Pond Inlet gets elder bus after 9-month wait

Pond Inlet resident Joseph Krimmerdjuar poses beside his hamlet’s new elders bus. After a nine-month wait, Pond Inlet elders got their very own bus service starting Sept. 29. It will provide transportation to medical appointments and to buy groceries. The custom-made 2023 Ford E450 seats 14 passengers and is wheelchair accessible. The bus service, announced in December 2022, came about after the hamlet applied for federal funding through the Rural Transit Solutions Fund. The hamlet was awarded $150,000 from Infrastructure Canada, though the final cost jumped to $225,000. The hamlet paid for the additional $75,000. The on-demand service that began on Monday is available Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Photo courtesy of David Stockley)