VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Private bus companies are stepping up to take over most of Greyhound’s B.C. routes, as it prepares to pull out of the province, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena announced 83 per cent of the routes Greyhound will cease running on Oct. 31 will be picked up by other private operators before the end of the year. She credits the speed of new companies filling the void with the Passenger Transportation fast tracking their applications.
“I’m please to say that when Greyhound pulls out, there will still be safe, affordable and reliable bus transportation in the province,” Trevena said, adding some companies have already started service, while some others will start mid-November.
BC Minister of Transportation @clairetrevena refusing to say whether BC is or will be funding/subsidizing private transportation bus companies taking up routes previously done by @GreyhoundBus "We've seen a good take up. We've seen a number of companies come in." #bcpoli
— Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) October 29, 2018
She says bus companies think they can make money on routes Greyhound called unsustainable, but they won’t be receiving any public subsidies.
“There’s no public money going to these private companies that have come forward to provide service on these routes,” she said,
The province will continue its B.C. Bus North service, a provincially funded, base-level, interim service to cover the majority of routes in the north. The service is expected to cost $2 million annually according to Trevena.
There are still eight routes that haven’t been filled. They include: Cache-Creek to Kamloops, Kamloops to Valemount, Valemount to the B.C.-Alberta border, Dawson Creek to the B.C.-Alberta border, Salmo to Creston, Cranbrook to the B.C.-Alberta border, Fort Nelson up to the B.C.-Yukon border, and the Hope to Princeton route.
“For these eight segments, we are going to be working with the Passenger Transportation Board to issue requests for Expressions of Interest in the coming weeks to further engage the private sector on filling the gap,” Trevena said.
Trevena says her priority as minister is to work with the private sector and communities to find a solution.
“There is obviously still more work to do on the routes that Greyhound is abandoning. We want to make sure that people aren’t left stranded.”
Greyhound is set to end its service on all of its B.C. routes, except its American-operated Vancouver-Seattle service, on Wednesday.
While this announcement means people will still have new bus options on Greyhounds routes, passengers will now need to research multiple companies to get to their destination rather than the previous one-stop-shop Greyhound provided.
When it comes to cost, Trevena says private operators will set their own ticket prices, which are regulated by the Passenger Transportation Board.
While she did not say how much she expects prices to be, Trevena believes they will be affordable.
“It will be affordable travel in the fact that many people cannot afford to travel by plane, which is obviously the alternative for some of these distances that we’re talking about,” she said.
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