Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 18
Iqaluit Launches First Bus Line as Nunavut Capital Grows Since 1999
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 18

Iqaluit Launches First Bus Line as Nunavut Capital Grows Since 1999

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 18

Summary

  • Iqaluit has begun its first bus service, giving Canada’s northernmost city a public transit line for the first time.
  • Jacinto Marques, 36, founded and runs the operation after buying a main bus on eBay from Philadelphia and a backup school bus from Edmonton.
  • The route links key stops across the small Arctic city, including downtown, the main hospital and the steep Road to Nowhere.
  • The launch comes as Iqaluit keeps expanding as Nunavut’s capital, drawing more government jobs and residents since the territory was created in 1999.

Insights

With billions in federal funding for Arctic growth, is a single private bus the right model for Iqaluit's future?
Can a lone entrepreneur's bus line survive a melting Arctic where roads and infrastructure are at risk?