Orillia’s Transit Problem
Originally built in 2010, Lakehead University’s Orillia Campus has seen overall splendid
success. Approximately 2,000 to 2,500 students attend, with half from Simcoe County rather
than just within Orillia’s borders. Unfortunately, for the 1,000 plus students who come from any
number of communities outside of Orillia, there are only 366, each with a price tag of $6 for a
day ($3 is the night rate), a fictional semester pass that is not even available for purchase but
listed on the school’s website for $164, a Rotary Place pass which includes a jaunt through a
cornfield between Orillia’s sportsplex and the main academic building an academic year pass
(September to April) is $328, and lastly the annual pass at $492.
Did I mention that purchasing any of these passes in advance does not guarantee a
parking spot? For the three years I was in undergrad, I paid for the Academic pass, and for at
least the first month of each semester there was always a fight for parking spaces. A tradition
repeated throughout the semester when the main campus hosts events such as craft shows or
yearly conferences; all of which are amazing and key parts of our Lakehead community, but
ultimately affect the usability of the campus parking lot.
Katherine Ketelaar, a recent graduate of the HBASc Interdisciplinary program, explains
the pros and cons of being a commuting student with a drive that averages forty-five minutes.
“I purchased the parking pass in my third year, and it wasn’t the main pass. It was for the
parking lot on the other side of the field, which felt like a waste of money. It added 10 minutes to
my commute in the winter since I needed to walk around to the front. Which wasn’t maintained
well by the city, so for my own safety and comfort, I would pay for the day pass in the winter,
negating the point of the other parking pass.”
While commuting in itself is not half bad, external factors such as parking or even
weather often affect commuters of all types. Though a pretty drive in the spring or fall, Ketelaar
calls the winter drive “Another story,” as safety and road conditions became ultimate factors in
her success as a student.
“Often I would find the early morning classes get too much when I would also need to
spend an extra 30 minutes each morning to dig out my car. It becomes easy to justify skipping
classes during bad weather, even if the weather in Orillia is fine. And it’s not just the commute to
school that becomes an issue in the winter. During my final year, in the first semester, I had a
12-hour day at school so I could complete a psychology paper because I wanted to just sit and
lock in. When I left around 10 or 11 PM, the roads were icy. I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me. I
called my partner, nearly crying, just wanting to be on the phone in case something happened to
me. Genuinely, I was driving blind.” She later added, “It would be nice to know there are
resources for students who can’t make it home when the weather is bad.”
With commuting to Lakehead Orillia, it isn’t just students who use personal
transportation who are affected by a lack of adequate space or winter conditions. Julia
Richmond, a first-year student in the Bachelor of Education program who previously studied at
Orillia during her undergrad, is a frequent user of the student bus.
“I belong to a one-car family, so that leaves me with only a few options. My husband
works, so I have to use the bus system for all my daily commuting. I am so thankful that my
student card gives me free bus access, but I have found that bus arrival times are quite
inconvenient with class times.”
For most full-time students at Lakehead Orillia, the bus pass is automatically included
with student fees at a price tag of $168 and is valid from September 1st to August 31st. For
students such as Richmond, the bus pass is great but comes with strings of complications of its
own.
“My success in in-person classes is entirely dependent on my ability to get to class.
Often, because of road conditions, the bus line will change for the safety of its passengers. This
is all well and good, except when it is my stop/road/bus line that they cancel. On several
occasions, I have had to email professors to let them know that the bus lines are down and I have
no way to make it to school.”
Both driving and busing students go through acrobatic-like planning with their time. Yet
there seems to be no specific plan to fix either issue for commuting students. In January 2026,
Simcoe County and Lakehead Orillia announced an investment of 15 million dollars into the
campus over the course of ten years. In an article written by CTV Barrie’s Cheryl Browne, the
money is for new campus space such as “teaching spaces, Indigenous learning and gathering
centre, student programming space, and a new centralized student services hub,” allowing the
student population to increase up to 3,500. But no true plan to help commuters.
Between winter road conditions, construction, parking lot roulette, and bus schedules,
there are multiple hoops a commuting student jumps through just to get to their seat in class.