Greyhound bus service in Man., NW Ont. to end

Greyhound, one of Canada's largest transportation companies, is threatening to cancel bus service to a number of rural areas throughout Manitoba and northern Ontario unless it gets some taxpayer dollars to keep its buses on the roads.

CTV Winnipeg: Jon Hendricks on the shutdown

Just two weeks after the opening of a multi-million dollar bus depot at the Richardson Airport Greyhound announces a service shutdown.

CTV News Channel: John Baird, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

Baird says the government has zero rules and regulations on busing in Canada because they are dealt with on a provincial level. Baird believes the cutback threats are really an attempt by Greyhound to 'shakedown the taxpayers'.

CTV News Channel: Stuart Kendrick, Greyhound spokesperson, on the reasons for the cutbacks

A Greyhound spokesperson says they are cutting routes because of an overall decline of ridership in rural Canada. Greyhound says they asked the federal government for a grant to 'break even', but did not receive any.

CTV Winnipeg: Greyhound closing doors in Manitoba

The company announced the company will cease operations at the end of 30 days

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Greyhound says if it doesn't get a regulatory break from politicians, it will start winding up operations, beginning with Manitoba and parts of Ontario. (AP / Nam Y. Huh)

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Thu. Sep. 3 2009 10:04 PM ET

Greyhound Canada has served notice that it's ceasing operations in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, saying it's in a "dire" financial situation due to government regulations that force it to serve remote communities.

The bus company is also re-examining its routes in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Greyhound is giving 30 days' notice to the Manitoba Highway Traffic Board to ensure that passenger tickets sold to date in that province can be honoured.

In Ontario, Greyhound is giving 90 days' notice to the Ontario Highway Transport Board. Greyhound service in northwestern Ontario will stop as of Dec. 2.

"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 inter-city bus operations," said Stuart Kendrick, senior vice president of Greyhound Canada, in a news release.

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

Greyhound added, however, that it will continue to work with the federal and provincial governments over the next 30 to 90 days to try to work on a solution to maintain its service to rural passengers.

Reacting to the news, Federal Transport Minister John Baird accused Greyhound of trying to bully the provinces -- and that the company is being "heavy handed" in an effort to wrestle subsidies from provincial governments.

"What this is, really, is a multi-national company attempting to shake down tax payers," Baird told CTV News Channel from Ottawa on Thursday.

However, Kendrick said the company is simply asking the government to take "leadership role" to insure Canadians aren't left stranded.

He added that Greyhound is asking for a "short-term operating subsidy grant" of between $15 million and $20 million to ensure service can continue.

"We don't want to exit Canada, we don't want to exit any of the routes we're on now," Kendrick said.

However, he noted that the routes just aren't profitable meaning the country's transportation structure could be "fractured."

Greyhound, whose U.S. parent is based in Texas, is the largest provider of intercity bus transportation in Canada. The company says it serves nearly 700 communities and offers 1,000 daily departures across the country. It also operates in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Comments are now closed for this story

pyob
said
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"Government can't solve the problem. Government IS the problem."

Deregulate, completely, the bus industry and maybe we'll have a bus industry.

godoggo
said
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For those saying Greyhound is owned by Laidlaw. That was true, but laidlaw was bought in 2007 by FirstGroup PLC out of Scotland. They operate as FirstCanada ULC and Greyhound Canada ULC now.

Also those calling to cut the fat and get rid of top executives at Grehound. Right now....at Greyhound there is 1 executive in Canada....1. Stuart Kendrick, the man quoted in the article. The rest of the executives have been let go due to integration of their functions into Greyhound Lines Inc (GLI) in Dallas Texas, the American greyhound.

Chad from Edmonton
said
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"The company says it serves nearly 700 communities and offers 1,000 daily departures across the country. It also operates in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."

Since when were Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia not part of this country?

