural step."

Passengers can transfer for free on to Charlottetown buses.

The town of Stratford bought the buses with an $860,000 federal grant administered by the province.

Tuesday also saw the launch of an additional bus along University Avenue in Charlottetown.