Small Manitoba communities without bus service 'getting by as best we can,' but say they need more options

Whilecommunities across Western Canada found out this week they'll have to learn to manage without Greyhound's bus service, people in some Manitoba towns that havebeen without such service for years say they've found other waysto help residents get around butthey'd still like to see more transportation options.

"I think we have more seniors here than anywhere in Manitoba," said Barb Mankewich,who runs the TeulonDistrict Seniors Resource Council.

Mankewich said without access to public transportationlike buses, seniors inTeulon a town in Manitoba's Interlake witha population of about 1,200, which hasn't had bus service in more than a decade have been forced to rely on the community's three accessible vans.

"Handi-vans are a wonderful service. It's run out of Teulon's hospital and theydo medical appointments, recreation transporttheydo pretty much any kind of transport that you'd want," she said.

"They do little shopping trips in townit's called Toonie Tuesdayand they're trying to get people to take advantage of the Toonie Tuesday."

But she says the van service is mostly needed for those who can't make it to Winnipeg for medical appointments.

"It can be costly for the seniors, and it's a service that is badly needed," she said.

The trips cost $70 to Winnipeg about 55 kilometres awayand $60 to Selkirkfor a round trip.

While Teulonisn't among communities affected by Greyhound's announcement this week, many other Manitoba communities were.

The transportation company announced on Mondayit willcancel bus routes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and all but one route in B.C. between Seattle and Vancouver by Nov. 1 of this year.

Volunteers step up

Mankewichsays in Teulon, in addition to the accessible vans,people have also come torely on volunteer drivers to offer free ridesto those who need them to get to medical appointments.

DiannaShynkohas beena volunteer driver for several years.

"Quite a long time ago I had cancer, and I had people driving for me from CancerCare, and I always thought when I get better and retired I was going to volunteer and give back to the community," shesaid.

Shynkolives in Komarno just north of Teulon and is happy to be living in a rural community, but she believes there should be more options for transportation.

"It's sad because it's expensive to drive to the city gas is expensive, and people have no other alternative but to hire somebody," she said.

People living in Gimli,35 kilometres northeast of Teulon, have been using handi-vanssince the Interlakecommunity lostGreyhound service in 2012.

• Greyhound drops 12 bus routes in Manitoba

OliverMonkmanis a senior who ridesthe vans regularly. Helost his driver's licence after suffering a stroke a few years ago.

"It's the only way I travel,"he said. "But I think it would be good to have bus service back."

MikeMcDonnell, who uses a wheelchair, agrees.

"A lot of people were disappointed when Greyhound left," he said.

"People have had to adapt to that."

Bus service needed

The 16-seatvans have been a success inGimliover the years, according to Bruce McDonald,who runsEastern InterlakeHandi-VaninGimliand is also a driver for the service.

"Lastmonth was extremely busy," he said, adding thatdemand for the van service is up.

"Normally we wouldbe making two or three medical runs a month. Last month we did eight."

The three handi-vansin Gimli are funded by the municipality, the provincial government and the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority.

"If we had more funding we could probably reach out to even more people, and more communities," McDonald said

But he said maintaining the vans isn't cheap. It costs $200 to fill up the van with gas, and they needto be refuelled every two to threedays.

McDonald says there is a need for bus servicebut he understands why it isn't always be viable.

"There are people that need that service but it's kind of a dying breed, these buses and vehicles," he said.

He doesn't expect things to change any time soon.

Kasper Transportation said this week it will be adding bus routes in Manitoba to fill the void left by Greyhound Canada.

• Thunder Bay bus company adding western routes to fill void left by Greyhound cancellations

The Thunder Bay, Ont., companysaid it hopes to eventually expand its service to smaller communities in Manitoba like Gimli.

"Until that happens we'll just be doing what we're doing now, which is getting by as best we can," McDonald said.

Greyhound shutdown won't hurt Gimli but only because community has been without bus service for more than 10 years

6 years ago

Duration 2:36

While communities across Western Canada found out this week they'll have to learn to manage with Greyhound's bus service, some Manitoba towns have been without bus service for more than a decade and while some have found other options to help residents get around, they'd like to see more transportation options.