A proposed St. Paul regional bus service is awaiting government approval to begin operations. Lakeland Connect plans to fill the gap left in passenger service since Greyhound left passengers without service, as well as reach communities in need of transportation, said Dolu Ashani, an outreach advocate working from the Town of St. Paul FCSS office.
Ashani submitted what he expects to be the last documentation required to Alberta Transportation for approval last week. The application is going through the approval process and an operating authority certificate would be issued once all the requirements are met, confirmed Alberta Transportation spokesman Trent Bancarz.
Lakeland Connect plans to connect the Lakeland to Edmonton with two lines. The company intends to start with one line until it secures a second bus, Ashani said. Both buses will be 20-passenger school buses.
Ashani expects a second bus to be acquired in March, but until then, the first line will start in Elk Point and run through St. Paul, Saddle Lake, Goodfish, Ashmont, Vilna and Smoky Lake to Edmonton. The second line would start in Cold Lake and run through Bonnyville, Elk Point, Frog Lake and Two Hills. By the end of the year, Ashani would like to see another bus added for local transportation.
Ashani said the service, with providing transportation for Saddle Lake and Goodfish First Nations, will help alleviate the “suffering of the masses.”
Greyhound failed because of its big coaches with not enough passengers, and because it was limited to servicing the Town alone, not realizing the Town is fed by the surrounding community, said Ashani.
The reserves have more need for transportation compared to the town, with people depending on friends and family or hitchhiking, he added. In his discussions and interviews with reserve residents, Ashani said they say the service to the reserve will benefit residents.
Lakeland Connect will use the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre in St. Paul for pick ups and drop offs. In Saddle Lake, the depot will be at the band office. Lakeland Connect is working out the details of its Edmonton depot and hopes to be able to use the Greyhound depot.
From St. Paul or Saddle Lake to Edmonton will be $100 return or $70 one way. From St. Paul to Saddle Lake will be $20 one way or $30 return and from St. Paul to Goodfish will be $30 one way or $50 return.
Ashani said he will step away from the project once it is established, but confirmed he is a stakeholder. Simbrex Investment CA Ltd. is backing the transportation proposal and Ashani is still looking for other investors. Simbrex incorporated in November, 2011, to pursue the bus company, said Ashani.
Simbrex is registered to a residential address in St. Paul, according to the Alberta Registrar’s 2011 periodical, but Ashani said Simbrex will open an office at the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre where the old Greyhound depot was located beside.
Ashani is employed by the Barrier-Free Outreach Advocacy program, which receives funding from Alberta Justice and uses office space provide by the Town FCSS and in the Mannewanis Centre. The goal of the Barrier Outreach program is to help people connect with services, said Ashani.
“One of the problems and difficulties at risk people have is lack of transportation, lack of housing,” he said, which hinders them from accessing support services. The outreach program encourages at risk people to get the full support they need, so Ashani encouraged Simbrex to pursue the transportation proposal, he said.
The service will not receive a government subsidy to set up, according to Ashani, but he plans to ask the Town and County to subsidize tickets and to build bus stop shelters. Ashani plans to approach Saddle Lake and Goodfish Lake band councils to subsidize tickets.
Ashani sent a letter to Town council, which was on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, asking for a relief agreement with the Action Bus for emergency purposes, in case of a break down so that the Town’s bus could be used to transport passengers.
