The City of Thompson is asking the provincial government to change the scope and deadline of a transit infrastructure contribution agreement to enable it to purchase three mini-buses instead of one regular-sized bus.
They are also asking for the project end date to be extended from March 31, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020.
“It will take time to manufacture,” city manager Anthony McInnis explained at council’s Nov. 12 meeting.
All councillors present (Coun. Kathy Valentino was not in attendance) approved the resolution allowing city administration to seek the change of the project’s scope and end date.
“What we’re trying to do is streamline our bus service so that we can continue to have one and provide that service to the community,” said Coun. Brian Lundmark. “I hope this gets to them quick and they’re in agreement with it."
“I’m touching wood and crossing my fingers and sleeping with garlic and doing everything I can to hope this scope of change goes through and we get the money as we need it,” said Coun. Jeff Fountain. “I know that many people contacted me with the exact same solution [of using smaller buses] way before this and I think they’re going to be pleasantly pleased if this goes through.”
The city announced a plan to establish a weekday-only transit system using smaller buses in late October, nearly a year after Greyhound Canada shut down its Western Canada operations and stopped operating the transit service in Thompson on Oct. 31, 2018. A request for proposals was recently posted on the city’s website seeking municipal transit operation services with a closing date of Nov. 27.
Thompson has been without a municipal transit system for the last four-and-a-half months. Prior to that, Maple Bus Lines provided city-funded transit service for four-and-a-half months from mid-February to June 30. There was also no city transit from Nov. 1, 2018 until Feb. 10, 2019.
The School District of Mystery Lake began operating a student bus service on Sept. 30 of this year.
It was in the spring of 2017 when the city of Thompson received $235,681 from the provincial and federal governments for transit-related projects including a handivan, a bus, two bus shelters and transit signs. Of this, about $120,000 was earmarked for the purchase of a new bus, representing about 30 per cent of the total cost. Last November, the city passed a resolution o extend their contribution agreement with the province, under the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, until March 2020.
The city did not proceed with the purchase of a new bus, however, because the bids the city received were greater than the amount it had budgeted for the purchase.