Bus User
said
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We, my wife and I, are retired and living in what could be called Northern Ontario. I guess it is really Central Ontario but we are so cut off from the rest of Ontario that it feels like 'way up North! We have to rely on the Greyhound for transportation to our family members and also for Medical Visits to Sudbury. The Via Rail service is NOT available and there is no airport nearby for us to use We cannot afford a car so the bus is our only means of transport. The route we take to go out West is ON THE NUMBER 1 HIGHWAY. That is all the way to Winnipeg! CTV should clarify, if they know, what routes are being cut and what routes will NOT be cut. This is really bad news and kinda scary, like being lost in the woods, so to speak. Let's hope that something can and will be worked out, to at least, have the cross country route (No 1 Highway)continue.

Bill in BC
said
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Greyhound threatens to pull out? LET THEM!
It just creates a business opportunity for Canadian companies.

Ace Ventura
said
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@iceman 366...

Read man!!! the comment regarding nuclear vessels was not "Canada" It was "we" as humans, intelligent beings. Get with the program...if you had read the sarcasm, you might have grasped the concept.

Greg
said
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Greyhound should not be forced to keep routes open if they are not profitable. If they made money, the busline would keep them open. The only reason they are open now is because of the government. Greyhound is simply giving them the options, help fund the non-profitable routes, or they can not operate any more.

JJE
said
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A brief response to Roy: the 'red tape' you speak of is the regulation that required Greyhound to operate the route you traveled on. Without that 'red tape' the route would not have existed in the first place. The regulations are to level the playing field so that southern riders, such as Toronto folks, aren't the only ones served by bus transport. Sheesh.

Brenda
said
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I hope the government will help them out.
I do not like to fly, or do I like to drive sometimes if I can take Greyhound or Greygoose,I will.
Some kids are taking the bus, to areas because they can't drive.
The fuel cost is so high,also the maintance is getting high to get parts for the buses. I don't blame them for asking for money,to help the public, city trans buses will be in a bind soon as well.Go for it.

Mexico Ex-Pat
said
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As a former driver for Greyhound's competition, Coach Canada (formerly known as Trentway-Waggar), we all say this coming years ago. Passengers back then (2000-2001) were always complaining about how bad the "hound" was...poor service...rude CSR's...and people that just didn't give a Rat's A$$ about the customer.

Take that dog out to pasture and put it out of it's misery. Like other posters have said, this will make room for others to come in with better service.

Donna
said
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I really hate blackmail tactics! If it isn't profitable, shut it down. I do not believe that the government, federal or provincial, should be involved in private business especially one based in another country. I agree that this could offer an opportunity for smaller businesses to fill the need.

Barbara
said
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why does the government put out money for new re-cycle bins?...that money should go to Greyhound...a service to 150 communities...and 300 jobs.

genuis
said
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IDIOT GOVT. OFFICIALS TO BLAME-------Every polotician in canada should be hung for their failure to protect cdns. ---------- NOT one damn word from any of them when the U.S. bought out cdn. greyhound --I was telling anyone who would listen at the time it was wrong and predicted this would happen --- IF I could predict this why couldn't they see it . It's time cdns woke up to the reality that the ESSENTIAL services in this country should be CDN> owned and operated and be Govt. owned. Surely there must be someone in this country intelligent enough to operate these services.

Ben
said
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Sandyvc, error was not in building the "main train line", the error was in selecting the CN mainline as the chosen route for VIA Rail pasenger trains in the early 1990s. I could care less about Greyhound. Their business is their business. The government however is also going to have to acknolowledge some responsibility in running replacement services as these services will clearly not be provided by private companies knowing full well they can't earn money.

Iceman336
said
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Why not...?

"..look, we have nuclear submarines and nuclear aircraft carriers. I say it's time to have nuclear powered buses then fuel prices will not be an issue..."

Why not: Where do you get your information? Canada has no nuclear naval vessels!

As far as Greyhound goes, they need to reduce the amount of upper management and increase customer service if they want to make a profit. If they can substantiate a request for government assistance in the form of a loan (similar to Bombardier) I would not be opposed - but for them to demand a "grant" just smacks of arrogance.

and a quick history lesson...

