The Walt Morris Group of Companies is picking up the route Beaver Bus lines dropped with commuter service between Selkirk and Winnipeg.
The announcement Friday of a partnership between Exclusive Bus Lines and Selkirk Transit was released was made on Twitter.
The news came as welcome relief to Selkirk.
"People will be excited about that. There’s no other way of getting to Winnipeg from Selkirk unless you have a car," Selkirk resident Ian Kathwaroon said.
The owner of the Walt Morris Group of Companies, which includes Exclusive Bus Lines, said he’s delighted to have struck a partnership with Selkirk Transit to keep the service going.
"We are very excited, and we’re looking forward to this new endeavour," Walt Morris said in a phone interview.
The partnership will dovetail the existing transit service in Selkirk with the new commuter service to Winnipeg, Morris said.
"Two heads are better than one and it really helps to streamline the public transit with the commuter service, to make it easier for the ridership," Morris said.
The commuter service is due to start at the beginning of July, Morris said, adding he expected there would be no interruption in service.
"The schedule will come out very shortly," Morris said.
Beaver Bus Lines announced a couple of months ago it was the end of the line for its commuter service as of July 1. It runs a week-day service Monday to Friday between Winnipeg and Selkirk.
The biggest difference between the old service and the new one are the departure locations.
Riders currently catch the Beaver bus from at the Selkirk Bus Depot on Main Street. And in Winnipeg, commuters depart from the Balmoral Street and Ellice Avenue bus stop.
Exclusive Bus Lines will operate an express from Selkirk to St. Andrews which will go on directly to the downtown campus of the University of Winnipeg on Portage Avenue.
The Walt Morris Group of Companies is a transit and auto conglomerate in Winnipeg. It includes Winnipeg Dodge, Winnipeg Collision and Auto Glass, Winnipeg Auto-Spa, Winnipeg Rent-A-Car, Walt Morris Auto, Walt Morris Powersports, Red River Co-op Speedway and Exclusive Bus Lines.