Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services

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Parent Ontario Northland Transportation Commission
Headquarters 555 Oak Street East, North Bay
Service area between Hearst and Toronto, through Sudbury and North Bay [1]
Service type scheduled coach service, bus charter and bus parcel express
Routes 2 regular
3 shuttle
Fleet 23 (2003)[1]
Website Motor Coach Services
overnight to the north land

Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services is a bus service operating in Ontario by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.

Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services operates inter-city bus and parcel service between Toronto (from Toronto Coach Terminal via Yorkdale GO Terminal) and locations in Central and Northern Ontario.

There are two scheduled routes running north and south between Toronto and Hearst; the Highway 11 corridor, through North Bay and Cochrane, and the Highway 400/69/144 corridor, through Parry Sound, Sudbury and Timmins. [2] All buses have complementary wifi for passengers; available wherever a cellphone signal exists.

The bus service was suspended when a drivers' strike began on September 29, 2007.[3] The strike left the train as the only public transportation available for many communities; bus service did not resume until December 11, 2007.

Contents

Divestment [edit]

In 2012 the provincial government announced the divestment of the crown corporation citing it could no longer subsidize the money losing operation. The government has since cancelled the Northlander passenger train service from Toronto to Cochrane. However, then premier Dalton McGuinty vowed to keep the buses running after the Crown agency is sold off (the number of coaches in service has increased to compensate for the lack of the passenger train service).[4]

Many Northern Ontario municipal leaders have expressed their fears regarding the divestment. They have indicated that the ONR provides a fundamental link to many remote and rural communities. They indicate that the government maintained its funding to the Go Transit network in Southern Ontario and it is important not forget about the important service the ONR provides to Northern Ontario residents.[4]

Routes [edit]

Coaches stop at the following stations. Additional flag stops are available along each route.

Route 1:

Route 2:

Ontario Northland also operates three shuttle routes connecting to the Northlander and the Polar Bear Express.

Northlander Shuttle (southern route):

Northlander Shuttle (northern route):

Polar Bear Express Shuttle:

Fleet [edit]

In 1991, ONR acquired some buses from the sale of Gray Coach by Stagecoach Group.

Recent purchase of five:

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b ONTC 2003 Annual Report
  2. ^ Ontario Northland, Motor Coach Services, Route Map
  3. ^ Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (2007-10-13). "Ontario Northland bus talks break off". Retrieved 2007-12-11. 
  4. ^ a b Maria Babbage (2012-06-23). "McGuinty promises to keep buses running after Ontario Northland selloff". Retrieved 2013-02-15. 

External links [edit]

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