Education Inequality Via Transit?

Lakehead Orillia has a very interesting transportation problem, one that can only be described as an interesting byproduct of the university's unique placement, and even more unique student body.
        Despite a 12.3% increase in countywide ridership last year, the Simcoe county LINX transit system continues to miss one of the region’s most critical commuter windows: Route 3, a route which connects Barrie and Orillia and carries a staggering 63,000 riders annually this line drastically effects classes at Lakehead Orillia. These classes regularly run until 8:00 PM, Orilla’s own public transportation shuts down around 10:15 PM, whereas the Simcoe LINX system’s final bus departs from the university at 6:00 PM, forcing those without cars to pay for private transportation such as an Uber or Taxi, or skip their evening classes. One education student at Lakehead Orillia says “I ended up dropping a course and electing to take it online instead because there wouldn’t have been one [LINX bus] running at the time the class was scheduled to end.”  This line simply does not operate late enough for the students at Lakehead University. 

         Another student in his second year of history, took some time to sit down with me. When asked if he had any thoughts about the Orillia local transit, he explained that “lectures end almost exactly when the bus arrives. I am not exactly sure what could be done, but perhaps many students wouldn’t feel the need to rush from their classes to catch them if the buses to the campus took just a few extra minutes to get there. There would also be less waiting time for students if they came a little later*.”

The issue with delivering frequent, well planned, and reliable transportation isn’t related to demand, especially with the Simcoe LINX transit system’s increased ridership over the years. Instead, the issue lies within the transit planning of Orillia and Simcoe county. These two governing bodies have made the choice to conduct planning not on the basis of students' lived experience. Rather they provide a blanket solution that works for some, but fails many. As the Georgian Orillia campus ends, the region's demand is likely to consolidate around Lakehead consequently, this gap between transit planning and student needs will only deepen. For a student population represented on the Orillia Transit Advisory Committee, the lack of reliable, frequent evening service suggests their seat at the table has not translated into service that meets their needs. The result is a transit system that expects students to schedule their education around bus times, and not the other way around.