A new bus service beginning Friday will offer a route from Toronto to Ottawa with a stop in Peterborough, Ont.
Rider Express Transportation will begin service on Nov. 11 with the first bus leaving Toronto and arriving in Peterborough around 1:30 p.m. at 721 Ashburnham Dr. (in front of the Tim Hortons restaurant).
The trip continues to Ottawa (stopping at Eagleson Road Public Transit Station) and returns to Peterborough around 9:40 p.m. The bus then departs Peterborough for an arrival at Toronto Union Station bus terminal around 11:30 p.m.
Upon launch, the route will initially be offered on Fridays and Sundays, with plans to expand depending on interest and demand, says Ayhan Ozturk, operations manager for Rider Express Ontario.
The Prevost bus has the capacity to carry 56 passengers and is licensed provincially and federally, Ozturk noted.
Rider Express Transportation launched in May 2017 following the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company. The company expanded to Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. following the closure of routes by Greyhound Canada.
The company expanded to Ontario in 2021.
“We chose Peterborough because no bus company has bus service from Ottawa to Peterborough and Peterborough to Ottawa and to connect this line to Toronto,” he told Global News Peterborough.
He noted customers were inquiring about Peterborough following the launch of a service route along Highway 401 from Toronto to Ottawa with a stop in Kingston.
“Because of that, many of our customers were asking if Rider Express would open similar bus service via Peterborough,” he said.
Tickets my be purchased at www.riderexpress.ca and www.busbud.com.