When the provincial government announced it was discontinuing the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC), the announcement was met with shock in many circles.
There were a lot of people who whose shock stemmed from anger. They depended on STC to make it to Regina, Saskatoon and other centres to make their medical appointments, to reach the airport for flights, or to reach their post-secondary campus.
There were also farms and other businesses who leaned on STC for shipping documents, parts, equipment and a host of other things.
Their frustration with losing STC was justifiable.
But there was also shock from STC’s critics. A lot of people believed STC’s closure was long overdue, and they questioned if it would ever happen. STC has been a money-losing venture for a lot of years, and they reasoned the money spent covering STC’s losses could be better spent in other directions.
There’s no doubt that STC was a financial burden. There’s a reason Saskatchewan was the last jurisdiction in Canada to have a government-owned bus line. No government would be crazy enough to try to start a bus company now, and if they tried, they should be facing a recall petition.
Crown corporations should be focused on providing such services as communications, electricity and heating. Buses should not be on the radar. That should be the job of the private sector.
But there actually was a legitimate need for STC. It provided transportation to people to get to much-needed medical appointments. It was the best-case scenario for many who needed to travel to Regina to catch a flight from the airport. It was a means of transportation for university students who don’t have a vehicle.
The lack of consultation was aggravating. But so was the government’s need to move quickly with STC’s elimination. They announced the bus company’s demise nine weeks ago.
And while the private sector has expressed an interest in taking over the routes serviced by STC, nine weeks isn’t enough time to have a full conversion from a government-owned bus line to a more streamlined approach offered by the private sector.
The government has had this money-losing bus company for decades. Would it be that big of a deal to hold onto it for a few more months until it can be properly phased out?
Ultimately, we should have known that STC would be shut down eventually. While the service the employees provided was excellent and the buses were comfortable, the company was run in an inefficient manner. It was destined to be a money loser. One day, someone was going look at the service it provides, compare it with what could be done by the private sector, and pull the plug.
It’s the rapid closure that the government could have handled in a far different fashion.