Greyhound reached an agreement in October 1998 to be acquired by Laidlaw Inc., a Canadian firm based in Burlington, Ontario. Completed in March 1999 at a cash plus debt price of about $650 million, the transaction turned Greyhound into a wholly owned subsidiary of Laidlaw. At the time of the acquisition, Laidlaw owned Greyhound Canada Transportation Corp., an intercity bus operation serving five Canadian provinces from Ontario to British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Greyhound Canada, which Laidlaw had acquired in October 1997, was subsequently merged into Greyhound Lines, creating the largest intercity bus line in North America. Laidlaw announced in September 1999 that it planned to focus on its bus passenger operations, which included school and municipal bus operations in addition to Greyhound.

PVT
said
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Good to hear. It was in NW Ontario that my wife and two children (plus other passengers) were abandoned by their Greyhound bus driver at 4am in the morning. His shift was over so he pulled into an abandoned motel parking lot, said "I am outa here" and left. He didn't even bother to shut the door or turn off the bus. It was almost half an hour later that the replacement driver arrived during which time any psycho could have hopped on the bus. This same bus broke down 6 times on one leg of the journey - it would stall if it exceeded 90km per hour.

IMO, Greyhound should just cease operations all together - it's too risky way to travel.

Mike R.
said
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I'd like more details on these regulations. A lot of regulations have to do with safety in transporation, so I'd like details from Greyhound as to which ones are so bad.

Pat Cashman
said
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When you cherry pick who you help and those you refuse help to, you should take critiscm like a man. Baird is a terrible choice as poster boy for the Cons and this is another case of the Cons refusing to help the poor (no improvement to EI, increased taxes on the poor, now no alternative for the poor except hitchhiking) while at the same time big tax cuts for the affluent including the renovation grants. If Harper only cares about what god thinks he is not listening very well.

if

Marc O
said
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I think it's time for the government to show some backbone with transit companies who want to cherry-pick their routes across Canada: it's all or nothing.

You want to operate across canada? You'll have to run the unprofitable routes as well as the lucrative local routes. Either cover the routes or leave the market entirely to a company that will.

Jim
said
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You can't always blame it on the way the company is run, or on the gov't. I've traveled on Greyhound a few times in Southern Ontario over the years. Bad customer service, yes, can be attributed to the head office. But it could also be that the employee and his/her manager just doesn't care. I've watched the drivers saunter around the stations when they're already late, thereby making them even MORE late. Is that really the fault of the gov't or the head office? Nope. I work for the gov't and they make it tough to do out job sometimes. But since I have pride in my job, I do it to the best of my ability no matter what.

Don Mackenzie
said
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I recently bought a 60 day Greyhound Discovery pass to travel across Canada in Edmonton and told the ticket agent that I would be going to the Maritimes. When I got to Montreal I was told that the pass wasn't being honoured to the Maritimes as of June 1st,2009 because Greyhound didn't pay it's bills in the east. I had to pay an extra $300.00 to travel to Nova Scotia. I was not told that my ticket was no good passed Montreal when I bought it. I have tried to talk to Greyhound about this and they direct me to there head office in the U.S. and with no replys from them. As Canadains we need better protection against none Canadian companies that only provide shoty services. I blame this on the Canadain goverment allowing this to happen. We need a bus than company that will do all of Canada, not three or four different compannies

sandyvc
said
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Reading comments here, I am appalled at the ignorance of Canadian geography. The busses do not go through the northern parts of the provinces out west on their way through the big cities. They are hundreds and hundreds of miles from the northern most big cities. Calgary is not on the main train line. The route goes through Edmonton because Edmonton is the capital, though most traffic east/west goes through Calgary and Banff, not Edmonton and Jasper. An error in building the train line, no doubt. Northern Ontario is on and off the Trans Canada highway (as beautiful as the Alberta Rockies). The rest of the "North" is not.
We need these busses or affordable and user friendly trains.

FYI - The situation with busses in the US is completely different. There is nowhere where they have thousands of miles of nothing between towns. The US also has good and extensive train service.

Jim H
said
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This could be a great opportunity for a Canadian company such as STC to take on these routes and get rid of the American Grey Hound buses.

mike from ottawa
said
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The same sad story/scenario that Air Canada has been putting up with for years. Regulatory red tape and B.S. and who suffers..the passenger. I'm surprised they lasted this long in business under these conditions.

jt
said
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Pip
I really could not see the liberals bailing out greyhound.I could see them starting up a 100% canadian service.

