New bus transportation

By Pranav Patel

 

The Municipality of Leamington has announced they will soon start an intercommunity bus service.

It is receiving $606,000 from the Provincial Ministry of Transportation “Community Transportation Grant Program-– Long-distance Scheduled Intercommunity Bus Service” stream. According to the municipality’s website, funding for the new transportation will go to Leamington, Kingsville, Essex Windsor.

The new bus transportation route will be available from Monday to Friday and  will travel to Leamington, Kingsville, Essex and St. Clair College, with buses running twice a day.

“Access to transportation significantly impacts the economic development, health and overall quality of life in our community”, said Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald. “An intercommunity bus service is vital for residents to reach healthcare services, education and employment opportunities and social services. It is also essential for the expansion of our local businesses and labor force.”

Chirantan Jikkar, 23, has been studying in the electrical and computer engineering program for the last four months at the University of Windsor.

“New bus transportation can be very helpful to me because it will save  money,” said Jikkar.

He said he is very happy with this new route and it will have a great impact on students.

He said a taxi or Uber to reach Kingsville cost too much and the new bus will help him and many others who work in Kingsville or Leamington.

“If I travel by taxi or Uber it cost, me $200 to $300 every month.” said Jikkar.

Jikkar said the bus will take time to reach the workplace because it will stop at several places but it is fair. “New bus transportation will have a positive impact.”

Chris Vander Doelen is a retired journalist and currently a member of the Town of Essex Council. He thinks the new bus service is very important.

“There are businesses in the county that  workers can’t get to,” said Vander Doelen. “At the moment, the greenhouse industries in Kingsville and Leamington need hundreds of workers and many unemployed people who live in Windsor cannot get there due to a lack of transportation. This new bus transportation will connect employers with hundreds of people who need jobs.”

He said the most important things is people can get around without having a vehicle. Buying a vehicle in Ontario is expensive compared to 20 years ago because of government increases in fees and taxes.

“I’m hoping it will reduce unemployment in the City of Windsor. It is a powerful boost for the economy,” said Vander Doelen.