Highway of Tears bus starts rolling on 30-minute trips in B.C.’s northwest
SMITHERS, B.C. — A new bus service between Smithers and the First Nations village of Moricetown in northwestern B.C. will only take about 30 minutes, but the ride along the so-called Highway of Tears has been years in the making.
The service that starts Monday is along a small section of Highway 16, the route that stretches between Prince George and Prince Rupert where 18 women have disappeared or been murdered since the 1970s.
John Rustad, B.C.’s minister of aboriginal relations and reconciliation, says part of the service plan involves working with First Nations communities to train bus drivers and operate transit services between their villages and major communities along the highway.
First Nations, social-service agencies and women’s groups have been calling for a shuttle bus service in the area for several years to provide safe transportation for people who live in communities along the 750-kilometre route.