Free buses proposed for Highway of Tears

Nearly half of the

recommendations in the

recently released Highway of

Tears symposium report are

focused on prevention,

including one that proposes that

a unique free shuttle system

operate between Prince Rupert

and Prince George.

The report, which is the

result of a gathering held in

late March in Prince George

on the subject of the young

women missing or found

murdered along the highway

between the two cities, calls

for greater vigilance by police

and residents along Highway

16, as well as free buses for

low-income young Aboriginal

women that would provide

round-trip service.

“We’re looking at hard and

direct ways of taking these girls

off the highway,” said First

Nations consultant Don Sabo,

who compiled the 39-page

report with the co-operation of

the RCMP and victims’

families. “Most of these girls

live at or below the poverty level

and they can’t afford

transportation. It’s also a

geographic problem for many of

them as they need to travel great

Free buses proposed for Highway of Tears

distances to get necessities.”

Under the proposed plan,

there would be a series of shuttle

buses between all the

communities along Highway

16, between Rupert and Prince

George, each approximately

100-kilometre round trips. For

instance, one might travel from

Rupert to Terrace and back,

while another would travel from

Terrace to Hazelton and back,

and so on. There would be

perhaps four round-trips per day

and it would likely only be

during a particular time of the

year.

“This predator, or predators,

seems to target young women

on the highway during the

hitchhiking season, which is the

spring and summer in the rural

settings,” said Sabo. “In the

winter, it’s too cold to hitchhike

up here, so what does the

predator do? He moves into the

city.”

In the last 35 years, more than

30 women have disappeared or

been found murdered on the

724-kilometre stretch of

northern B.C. highway. Most of

those women have been young

and Aboriginal.

The bus plan would be costly,

likely too costly for the

provincial government–with

one estimate at $500,000

minimum–but North Coast

MLA Gary Coons says there is

one way it can work.

“People are saying it’s a huge

cost and it’s not going to happen

but there are options out there,”

said Coons, pointing to the new

Northern Health Connections

bus service as something that

could be part of the Highway of

Tears shuttle plan.

Northern Health Connections

will be providing northern

patients needing to travel for

medical appointments in

northern B.C. with a low-cost

bus service, starting this

summer. It has both short and

long distance routes.

Said Coons: “There are going

to be five big buses and four

shuttles. They’re already going

to be going between the

communities and, if the

government is serious about

stepping up to the plate, why not

use it to alleviate some of the

concerns (of the Highway of

Tears)?”

Greater vigilance was another

of the recommendations in the

report, meaning that the RCMP,

bus drivers, government

workers, and anyone who

regularly travels the stretch or

lives near the highway, must

take some responsibility for

hitchhikers.

“While the RCMP has done a

commendable job in patrolling

the highway, they can no longer

just drive past women who fit

the victims’ profiles,” said Sabo.

“We have a predator or

predators basically hunting

these victims, so the police have

to kind of hunt the victims too,

for their protection. If they don’t

stop and talk to them, advise or

assist them, then five minutes

behind them could be the

predator.”

The full report be viewed at

www.highwayoftears.ca