What about a subsidy to Greyhound to keep more buses running? Though I have no idea on costs compared to a shuttle.

If you add a free shuttle who would pay to ride greyhound? They would have to pull out completely or drop to one or two runs a week for parcels. The Northern Health bus should be taken out and these fairs given to greyhound at a discount rate dependent upon need

I agree with seamutt same deal – have a subsidy for the fare for those who can prove they need the subsidy to the government. Problem with these types of arrangements is it goes by last years taxes and not current year so if you lost your job and need the subsidy now you have to wait a year, same goes for those who qualify from last years taxes have a free ride the next year even if they win the lotto

How about not hitchhiking ? Take away the victims and there is no chance of it happening to anyone else. If you decide to hitch hike anywhere you are trusting a stranger with your life, and you know what… I still see young woman hitchhiking on the roads.

Stopping hitchhiking or providing shuttles would reduce these crimes by 0%.

Typical NDP using tragedies as a political tool. This and the Francois lake tradgedies. If they actually felt passionatly about belping these programs out they would just take on the lead and do it. Just another example of why I didn’t vote for these twits!!

Even if there was a shuttle, people would still hitchhike, because the shuttle wouldn’t fit everybody’s ‘schedule’.

Perhaps the Indian Bands that receive billions of Federal dollars annually should spend it on their own people? If they can afford to send hundreds of their elders to PG every year for a ‘gathering’ they should be able to afford to spend some $ on their band members safe travels. jmo

censored, you are absolutely correct.well put.

“The Northern Health bus should be taken out and these fairs given to greyhound at a discount rate dependent upon need”

Anybody that has used the Northern Health bus knows what a great service this is and there is a heck of alot more to it than just trying to throw Grandma on a Greyhound bus with her wheelchair and IV.

Can’t they have the same shuttle service that the NDP maintained during the decade it was running the province?

Just saying.

What shuttle service?

Here is what was promised in December 2012:

“the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is developing a targeted consultation plan to address the commissioner’s recommendation for safer transportation opportunities along the Highway 16 corridor.

“Ministry staff will meet with communities along the corridor in the new year, to build upon past studies into transit options in the region and identify options that meet their needs.”

I see nothing about a shuttle service.

The question I have is what are the past studies and what does the consultation plan look like? That should be finished by now and available to the public.

I agree with most of the posters … shuttles, buses, etc. simply will not work.

What do we know about how these people were killed? I doubt a greyhound would have helped …… some of these communities do not even have taxis. The solution lies much deeper than shuttle services unless they were operated by the communities themselves then there might be a chance that they would make a difference.

The other thing is that the situation along 16 and 97 is really not that unique. There are several other locations in Canada as well as the USA that have similar cases of deaths following a highway. It is not that abnormal a phenomenon.

“the service was first recommended back in 2006 by the Highway of Tears symposium.”

That was the symposium ….. does one act on every suggestion at a symposium? Of course not!! The recommendations came out of the Oppal recommendation in late 2012. Spin, spin, spin ……

The problem is the hitchhiking! If a shuttle service runs only twice a day/night and is too inconvenient to wait for the person that wants to travel right now would still go out on the highway and hold out a thumb, guaranteed.

Hard to believe the present government would even entertain implementation of such an unworkable scheme! Reading the above posts makes it clear just how far out of touch with reality the BC_NDP has become!

Put any money into education about the dangers of hitchhiking!

There’s already lots of money put into ‘education’ to help protect people from themselves. I wouldn’t think anyone who hitchhikes is unaware of the risk.

“”The Northern Health bus should be taken out and these fairs given to greyhound at a discount rate dependent upon need”
Anybody that has used the Northern Health bus knows what a great service this is and there is a heck of a lot more to it than just trying to throw Grandma on a Greyhound bus with her wheelchair and IV.”

Nobody is arguing that it is not a great service, but it takes away from the ‘head count’ on Greyhound services. Greyhound has a monopoly and in exchange they have to provide ‘x’ amount of trips to and from each community. Take away their ridership with a 25 buck NH Bus and they should either be compensated or allowed to drop the required service to where they don’t lose buckets of money. Add a free community shuttle and Greyhound may as well pull out altogether. The shuttle would have to go down to Willys Puddle and Kamloops as that is where a lot of Highway of Tears victims vanished not just west of PG. Research it a bit more and I bet you could add a lot more victims south of Kamloops. A few years ago I remember a victim found around the Hope area.