Grey Hair
said
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What happens to their new $multimillion bus terminal at the airport?

GG
said
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I think it is always a stress in a big country like Canada with a small population base that has major urban centres, to service everyone. This is especially true with private enterprise. One has to remember the whole purpose of the private sector is to make profits. Privately run businesses are not going to support losses for very long. This is a constant dilemma. Government subsidies is one way to prop up our rural neighbours to get access to same services. Do the urban tax payers agree or not ? This will become a political football to balance the tax spending, if Greyhound really pulls out. And how far will this whipsawing extend ? Whats next ? Interesting timing as an election looms to press the issue.

Bonnie
said
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There goes another company in trouble.
Poor people living in rural regions. They have no way of traveling. With these Greyhound cuts, there are going to be more cars on the road and more pollution. I thought the government was trying to reduce pollution, not increasing it.

Bob H fr Petawawa
said
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Well now that's quite a dilema! First we are very limited to train travel. Now the bus service. What's next? It's too risky to hitchhike, no one can be trusted, either the driver or the hitchhiker. I guess those without their own transportation, whatever it is is going to have to rely on that. It alomost sounds we're going to have to go back to the horse and buggy days. It's back to the "eco-friendly days", Well maybe that's a good thing, right.

Robert Frost
said
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i got a idea that seems the block heads in greyhounds head office cant seem to think of....SMALLER BUS on the the less traveled routes...you know when your high traffice is by looking at past ticket sales...what is it to hard to look it up on a computer or is that to hard to do while you sleep at the wheel

Chris
said
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this could be the start of good news - re-instate more VIA service in the non-corridor makes sense anyway

Doug in BC
said
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It is a shame.Companies like this serve people who need to be served.
That said,there is no way companies keep running in the absence of a profit.I know that the word "profit" is considered an obscenity in Canada,so my apologies for swearing in public.
Ridership is down,costs are going up.Those two realities are at odds with providing better service for people who want to also have lower prices.
Now,if this was the tranist system in the lower mainland of Vancouver,they would just boost property taxes,fuel taxes,and parking taxes so that riders can continue evading the $2.75 fare for the ride that costs more than $7.00 to provide.
From here,once again,it looks like citzens in rural Canada are going to besent off with no services at all.I'd find it hard to support Greyhound with government subsidies.But if useless regulations are a part of the problem,I really hope all levels of government look very closely at how badly those regulations are needed.Rural residents need,and deserve some services.Not a free ride,but at least a chance at an affordable one.Especially given that urban users get such highly subsidized transit all day,every day.

Spud Lite
said
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Seems to be part of an ongoing campaign to isolate the Northern portions of our country. "The True North strong and free."

Okay - let's continue this policy of attracting Northerners to the south, and then pretending that we have any interest in sovereignty in these areas.

We'll fly Harpo up in his his usual business suit, issue a parka, let him have photo ops for a while, and come back to the south maintaining that we'll not be pushed around.

Meanwhile the infrastructure is disappearing.

Transport is essential in the north to accommodate normal family life - which we all take for granted down here in Lotusland.

Some of us remember the Ontario Northland Railway which bought Germain rail cars and engines to make the connection between the south and the north. This was in the days when it seemed to be reasonable to provide transport, well, between the north and south.

What do we have now? Cars or dog-sleds. Just like the 1930s in Lac St.-Jean.

Julie
said
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Chris:

We'd take the train more but Via Rail refuses to make special stops between Winnipeg and Jasper!!! It will make a zillion special stops in Northern Ontario cottage country or BC but not on the prairies!!! So, people depend a lot on the bus, especially in the smaller communities on the prairies. We live right by the tracks, and now Via Rail refuses to stop in our town to let passengers on and off, and they have every excuse in the book for why they won't do it. It's really a crying shame because they could do it very easily and offer thousands of people better service right across the country -- especially since they spend half their time waiting for freight trains anyway and have padded their travel times by 2 - 4 hours due to CN freight-related delays!

anti_tax dude
said
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What about the billions they have made off govts running first student and first bus???? As usual these losers from Scotland and England can't run anything unless the governments pay them to do it. Not a dime I say and I work for them!!!!!! Start using the money you have made worldwide to run a proper service and people might ride the damn things! You have been gouging the people since you took over from those other losers called Laidlaw!

