(Photo from MENAE Entrepreneur)
As discussed in my previous article on accessibility, there are a number of elements that come into play when defining something as ‘accessible,’ – as it is an extremely complex and layered topic. Key aspects of the argument for accessible travel are financial and geographical considerations.
Passenger trains, like the Mask-Wa Oo-Ta-Ban, are meant to be a service in the sense that they are not providing people with a luxury; but a basic necessity of life, the right to travel, to move safely from point A to point B. For such reason, rail ticket prices are nowhere nearly expensive as the astronomical cost of flying, especially on a regular basis. For example, flights from the Sault to Hearst are extremely expensive. With layovers, it can sometimes take up to 30 hours to reach Hearst from the Sault after considering layovers, and after that, you would still have an hour drive from the nearest airport in Kapuskasing to Hearst. To make matters worse, in late May, it was announced that Kapuskasing Airport will no longer provide passenger flights through Bearskin Airlines, but will only be servicing cargo from now on. To learn more about that, click here.
The average monthly payment for a new vehicle in Canada, as reported in 2015, is $570 a month, for between 48 and 60 total months, equaling a range of $27,360 and $47,880 (Cato, 2015). For people with a limited income, this is not a feasible or desirable option. For students, this is almost entirely impossible. Local educational institutions, like Sault College and Algoma University, would benefit from more financially-accessible travel options in order to attract more students from remote communities, especially since they are essentially the nearest post-secondary institutions in the area.
In addition to that fact, there are no flights, or transportation, other than driving a car, from the Sault to Hawk-Junction, Dubreuilville, Missanabie, or Wawa. In terms of accessing northern communities via bus, Greyhound bus services has one bus a day that departs from the Sault to Wawa, at 12:15am, and one bus a day from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst, at 7:30pm. The ride from the Sault to Hearst, would take one day, 7 hours, and 35 minutes to reach its destination, making it entirely inaccessible for anyone looking to make a weekend or urgent trip. Not to mention, while transport out of the Sault works local Saultites, for anyone coming out of a remote community, like Oba, accessibility is still an issue (NEORN, 2016). For more information on Greyhound routes and fares, click here.
Ultimately, renewing rail service would help to make education more available in the north, while also serving the interests of the people, not just major corporations who naturally are motivated exclusively by increasing profits through transporting freight.
In conclusion, we can see how renewed rail service in the North is the only way to actually accommodate people from all walks of life in terms of transportation. Regardless of whether you can’t afford to drive, can’t afford to fly, or simply can’t justify the purchase of a car or excessive flight fees for individuals or entire families to move from place to place, your social, travel, and work life are suffering as a result of it. To find out more on how you can help us to renew rail service in the North, contact us at [email protected], or visit us here!
References
Cato, J. (April, 2015). How Much Canadian Pay on Average to Drive a New Car. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/news/industry-news/how-much-canadians-pay-on-average-to-drive-a-new-car/article24003473/
Northern & Eastern Ontario Rail Network. (July, 2016). Comments on Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy. North Bay, Ontario.