The NH bus is NOT an ambulance, it is a cheap ride for patients to make appointments with health care services not in their area. They are allowed one ‘companion’ at similar fare but I have heard of more than one being allowed at companion fare if the bus is not full.

from the link below:
“Canadian police announced in 2007 they were conducting an extensive review into 13 deaths and five disappearances connected to THREE highways in British Columbia.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208693/DNA-proves-dead-U-S-convict-murdered-16-year-old-hitchhiker-Canadas-Highway-Tears-1974–hes-linked-NINE-killings-teenage-girls.html

In addition there were murders along highway(s) in Oregon.

This has been posted before when the Fowler connection was first discovered.

I think too many people around here are like those people of ancient times who believed that the sun revolved around the earth.

The common elements here are

1. highways

2. hitchhikers

3. unaware people

4. nut jobs …….

5. and, according to Oppal, police who do not take aboriginals and down and out people seriously.

I think we have some more serious problems which a shuttle will not solve.

The first problem we have is people in the BC Legislature who will use any excuse to try to score political points.

In my view this one backfires and shows their ignorance of the real world situation and what some real world solutions might be.

from the link below:

“Since the 1970s, more than 30 young women have mysteriously disappeared or been found murdered along Texas’ Interstate 45, in what has become the state’s most notorious killing spree.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2170500/The-mystery-Texas-Killing-Fields–And-man-hold-answer-30-young-women-murdered-there.html

Murders of women revolve around many more highway than those which pass through PG.

If the RCMP are doing their jobs, they should know about many of those in Canada and the USA and find the real common elements and what causes such apparent anomalies.

Remember, Texas has the death penalty and applies it liberally, so murder should no longer be a choice of the depraved.

Anyone wanting to make intelligent comment on this subject, or have any question may want to read this report first!

http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/files/PDF/highwayoftearsfinal.pdf

I believe I am sufficiently qualified to answer any questions you may have.

I’ll bite

There are many recommendation regarding transportation or lack thereof along the route. There is nothing unusual about that from my experience.

Here are my questions to you.

1.This is not the only highway in Canada or the USA which has killings along the highway. Can you tell me where there is a remote highway which has such a shuttle service and has resulted in a safe transportation corridor for hitchhikers?

2.Why 7 shuttles? At say 100km per shuttle, a shuttle would have to cover 200km total to get back to the starting point. A shuttle would average something like 50km/hr given stops, breaks for the driver, refueling, etc. That means four hours wait for the next shuttle in the direction someone wants to go. With a work shift of 8 hours 7 days per week, and at least 16 hours per day of operation, what would the annual cost be of such a service?

3.How many people that fit the profile hitchhike along the road during that same time period of 16 hours per day?

4.How many people would still hitchhike because the shuttles have inconvenient schedules that do not fit individual circumstances such as differences of opinion with parents, etc, and those who fit the profile simply take off?

5.Why do they hitchhike when we know it is dangerous and why do RCMP supposedly drive past them when they know it is dangerous and possibly even illegal in some places?

Once you provide me with those answers, which really are only a sampling, we can start a reasonable discussion.

===========================================
Recommendation #1

That a shuttle bus transportation system be established between each town and city located along the entire length of Highway 16, defined as the “The Highway of Tears”.

Except for the Greyhound Bus Line that services the Highway 16 corridor from Prince George to Prince Rupert, (twice a day from Prince George to Prince Rupert, and a once per day return trip), no other public transportation system exists.

A shuttle bus transportation system would focus on; the pickup and drop off of young female passengers at all First Nation communities, towns and cities located along the entire length of the highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert.

During the spring, summer, fall, and perhaps even winters months of operation, these shuttle buses must also stop and pickup every young woman they encounter walking or hitchhiking between those First Nation communities, towns, and cities on this Highway.

The number of shuttle buses required would be exactly seven (7) to cover the entire 724 kilometre length of the Highway of Tears

The idea of having a shuttle to pick up hitch hikers is beyond stupid. Now you will have more hitchikers waiting for a free ride, putting themselves at more risk.

