The co-owner of Thompson Valley Charters is well on his way to establishing a new inter-community bus service that would run from Kamloops to Edmonton.
Speaking on NL Newsday, Roger Nadeau says he has been working on this project since the summer after receiving many phone calls from people wondering if it has a run that goes up north.
“I want to interconnect with e-bus coming out of Vancouver. So their bus arrives at 11:45 in the morning. So I have been in contact with e-bus and we want to leave at 12:15 headed up the valley on a Monday. Then tentatively arrive at 11:30 Edmonton time in Edmonton with stops all the way.”
“The next morning we’ll leave 9:00 in the morning or 8:30 in the morning and I want to be back into Kamloops by 5:30 in the evening just so that I can inter-connect with e-bus again for people gong to Vancouver. They leave at 6:00, so I want to be here in time for people from, Valemount we’ll say, that want to go to Vancouver.”
Nadeau is tentatively planning to have the service up and running for May 3rd. “Hopefully that will be our first trip up the valley.”
Nadeau says coordination is the biggest thing left to get done. “I have to get all the logistics ready. All the permits are in place… so that’s one thing I don’t have to do. So now it is just the logistics. So I am waiting and stalling a little bit. I can probably start in April, but I want to see what is going to happen with all the COVID.”
“The support from all the towns and communities up the valley, Kamloops, TNRD, has been excellent from all the council members in each individual community. They have been excellent. Support letters have been coming in. They’re all in favour. [Kamloops-North Thompson MLA] Peter Milobar has helped quite a bit with that.”
Nadeau adds that he has been meeting with Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod about the idea and she is looking to see what the federal government can do to help out financially. “Trying to find a price rate. I want to be fare, I am not into gouging people.”