About the Innovation

In the early 1970s, the city of Whitehorse in the Yukon was without a public transit system, which caused hardships for many people. Most young families could only afford one vehicle and many mothers of young children battled 'cabin fever', particularly during the long winter months when outside temperatures often dropped to forty degrees below zero. There were no school buses and teens hitchhiked up "Two Mile Hill" to school. The elderly and the poor were also affected by the lack of transit but City Council ignored their needs, claiming that a public transit system was not needed because they believed that "everyone had two cars."

Joyce Hayden, as founding president of the Yukon Status of Women Council, led the initiative to set up a public bus system to serve the needs of Whitehorse residents. Joyce and her team undertook the necessary research and planning, and in September 1975, formed the Yukon Women's Mini-Bus Society. A funding proposal sent to Transport Canada brought in a $80,000 demonstration grant. To ensure success of the project, women volunteered many hours cleaning and repairing buses, keeping the books, and promoting ridership. Once the buses were up and running, the part-time women drivers worked hard to cut costs, improve service, and keep the buses rolling.

The Mini-Bus Society gave many Yukon women their first opportunity to work at a non-traditional job with flexible hours. More importantly, the Mini-Bus provided a way for house-bound people to get out of their homes. The system began as a phone-in service that also ran some regular schedules. People could be picked up and dropped off at their own door or they could flag a bus down along the streets and highway. Ridership grew and in 1978, the city took over the system. In 1999, the Mini-Bus Society was recognized and honoured by naming Joyce Hayden the Transportation Hall of Fame's Person of the Year. She accepted on behalf of all the women who helped make it happen.

About the Innovator

Born in a log farmhouse in Birch Lake, Saskatchewan in 1931, Joyce grew up surrounded by strong women, including her mother, grandmother and six aunts. Her grandmother, Ellen McNeill, was a powerful role model who taught Joyce to love music and art and most importantly, to "make a silk purse out of a sows ear" - an old saying about making the best of a bad situation. Joyce married Earle Hayden in February 1949 during a prairie blizzard and they moved to the Yukon with their children in 1953. They "fell in love with the Yukon immediately, and have never thought of any place else as home since that day."

She settled in to becoming a Yukon woman which meant learning the history, the outdoor way of life and self-sufficiency. Joyce and Earle have lived all but twelve of the last fifty years in the territory. If Joyce had had the time, patience and opportunity, she would have like to earn a Masters in Sociology. Instead, she has educated herself by taking sociology and history courses through university extension programs and also by extensive reading and research. Joyce is motivated by the values of honour, loyalty and community involvement.

In the late fifties and early sixties, Joyce became involved in the Girl Guides of Canada, first as a helper for her daughter's Brownie Pack and then, over time, in positions of increasing responsibility. Without really realizing what was happening, the core values of the Girl Guides became her own. These principles have continued to serve Joyce as she has taken on various roles within the Guides, the YWCA, the Yukon Status of Women Council, the Yukon Women's Mini-Bus Society and the Yukon Legislative Assembly.

As a community activist and politician, Joyce has always been at the core of community change, especially when it comes to advocating for women and children. She feels a sense of "community responsibility, believing that one person can make a big difference." Joyce is the recipient of many awards for community volunteer work including the Canada Volunteer Award, the Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellowship Award, and the Yukon Commissioner's Volunteer Award. Even after facing the challenge of becoming legally blind in 1983, Joyce has continued to serve her community and lead an active life as a writer and a grandmother. She was elected to the Yukon Legislature in 1989 for a four year term and has authored two books, including "Yukon's Women of Power." She finds that she just has "to work harder - but then, women always do."