Saskatchewan NDP leader vows to bring back provincial bus service but few details
almost 5 years in timescolonist
REGINA — Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili is promising to create a new provincial bus service if his party forms government next Monday.
Meili kicked off the final week of the provincial election campaign at a stop in Regina, where he rode in on a bus that once belonged to the Saskatchewan Transportation Company.
The Saskatchewan Party cut the bus service while in government in 2017.
At the time, it cited a year-over-year decline in ridership and high cost of operation.
The NDP spent the following years criticizing the move for stranding seniors and people who depended on the service to get to medical appointments.
Meili says he's committed to bringing back a provincial bus service, but couldn't say when it would be up and running and at what cost.
He says the first step would be to have community consultations and develop a model for a bus service that would be more sustainable.
"I think about B.C., where in response to the Highway of Tears they brought in a new bus service the year that Saskatchewan decided to shut one down," Meili said Monday, standing next to a former STC bus depot.
"This is something we need in this province. It's essential infrastructure. We're going to invest and bring it back."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2020.