Northern bus line Mahihkan to cease operations

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This article was published 29/08/2024 (377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mahihkan Bus Lines — a transit service linking Flin Flon and The Pas to Winnipeg since 2019 — will turn off its engines at the end of next week.

The operation, which arose out of the purchase of the former Kelsey Bus Lines, has been the only intercity bus service in that part of Manitoba.

Company officials were not available for comment Thursday.

On its website, the company said: “Despite our best efforts to sustain our business operations in order to provide a reliable transportation option for residents in northern Manitoba, ongoing market volatility, inflationary pressures and challenging economic circumstances have forced us to make this difficult decision.”

It’s expected to be a blow to the larger communities in the North and the much smaller stops along its route.

The bus line provided regular service to Bakers Narrows, Cranberry Portage, Wanless, Mafeking, Wuskwi Sipihk, Birch River, Bowsman, Swan River, Minitonas, Cowan, Pine River, Ethelbert, Dauphin, Ste. Rose du Lac, McCreary, Kelwood, Riding Mountain (town), Neepawa, Gladstone, Westbourne, Portage la Prairie, Elie and Headingley.

Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said its loss is going to be felt.

“We’ve been through this before with the closure of Greyhound (in 2021),” he said. “It’s very difficult on the vulnerable part of the population, the elderly and the sick. It is tough.”

Based out of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, just outside The Pas, Mahihkan Bus Lines is owned by six local First Nations (Chemawawin, Misipawistik, Mosakahiken, Opaskwayak, Wuskwi Sipihk and Sapotaweyak).

Andre Murphy, mayor of The Pas, said while the news was still being processed, it is a troubling development. “Whenever we lose vital and critical service, like a transportation service, we are very concerned.”

Both mayors said they would be lobbying the province for support, but neither knew what they could expect in terms of assistance.

“Bus transportation is an important way for communities to access services and move between communities. I am concerned about what this closure will mean for some northern Manitobans and I hope another service will see the opportunity to fill the gap,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said Thursday.

“I am very much looking forward to attending the Northern Transportation Symposium in Thompson next week, where we will talking about repairing infrastructure in northern communities.”

Mahihkan (a Cree word for wolf) was one of a small handful of bus lines that have struggled to provide regular service between northern communities and Winnipeg.

There are operators that run from Thompson to Winnipeg, but do not service any of the communities Mahihkan did.

Calm Air flies regularly to both The Pas and Flin Flon from Winnipeg, but one-way flights can approach $1,000.

It’s about a six-hour drive to Winnipeg from The Pas.

“Sure, there will be lots of people who wouldn’t even notice it’s happened, but those are the people with their own vehicle who live a typical suburban lifestyle where transportation is not an issue,” Fontaine said of Mahihkan’s shutdown.

“But if you’re someone without a vehicle with a medical condition or who has to travel to the city, either to Winnipeg or sometimes even just to Dauphin, it’s too expensive for some people to have to pay to fly.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca