Greyhound to cease Western Canada operations Oct. 31
By Nelson Daily Staff
In a media release Monday, Greyhound Canada has taken the difficult decision to downsize its operations, halting both passenger and freight, effective October 31, 2018, in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Greyhound Canada said in British Columbia, all routes will cease except for Vancouver to Seattle, which is operated by Greyhound Lines, Inc. (USA) and BoltBus.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce these service impacts for the end of October,” Stuart Kendrick, Senior Vice President, Greyhound Canada said.
“We understand that these route changes are difficult for our customers. Despite best efforts over several years, ridership has dropped nearly 41% across the country since 2010 within a changing and increasingly challenging transportation environment. Simply put, we can no longer operate unsustainable routes.”
“We are committed to keeping customers informed and will continue to provide fair and open communications to ensure that adequate notice is given,” he added.
Greyhound Canada said this decision is regrettable and is due to a challenging transportation environment that is characterized by declining ridership in rural communities; increased competition from subsidized national and inter-regional passenger transportation services; the new entry of ultra-low-cost airline carriers; regulatory constraints, and increased car travel.
The company envisions that these changes will result in a viable, sustainable business on the remaining routes.
The company said all routes in Ontario and Quebec will continue unchanged, aside from the Trans-Canada service west of Sudbury in northern Ontario, which we will exit.
Customers can find additional information by visiting www.greyhound.ca or calling 1-800-661-8747.
Greyhound Canada said it has had taken a range of cost reduction steps over the last few years, including frequency adjustments to route schedules and other efficiency measures. Unfortunately, these actions were insufficient, and the downward trajectory continued.
The company said it is business as usual until October 31, 2018 — Greyhound Canada’s operations will continue during the summer period and beyond Thanksgiving.
Route changes and route retention
Effective October 31, 2018 the route information is as follows:
- British Columbia – discontinue all routes. Note: Service between Vancouver and Seattle, which is operated by Greyhound Lines, Inc. (USA) and BoltBus, is unaffected.
- Alberta – discontinue all routes
- Saskatchewan – discontinue all routes
- Manitoba – discontinue all routes
- Ontario – In Ontario, we will operate substantially as we do today in the southern and eastern regions of the province with no changes in the Toronto and Ottawa areas. There will be changes in the northern part of the province. Service will be discontinued on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Sudbury. Greyhound Canada will continue to operate in southern Ontario.
- Quebec – In Quebec there are no changes, with service between Ottawa and Montreal unaffected. Service between Montreal and New York that is operated by Greyhound Lines, Inc. (USA) is also unaffected.
Greyhound Canada is continuing its discussions with provincial and federal governments about the importance of government investments in rural connectivity.
In addition to these changes, FirstGroup announced at our annual results in May a wider review of our entire Greyhound business, which is ongoing.
