Selkirk Transit

The earliest mention of Beaver Bus Lines dates back to July 1946 when the company applied to serve employees of Canada Cement Company in Fort Whyte and be allowed to use all Winnipeg Electric bus stops along Pembina Hwy. as well as bus stops between the cement plant and the Union Bus Depot on Hargrave St. at Graham Ave.{{Cite news|title=Taxi Company Given O.K. On Driveway|date=July 24, 1946|work=The Winnipeg Tribune|page=5}}

In February 1948 St. Vital Council met with representatives of Winnipeg Electric and Beaver Bus Lines to serve St. Mary's Rd. and St. Anne's Rd. between Berrydale and Lot 62 and Berrydale and the Sanatorium (now St. Amant) with fares set at 5 cents{{Cite news|title=Talks Planned On Car Service To St. Vital|date=February 3, 1948|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} and would be partly subsidized by Winnipeg Electric.{{Cite news|title=WEC Service Accepted By St. Vital|date=July 15, 1952|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=2}} However, by 9 of that year, Beaver Bus had proposed to cut back or cancel service to St. Vital. Homeowners in the area, represented by the St. Vital Ratepayers Assoc., organized to oppose the cuts in service.{{Cite news|title=St. Vital Group Protests Plan To Cut Bus Service|date=December 3, 1948|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=9}} However, citing "poor road conditions" in St.Vital, Beaver permanently discontinued service to the municipality on July 12, 1952.{{Cite news|title=St. Vital Council Hears Lane-Closing Pros, Cons|date=July 8, 1952|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} To compensate, Winnipeg Electric offered to pick up the service from Beaver, but that service provided would be minimal{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=July 2020}} at best.

In September 1948 Winnipeg Electric Company sold their Winnipeg, Selkirk, and Lake Winnipeg Railway to Beaver Bus Lines{{Cite news|title=Bus Line Union Agreement Tangled Over Signatures|date=September 18, 1948|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} for $200,000{{Cite news|title=Utility Board Delays Decision On Bus Franchise|date=September 8, 1948|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} and Beaver immediately cancelled the commuter rail route then replaced it with a diesel bus. There were issues at the time of the purchase whether the Union agreement, set to expire in March 1949, could be carried over to the bus line company.

By May 1949, Beaver had applied to the Public Utility Board to increase fares between Winnipeg and Selkirk, due to 'tremendous cost' of operating the service. Politicians from the R.M. of St. Andrews, West St. Paul, and the Town of Selkirk said costs should not have increased just because ownership was transferred from Winnipeg Electric to Beaver Bus Lines the year prior.{{Cite news|title=Selkirk Bus Fare Increase To Be Studied|date=June 1, 1949|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=25}} The new fares were approved the next month. Prior to the rate increase, a book of 20 tickets could be purchased for $1.50. Now the fare would jump to 20 tickets for $2.50, an increase of over 86%.{{Cite news|title=Official Explains Bus Fare Boost|date=June 27, 1949|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}} Allegations that Winnipeg Electric was being discriminatory to the municipalities that it served in its fares were responded to by Beaver Bus to eliminate unfair fares by adjusting them accordingly.{{Cite news|title=Bus Line Manager Denies Unfair Selkirk Route Rates|date=June 30, 1949|work=Winnipeg Free Press|page=3}}

In October 1964, Beaver Bus moved its Winnipeg terminal from the Union Bus Depot on Hargrave St. (now the site of True North Sq.) to the Winnipeg Bus Depot on Balmoral St. (now Winnipeg Transit's Balmoral Station).

As of July 1, 2016, Beaver Bus Lines has discontinued this service.

Selkirk was connected directly to Winnipeg via a route run by private operator Beaver Bus Lines. The first bus would leave Selkirk at 6:15 AM on weekdays and 7:50 AM on Saturdays. The final departure from Winnipeg would occur at 10:00 PM on weekdays and 6:00 PM on Saturdays. Intermediary destinations along the route include the villages of Lockport and St. Andrews in the RM of St. Andrews and the villages of Middlechurch and Rivercrest in the RM of West St. Paul. The fare was $9 to go from Selkirk to Winnipeg, or $17 for a two-way fare.{{Cite web |url=http://www.beaverbus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BeaverBus-2014.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 November 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213327/http://www.beaverbus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BeaverBus-2014.pdf |url-status=dead }}

The Selkirk to Winnipeg service had daily ridership of 400–500,{{When|date=February 2020}} but ridership went down after the City of Selkirk introduced its own transit service, Selkirk Transit, in 2011, so the route was cancelled.{{cite web|url=http://www.beaverbus.com/advertising/|title=Advertising|publisher=Beaver Bus Lines}}

Its operations garage was based at 175 Horace Ave. in St. Boniface and later moved to 339 Archibald, also in St. Boniface.

As of July 4, 2016, Exclusive Bus Lines had a route to replace the Beaver Bus Lines route. Buses ran Monday to Friday from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Intermediary destinations along the route included the villages of Lockport and St. Andrews in the RM of St. Andrews and the villages of Middlechurch and Rivercrest in the RM of West St. Paul.

The fare was $11 to go from Selkirk to Winnipeg, or $20 for a day pass. The fare was reduced for shorter trips.

Express buses ran with reduced stops that took 45 minutes, compared to the regular 55 minutes.{{cite web|url=http://www.exclusivebuslines.com/selkirk-commuter-line/|title=Selkirk commuter line and school bus rental from Selkirk to Winnipeg|website=www.exclusivebuslines.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815022743/http://www.exclusivebuslines.com/selkirk-commuter-line/|archive-date=2016-08-15|access-date=2016-07-23}}

As of September 1, 2017 this service has been discontinued due to low ridership.{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3481898/exclusive-bus-lines-cancels-service-from-selkirk-to-winnipeg/|title=Exclusive Bus Lines cancels service from Selkirk to Winnipeg|website=Global News|language=en|access-date=2019-12-10}}

Kasper Transport took over from Exclusive Bus Lines the Winnipeg-Selkirk commuter bus in September 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.myselkirk.ca/blog/2017/10/26/kasper-takes-over-transport/|title=Kasper Takes Over Transport|date=2017-10-26|website=City of Selkirk|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-02-06}}

Kasper offered mini-bus service from Winnipeg to Selkirk. A trip between Selkirk and Winnipeg cost $20, while a discount rate (Seniors/55+) cost $18. Children six and under rode free.{{Cite web|url=https://gokasper.com/scheduled-bus-routes/|title=Scheduled Routes|website=Kasper Transportation Service|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-10}}

On August 20, 2019 Kasper announced that their Winnipeg-Selkirk commuter bus service would be permanently discontinued as they could not make a profit from the few (22 passengers / day) that used the service. Kasper said that they lost C$2,000–3,000 per month and that they needed more than 40 passengers per day to break even.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/kasper-transportation-selkirk-winnipeg-bus-route-1.5253462|title=Kasper Transportation cuts Selkirk to Winnipeg bus line|date=August 20, 2019|work=CBC News Manitoba}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://myselkirk.ca/community-services/public-transportation/ Selkirk Transit public-transportation]
• [http://mysta.ca/ Selkirk Transit Authority]

{{Public transit systems in Canada}}

Category:Transit agencies in Manitoba

Category:Selkirk, Manitoba