When Elaine Olson of Rama heard that the STC would be shutting down at the end of May, she wanted to mark the occasion with one final ride.
On May 31 she took the bus one last time, this time from Rama to Invermay. It was only a seven or eight-mile ride, but Olson said it felt like an important one. It was a sad day for her and many other rural residents who had grown to depend on STC service in many ways, she said.
Olson has relatives she likes to visit regularly in Christopher Lake, north of Prince Albert, and in Edmonton. She doesn’t like driving that far in winter, so she has regularly taken advantage of the bus service for those trips. Now, she said she probably won’t be making those trips any more, at least not in winter.
She readily admits the loss of STC service has an even greater impact on people with health concerns who rely on the bus to take them to important medical appointments, and on farmers and other business people who depend on it for timely delivery of machinery parts necessary to run their businesses.
Until now, STC has provided daily service in many areas, including the route from Rama to Invermay. Olson said she couldn’t help but wonder, instead of suddenly shutting it down completely, why the provincial government didn’t try cutting back service to two or three days a week.
Olson admits she may never get an answer to this question and many others.
