Green bus in sight, beach-goer’s delight! As of May 15, FlixBus has expanded its service to three Ontario beach towns: Sauble Beach, Southampton, and Port Elgin. The new destinations are a seasonal extension of the existing Toronto to Owen Sound route.
Service will run daily over the summer months. By adding to an existing route, these areas are now linked to Toronto, Mississauga, Barrie, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood, Blue Mountain Village, Thornbury, Meaford, Owen Sound, and the South Bruce Peninsula.
FlixBus services 40 locations across the province. Many of these locations, including the three new stops and others along their route, are not easily reached through public transportation. Despite its popularity, Saugeen Shores—which includes Southampton and Port Elgin—is without consistent inter- and intracity transit services.
“It’s difficult to get transit in our neck of the woods, particularly to the GTA. We’ve had options in the past, but they’ve gone away in recent years,” says Luke Charbonneau, the mayor of Saugeen Shores. “To have daily connections to Union Station, Sauble Beach, and points in between, is great news for our community.”
Saugeen Shores is 30 km south of Sauble Beach, and its economy is dependent on agriculture and nuclear power. Tourism, says Mayor Charbonneau, is a strong and necessary third economic pillar, which the town is excited to expand.
“We have always remained open to transit operators wanting to come here. It usually comes down to a financial decision. I really believe this is a viable route for their business. A lot of people want to make this trip,” he says.
And he’s not wrong—visitors from Ontario and beyond flock to Saugeen Shores’s Lake Huron beaches every year, more than doubling their population of 16,000 permanent residents. Up until this point, the vast majority of these seasonal citizens will have had no choice but to travel there by car.
The lack of public transportation has also meant a lack of access heading out. For permanent residents in the community, FlixBus’s arrival puts new destinations within their reach.
“A lot of people have cars, but lots of people don’t. Or some prefer not to use them—say, if they’re going into the GTA, or to Pearson to fly somewhere, or if they have business in Toronto,” says Mayor Charbonneau. “Having a transit option is critical. It is really about freedom for a lot of people.”
FlixBus picks up and drops off passengers at central public locations in Sauble Beach, Southampton, and Port Elgin. The Toronto to Port Elgin route begins at Union Station Bus Terminal at 7:30 a.m. daily, and the return trip departs from the Tim Horton’s parking lot on Goderich Street at 1:35 p.m. Fares average $45 each direction.
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