Ontario Northland expanding service area

Ontario Northland is adding more than 750 kilometres and 20 communities to its system.

Effective immediately, the company will offer bus service to a number of new communities west of Sudbury, including Espanola, Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa and White River.

"It's about providing service from small communities and getting people into larger centres," Tracy MacPhee, director of passenger operations, said.

"This move is a result of people just needing transportation."

MacPhee says the new service is for all types of passengers, but says the company is working to accommodate people taking the bus for medical appointments.

"We're actually serving the hospitals. We'll have a stop in front the hospitals along our routes," she said.

"We have passengers that need to get in to some of the larger centres because they have treatments that they need to get to."

MacPhee says those stops will be at the hospitals in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and North Bay.

New buses and ticket sales

MacPhee says the provincial government recently gave the company money to purchase new buses as a result of the expansion.

"The government has provided funding for us to purchase four new full sized motor coaches," she said.

"We're also looking at purchasing mini-coaches to service some of the less populated areas."

She says the $5.2 million from the province also includes money for new technology that will allow passengers to shop for bus tickets with different carriers on one website.

"Currently, there's no one real website to go to buy a bunch of different tickets that you need," she explained.

"We're going to be putting that forward and hope to have that within the next six months or so where there will be a one stop shop, you enter your origin and destination and whoever is operating that route will be able to sell the ticket."