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Charlie: ONR bus changes are a road map for failure

People trying to take a bus from Toronto to Northern Ontario are finding serious roadblocks being put in their path
ontc bus ont_northland 2016

NEWS RELEASE

CHARLIE ANGUS, TIMMINS-JAMES BAY MP

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People trying to take a bus from Toronto to Northern Ontario are finding serious roadblocks being put in their path.

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus has written to ONTC Chair Corina Moore to share concerns he is hearing from residents that it’s getting increasingly hard to access public transportation in the north.

As it stands now, if you leave Toronto on the night bus at 11:30 p.m. you are forced to wait 2.5 hours in the middle of night in North Bay, before the bus continues north for communities like Englehart, Kirkland Lake or Cochrane.

Angus says this is a serious obstruction to customer service.

“I don’t know how you could do more to discourage ridership than asking a senior to sit in an empty bus station for hours in the middle of the night just to make the connection home. I am deeply worried that if the ridership decreases any more the government will use this as an excuse to shut down the bus just as they killed passenger train service.”

In his letter to ONTC Chair Moore, Angus reminded her that when the train was shut down, northerners were promised that they would receive “enhanced” bus service but this hasn’t happened.

“As leaders in the north we have to work together to put an end to the deterioration of service for passengers. The ONTC remains a vital link for our region. Let’s work together to ensure we have customer-friendly options so that people will continue to use the buses.”

http://charlieangus.ndp.ca/sites/default/files/multisite/76282/field_content_files/160408_-_ontc-bus-issue_pdf.pdf

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