It’s to easy

Make sure you have a save ride for any trip you are taking.. It’s up the person to make sure they are safe. It’s not for the rest of society to keep,paying for their bad decisions.

Anytime you stick out your thumb for a ride you are risking your safety…

People#1 is qualified to answer any question due to having a link to the 2006 symposium?

Saric-Auger disappeared from a trip to the mall not hitchhiking and was found East of PG by Tabor Mountain

Germaine also was not hitchhiking along the highway as is the same with Thiara both were 15, friends and worked the streets of PG in 1994.

Derrick was walking down a street in Terrace (not hitchhiking) and lived in Terrace and went to school in Terrace so what is the connection with the highway or need for shuttles?

Although horribly tragic and nothing can ever take away from this – shuttles would not have helped these four women in the least

The symposium was a brainstorming session. It had all the ideas. Anyone who knows and understands brainstorming sessions will know that each single one of them will have to pass by a realism screening of how to implement an idea and whether that implementation will have a chance to be fruitful.

People #1 does not seem to understand that little detail. Neither does brainiack who is leading the BC NDP to destruction.

It is impossible to help people who refuse to help themselves.

The Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendations Report contains the answers to every single question you have asked Gus. Why don’t you read it?

The answer to your question #5 can be found on page 18 section D-2 Situation Analysis. Read the report first and perhaps then perhaps we can have a decent discussion of the issues.

Amazing, how everyone thinks a shuttle service is so pie-in-the-sky unrealistic thinking when the Northern Health Shuttle Bus service accomplishes as much for Northern Health patients through out Northern BC.

The only reason most all of the recommendations in that report have not been implemented is because of a lack of leadership and dedicated resources.

I remember when the report was first presented to the BC Liberal Government and then the following day to the general public at a media conference on June 21, 1996 at Fort George Park. The government representative of the day said publicly “they will knock down all government department silos” to find the resources to implement those 33 recommendations.

Seven years later and all I hear are the sounds of crickets!!!

Lets see how many people can take the time to find out the answer to this question:

There is symbolism contained in the design of the report’s cover, what is the significance of the tears in relation to the report?

Only someone privileged to the development and/or editing, review and approval of the report would know the answer to that question!

“Amazing, how everyone thinks a shuttle service is so pie-in-the-sky unrealistic thinking when the Northern Health Shuttle Bus service accomplishes as much for Northern Health patients through out Northern BC.”

Not amazing at all. Two different purposes.

The report glosses over and just makes passing reference to the most obvious area, the responsibility of the parent or guardian that allows a 14 or 15 year old to hitchhike in the first place. Having lived outside of city limits have spent a lot of time driving kids to activities and to and from friends houses and could not even think of allowing kids of that age to stand on the highway with their thumb out.

Unless a shuttle offers door to door service it will do nothing to help the situation. In fact it may do more harm than good as a perv will save gas money having to no longer drive the roads to look for victims but simply wait at the shuttle drop off point and wait. Soon enough a lone female will step off and be just as vulnerable as she was hitch-hiking.

The report does little to nail down the root causes only addresses the symptoms of the problem.

“There is symbolism contained in the design of the report’s cover, what is the significance of the tears in relation to the report?”

Are you for real people#1?

There are more important issues than symbolisms on covers of reports.

Try the first nine victims ….. doubled to 18 …..

“lack of…dedicated resources.”

Poverty is not an excuse for parental neglect.

You got it lonesome sparrow. Some of the other suggestions are good and there are some that have been done … signs, yes, how many, I do not know.

Who is championing the symposium’s recommendation? Hopefully not people#1, except maybe as a helper.

Police also seem to have spent more money on finding some answers. DO not know whether that has continued or dropped off.

Six years ago …. where is the follow up report on a year by year checklist of what has been done and what has been effective.

What are the numbers like today?

What other murders do we have along the highway. How about this one who transportation?

http://www.theprovince.com/news/bc/Vanderhoof+area+event+will+mark+second+anniversary+young+woman/8410379/story.html

“Only someone privileged to the development and/or editing, review and approval of the report would know the answer to that question!”

Hey …. great iconic image if the meaning is a big secret for insiders. Totally meaningless in that case!!!!!

Poverty is not an excuse for being murdered either lonesome!

