Maple Bus Lines to service Westman area
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/09/2019 (2304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Manitoba bus company is expanding its passenger service into Brandon and other parts of Westman.
Maple Bus Lines Ltd. announced Friday that Pimicikamak Indigenous nation has become a strategic institutional investor in the growing Manitoba long-distance bus service.
The investment will allow Maple Bus Lines to add new direct bus and charter bus services to serve Cross Lake and other communities including Brandon, Westman, The Pas, Flin Flon, Leaf Rapids and Lynn Lake.
It also helps the company make additional investments to improve its fleet and facilities. In return, Pimicikamak gets a stake in a fast-growing bus service serving Manitoba as well as improved service for its people.
Maple Bus Lines president Lori Mann said Friday there will be a passenger service in place by the Christmas holidays to run between Winnipeg and Brandon, as well as parts of Westman.
“If I have to lease (a bus), then I will,” Mann said in a telephone interview with The Sun.
The company already carries freight daily from Brandon and Westman.
“We have built our freight business to supplement the passenger business,” she said. “So there’s a big demand.”
Mann said she had hoped to start the Brandon passenger service this month, but wasn’t able to put it together in time.
“A few things are holding us back,” she said. “We can’t accommodate everybody. Right now, it’s holding its own with freight, and I’m making money off that route (to Brandon). I need more equipment.”
A bus she had planned to use for the Brandon passenger service was contracted out, instead.
“I need more vehicles to do Brandon.”
They are currently looking at providing passenger service three times a week, similar to another route it runs between Winnipeg and Swan River.
“What we are essentially planning to do is take over the old Greyhound route for Brandon and Westman area,” Mann said.
Greyhound withdrew from virtually all of Western Canada in 2018.
Maple Bus Lines began offering regular long-distance bus routes after Greyhound pulled out.
While Brandon Air Shuttle does provide service to Winnipeg, it does not have washroom facilities, Mann noted.
“It’s better to have a motor coach with a bathroom.”
In January of this year, Brandon Bus Lines discontinued its scheduled service to Winnipeg, citing low ridership numbers as the reason behind its decision.
Mann said she believes that was the wrong decision.
“I thought that was a big mistake,” she said. “I think they pulled out too soon.”
» brobertson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @BudRobertson4