For full immersion, play the below track and replace “space” with “bus” https://open.spotify.com/album/7GGYdBte34n3jsPVcuRkXG?si=P0J55mOuTEyfCVh4o3WGlA
Today I took the Bus Train. A Bus with attached rail wheels so it can travel along a track. The Bus Train was adopted around 2ish years ago after the old rail cars were de-commissioned due to being hard to repair. Before that (25 years-ish prior) there was a daily train that came from Vancouver. During COVID, no trains ran.
The Bus Train connects Seton Portage (a First Nations community) to Lillooet, a larger town. The alternative route is a Forest Service Road which takes longer and is more dangerous. The lake too is apparently not suitable for some kind of Bus Boat. Which is a shame because I want to ride that.
As I’ve never seen a Bus Train before i had endless questions. Seeing the vehicle go from grocery station to train track is absolutely marvellous, it’s so obvious I feel silly. It seems like an excellent tool for small communities around Canada.
Travelling this beautiful route really impacted me. The driver informed me he had driven trains for over 50 years and had come out of retirement 2 or 3 times to continue this service. He’s trained 3 replacements over the years, all of whom have quit. CN doesn’t care, and actively wants to stop this route. The supply of food and transit of school children are relying on the backs of 2 people to run this service, of which if 1 quits (or dies), it will be over. But, born in Seton these are his people and they are heavily reliant on its operation. And so it goes, a 69 year old man fighting cancer and his 2nd drive this route, 364 days a year, Monday to Friday, 4 - 6 rides a day, from 7am -> 7pm.
This Bus Train driver may be one of the most inspiring and selfless people I’ve ever met.
The Bus Train certainly took me for a ride. But not the ride I expected.