Jack Meyer
said
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Greyhound is owned by an American Greedy Corporation that cares little about the passengers, Not only did one Guy kill another on the trip, and traumatize the rest. But they still pick up people from Roadway stops, and do not in any case that I have seen them do security checks on the trips to the so called MILKRUNS, across the west. Not sad that they are going it is a long time they SERVED THE PUBLIC!!1

DB
said
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That is awful news. I traveled on greyhound many times when I was in college in Thunder Bay. My husband traveled by bus when he was in university in Winnipeg. It was a great form of affordable transportation, which I am sure it still is. Just what the north needs. One more cut for an already under-serviced area.

david sawkiw[saskatchewan farmer]
said
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I simply do not see why we [government] can't bail out a bus company when we spent obscene amounts on general motors to keep the unions going.

On second thought,, why not turn it over to the natives?? They are very good at running the casinos, so why not a bus company??

WESTERNER
said
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The road goes from Major city to Major city "Stopping" in rural towns along the way! This provides transportation of people and parcels as required. Our Greyhound located in Lloydminster has split shifts for pickup of parcels and has limited times on departures/arrivals. This service is for people WITHOUT VEHICLES that cannot afford to come to Rural areas by RENTAL VEHICLE (to costly), TRAIN (doesn't always have tracks to location or convient times), PLANE (sometimes no service to Rural areas). Anything costs Money to operate - Fuel, Repairs, Certification, Licenses, etc. is all in the cost of the ticket. If NO PASSENGERS due to crappy service - no one will return to use the bus or ship items. Business is Business.

Pip
said
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This was bound to happen sooner orhappened.

Now, Manitobans are virtually without any form of inter-town public transit. I guess this meands an increase in GHG's in our province. Unlikle BC's lower mainland and the Windsor-Montreal corridor, MB does not have a large enough population to make running buses - on routes other than the Trans Canada or Yellowhead - on a daily basis a break-even proposition.

Perhaps, if the Liberals force an election - and win - they will be willing to subsidize Greyhound in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario so that those living in those areas who don't drive have some means of travelling to Winnipeg.

scooter
said
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Gee I live in Northwestern Ontario.The last time I checked there is only one Highway going through all of NWO.If they dont go through here,how will one get from Toronto to say Saskatchewan.!!!1Maybe they will just have to jump out on a slow corner...hmmm..this makes lots of sense.

Pretty sure they just dont want to stop here,but they are going to go right through anyways.(still)

Danny in Halifax
said
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How convenient for them. It's the government's fault. Of course it is! It can't be your business plan or the fact that you are trying to provide a service in an area where there just is not enough people to support it. As one writer said 'when my car is broke' - sorry. Businesses can't survive on the chance that someone might need them. It is sad for the people who will lose the busses but noone can afford to operate at a loss.

Robert
said
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It's kinda funny they are moaning about serving under serviced areas...after they helped BAN car pooling services that were competing with them for the bigger money routes. Really slick Greyhound. Hope they go under, it's a terrible service, and better small business men will do a better job.

reidjr
said
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Ed B

Maybe in some cases thats true but in some cases its not.

Ottawa To Toronto

Via Rail
$125 round trip

Ari Canada
$250 Round Trip

Brett Hodnett
said
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It's not the governments fault. Read the article! The government requires them to serve remote communities which is what Greyhound is now cutting. If we want to have service all across our large and sparsley populated country we can't rely on the private market to provide services or this is exactly what will happen.

Why not...?
said
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look, we have nuclear submarines and nuclear aircraft carriers. I say it's time to have nuclear powered buses then fuel prices will not be an issue.

Go Greyhound. Go nuclear.

Laura Langstaff
said
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Bullying? Heavy-handed? Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black, John (flared nostrils) Baird. I have seen spittle flicked from that bullying, heavy handed mouth of yours many times Mr. Baird. Can't you take what you dish out.....no, I thought not, after all you are a Con.

