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Fragmented bus service market emerges as Greyhound exits Western Canada this week

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Flying cars may appear in urban skies by Girl signs concert to deaf dad. Outdoor rink put on ice. Explosion in Japan restaurant. Fragmented bus service market emerges as Greyhound exits Western Canada this week. Transit spokesperson Shellene McConnell said it works with local governments to offer transit service and any service expansion would have to be initiated at the local level. Leanne Barns , sister of Greyhound bus driver Blake Moore, brought balloons to celebrate his last trip after Historians are gathering at the Penticton Greyhound terminal this afternoon to mark its last departure from the station.

Greyhound Canada told Global Okanagan the Penticton station is owned by Greyhound and will be put up for sale. Please read our Commenting Policy first. October 31, 1: The company cited financial concerns for the move — ridership is down 41 per cent nationwide since and eight per cent last year in Western Canada. Routes in the rest of Ontario and Quebec, as well as one route between Vancouver and Seattle, will remain. The cancellation threatened to cut off a critical mode of travel for thousands of people in hundreds of small communities from B.

Fragmented bus service market emerges as Greyhound exits Western Canada this week

The backlash was swift. Calls for new private companies to step in and fill the gaps sounded along with calls for government intervention. According to a study conducted by the Angus Reid Institute at the end of July, 60 per cent of Canadians support a rural bus service funded by the federal government, and slightly more — 64 per cent — support a provincially funded service.

Yet as Greyhound shuts its doors this week, no direct government action has been taken at the federal level. Rather, a patchwork quilt of private companies and localized provincial solutions may or may not fill the gaps. It would start in Vancouver, at Pacific Central Station, at 6: Wong, a stocky man with a soul patch and glasses, is wearing a grey Greyhound baseball cap with lapel pins all over it. Looking forward to getting home and starting the next chapter of my life. Even now, the mood of the stations and buses is one of finality. For many staff like Neil, this is their last day of work.

For most passengers on this bus, like myself, this is our last ride. Less than 24 hours later, a snowstorm will strike this infamous mountain highway, rendering it unpassable. I chat with Neil, curious about what he plans to do next. Depends on how much I want to work. I wrack my brain trying to figure out what sort of driving is required at a university.

News travels fast

Maybe for the football team? I let it rest, settling into the journey.

As we pull into the station in West Kelowna just after noon, Neil lets us know something. Maybe the job Neil wants at UBC is really about playing the piano, not driving a bus.

As we disembark and Neil packs up for the final time, passengers shake his hand. The network of Greyhound service routes torn away, what will replace them? Some mention Regina-based Rider Express Transportation, which plans to operate a route from the Alberta border to Vancouver via Highway 1 and Highway 5. The company will use four passenger buses on the route, and operate two departure times each day. Rider Express eventually plans to run service between B. Some people are counting on EBus, an Alberta-based firm that currently operates routes between Calgary and Edmonton.

The company is already booking two routes serving Vancouver, Kamloops and Kelowna.

My Last Greyhound Ride

Buses will travel along Highway 1 and Highway 5, and additional stops could be made in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and Merritt. Most passengers and drivers I meet on my journey discuss these potential new options with cautious optimism.

2017 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby Final

After an overnight layover in Kelowna on Saturday night, I set out on the second leg of my journey Sunday morning. This will involve two buses and three drivers, and cross the Rocky Mountains through Rogers Pass. The first stretch is relatively uneventful. The driver packs up to head back to Kelowna, leaving the six of us behind in the empty Salmon Arm Greyhound station.

No other staff are present. Sticking out of the big backpack beside him is a ragged copy of Ready Player One. Taran gives me a high-five. In Salmon Arm, three print publications are on offer: She paces back and forth across the small room, periodically checking on her phone plugged into an outlet beside the Forever Young newsstand. Most are rented spaces Greyhound has moved into over the years since it was first established in Western Canada.

When the cancelling of service was announced, many stations were put up for lease or sale. In Kelowna, in front of the station, chairs and row seating are piled up, free for the taking. As in many small towns across Western Canada, the bus picks up and drops off passengers in front of a local business or sometimes — as is the case in Canmore — a mere shed. The shed in Canmore will probably just go back to being a shed. After passing through Sicamous, the bus rolls into Revelstoke for a short break and a change of drivers. We pull away and climb towards Rogers Pass.

We have a half-hour layover in Golden for dinner. Many passengers grab food at the Husky truck-stop that serves as the Golden Greyhound station. About 10 minutes past Golden, an older man in front of me gets up to visit the washroom. He sways with the bus as it turns the notorious bends between Golden and Field.