PRESS ADVISORY 16 September 20010
Contacts:
John DeLora, Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, 313-575-6608 jdelorasr@gmail.com
Kay Chase, MARP Communications 269-903-8071 kay.chase@wmich.edu
Harry Gow, Transport Action Canada hwgow@sympatico.ca
Chad Cushman, Indian Trails, Inc. 800.292.3831 ext. 200 ccushman@indiantrails.com
The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers (MARP), a passenger train advocacy group, will honor a homegrown motorcoach service and a Canadian advocate for sustainable transportation at the group’s first ever meeting in the Upper Peninsula taking place at the recently opened St. Ignace Transportation Center.
MARP is presenting its Special Achievement Award to Indian Trails, Inc., on the occasion of its 100th birthday. The company was founded as Phillips-Taylor Livery Service in 1910 by Cora and Wayne Taylor of Owosso and remains a family owned business. With facilities in Owosso, Kalamazoo, and Metro Detroit, Indian Trails employs 135 people and provides passenger services throughout all of Michigan, carrying one million passengers and traveling four million miles annually.
“Despite the railroad in our name, MARP supports and promotes bus service for Michigan travelers and that is why we are pleased that Indian Trails has expanded its services to the citizens of our state,” says MARP spokesman Jim Wallington. “It now goes to Sault Ste. Marie and Newberry and connects residents throughout the Upper Peninsula to Amtrak trains at Flint, East Lansing, Kalamazoo and Milwaukee.”
John DeLora, MARP Chairperson, adds, “Indian Trails has proven itself not just as a quality intercity and charter bus operator, but as a true pioneer in intermodalism. They provide connecting service to other bus lines, to airports and to Amtrak trains. This type of thinking about public transportation as an integrated system provides the public with more transportation options at a reasonable price.”
Harry Gow, Founding President of Transport Action Canada (formerly Transport 2000 Canada), will be honored with MARP’s International Friendship Award for his decades of work on behalf of consumers of transportation services and for promoting sustainable transportation options through advocacy and education. Gow has provided recommendations for numerous City of Ottawa transportation plans. He is President of le Conseil regional de developpement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) [Regional Council For The Environment And Sustainable Development] and a board member of les Transports Collectifs des Collines. [photo attached]
Gow retired in 2001 from the University of Ottawa where he was Field Placement Coordinator at the Department of Criminology. He resides in Chelsea, Quebec, where he works as a consultant for a rural community transit agency.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the expansion of public transportation in Canada is largely based upon the foundation laid by Harry Gow’s work,” says DeLora. “His knowledge and the accuracy of his work are truly a resource not just for Canadians, but for the U.S. as well. He has long been an advocate of seamless, convenient cross-border transportation, which is something close to my heart as well.”
Gow will provide an update on recent developments in Canadian passenger trains, and on service to the border cities of Sarnia and Windsor. Also on the program is a short presentation by St. Ignace resident Judy Gross on history of passenger trains in the St. Ignace area.
The meeting will take place at the St. Ignace Transportation Center, 700 U.S. Hwy 2, beginning at 9:30 am. The public is welcome.
The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. (MARP), is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation established in 1973 to improve passenger train service, travel conditions for passengers, and to work for the preservation of historic rail stations. The organization has more than 300 members statewide, publishes The Michigan Passenger quarterly, and maintains a website at www.marp.org.
Contact: Kay Chase, Communications Coordinator (269) 388-3777 or kay.chase@wmich.edu
Transport Action Canada, founded in 1976 as Transport 2000 Canada, is a non-profit, consumer-based organization whose primary purpose is research, public education and consumer advocacy. It promotes environmentally-sound transportation solutions and is actively involved in a wide range of issues such as: public transportation, safety, accessibility, energy efficiency, protection of the environment, intermodal cooperation and government regulation. www.transport-action.ca/en/
Contact: Harry Gow, Media Relations Officer (613) 594.3290 or email hwgow@sympatico.ca
Indian Trails, Inc. operates one of the largest and newest fleets of deluxe motor coaches in Michigan. Services include charters, tours, shuttles, airport transfers, casino runs and daily scheduled routes throughout Michigan and into Chicago as well as Milwaukee. The Michigan Flyer Motorcoach Service offers seamless connections and affordable service to Detroit Metro Airport from Lansing, Jackson, Ann Arbor, and Detroit. www.indiantrails.com
Contact: Chad Cushman 800.292.3831 ext. 200 or email ccushman@indiantrails.com
###