Poverty and crime are inexorably linked, BC has the highest child poverty rate in Canada, and we are also the most violent and dangerous place to live in Canada. Go figure that one out!

Good on the NDP for trying to get some action on the shuttle bus recommendation, a recommendation first appearing in the Highway of Tears Report and then championed and promoted by the Wally Opal Missing and Murdered Women’s Commission Report.

Imagine that… a Liberal insider such as Wally Opal recommending the shuttle bus recommendation be implemented, yet being ignored by the very government he was a part of.

Hey Gus, like some of our Liberal politicians, how about I invite you, along with them, to the next Highway of Tears Symposium? You and those lIberal politicians can then stand up on stage with microphone in hand to tell all the parents and family members of the murdered and missing women, how expensive it is to implement a shuttle bus system and that future lives.. well those lives are just not as important as the money that need to be spent to keep them safe!

With this Liberal Government there is no “business case” for saving women’s lives, so lets just move on folks!!!

People#1 wrote: “The Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendations Report contains the answers to every single question you have asked Gus. Why don’t you read it?”

I read it. There are no answers to any of the questions I posed. You said you could answer the questions. You overstated you abilities.

If you want to prove you did not embelish your capabilities, then the proof lies in your answering the questions.

Very simple People#1. Especially for you it should be very simple.

Oh and by the way Gus, there are nine (9) victims in the report’s dedication pages, each tear on the report cover represents one of those nine victims!

“Poverty is not an excuse for being murdered either”

….accident that parental neglect was again glossed over? Maybe your fingerprints are all over this report.

I know plenty of people with very limited resources that would NEVER allow their 14 yo children to hitch hike.

How long before…

“Any RCMP highway patrol that encounters a hitchhiker, who falls within the victim profile,must stop, conduct a person check, provide the hitchhiker with a highway of tears information pamphlet and a schedule of the shuttle bus between the town and city they are located at. Furthermore, the RCMP patrol should encourage the hitchhiker to wait for the shuttle bus, or next mode of transportation listed under recommendation #4”

turns into a headline that reads “RCMP racially profiling first nations youth”

The report contains 33 recommendations, almost half of those recommendations are aimed at preventing more murdered and missing women along that stretch of highway.

One of those recommendations was to address the lack of cell phone coverage and emergency response rates in isolated section of that highway. Never mind getting in touch with authorities when someone see something suspicious along the road way, what about coming up to vehicle accidents where there is no cell phone coverage, talk about that “golden hour” the accident victims need to have medical attention in! May as well keep driving down the highway until you find some house to make that all important phone call to the police and ambulance.

Wow… talk about a no-brainer recommendation that would actually save lives, seven years later and all I hear are crickets! Forget about the whole helicopter rescue initiative to save precious time, how can anyone even contact them at the scene of an accident where there is no cell phone service?

Interesting lonesome, a full half of the murdered and missing women on that highway were in fact women and not girls.

Nicole Hoar was not a native that did fit the victim profile, she disappeared hitch hiking along that highway, and no where in that report does it say stop all aboriginal women from which hiking. In fact all women, regardless of race, can and will be preyed upon by some sick predator(s) who I believe actually hunt in this area.

*hitch hiking

1971 to 1983 … 28 murders on Southern Trans Canada route from Calgary to Kamloops/Merritt. All still unsolved. Other than a transvestite, all were female, most were hitchhiking

http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkillers/C/CANADA_HIGHWAY_murders.php

*hitchhiking……

*hitch-hiking

*hitching a ride

Not hitch hiking :-)

So, seven (7) years have passed and not one of the report’s 33 recommendations have been implemented to any extent, save a couple of billboards being erected along that highway.

I know the report’s author personally, maybe it’s time a recommendation to host another Highway of Tears Symposium be held. Time for some accountability, time to hold some official feet under the fire!

“were in fact women”…

As adults should have know better than stick their thumb out alone on a “highway of tears” to save on bus fare.

Question. If I took a holiday to Laredo Mexico because I got a smoking deal who is responsible when my headless body is found hanging from a bridge?

“another Highway of Tears Symposium be held”….may I suggest a few mirrors be available in the room as it my cut down on all the finger pointing.

Never mind all the other recommendations.

Let me deal with the key one without which nothing else will move on its own.

