Peggy Revell
Changes to the schedule of Excel Coach Lines’ buses between Fort Frances and Kenora will mean a better connection to Winnipeg for local residents.
While the days the bus operates will remain the same (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, excluding holidays), it now will depart for Kenora at 11:10 a.m. on those days starting July 6.
“I think [people] should know that there’s a decent connection going into Winnipeg now,” said Paul Bock, who runs the local bus depot.
“Before, you basically had to overnight, or sit in a coffee shop or do something in Kenora, find a friend or get a ride or whatever.
“Now you can leave at 11 in the morning and be on to Winnipeg and be there at about seven at night, which, it’s not ideal but it’s certainly better than it was.
“You only have an hour in Kenora and then you’re on your way again,” he noted.
The Excel bus currently departs from here at 3 p.m. and arrives in Kenora around 6 p.m.
However, an earlier change in the Greyhound bus schedule saw the discontinuation of its 10:15 a.m. bus from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay as well as the 7:25 p.m. bus from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg, meaning passengers would have to stay overnight in Kenora to make the connection.
Bock said Excel didn’t change its schedule right away because Greyhound supposedly was going to reinstate those runs for the summer months—but that never happened.
“Now [Excel has] bumped their times basically to get a few more passengers going in both directions, and freight as well, and try to make it a little more convenient to the customers, and drum up some more business,” Bock noted.
He added input always is being sought to see what the demand would be for other changes to the schedule.
