Greyhound Canada to end bus service

[Tetsuo]

The only route to remain is the Vancouver-Seattle one, this one is going to hurt many small BC towns, seems like everyone from a small town living in the city has a "escape via Greyhound" story.

[Dengler Avenue]

I guess BC Transit has no choice but to expand its service then, like what it already did in Northern BC.

[Sheba]

Greyhound Canada to end bus service in Western provinces

Greyhound Canada is ending its passenger bus and freight services in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and cancelling all but one route in B.C. — a U.S.-run service between Vancouver and Seattle.

The changes take effect the end of October, which will make Ontario and Quebec the only regions where the familiar running-dog logo will continue to grace Canadian highways.

"This decision is regretful and we sympathize with the fact that many small towns are going to lose service," Greyhound Canada senior vice-president Stuart Kendrick said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"But simply put, the issue that we have seen is the routes in rural parts of Canada — specifically Western Canada — are just not sustainable anymore."

Kendrick said 415 people will be out of work, and estimates the decision will impact roughly two million consumers.

The company blames a 41 per cent decline in ridership since 2010, persistent competition from subsidized national and inter-regional passenger transportation services, the growth of new low-cost airlines, regulatory constraints and the growth of car ownership.

Declining ridership is the primary culprit, said Kendrick, who called that and increasing costs an "ongoing spiral" that's making it impossible for the company to continue operations.

He said the company has raised concerns with provincial and federal officials over the years, and wanted to ensure both levels of government were "fully aware" of the situation. Greyhound Canada has long advocated for a community funding model to allow any private carrier to bid on essential rural services, he said.

...

All Greyhound routes in Ontario and Quebec will continue to operate except for one: the Trans-Canada, which links a number of smaller communities between Winnipeg and Sudbury, Ont.

Kendrick said the decision will leave most of the affected communities with no other transportation options.

Greyhound Canada applied to provincial regulators last year to discontinue routes in northern B.C. from Prince George to Prince Rupert because of declining ridership, cancellations that went into effect June 1.

...

[Dengler Avenue]

Then this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grey...llow-1.4740974

[giallo]

It's going to be rough for those that rely on Greyhound to get to other cities, but there are reasons why people have stopped using this service.

First, while far from super cheap, airline travel has become a lot more accessible to a lot more people around the country. If you book in advance, you can fly for 30% more than a bus ticket. This is the difference between 1 1/2 hour travel time or 12 hours.

Second, and I say this as someone that has experienced bus travel in other countries from Costa Rica to China to Taiwan, Greyhound is embarrassing in comparison. It's the only national bus service, and because of this, it's been able to coast on being less than adequate. Countries like Costa Rica, Taiwan or China have competition in their bus service industry, and offer things like premium buses. They may cost a bit more, but the seats are bigger, you are offered entertainment in the form of TV and movies, there are USB plugs on every seat for your phone or iPad etc. Greyhound hasn't changed since the 80s. Even the interior looks like it's from the late 80s. Why would anyone use this service unless they absolutely could not afford a plane ticket?

It's good to hear that there are other companies looking in to picking up Greyhound's slack. Hopefully, they'll learn from GH's mistakes, and offer something competitive.

Good riddance, Greyhound.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by giallo

It's going to be rough for those that rely on Greyhound to get to other cities, but there are reasons why people have stopped using this service.

As much as the ability to travel anywhere by bus for a lower cost than flying is more a convenience than an option for some, I never used the service and personally hope this just slows the flood of crackheads and borderline vagrants from up north into town who just need another few hundred feet of copper wire or something flashy in the back of a truck to make it to Vancouver. (or back to Prince George)

[logicbomb]

^So in other words...fuck those who can't afford to fly or drive?

A lot of seniors relied on Greyhound to get from small towns to regional hubs and this was evident when I took bused to Calgary. I was also surprised by the number of students that also bused.

We need more rail and bus options in this province but as usual....we will continue to lag way behind because of ideological reasons.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

^So in other words...fuck those who can't afford to fly or drive?

I personally cannot feel much for sympathy with a service I've never used myself but from the outside looking in there was a lot of things like buses breaking down on the highway and in-travel violence that made it seem like probably not much better off than hitchhiking. I am fully aware this is a massive inconvenience to many in smaller rural centers, which brings me to....

We need more rail and bus options in this province but as usual....we will continue to lag way behind because of ideological reasons.

It's bothered me that the RoW that ran from downtown Kelowna to Vernon (and then splits off to Kamloops via Falkland and Salmon Arm via Armstrong) got ripped up and replaced with a foot and bike path. I could totally see it being used for rail connections (hell, you had a siding to Kelowna International. How much more convenient could you get?) but good luck trying to fight that uphill battle now that you have to rebuild the infrastructure AND fight waterfront millionaires from Alberta. Kamloops Heritage Railway used to run the 2141 steam lovomotive from the switch in Dallas to Armstrong until after Kelowna Pacific sold the line and it was reworked to a point the train couldn't travel the new rail.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by giallo

First, while far from super cheap, airline travel has become a lot more accessible to a lot more people around the country. If you book in advance, you can fly for 30% more than a bus ticket. This is the difference between 1 1/2 hour travel time or 12 hours.

Easy to say if you live in a city with public transport to the airport. But there are a ton of cities in BC like Lytton, 100 Mile House, etc. etc. which will no longer have any form of public transport short of taxi service. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to take a taxi from Lytton to Kamloops to catch a plane?

