Greyhound Canada bus service ends October 31, 2018 in western Canada
July 9, 2018
Monday, July 9 ~ BC. Greyhound Canada bus service ends in BC as of October 31, 2018. That’s in addition to all of the private company’s bus services ending in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta on that date, as well as in Ontario west of Sudbury.
One route remains in BC — from Vancouver to Seattle — because that route is run by the US division of Greyhound. This will have a significant impact on rural transportation services in BC.
Greyhound Canada cited financial survival (due to a significantly low level of ridership — worsening since 2010) as their reason for dropping the service.
Low-cost airline travel and more efficient cars are likely part of the competition factor. Business critics say that Greyhound did not appreciably improve any of their services over the years, thereby offering less and less of a desirable transportation option.
Upon hearing the news today, BC’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena issued a statement in response to news that Greyhound Canada is discontinuing intercity bus service in British Columbia, and much of Canada:
“Greyhound’s decision to completely eliminate service in Western Canada by October 31, 2018 is hugely problematic for people who depend on Greyhound in the Interior, Sea-to-Sky, and to get to and from Alberta. This move will leave people with limited options to get around, and this will likely impact the most vulnerable.
“It’s unfortunate that Greyhound did not communicate their plans sooner. At no point did Greyhound reach out to me, or my staff, to have a conversation on solutions to keep people connected – something I would have expected, given their long history in this province,” said Trevena.
The BC Government will be looking into options: “In the weeks and months ahead, I will be sitting down with other service providers, the private sector and local government to discuss how we can ensure people have access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation to get from one community to the next. In the meantime, I hope that other local, private operators will see an opportunity to bring a badly needed service to the parts of the province most affected by Greyhound’s decision.”
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