VIA Rail, the government supported company that takes passengers to destinations all over, issued an invitation to Canadian youth to travel the country in July for only $150 (Cdn). This was the company’s contribution to the celebration of this 150th anniversary of Confederation, but the response was so large, the system crashed.
“On Board For The Party?” Not!
Due to the overwhelming response, it appears Via has put the program on hold as technicians work to accomodate the demand.
An “Unlimited Youth Pass” was available for people between the ages of 12 and 25 to travel, and those people over 25 could access the program with an International Student Identification Card (ISIC).
Now it appears not everyone who’d like to be, can be “onboard for the party” as the web page for the promotion suggested.
Via Rail announced these Sesquicentennial offerings in February, describing the special rates on their website as “designed to strengthen the pride and sense of belonging felt across our country.”
Even the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly was quoted: “I encourage everyone to travel across the country to take part in activities from coast to coast to coast to celebrate Canada’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, as well as its rich history and heritage.”
Last night, however, the pass was listed as “temporarily unavailable” on Via Rail’s website, due to technical difficulties.
Via’s response is that they’re “pleasantly surprised by Canadians’ enthusiasm to take part in the Canada 150 celebrations, and the popularity of this product.”
This was the tweet from earlier today:
Update March 29th: Due to high demand, sales of the Canada 150 Youth Pass are temporarily suspended. VIA Rail is pleasantly surprised by Canadians’ enthusiasm to take part in the Canada 150 celebrations, and the popularity of this product. VIA Rail’s technical teams are working to find the source of the problem. VIA Rail is sorry for the inconvenience the situation may have caused. All efforts are being deployed to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. More information will follow once the situation has been resolved.
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