Just in time for Christmas, a new twice-a-week bus service between Prince George and Takla Lake is about to hit the road.
The inaugural run will occur on Thursday when a 28-seat bus owned by Takla First Nation departs from the Prince George Native Friendship Centre at 12:30 p.m. after a ceremony to mark the occasion.
"It's really exciting and we're really happy to finally have the project rolling," said Levi Davis, a member of the team tasked with getting the service going.
Trips from Prince George to Takla will continue every Thursday and Sunday, both departing at 12:30 p.m. and return trips from Takla will be on Fridays, 12:30 p.m. departure, and Sundays, 7 a.m. departure.
Rides will be at no cost until Jan. 10 and then $40 each way thereafter. Tickets will be available at
the Sasuchan Development Corporation office on the fourth floor of the United Steelworkers building at 1777-Third Ave and at the bus itself and passengers can bring luggage.
There will be a stop at The Key community centre in Fort St. James on the trips to and from but a specific time has not yet been established.
It was made possible in part through a grant from B.C. Transit as part of the effort to not only provide service along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert but to First Nations communities located off the highway.
But getting it going took more than just buying a bus.
Details to work out included getting the right insurance, figuring out the process for selling tickets, how the cash flow will be monitored.
"All the aspects of building an entire business," Davis said.
Along with that, there was the matter of properly equipping the bus. One-way, it's about 380 kilometres to Takla Lake and nearly 120 kilometres is on a gravel forest service road.
Under a leasing agreement, Diversified Transport will provide the driver. An ambassador will also be on board to carry out such tasks as helping passengers on and off the bus.
While a parcel delivery service has been in place for years, band members have typically paid someone to drive them to and from Prince George or catch a ride with someone who works in the city.
"Having such a remote reserve, access to basic amenities is quite difficult," Davis said. "There is only one store in the whole community and any other amenities are in Fort St. James, which is 2 1/2 to three hours away depending on road conditions."
Depending on how well it's used, more stops may be added.
For more information go to the Sasuchan Development Corporation website, sasuchan.ca/bus.