Louise
said
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They state that the government forces them to serve remote communities? Give me a break, we're in Canada, there are more remote communities then major cities. Don't they still have to go through these places anyways to get from one end of the country to the other. Common business sense would say they might as well make extra money along the way and pick up passengers. Their reasoning makes no sense whatsoever.

Ed B
said
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If the Government had not allowed rail fares to be so expensive,this would not be a concern.
The price for rail travel is more expensive than air fare!
Now the buses can no longer afford to operate.I don't think it is really such a big concern up here in NW Ontario...we have all lost our jobs and have been forgotten about anyway...not many can afford to travel.

John Aldave
said
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I worked for Greyhound and what I think they(Greyhound) should do is that they have to fire all, i mean "all" excecutives and management in western Canada or maybe even the entire network including US. They are just doing such a bad job that they actually just sit there and get the money. Just for example, I worked for Red Deer, Alberta Greyhound, and what happens everytime is that lets' say you send a parcel at Calgary, which is basically an hour away from Red Deer, at maybe let's say about 8am. Even with that distance, you'll get your package inevitable at the next day, which could be by the time given should arrive at Red Deer before it closes by 6pm.

Since what happens is that the sorters, busboys or whatever you want to call them sets all freight aside and sends it on the 'last' trip. I have made my point clear to them in various ways, still the upper management doesn't seem to care. They even got upset and (you might actually know what happened), now I don't work there anymore. What the got to do is very simple, fire everyone from executives to supervisors, they could leave the bottom line workers behind, and start a fresh all-new management who does not sit and do absolutely nothing on problems that are abviously solvable.

Al
said
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Some routes may not be lucrative so reduce frequency .Not all rural areas need daily or twice daily or any other multiples .
Major routes are beyond lucrative so one balances the other with proper management and scheduling .
If it was not a large conglomerate of companies owning it today there would be more profit as well .

perma
said
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chris ... we dont all live in eastern Canada... Calgary is hundreds of miles from the nearest VIA rail station .... this thanks to a Conservative government ... even now... when VIA gets billions of federal dollars.... next to none of it gets spent in the west ... thats how the conservatives treat western Canadians...

Chelsea
said
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So what was the point in opening the bus station at the airport? Its only been open for 2 weeks. Why did they even bother building it? you can't tell me they didn't see this coming for a long time.

Graeme
said
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This article needs some more clarity. Does it mean cross-country buses are no more? Or do buses leaving Saskatchewan lock there doors and not let anyone on or off until they reach Sudbury? Or is the bus loaded with passengers onto a train across Manitoba and Northern Ontario so it doesn't have to drive there?

Obviously I'm being slightly sarcastic, but the article isn't clear if they are cutting service COMPLETELY in these places or if they mean only routes that start and end within Manitoba and NWO are affected. If cross-country buses are driving through cities anyways, it would seem nuts to not pick up or let off passengers.

M. Cameron
said
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If Canada were as denely populated as other countries and not underpopulated, this would surely not be a problem. Canadians have nobody to blame but ourselves, because we do nothing to keep the population base rising.

Francine
said
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Didn't Greyhound just move from it's downtown Winnipeg location to the International Airport? Supposedly to better serve travellers?

Hmmm...

Legislation kills free enterprise
said
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Air Canada and Canadian air both suffered under the rules. Why make a company drive half empty buses or planes to remote communities? If there was enough need, they would make a profit: so there isn't enough need. Government rules can go too far and kill business at a time when the economy is fragile enough....perhaps change the legislation to reduce the service instead?

Susan Franks
said
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Do you think maybe it has nothing to do with finances.
Maybe it is just because they are owned by an American company. Did we hear anything about American routes being cut? NO

Liz
said
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Awesome. Thanks for cutting off my mode of transportation to be with my family over the holidays, Greyhound.

Bill Rich, Calgary
said
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Having a bus carrying two or three passengers hundreds of miles is a very costly operation. Somehow someone has to pay.

Transportation services for remote locations with small population are money loosing business because of the low volume of traffic. Canada must decide either to subsidize these services (from tax money), or move these people to larger centres, like Toronto. You just can't fight with distance.

Mr. North
said
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Sounds like a cry for a Bail Out. Spend our tax dollars to keep buses running...

