
The Kikinahk Free Bus ran between La Ronge and Prince Albert for two years, before it was stopped at the end of June 2024.
The bus gave people, who didn’t have access to transportation, opportunities to travel for medical appointments, employment, educational opportunities, shopping and visiting with friends and family among other reasons.
University of Saskatchewan professor Jacob A.K. Alhassan was inspired to begin a study of the Free Bus service looking at how it could be made more sustainable and perhaps be used by communities to support people who were left without transportation when the provincial government terminated the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) in 2017.
Alhassan, with a team of students, along with Cari McIlduff have explored the many aspects of the Free Bus service, from the angles of health and quality of life of community members
The Challenges of the loss of STC have been recognized, but there didn’t seems to be a clear solution, so Alhassan and his team stepped up to explore, the benefits and challenges of the service.
They talked with people in the Lac La Ronge communities, explored the many aspects of the bus service, how many people used it, how it worked, what were its challenges.
They have put together a detailed report, Facilitation Connections: Health and Social Impacts of the Kikinahk Free Bus Service.
The team was in La Ronge Monday, Dec. 16 to meet with members of the a group of people from the three communities, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), the Northern Village of Air Ronge and the Town of La Ronge.
There was a wide-ranging representation of people in elected positions, some representing, healthcare and other agencies, former users of the service and other interested folks.
Each person received a package with a copy of the report, and Alhassan, gave an overview of the Team’s findings and the Report.
The benefits of the service included access to medical services and improved mobility and social participation, while the challenges included funding disruptions and organizational challenges.
Some of the recommendations included: capacity building for training for the bus drivers; additional support personnel on the bus; clear advertising and signage; and more collaboration across governments and community organizations to sustain the service, taken from the PowerPoint presentation.
The event included lunch, which gave the opportunity for participants to do some discussion and sharing of ideas.
The event ended with participants gathering in two groups to explore options to find a way to make the service sustainable within the three communities and how it could also be made an option for other communities across the province.
Financial support for the project came from the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine Research Award COMRAD, the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF 6603) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Authors of the report: Alhassan, Daniel Fuller, PhD; Cari McIlduff, PhD; Prashikchhya Parajuli, MSc; Ann Yadav, BSc; Zahin Rahman; Suradra Dutta Gupta, PhD.