UPDATED AT 5 P.M.
A spokesperson for Ontario Northland provided the following statement Wednesday afternoon:
"Ontario Northland is currently seeking another location for bus passengers in Orillia to board and depart from our service. When a new location is found, we will communicate the details. We encourage businesses that are interested in being an Ontario Northland agency to reach out."
***********************
ORIGINAL STORY
As the City of Orillia entertains offers of purchase for the former train station on Front Street, the future of a bus service that uses the property as a depot remains uncertain.
The city has received “multiple bids” for the property at 150 Front St. S., said Laura Thompson, manager of real estate and commercial development.
The building currently houses Service Ontario and the Orillia District Chamber of Commerce, both of which will be moving to new locations this spring.
It is also a stop for Ontario Northland’s bus service. How that will be affected once the building is sold is not yet known. Ontario Northland has not responded to multiple interview requests.
Matt Procter hopes the service will continue in Orillia.
“A lot of people don’t have drivers’ licences or they can’t drive, so they rely on the bus service a lot,” said Procter, a former Orillia resident who took the bus to town from Toronto for the Family Day weekend. “Even if you don’t have a building, you could have kiosks to purchase bus tickets from.”
Procter doesn’t take the bus as often as he did when he was living in town.
“I used to take it all the time when I was living in Orillia,” said Procter, who often made trips to Barrie and Toronto.
He didn’t have access to his car this weekend, though, so the bus service came in handy.
Brittany Maraj was waiting on the bus to take her home to Brampton on Tuesday. While she rarely uses Ontario Northland, she considers it a beneficial and economical service.
“It is important for people to get to the city from a rural area,” she said. “Something like Ontario Northland is more affordable (than some other options).”
The city’s deadline to accept offers on the property was Jan. 11. Ontario Northland’s lease will be up Oct. 31.
“We have ongoing conversations with Ontario Northland, but the future of the building will (depend) on the offer council chooses to negotiate,” said Thompson. “The city recognizes that inter-city bus service is important to the community. We would certainly assist them with finding a location within the city to meet their needs.”
A staff report on the offers made so far will be presented to council, in closed session, Feb. 25. Thompson said she hopes to receive direction from council by March 4.