Recommendation

That a Board of Directors (Governing Body) be established to; provide direction and support in all four areas of this Highway of Tears Community Initiative; and manage the Legacy Fund.

Strategically, this Board of Directors, (Highway of Tears Community Governing Body), should represent the interests and concerns of: the RCMP, Highway 16 Cities and Municipalities, Rural Highway 16 First Nation communities, and the Highway 16 Urban Aboriginal population, and most importantly the Victims Families. These are the five major stakeholders of concern for the Highway of Tears missing and murdered women. Other Board members can and should be recruited based on interest, skills, and abilities to effect action and positive change.

The Highway 16 cities and municipalities should meet and reach agreement to appoint one representative to the Board.

Has that been achieved. Does not look like it. So, find out from your friend why not.

There are a multitude of Native organizations listed with the 91 at the end of the summary report.

Should be an easy task if those organizations are serious.

Someone has to take ownership. The report indicates that the Board be that entity.

The report actually recommends an annual symposium.

How to quickly create disinterest.

You know, when a company or a city or a senior government needs to be audited, they go to an external auditor.

In my opinion, Canada cannot deal with the plight of the First Nations on its own. It really needs to listen to some outsiders who come in and look with an objective eye what is happening and do not start by attributing blame to anyone. Just pen you eyes, see what is happening understand it, then try to improve the plight of the people.

I think one needs to read the view from a non Canadian about how First Nations, especially in the central and northern interior of BC, live.

Someone needs to change this!!! Nobody seems to care, neither First Nations or the rest of us.

Land claims, land claims, land claims ……. that is all that is on everyone’s minds.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/highway-of-tears-the-unsolved-murders-of-indigenous-women-in-canada-a-842410.html

The report contains the recommendation for an annual symposium specifically from the interest and need for family members of the many missing and murdered women / girls.

It sounds kind of strange but they sought solace and comfort among themselves, perhaps because only they could know what the other families were going through. An annual symposium would have been a type of coming together and healing journey of sorts for those family members, I would guess.

The lack of dedicated resources to find drowned family members in our area lakes is another sticking point with me. While they maybe dead, their bodies are still missing and families want closure. Yet here we are again, leave it up to the families to find their own drowned loved ones. All that we would need is just one two person specialty team with the right sonar / scanning equipment to cover the entire province.

This two person team could find a lot of missing bodies in our area lakes, and give closure to a lot of grieving families. But once again, where is the business case for providing such a service?

Come on, can’t we be a bit realistic?

So, a body was found in Francois Lake. It was the wrong body. The recently presumably drowned person should still be in the lake if he actually drowned.

That does not mean we have to continue to search for that individual or hundreds of people who MAY be in some lake somewhere because someone who has killed them has dumped them in a nearby lake or a nearby wetland, or a nearby cave, or buried them virtually anywhere in the wilderness.

A needle in the haystack is what we are looking for and we do not even know whether there is a needle in the first place.

Can we please stay a bit realistic?

Just think, would anyone have done that who lived here 500 years ago? Even 100 years ago? People were simply gone. One can only do so much.

When it comes to likely murder, well, then we wish to go into a prevention mode, which is much more important.

How do we prevent the next murder, and how do we prevent the next drowning?

Has anyone noticed that this thread has stayed open for longer than the apparent current standard of 24 hours?

Let me guess..this annual session to sit around the campfire and sing Koom-By-Ahhhh will be funded by the legacy fund (read taxpayers) As gus said far better to spend the money on prevention.

The body recently found in Francois Lake was in the lake for some 30 years, that there was anything other than bones after that amount of time suggests he was very deep so the 15′ boat with the side scan would be useless in a 1700′ deep lake.

Gus states; “can we please be a bit realistic” when it comes to body recovery of drowning victims.

To increase their odds of recovering Neville, family and supporters have brought in the Ralsons, a deep-water recovery specialist duo that has successfully recovered more than 80 bodies from various bodies of water all over the continent.

Ralston and Associates is a water sciences company that typically works for industry and government on various projects from fish inventories to water quality surveys to environmental permit verifications.

When they can, they use their sophisticated equipment and specialist knowledge to help grieving families find closure, when a body is missing in a large body of water. There are expenses to pay for, but they conduct much of this work at greatly discounted rates.

