More travel options between London and Sarnia as Intercity Bus announces three daily trips

Travel options just got better for commuters between Sarnia and London.

Transit company Intercity Bus has launched a bus service between the two cities, with stops in Strathroy.

Muhammad Usman Qayyum, Intercity Bus marketing manager, said the new route expands on their service to and from Toronto.

“Intercity Bus acquired the downtown terminal in London. We started travels from London to Toronto two months ago, on the 27th of September. Now we are expanding it to the City of Sarnia,” he said.

The first trip leaves London’s former Greyhound terminal on York Street in the downtown at 4:50 a.m. It stops at Tim Hortons on Centre Road in Strathroy at 5:25 a.m., before arriving in Sarnia at Real Canadian Superstore at 6:05 a.m., then the Bayside terminal in downtown Sarnia at 6:15 a.m. It then departs from downtown Sarnia at 6:25 a.m.

The trip goes once more in the morning, then runs again in the early evening.

Qayyam said people have taken up travel once again, and are calling for the service.

“Considering students. Considering seniors. Those people who don’t afford to have a car,” he said. “It’s not like people are not traveling. People are traveling. They’re using either ride shares, or they’re using different transportation means to travel.”

Qayyam added the service will start with the smaller 24 seat buses, and switch to the full sized 56 seat coach once the demand is there. The cost for a one-way fare between Sarnia and London is $21.99 plus tax.

The new bus service comes as Sarnia’s mayor continues his push to have passenger rail service improved for his community. Mike Bradley is set to meet with officials from VIA in the New Year.

“Well we are getting some options, and competition is good. I just hope it’s not a message to VIA that they don’t have to compete in this market. We’ve been fighting those cuts. 1988 we had four trains a day, then we had two trains. Now we have one. There’s a train that dead-ends in London every day in the mid-afternoon that used to come to Sarnia. They could double their capacity by putting that train back in service,” he said.

Intercity Bus said it also plans to expand into St. Thomas in the New Year.