Our Story
Hon. Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture
and Sport at 2012 season launch event
Parkbus was born in 2010 as a private initiative by a group of outdoor enthusiasts, who wanted to make outdoor destinations in Ontario accessible by public transportation. We started small with a pilot project to connect Toronto and Algonquin Provincial Park on a few select weekends. After meeting with Algonquin Park's team and working out the details, we partnered with Hammond Transportation to make the service a reality in the summer of 2010.
After a successful 2010 season, Parkbus became a project of Transportation Options (T.O.), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering sustainable tourism and transportation in Ontario. Since 1992, T.O. has worked collaboratively to research, develop and promote new initiatives that are integrated, environmentally sound, healthy, service oriented and focused on improving the experience of users. Other projects of Transportation Options include award-winning Bike Train Initiative and the Welcome Cyclists Network.
Passengers drop-off in Killarney
In 2012, Ontario Trillium Foundation made a crucial commitment to Parkbus project with a two year grant, allowing the initiative to expand and grow as it pursues a financially sustainable, long-growth model that will benefit people of Ontario, our province's tourism industry and natural areas that it now connects with our cities.
Parkbus Team
Boris Issaev Founder & Project Manager
|
Alex Z. Berlyand Co-Founder & Operations Manager
|
Louisa Mursell Projects Director, Transportation Options
lmursell@transportationoptions.org |
Joanne Hurley Finance and Administration
jhurley@transportationoptions.org |
Alexandra Pokras Graphic Designer
|
Volunteers
Our volunteers are key to the success of the project, and every season these talented people dedicate their time and energy to Parkbus participating in Parkbus Ambassador Program. If you are interested in joining our team this year, please take a look at the program description, and feel free to get in touch with us.