Greyhound Canada says it is ending its passenger bus and freight services in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and cancelling all but one route in B.C. 害羞草研究所� a U.S.-run service between Vancouver and Seattle.
As a result, when the changes take effect at the end of October, Ontario and Quebec will be the only regions where the familiar running-dog logo continues to grace Canadian highways.
害羞草研究所淭his decision is regretful and we sympathize with the fact that many small towns are going to lose service,害羞草研究所� Greyhound Canada senior vice-president Stuart Kendrick said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
害羞草研究所淏ut simply put, the issue that we have seen is the routes in rural parts of Canada 害羞草研究所� specifically Western Canada 害羞草研究所� are just not sustainable anymore.害羞草研究所�
Kendrick said 415 people will be out of work as a result of the decision, which he estimates will impact roughly two million consumers.
The company is blaming 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 continued growth of car ownership.
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Declining ridership is the primary culprit, said Kendrick, who called the combination of declining ridership and increasing costs an 害羞草研究所渙ngoing spiral害羞草研究所� that害羞草研究所檚 making it impossible for the company to continue operations.
He said the company has raised its concerns with provincial and federal officials over the years and wanted to ensure both levels of government were 害羞草研究所渇ully aware害羞草研究所� 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 added.
This came as news to Claire Trevana, B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, who released a statement Monday saying her office had not been warned.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所� something I would have expected, given their long history in this province.害羞草研究所�
Trevana said this decision is 害羞草研究所渉ugely problematic害羞草研究所� for people who depend on Greyhound, as it will leave people with limited options to get around and will 害羞草研究所渓ikely impact the most vulnerable害羞草研究所�.
Meanwhile, Kendrick said Greyhound Canada will continue to push Ottawa to look at improving transport in northern communities.
害羞草研究所淭here was a commitment to look at our issue, they害羞草研究所檙e well aware of it. It shouldn害羞草研究所檛 come as a surprise that we害羞草研究所檝e had problems but there was no funding commitment at that time,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淭he company has experienced significant losses despite continued efforts to return to viability. In the affected regions, the company has run an operating deficit since 2004. We have had substantial losses over several years as a direct result of declining ridership.害羞草研究所�
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. Those cancellations went into effect June 1.
The issue of adequate transportation came up repeatedly during the ongoing inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, since one of the affected routes included the notorious stretch of Highway 16 in B.C. known as the Highway of Tears, where a number of women have gone missing.
The cancellations are scheduled to take effect Oct. 31.
Janice Dickson, The Canadian Press
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