Greyhound Canada recently announced its service within Ontario and Quebec will be closing permanently. While the Ontario Ministry of Transportation does have a plan to provide alternative transportation, it needs to expedite what few deadlines it outlines to provide necessary services to those in northern Ontario.
Northern Ontario has seven per cent of Ontario’s population, 13 per cent of which are Indigenous. While this is not necessarily a high percentage of Ontario’s population, it is still a large number of people with needs for transportation.
Since Greyhound’s announcement, concerns have arisen in relation to transportation to and from northern Ontario.
The service closures mean it will be difficult for those in small towns who do not drive to get to city centres to acquire goods or services they need, unless they rent a car or take an expensive Uber ride. This also poses an issue for students and others who want to return home around holidays, as they no longer have an affordable and easy route.
An unfortunate lack of external funding paired with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic appears to be the primary reasoning for the closure.
Ontario’s plan lays out over 60 actions meant to improve transportation within northern Ontario and includes goals aimed at increasing reliable transportation, building infrastructure and connecting members of northern First Nations communities with sustainable transportation.
The plan is exhaustive and includes various goals, including the Ministry of Transportation supporting the expansion of bus routes between cities in northern Ontario. It also stresses the ministry’s intention of expanding passenger railway service with the help of Via Rail. However, dates relating to this aspect of the plan are lacking, if not nonexistent for most goals.
While the province’s plan is promising, its timeline is concerning. Several aspects of the plan relate to roadwork and highway expansion, but do not consider those who do not drive and rely on bussing to access medicine, healthcare, clothing or other supplies not available in their local communities.
This issue needs to be solved prior to next winter. That way any issues with routes would be resolved, making it easier for people to travel and get products or services they need before transportation becomes even more challenging due to inclement weather.
It is understandable that organizing transportation takes time, but it is necessary to properly support northern communities. Due to the importance of the situation, coordinating the bussing in these regions should be a primary task of the Ministry of Transportation, and not left as a goal to work on for years as the plan suggests.
Featured image by Saif Rahman.
