Athabasca’s Lincoln County Oilfield Services co-owners Carrie and Mike Duncan and Darwin Deleeuw have donated a new coach bus to the Athabasca community.
In February, the owners felt the need to give something back to the community, so they purchased a used coach bus from a touring company in Toronto and had it transported to Calgary where, over the course of six months, and was retrofitted to like-new condition.
According to Lincoln County Oilfield Services business manager Brad Sakowich, a number of community associations have expressed interest in the bus.
“Our goal is to have as many community groups as we can utilize the bus,” said Sakowich. “The bus itself isn’t for one group or one sport. We want as much as use as (possible); we want everyone to have the opportunity to use the bus throughout the year at some time.”
Sakowich said the intent was not to turn a profit, but rather to allow people to use the bus at cost; the only requirement is covering the cost of the driver and fuel.
“We just want people to know this bus isn’t (just) for sports organizations. It is for the community to use,” said Sakowich. “We want to make this as cost-effective as we can for the community to use it.”
A new seating configuration is similar to a train, with some seats and tables facing one another. There were originally 56 seats, but some have been taken out, reducing the capacity to 44 passengers to be more comfortable.
LED lights have been installed inside, as well as a 20-inch flat-screen television at the rear of the bus for rear-facing passengers.
Next spring, the bus will be transported to Calgary, where WiFi will be installed.
On Nov. 8, the Athabasca Aces took the bus on its maiden voyage to a game in Mayerthorpe.
“They were very satisfied with how the bus met their needs,” said Sakowich.
The Aces’ team bus was destroyed in a fatal head-on collision in February.
“This bus will last for years. We ensured this was a very good quality bus when we bought it, and we anticipate using this bus for years to come,” said Sakowich.