Neville’s sister Jaycille said calls were made to the Ralstons within days of her brother’s incident. They were not immediately available, but are now scheduled to arrive at Francois Lake within the next few days.

“They told us at first they had other commitments,” said Jaycille, but the family was not disheartened. “They have already been to B.C. a couple of times this year, helping to locate missing people at Shuswap Lake and Nicola Lake, so when they say they have prior commitments we know it wasn’t having tea with the neighbours.”

The problem with the searches up until now, said Jaycille, was an uncertain sense of Neville’s last location. His nephew has done his best to remember, but the crisis conditions clouded his perceptions.

“The Ralstons have been awesome to deal with, and the whole community has been amazing with all the support,” said Jaycille. “People have been showing up on the doorstep with food, money, ‘what do you want us to get for you?’, whatever they can do. It’s an amazing community.”

She is frustrated, however, with the region’s lack of infrastructure.

“I can’t believe the Lakes District has so little equipment and expertise for water rescues and recoveries,” Jaycille said. “The province really should think about how to take care of that. It happened to us, and it is going to happen to other people.” *PG Citizen

Well Gus, over 80 bodies recovered so far, like my suggestion that you attend the next Highway of Tears Symposium to tell the family members of murdered and missing women all those recommendations are too expensive, lets get you in front of all those family members who’s loved ones are missing in the numerous lakes in the area.

You certainly would not be a shining beacon of hope for them would you. No… just like the Highway of Tears victims and their families, your message would be the same; too expensive and too time consuming lets move on folks! Thanks for sharing your the ray of sunshine and hope Gus and lonesome.

Hmm… funny how the rest of the province gets an “Amber Alert” system to help locate missing kids, but up north here, we get nothing! No doubt we have a lack of resources up here, but according to Gus and lonesome, who cares?

“AMBER Alert is a province-wide, innovative partnership”

http://bc.cb.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=154&languageId=1&contentId=4697

Might want to check your facts as province wide includes “up north here”

Also expanded by Christy Clark and Shirley Bond

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2012/04/premier-launches-expanded-amber-alert-to-keep-kids-safe.html

There would be far fewer drowning victims if they would wear the life jackets while out on the water rather than have them tucked under a seat or something meeting the minimum standard by just having one available for each person on board.

And if you asked someone in the know a lot of those recovered have their fly open and were standing in the boat making room for more beer when they fell over board so in that sense are partially responsible for their own demise.

Money far better spent on health care or education rather than dragging lakes that may or may not produce a body.

Reading through the link none of the highway of tear victims would have met the criteria to trigger an Amber Alert.

I think that report was written by the Illuminati – secret symbols on the cover only to be shared with those in the know and the answers to all of Gus’ questions apparently hidden in some code inside…

Well I just hope no one who has a missing loved one drowned in any of the area’s lakes, or family members of any missing or murdered loved one are reading your posts!

Why, even after a Liberal insider like Wally Opal, recommends a shuttle system for the north in his Commission Report, does this provincial government continue to drag it’s feet?

Northern BC needs this resource for the poor and to assist women who we know are being preyed upon, to get around. How strange that Gus, lonesome, and interceptor would be against such a resource being established for the north.

The three of you should stay away from politics, we wouldn’t want you representing us down south saying a shuttle system for the north is too expensive, we don’t need it!!! As more women continue to hitchhike and disappear from our roads and highways!

Maybe, too little progress has been made on the highway of tears report recommendations because we have too many Gus’s and lonesome’s and interceptors up here!

Still no reply from people#1 as to why almost half (4) of the highway of tears victims were not in fact hitchhiking on the said highway. There is no actual proof even that the other victims hitchhiking event lead to their demise, it is just the last place they were seen. Maybe they made their destination only to befall a fate there, we will never know on most of the remaining 5 cases.

A shuttle is not the answer unless you can actually design a system whereby these remaining 5 victims would have actually used a shuttle if it were available. Also how do you make it available for those who really need it to take and not to every TDH to use?

You said that you were qualified to answer any questions….have seen no evidence of that so will ask three questions about the shuttle that were originally asked by gus……

“2. Why 7 shuttles? At say 100km per shuttle, a shuttle would have to cover 200km total to get back to the starting point. A shuttle would average something like 50km/hr given stops, breaks for the driver, refueling, etc. That means four hours wait for the next shuttle in the direction someone wants to go. With a work shift of 8 hours 7 days per week, and at least 16 hours per day of operation, what would the annual cost be of such a service?

