Image

September 18, 2013

There won’t be a bus service from Petrolia to Sarnia after all.

The town was investigating setting up bus to Sarnia for Petrolia and other central Lambton communities, mostly for classes at Lambton College. The service would also have been available others in the community without transportation who had appointments in Sarnia.

Mayor John McCharles says the town considered putting as much as $13,000 up for seed money to start the service. Town officials had spoken with their counterparts in Plympton-Wyoming who were also willing to give seed money for the venture.

“The costs don’t see to be quite extreme,” he says. “It would be about $200 per day which is about $5 per person if we had 40 people.”

But McCharles told council Monday there was no guarantee there would be 40 riders. “That’s possible, but it is very difficult to really plan on that because we have not had that number of people come forward,” he says.

Several members of council voiced concerns about ridership. “We have people who are willing to use it but it is time restrictive,” says Councilor Tim Brown noting the bus would have to leave Petrolia and Sarnia at a set time, such as 7 am and 5 pm. “A college student who is done at noon, they’re not going to want to use it.”

Councilor Joel Field says several people have said their children might use the service but he hasn’t heard from anyone would leave Petrolia at 7 am and come back at 5 pm for a medical appointment.

And while ridership is a worry, McCharles says liability is a greater concern. “For the municipality to put forward seed money would be a bit of a danger. We would be liable for anything that would happen regarding the bus service,” says the mayor. “It may not be the town’s fault…but certainly, if someone was injured, the first plan of attack would be the municipality.”

And while the town will step away from the idea, McCharles says another group, perhaps a service club, might consider taking on a project to provide bus services to Sarnia for college age students.

“It is a bit disappointing because there are a number of people who would use it,” says McCharles. “But I don’t see it as a viable operation as far as the municipality is concerned.”

– Heather Wright

Share This

Image
Front Page

ICYMI: Record-breaking crowd at Alvinston Rodeo

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Like the movie says; if you build it, they will come. The Alvinston Pro Rodeo committee brought in larger stands hoping to accommodate visitors to the three-day event. Saturday night, those stands were filled and there were still people looking for seats according to Chairman Dan Cumming. Here’s just some of the action from the event:

Read More

Image
Front Page

Lambton Public Health issues first heat warning of the summer

June 20, 2025

FROM LAMBTON PUBLIC HEALTH With the prediction of hot and humid weather expected to start on Saturday,June 21 and continue into next week, Environment and Climate Change Canada is issuing a HeatWarning for Lambton County. Heat warnings are issued when two or more consecutive days of daytime maximum temperatures areexpected to reach 31°C or warmer and nighttime minimum temperatures are

Read More

Image
Front Page

Rural bus service starts making stops in Wyoming Monday

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Before there was money to bring a bus into Wyoming, Susan Mills was answering questions from residents about a new rural transit system. The Town of Plympton-Wyoming became a partner in the rural transit system called Huron Shores Area Transit earlier this spring. But service didn’t begin immediately. Lambton Shores, which runs the system, and its partners,

Read More

Image
Front Page

Why spend $20K to study a bridge to nowhere: McEwen

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Plympton-Wyoming Deputy Mayor Netty McEwen says it doesn’t make sense to spend $20,000 to study a bridge that goes nowhere. Paul daSilva, Director of Public Works, in a report to council June 11, suggested spending $40,000 to do Municipal Environmental Assessments on two low-traffic bridges, one on O’Brien Road, the other on Elmsley Road. “I took a

Read More