There will be a new way for people to get around southern Saskatchewan soon.
DiCal, a Melville courier company, and Rider Express Transportation, have both been approved by the highway traffic board to start a passenger service.
Ninety-year-old Cary Piller used the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) bus service to get to medical appointments and visit family. She was disappointed when it shut down.
“It was total dismay because we had lost our access to travel,” Piller said. “But this means a whole world of travel has opened up again.”
“It’s the end of isolation,” she said.
Dical only has one 15-seat passenger bus for now. It will start early in the morning in Yorkton, picking up passengers in Melville, Balcarres and Fort Qu’Appelle along the way to Regina, where it will stop at both hospitals, the Cancer Patient Lodge and the airport. It will return along the same route in the evening.
“Everyone I’ve talked to, any of the deliveries I’ve done, they’re just ecstatic. It’s definitely a relief for them that they have an option,” DiCal manager Calvin Smith said.
Drivers have already been trained in first aid and CPR, he said, and as business grows, DiCal is hoping to expand, adding more buses and locations.
“There’s a lot of people that just need that ride to Regina,” Smith said.
Melville resident Andrew Hrycay goes to Wascana Rehabilitation Centre for his prosthetics. He said it’s peace of mind to know that the ride is there if he needs it.
“It’s really hard to turn around and get somebody else to drive you. There’s a lot of people that are working and can’t take you,” Andrew Hrycay said.
The first DiCal bus will depart Yorkton July 10.
Rider Express Transportation is hoping to launch its service between Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Curent, Yorkton and Estevan in the coming week.
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