[giallo]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Easy to say if you live in a city with public transport to the airport. But there are a ton of cities in BC like Lytton, 100 Mile House, etc. etc. which will no longer have any form of public transport short of taxi service. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to take a taxi from Lytton to Kamloops to catch a plane?

This is definitely an issue, and one that I can't see any private business wanting to take up without massive government subsidies.

The problem is that BC is a huge province with small towns scattered all over the place. Unless the provincial or federal government steps in, and either offers a government-run bus service or offers crazy incentives to a private transport operator, we are going to see these small towns become more and more isolated.

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by giallo

Second, and I say this as someone that has experienced bus travel in other countries from Costa Rica to China to Taiwan, Greyhound is embarrassing in comparison. It's the only national bus service, and because of this, it's been able to coast on being less than adequate. Countries like Costa Rica, Taiwan or China have competition in their bus service industry, and offer things like premium buses. They may cost a bit more, but the seats are bigger, you are offered entertainment in the form of TV and movies, there are USB plugs on every seat for your phone or iPad etc. Greyhound hasn't changed since the 80s. Even the interior looks like it's from the late 80s. Why would anyone use this service unless they absolutely could not afford a plane ticket?

Taking a bus from Uruguay to Brazil, I was shocked to discover first and second class seating, bus attendants with the same role as the flight version, included onboard meals, etc. I was stuck in cramped second-class due to first-class being sold out but it looked a lot more comfortable.

That being said, I worry about lower-income people in our society, especially older, less mobile individuals who have no other options. There was a time when Greyhound was all I could afford. I imagine hitchhiking will increase as a result.

[WestCoastEcho]

Per what was being reported, Greyhound was in an operating deficit since 2004, many routes were down to single digit passenger loads, and had been asking for a government subsidy since 2010. That's clearly not sustainable.

Per an older article from earlier this year, Greyhound is saying ride-sharing is a major concern for their ridership woes:

https://infotel.ca/newsitem/rideshar...person/it50466

[casper]

There are host of other bus companies that may pickup some routes.

Wound not be surprised to Willsons Transportation pickup some of the routes on the Island or in and out of Vancouver.

[Bdawe]

The silver lining is that a company like Wilsons or Pacific Coach or any number of coach operators now have space to move in if the province doesn't and could possibly make a better go of it than Greyhound, shorn of Greyhound's awful reputation for stranded passengers, beheadings, bad schedules, and all the other things that kept people away who might otherwise have used it. Just because Greyhound couldn't hack it doesn't necessarily mean that no one could (though it probably does on some routes)

[Dengler Avenue]

I do wish that provincial transits are a thing though.

[240glt]

BC does have some areas with decent regional transit. For instance in the Nelson area there are busses that can get you between Nelson, Crescent Valley, Slocan Park, Winlaw, Slocan City, Silverton, New Denver, Kaslo and Balfour. If they were to simply extend that service to Castlegar people using that service would have access to a regional airport.

[Trainguy]

Flying is cheap these days. Picked up a flight from Abbotsford to Edmonton and return for $68 total price. Who would drive or take the bus?

The population numbers do not warrant a "for profit" bus service. No private operator is going to lose money just to provide a service. GH has had enough.

It will be interesting to see who steps up on which routes. GH had too many stops which made service slow. The government has already said they are not stepping up with subsidy money. I guess it is not an essential service. However, VIA Rail loses millions every year but they keep going on year after year on the tax payer dime.

Stayed tuned....

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Trainguy

Flying is cheap these days. Picked up a flight from Abbotsford to Edmonton and return for $68 total price. Who would drive or take the bus?

Spoken like someone who has access to public transportation to an airport.

But what if you don't? There are a lot of small communities in BC with no airport or scheduled air service and no public transportation to get them to such an airport.

Of course people in the big cities don't care about Greyhound going out of business. And of course people in rural BC do.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by 240glt

BC does have some areas with decent regional transit. For instance in the Nelson area there are busses that can get you between Nelson, Crescent Valley, Slocan Park, Winlaw, Slocan City, Silverton, New Denver, Kaslo and Balfour. If they were to simply extend that service to Castlegar people using that service would have access to a regional airport.

The West Kootenays are now fully integrated. There are several buses between Castlegar and Nelson and also Castlegar to Trail. So the airport and college in Castlegar are accessible to the other two communities and travel between all three cities is possible 6days a week.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Denscity

The West Kootenays are now fully integrated. There are several buses between Castlegar and Nelson and also Castlegar to Trail. So the airport and college in Castlegar are accessible to the other two communities and travel between all three cities is possible 6days a week.

That's good news. I wonder if other areas such as the south Cariboo, East Kootenays or North Coast can implement similar models to get people to larger centres

Speaking of Trail, We were just down at a friends' place in Harrop for a few days, and we found out that there is direct air service to Vancouver from Trail twice a day. That is awesome, because as we plan our escape from Edmonton I always wanted to go to the West Kootenays but my partner felt it was too far disconnected from, among other things, an airport, so we were looking at the Okanagan. All of a sudden he now knows that between Nelson and Castlegar there are ample services and we can fly to Vancouver easily, and after travelling though Vernon and Kelowna on the long weekend, the relative peace of the Kootenays now seems a lot more attractive. Game changer.