For Patrick Fairbairn, getting from Prince Albert to Saskatoon usually starts with one question: can his wife drive him?
Fairbairn is legally blind and has never held a driver’s licence. He has been connected with CNIB for more than 50 years and said travelling outside Prince Albert independently can be difficult when there is no vehicle available.
“There’s no reliable service at all,” Fairbairn said.
If his wife cannot take him, Fairbairn said he has to depend on friends, family or another driver. He said the problem extends well beyond people with vision loss, including seniors who no longer drive and residents who have never had a licence.
Fairbairn previously used the Saskatchewan Transportation Company to travel between Prince Albert and Saskatoon. STC passenger service ended on May 31, 2017. Fairbairn said he now usually travels to Saskatoon only when necessary, including for hospital visits and surgeries.
The gap is also something staff at the Prince Albert Community Service Centre encounter.
Naresh Saroye, a vocational counsellor with the centre, said the organization operates Access Transit and seniors transportation locally, but does not provide regular transportation between Prince Albert and Saskatoon. He said people occasionally contact the centre believing its transportation programs can take them between cities.
Medical travel is one of the biggest reasons people ask about transportation, Saroye said. Prince Albert often acts as a hub for northern residents travelling south, while some procedures and specialist care require patients to continue to Saskatoon.
The gap can also become a barrier for people trying to find work. Saroye said the centre hears from people looking for jobs in Saskatoon or other communities who need transportation to reach those opportunities. For someone trying to get back on their feet, not having a vehicle can put work or even a job interview out of reach.
“There is a huge gap,” Saroye said.
He said the problem extends beyond medical care and employment. People also need to travel for shopping, visiting family and other day-to-day reasons.
There are private options between Prince Albert and Saskatoon, but another change is coming.
Aurora Charter Service says it will end its scheduled passenger service between the two cities after Aug. 31. Diamond North Express is preparing to take over the route.
Diamond North lists a one-way fare of $55. Its published schedule has service Monday, Wednesday and Friday with morning and afternoon trips, along with a Saturday morning trip. There is no scheduled service Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday or on holidays.
Fairbairn said the fare itself is not unreasonable considering current operating costs, although repeated trips could become costly for pensioners. The larger concern for him is whether transportation is available when someone actually needs it.
Doctors and hospitals, he said, do not schedule appointments around someone’s bus service.
“If the bus isn’t running, you’re stuck again,” Fairbairn said.
Private operators have been trying to fill Saskatchewan’s intercity transportation gap since STC disappeared.
When Aurora began operating in 2019, the company told the Daily Herald it hoped to help reconnect communities after the STC closure. At the time, a Prince Albert-Saskatoon trip cost $35 and service was offered five days a week.
The tranportation problem has also surfaced in research involving Prince Albert.
A 2024 University of Saskatchewan study on the Kikinahk Friendship Centre’s free bus service in northern Saskatchewan identified missed appointments, stress, disconnection and loss of independence among the impacts associated with transportation barriers following STC’s closure. A 21-year-old Prince Albert participant described feeling forced to buy a vehicle because of the lack of alternatives. Participants discussing the future of the program said they hoped to eventually see twice-daily bus service connecting Prince Albert and Saskatoon seven days a week.
Saroye said transportation gaps can sometimes leave people stranded in Prince Albert after they arrive from another community. Some miss their return ride, while others find they cannot afford another way home.
In his view, more provincial funding for transportation programs or some form of centralized intercommunity system could help. He said such a service should be affordable, frequent and available to the broader public.
Fairbairn said the goal should be a transportation system that works for everyone, not only people with disabilities.
“There are lots of people who don’t have vehicles,” he said. “They should have the option to hop on a highway bus and get where they need to go.”
For Fairbairn, the issue ultimately comes down to independence.
He said private companies are trying to provide transportation while also covering their costs, but he believes Saskatchewan should take a larger role in making sure residents can move between communities.
“The government should be up in front,” Fairbairn said. “Step up and get it done.”
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
