The Yo Mobile will be able to welcome a lot more people on board next year.
Tisdale Bus Lines has donated a new bus to the non-profit organization. It is a highway motor coach bus with 56 seats and a washroom.
Huguette Bois of The Yo Mobile is very grateful for the donation.
“We feel very privileged to be able to have a donation of this magnitude,” she said.
Before the pandemic, 16 people could be served on the bus. Because of the COVID-19 safety restrictions, only four people are now allowed inside.
“With the bus, what we’re going to do is being able to serve a lot more patrons next year when it’s fixed up," Bois said. "We’ll be able to seat more people and help people to warm up a little bit more as well, that’s really great.”
Since the start of the pandemic, the donated bus hasn’t been used as much and rather than retiring it, Tisdale Bus Lines decided to give it to The Yo Mobile, said Kim Boucher, the company’s operations co-ordinator.
“Tisdale Bus Lines has always been a big supporter of Timmins and its surrounding communities and it’s such a great cause,” she said. “Especially during these trying times, we like to help out.”
Yo Mobile will need donations to make some changes to the bus, Bois said.
“We need to take some of the seats out, we need to put tables in, we need to make it workable, so we can have our volunteers in the back serving, the plexiglass because of the COVID,” she said.
The new bus will be parked at a garage on Riverside Drive until next winter.
For more information or to donate, email [email protected].
