Greyhound bus driver Milt Peterson pulls luggage out of a bus that just arrived in Osoyoos from Kelowna on Oct. 1. The bus company is threatening to make some “tough business decisions” if they don’t get some government help to offset low rural ridership. Photo by Laurena Weninger - Click on photo for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-October 7, 2009
By Laurena Weninger – Osoyoos Times
“We’ve seen a decline in ridership in rural Canada,” said Stuart Kendrick, senior vice president of Greyhound Canada, about why the company wants either government subsidy or deregulation of the service.
While the decline in the number of riders and the cost of doing business in difficult economic times has made it a tough go for the busing company, it can’t cut back service accordingly.
Kendrick said while bus routes are overseen by the federal government, each province has jurisdiction over any route changes.
In B.C., the Passenger Transportation Board, an independent tribunal established under the provincial Passenger Transportation Act, makes decisions about changes to bus routes.
That means the bus company, which, Kendrick said, is currently the largest passenger transportation company in Canada, can’t just cut back routes without going through an approval process.
Some of its attempts at cutting back have been turned down.
“We’ve been told no in a number of locations,” he said.
Now the company is threatening to make some “tough business decisions” unless it gets some short-term and long-term help from the government.
First, it approached the federal government looking for a $15-million subsidy.
That would carry it through a 12-month period, Kendrick said, and give the company time to try to address the rural issues.
Down the road, the company either needs subsidies or a change in the regulation process to allow it to remain viable, he said.
The federal government directed the company to talk to each province.
“What we’ve seen is, each province’s transportation minister understands the situation,” Kendrick said.
On Sept. 15, the company met with B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond.
“It was a very positive meeting. We went over our issues on a national level, we talked about our issues on a provincial level,” Kendrick said.
Bond said as a resident of rural B.C., she understands how important bus service is to the people who rely on it and also how important it is to have transportation options.
“I also understand these are poor economic times. This is an issue where the federal government plays an important role in the discussion, and so we are coordinating our efforts with the federal government and with other provinces,” she said.
Bond said the meeting with Greyhound provided a good first discussion.
“I reiterated my concern that we ensure British Columbians have a choice about how they travel in our province,” she said. “Since that meeting I have asked my staff to work with Greyhound, and continue their discussions about how the issues in B.C. and Canada might be resolved.”
Kendrick said Bond also promised to bring up the issue at a minister’s meeting this month in Vancouver.
He said the company has met with representatives of all of the provinces and they all seem to understand the issue.
For now, there won’t be changes to any service.
“At this point, there aren’t any specific route changes we are going to make,” Kendrick said. “Nor are we allowed to.”
In Osoyoos, Greyhound Canada’s busing service operates out of the Visitor Information Centre at the intersection of highways 3 and 97.
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