Transportation Challenges in Williams Lake: Equity and Social Justice

Stakeholder Engagement

Inadequate public transportation is a significant challenge in rural Canadian communities. Transportation costs are a key economic stressor on low-income communities, and a lack of access can lead to social exclusion, lost job opportunities, and missed school days.

While Williams Lake does have a public transportation system, its service leaves much to be desired. Last February, the Social Planning Council (SPC) held a Williams Lake Transit Service Key Stakeholders Workshop with community members and BC Transit. Their key findings included:

1. Safety concerns with the placement of bus stops;
2. Lack of late-night service for night school students and late-shift workers ;
3. No Sunday service;
4. Difficulty of buying bus passes;
5. No service to surrounding areas; and
6. Service is limited to once an hour.

Hitch-hiking

In lieu of a reliable transit option, many community members have turned to hitch-hiking. Relying on hitch-hiking as an informal public transportation system also comes with risks. Women, and particularly indigenous women are vulnerable to predators while hitch-hiking (Amnesty International 2004). Highway 16, which runs through Williams Lake has been dubbed the “Highway of Tears” after dozens of women went missing on the roads between Prince George and Prince Rupert. The 2006 Highway of Tears Symposium Report, published by the United British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) identifies public transportation as a key contributor to the vulnerability of indigenous women in British Columbia:

Many of the First Nation Communities (Indian Reserves) along Highway 16 are situated many miles from town and city centers. A majority of these First Nation communities do not have the business, recreation, or other services that are available in the towns and cities. Poverty, coupled with the need to buy essential items such as food and clothing requires travell (sic) from these communities to the nearest town or city.

There is a lack of recreational infrastructure and social activities for the youth who live in many of these First Nation Communities. These youth have travelled, and will continue to travel by any means necessary, to the nearest town or city to access and participate in recreational and social activities. (UBCIC Report 2006, 20)

It is our hope that transportation planning in Williams Lake will provide innovative solutions to transportation planning that can be applied elsewhere, and contribute to the ongoing work to create safer, more equitable communities in rural Canada.

A sign on the Highway of Tears warns girls not to hitch-hike.

 References

Amnesty International (Canada). Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to Discrimination and Violence Against Aboriginal Women in Canada. Ottawa: Amnesty International (Canada), 2004.

UBCIC, “Highway of Tears” Symposium Broad Recommendations. Online: http://www.highwayoftears.ca/ recommendations.htm

“Highway of Tears” by Izithombe – Flickr: Highway of Tears. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highway_of_Tears.jpg#/media/File:Highway_of_Tears.jpg