Of the companies taking over STC routes, only 1 providing service off Highway 11 so far
STC used to serve 200 communities; private companies now covering 10
There was a time when travellers could buy bus tickets from a Saskatchewan company to and from more than 200 communities around the province. Now that number has shrunk to under 10.
After the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC), Saskatchewan's public bus service, was shut down, private companies came out of the woodwork, applying to provide passenger service in the province.
Six have been approved by the Highway Traffic Board so far. Only one is providing service off the beaten path of Highway 11.
What's on offer now
Each of the six applicants approved for passenger service by the Highway Traffic Board so far have been met with resistance, as noted in their approval documents.
And only three of those six approvals have been given to companies actually planning to operate scheduled passenger service.
- Forward Coach Lines plans to operate service between Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, beginning sometime in the next month.
- DiCal Transport has begun operating service to Yorkton, Melville, Balcarres, Fort Qu'Appelle and Regina.
- Rider Express Transportation currently offers service between Regina and Saskatoon, with a stop in Davidson.
DiCal Transport and Rider Express Transportation have each noted plans to extend their service to more communities in the future.
Currently, five more companies are being considered for approval from the Highway Traffic Board.
The way it was
STC was established as a Crown corporation in 1946. This year, it met its end.
The provincial government said that closing the company would save Saskatchewan around $17 million per year. A decline in ridership and revenues were the reasons given for the closure.
Passengers used to be able to book an STC ticket and go from the edge of the far North to the province's deep south, beginning in La Ronge, roughly 250 kilometres north of Prince Albert, and ending up in Coronach, a stone's throw from the United States border.
Between Saskatchewan's oilfields, they could ride from Macklin, roughly 110 kilometres south of Lloydminster, to Carnduff, near the Manitoba border.
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With files from the Canadian Press