VIA Rail in talks to offer $5 fares to ‘at risk’ groups along B.C. ‘highway of tears’
VANCOUVER — Via Rail has joined discussions with the British Columbia government, First Nations and social service agencies to offer rock-bottom fares to “vulnerable” people who can’t afford to travel along the so-called Highway of Tears.
The railway is collaborating with mayors and multiple groups to determine the criteria for $5 fares along a northern B.C. corridor where 18 girls and women have been murdered or have disappeared since the 1970s.
In June, following a decade of pleas from women’s groups and First Nations, B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced that bus service would begin in the area by the end of the year.
Chief Joseph Bevan of the Kitselas First Nation near Terrace said he’s part of an advisory group concerned about the safety of people along the 750-kilometre route and that it came together for regular meetings last November after months of discussions.