FORT FRANCES—With its schedule confirmed and buses ready to go, Caribou Coach Transportation Company Inc. is primed to take over the run from here to Thunder Bay next Wednesday (Aug. 20).
Sandy Smith, president and owner of Caribou Coach, said his company has been making changes to make the run more economically-feasible, and to ensure a bus service from Fort Frances to Thunder Bay continues.
Foremost is the reduction of one round trip a week from the schedule, which Smith said “has eliminated a lot of cost” from the run.
Starting next Wednesday, the company will run four round trips per week, as opposed to five. It will leave from the Greyhound terminal in Thunder Bay, stop at the Atikokan News Stand and then in Mine Centre, and arrive at North Air Services here.
On Sundays, the bus will leave Thunder Bay at 9 a.m. (EST), stop in Atikokan at 10:30 (CST), arrive in Fort Frances at 1 p.m., depart at 2:40 p.m., arrive in Atikokan at 4:30 p.m., and make it back to Thunder Bay by 8:30 (EST).
On Tuesdays, the bus will leave Thunder Bay at 5 p.m. (EST), stop in Atikokan at 6:30 (CST), and arrive in Fort Frances at 9 p.m.
On Wednesdays, the bus will leave Fort Frances at 7 a.m., stop in Atikokan at 8:50, and then arrive in Thunder Bay at 12:45 p.m. (EST). The bus then will leave Thunder Bay at 5 p.m. (EST), stop in Atikokan at 6:30 (CST), and then arrive back in Fort Frances at 9 p.m.
On Thursdays, the bus will leave Fort Frances at 7 a.m. (CST), stop in Atikokan at 8:50 a.m., and arrive in Thunder Bay at 12:45 p.m. (EST).
On Fridays, the bus will leave Thunder Bay at 11 a.m. (EST), stop in Atikokan at 12:30 p.m. (CST), and then arrive in Fort Frances at 3 p.m.
It then will leave here at 4:40 p.m., stop in Atikokan at 6:30, and make it back to Thunder Bay by 10:30 (EST).
Adding to the savings, Smith noted Caribou has fewer operating costs as it is compared to Greyhound, and that his company also conducted a complete review to eliminate “redundant costs” from the Thunder Bay-Fort Frances route to the tune of $30,000.
“Right there, that makes a big difference,” he remarked. “When you add up those redundant costs, some of the overhead and operating expenses, and the reduction in the scheduling, it makes a big difference.”
Smith noted fares will remain at the current rates for the time being.
“We didn’t want to have to raise tickets prices,” he stressed. “There’s been more than enough upheaval—first with everybody being told there won’t be any more service come August, then changing to a different company, and so on and so forth.
“We wanted to try and do things the same as much as we possibly could,” Smith added. “We had to adjust the schedule because that was one of the main operating issues . . . but when we looked at the fares, we said, ‘Let’s try and leave it alone.’
“Greyhound used to adjust their fares on a fairly regular basis, but we thought we could leave the regular fares as they stood for the time being, and should be able to go like that for a while without any adjustments on that end,” continued Smith.
He did note fuel price increases may play a role in this regard but, fortunately, diesel prices seem to have stabilized in recent weeks.
Caribou also has worked out an interline agreement with Greyhound so that bus-related services, such as shipping freight, should continue as normal.
A person could, for example, ship a parcel to Ottawa by putting it on the Caribou bus here and having it transported to Thunder Bay, where it then would be loaded onto a Greyhound bus bound for the nation’s capital.
Passengers can buy tickets at North Air Services here, the Atikokan News Stand, and the Greyhound terminal in Thunder Bay, or purchase them from the driver at time of boarding (exact cash fare only).
Because Caribou only runs from Fort Frances to Thunder Bay, any riders going further, say to Toronto, only will pay for their fare from here to Thunder Bay.
They’ll have to get a separate Greyhound ticket once they arrive at the terminal in Thunder Bay.
“We had looked at doing it all the way through and issuing tickets for Fort Frances all the way through to Toronto [for example], but there were a couple things there,” explained Smith.
“We’re using a very different ticketing system—they’re going to be hand-written paper tickets because it’s the most cost-effective way to do it.
“The other thing is we’re going to try and offer, maybe closer to the Christmas holiday season, some promotions as far as passenger fares go, and Greyhound won’t honour that; they have their own system.
“So we said, ‘Fine, let’s keep them separate.’ That way, if we want to do something different . . . we can do that as long as we maintain it within our system—between Fort Frances and Thunder Bay.
“We can do whatever we want with it,” Smith remarked. “If we were to involve Greyhound in that sort of stuff, we would be limited on any sort of promotions or fare restructuring.”
Smith said Caribou will have two buses running the Fort Frances-Thunder Bay route, both of which will be similar to the highway coaches many passengers are used to and one of which is wheelchair accessible.
Passengers who prefer the wheelchair-accessible bus should contact Caribou at least 48 hours in advance to ensure a spot on it (as long as it’s not pre-booked for something else).
Smith added the wheelchair-accessibility also is a plus for passengers with mobility issues, including bad knees and hips.
While Smith has received questions as to why Caribou is running two 47-passenger highway coaches as opposed to smaller buses, he said that, beyond the fact Caribou provides charter services aside from the Fort Frances-Thunder Bay run, it’s more cost-effective to utilize a uniform fleet (for maintenance, parts, etc.) than running three or four different types of buses.
He also noted that with Labour Day weekend (students heading back to college and university), Thanksgiving, and Christmas expected to be busy times, it makes sense not to restrict runs to a 15-20 passenger bus and have to leave potential customers behind when it fills up.
“That’s not conducive for good business or the travellers,” noted Smith. “We’re more than equipped with 47-passenger coaches to make sure nobody gets left behind along the way.”
Full information on the Caribou bus service, such as fares and shipping costs, can be found at www.cariboucoach.ca by calling the company at 1-866-935-2811.
You also can contact North Air Services here (274-9741).
As previously reported, Greyhound Canada announced in early March it was giving up the route.
On July 8, Caribou confirmed it had received approval from the Ontario Highway Transport Board to offer scheduled bus services to residents along Highway 11 between Fort Frances, Atikokan, and Thunder Bay.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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