We speak about equality. We'll leave Via Rail for a minute, because that's right in a major hub of the world. I just look at equality when it comes to a smaller city. Even Corner Brook in Newfoundland, which is a very small city, does get funds from the infrastructure fund for transit.
If we could avail ourselves of a portion of the funds there, even as a private operator.... I know sometimes you'll get private operators, but throw it on the table: “There are the books. That's where we're at. Look at the cost per kilometre for metro buses or some transit or whatever, and look up what we can do it for.”
I think one way it can be done is if there were some assets that could be put there to operate motorcoaches, just some way to recoup some of the costs. Also, what kind of service do you really want to have? We're running once a day from St. John's to Port aux Basques. It's about 1,000 kilometres each way, 986 kilometres each way. It's a long jog, but a very little help per kilometre per year would make a significant difference in what we could carry out as enhanced service, with twice-a-day service for a portion of the area to try to give more availability.
The dollar value is not significant to make this happen. We're the last game. When we stop, there will be no public transit across the island. We're it. It's not like somewhere that, as you're saying, has Via Rail or some operators or some shuttles and whatever. No one's leaving Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, on a shuttle bus and going to St. John's. That's 986 kilometres. It's not happening. They're not going from Corner Brook. They're not going from central Newfoundland. It just doesn't happen.
It's not only that; we operate in some pretty harsh, rough conditions there. If we're not out there in something that's good, dependable and durable, as my good Newfoundland saying goes, we'll be in the rhubarb before you know it. We have to operate this so that we won't be where we don't want to be.
Thanks.