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January 18, 2013 - 10:24 AM
VANCOUVER - Communities across B.C. won't get any sympathy from the transportation minister as they brace for cuts to regional Greyhound service.
Transportation Minister Mary Polak says she will not interfere with a ruling of the Passenger Transportation Board allowing Greyhound to abandon or scale back numerous unprofitable routes.
Polak says if service adjustments had not been allowed, Greyhound might have pulled out of the province entirely.
She says 75 per cent of the routes remain and speculates that Greyhound's decision could create openings for regional carriers willing to pick up the slack.
One company, Tofino Bus Service, is already waiting for word on its application to run buses on several of the routes Greyhound has reduced, including between Campbell River, Courtenay, Nanaimo and Victoria.
Owner Dylan Green is hopeful, saying his Tofino-based firm has some advantages over Greyhound — including access to a local maintenance shop and the ability to use mini buses rather than motor coaches when demand is very low. (CHNL, CKAY)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013