3. How many people that fit the profile hitchhike along the road during that same time period of 16 hours per day?

4. How many people would still hitchhike because the shuttles have inconvenient schedules that do not fit individual circumstances such as differences of opinion with parents, etc, and those who fit the profile simply take off?”

……I await your response.

Oops, have to add that the 4 are from the symposium list. RCMP list goes clear down south along 97 as well as highway 5. Change it to Province of Tears maybe. Free shuttle for all of BC is the only answer Wally!

School Bussing in School District No. 57

“Each day of the school year, approximately 4500 students ride school busses to and from school, for a total of around 11,500 kilometres a day. District bussing is contracted to Diversified Transportation Ltd., which operates 64 regular and 13 custom routes daily, and they do a remarkable job in maintaining the highest level of student safety.”

Wow if just one school district can arrange bussing on that massive scale, how could a mere 7 buss be shuttle system be such a problem. Imagine a subsidized transportation system moving people around the north, traveling safely from one two to the next, safer for female tree planters that frequent the area and are seen hitchhiking along that corridor every spring and summer. Safer for all women, particularly those who are impoverished, living in the north, traveling into town and city centres. These are the ones who could travel into town to buy the essential foods groceries, or health, social, dental care services they require.

No longer would women and children living at or below the poverty line have to risk hitchhiking because they do not own their own cars, with many not even possessing drivers licenses. There are many families living in the north that are too poor to own their own vehicles. Hmm… spend $100 on much needed food, or spend that same amount on a Grey Hound Bus ticket to travel to a town or city with nothing for money to buy food.

Odd that the report specifically states POVERTY is the main reason women are forced to hitchhike on that highway, and yet your big answer is to BUY a bus ticket. Umm BUY a bus ticket, when you only have $100 on you with no bank account, I think most would risk hitchhiking for free and spend that $100 on groceries so their kids could eat.

The majority of the posts I have read on this discussion thread are about questions, yet none of you present any coherent and reasonable answers or solutions to prevent more of these women from disappearing or being murdered.

It always seems to be the weak and the destitute that get victimized in our society, but that right… it’s always their fault isn’t it?

“She is frustrated, however, with the region’s lack of infrastructure.”

Goes with the territory of living up north. Want better infrastructure. Get lost in the North shore mountains.

Easy …. we all lament the fact we have no infrastructure here.

Try Fort Nelson.

If that is still not remote enough for you, try Dease Lake ….

Then try Telegraph Creek.

Or how about trying a Nadleh village before contact with whites.

Be a bit more realistic!!!!

I see circles …. the same circle over and over again.

Time to get off …. bye.

“And if you asked someone in the know a lot of those recovered have their fly open and were standing in the boat making room for more beer when they fell over board”

good one!!! … LOL …

and quite possibly true.

So now it is no longer about underage girls and young women hitch hiking but in essence a free taxi service between communities for people with limited income…. two completely different kettles of fish and did not fall under the recommendations of the Opal Inquiry.

What if the husband wants to come along or if he is by himself?

There is a service in place to cover medical appointments, all of the towns that I have driven through along that stretch have a grocery store etc and the social service agencies can make arrangements for other types of appointments if deemed necessary.

Wow, hundreds of recommendations from the four symposium break out groups were reviewed by a consultant who authored the Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendations Report, the contents of which was vetted thoroughly by a committee consisting of City, RCMP and multiple agency stakeholder representatives.

Hours upon hours of report review by some of the best expert minds in the North,all to select the most realistic and achievable Victim Prevention; Emergency Planning an Team Readiness; Victim Counseling and Support; Community Development and Support;recommendations to be contained in that report. Recommendations which were further affirmed and supported by Wally Opal’s Missing Women Commission Report… all falling short of being “realistic” according to some members of the Opinion 250 peanut gallery.

Would love to get Gus, lonesome, Slinky and interceptor in a room together to produce a missing women’s report. Now that would be an interesting read ;-)

Good on the NDP for championing a shuttle bus serviced for us in the north, at least someone is looking out for northern interests!