Iggy from Winnipeg
said
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This is a confusing news article, missing essential facts. Please give the complete picture, CTV. How can Greyhound stop service in Manitoba when it runs across Canada? And yes, there is a brand new bus terminal at the Winnipeg Airport. Does the writer of this article mean stopping runs, but only to locations away from major highways? Clarification, please.

Leslie
said
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Greyhound was sold a few years ago to Laidlaw, the garbage truck company which then proceeded to operate the bus service as though it was part of their "core" enterprise. No wonder business has declined.

The government should absolutely NOT bend to Greyhound's demands. Wherever the service is needed, entrepreneurial Canadians will step in and provide it.

reno
said
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i use to run a cafe that had meals for the greyhound and sold tickets and freight. sometimes only 2 or 3 people would be on the bus. then on the holidays it would be packed. always wondered how they could keep going.

Lisa
said
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The government is not to blame for this. Just last week I shipped some packages from Prince Rupert to Calgary with Greyhound. Not only did they lose my packages for an entire day but when I recieved them they were destroyed. They offer no insurance for their shipping and when we were trying to track down the packages they had NO way of tracking waybills or knowing anything about my packages. Their customer service was deplorable and staff openly told me 'this happens all the time'. They are going out of business because they run theirs very poorly.

Dowling Gal
said
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Greyhound is not a Burlington based company. It is owned by a company in Scotland and is very poorly run.

In July I was going from Toronto Downtown Terminal to Sudbury. The bus was almost an hour late. This was a scheduled bus originating in Toronto, not an overflow bus.

Not only that but if you are going to a small town you are charged significantly more that you are going to a big city. It is $30 more to go to Arnprior than to go to Ottawa, even though you have to go into Arnprior before you get to Ottawa.

We in the north have no choice. There is no train any more thanks to the Federal Government. If you don't drive you either take greyhound or fly.

I have been disgusted with Greyhounds service for quite while. I would dearly love for someone to introduce a more dependable service to Toronto and Ottawa.

chris
said
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Take the train, there's no better way! 1-888-842-7245

Wesley G. Keewatin
said
0 0

Is this not because of that fatal killing of last year, when that poor man was beheaded?

Joey
said
0 0

im dissapointed in greyhound and the goverment for this happening. i have never had a problem with greyhound before. its just sad that not even a month after their new location at the winnipeg airport will be closing

Sandy
said
0 0

The government is waiting money if it helps them or any business. If people cannot afford to buy what the business is selling, then there is no business.

Ryan, Guelph
said
0 0

One more nail in the coffin of NWO. I swear the gov't won't be happy until all the people from the north move down south... like I did.

Amar
said
0 0

I thought they just opened a new station at the Winnipeg airport?

Catmando
said
0 0

Huh. Interesting. So now there will be no way to get to communities in the NorthWest of Ontario unless one rents a car or flys?

And is Greyhound no longer making cross-Canada trips then?

Interesting. Let's see what happens here.

CC
said
0 0

I say ..let them go. I know this will be an inconvenience for awhile in Manitoba, however it will also open the door for a couple smaller private companys to do provincial runs. Other provinces already have them, and there is no doubt that there is a small business opportunity is here.

TrutH
said
0 0

whoh whoh whoh..

i like to take bus trips across the country on the hound... some people in the northern communities depend on this to get them to the next town...
i am not amused.

Matt
said
0 0

That's a shame, I used to take the bus all the time when I lived in MB, there was never much passenger traffic though so it's no wonder they are cooked.

YA from Toronto ON
said
0 0

Make it political and you might gain something. In a democratic world things get done when it is election time.

Candidates will meet with you and cheer you but only up till election and after that WHO THE HECK ARE YOU, EH?

I hope your service survives as it is obviously needed. The political world is full of worms and currently we got some realy bad once. Let's hope we get a change we can be happy about.

Gray Hound
said
0 0

It's not the Government's fault Greyhound can't run a successful business, the rules and regulations did not suddenly change.

Roy
said
0 0

I've used that bus for years... I've always come to depend on it in times when I did not have a car. It's a shame... And I'm not surprised it's the Goverments red tape that's to blame.

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