Greyhound cuts rile some, alarm others

Greyhound Canada said Thursday that unless it receives $15 million in government aid, it will shut down bus service in Manitoba and northwest Ontario over the next months, and look at closing transit lines in across the West and North.

The company says government rules force it to operate unprofitable rural routes that have put it in "dire" financial straits, but politicians called the Greyhound announcement a ploy to get taxpayer subsidies.

Greyhound operates in 700 communities across the country, in nearly every province and territory. In many of those area, the bus line is the principal provider of long-distance transportation.

Politicians, community leaders and travellers reacted with a mix of dismay and dismissal to Thursday's news. Here's what some of them had to say.

Bob Hykaway, vice-president, Amalgamated Transit Union, Calgary

Should bus service be discontinued in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, it could have major impacts on people living there, said Bob Hykaway, a Calgary-based vice-president with the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents Greyhound Canada drivers.

"For the people up in the North — people using the [bus route] for medical runs, their drugs and things like that — this is going to stop, and that's a big impact. That's very severe for us," he said.

Hykaway said the union is talking with territorial ministers and deputy ministers on the issue.

"They're trying to get together, they're talking to the federal government to try and do something," he said.

Sam Nabi, university student, Winnipeg

"It's the cheapest option a lot of the time," Sam Nabi, a 19-year-old university student, said in Winnipeg of riding the bus. "I'm familiar with this system now that I've been using it for a while. It's usually my go-to option."

Nabi is from Whitby, Ont., and was making his way back home on Greyhound after spending the summer in Alberta.

"I am very surprised. I thought it was always there. There are signs in some of the terminals saying, 'Greyhound here for 75 years,' and I don't know what other options there would be."

Governments at all levels should do whatever they can to stop the bus line from pulling out, he said.

"It should be a priority. If the federal government needs to take ownership of Greyhound to keep it alive, then I think that's totally appropriate."

Jim Bradley, transportation minister, Ontario

"The motor coach industry in Ontario is regulated by the Highway Transportation Board under the Private Vehicles Act," Ontario Transport Minister Jim Bradley said in a perfunctory statement issued Thursday afternoon. "Under existing legislation, to discontinue service, Greyhound must comply with the requirements under the PVA.

"Greyhound has fulfilled its obligations under the PVA to provide advance notice of service discontinuance. We recognize the current economic downturn has impacted passenger volumes on many services offered by public transportation operators.

"Greyhound has advised that it is working with other companies to provide replacement services. We are hopeful that another private sector carrier will seek the opportunity to provide bus service in this corridor."

Glenn Andersen, mayor of St. Paul, Alta.

Many residents of St. Paul, Alta., a community of 5,400 people, rely on the Greyhound bus for trips to Edmonton, 200 kilometres to the southwest, Mayor Glenn Andersen said.

"A lot of people do. The ones that can't afford a vehicle, single people or somebody who just doesn't drive. They don't drive to the city, they take the Greyhound," he said Thursday. "And a lot of shipping from Greyhound through from larger centres to St. Paul. comes that way, as a more economical way of shipping, and that would be devastating to St Paul. 

"Anytime you lose something, that's not good for your community and that would be a loss to not only to St Paul but the whole northeast region."

Lionel Cloutier, mayor of Ignace, Ont.

Lionel Cloutier, mayor of Ignace — a town of about 1,400 people 250 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay — said the route closures are "very distressing, very bad news for northwestern Ontario."

"A lot of people rely on the Greyhound bus for not just transportation, but also for parts and emergency stuff that we need," he said.

John Baird, federal transport minister

"Greyhound is a Texas-based multinational. Their actions are heavy-handed and clearly an attempt to bully the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario," federal Transport Minister John Baird said in a media scrum. "They're seeking tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers money as a subsidy."

Baird said the regulatory problems are a provincial issue.

"The [federal] government has been out of this for 50 years," he said. "And we've certainly got our hands full with aviation and with Via [Rail]."

Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president, Greyhound Canada

"The decision to cease our operations in northwestern Ontario and Manitoba was a very difficult one. We have repeatedly asked the federal and provincial governments to change the existing legislative and regulatory regimes that govern intercity bus operations," Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president of Greyhound Canada, said in a statement Thursday.

"Our financial situation is dire and we are no longer in a position to absorb losses that are almost solely attributable to government policies."

Kendrick said Greyhound is forced to operate unprofitable routes to remote communities and to subsidize those routes with income from profitable lines and the company's parcel delivery service.

"Despite numerous attempts over the years to adjust this business model in order to gain a profitable footing, Greyhound Canada has now run out of options," Kendrick said.

Bill Swan and Jesse House, passengers, Edmonton

In Edmonton, passenger Bill Swan said his daughter travels frequently to the city from northern Alberta.

"Greyhound is basically the only way for people to get from town to town," he said.

Jesse House, a kidney transplant patient, said he uses the bus to get to medical appointments from Grande Prairie, Alta. He pays $79 for the bus trip, but a plane ride would cost almost $500.

"The bus is the only affordable way for me to come for my medical appointments. I can't drive because of my condition."