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The shut down of Greyhound routes across B.C. is slated to come into place next month, and apart from average commuters who rely on the bus service to get to their destination, questions are being raised about how released inmates from Southern Interior prisons will get home.

It's a common practice for B.C. Corrections to send an inmate back to their "court of origin" upon their release, according to an email statement from B.C. Corrections spokesperson Cindy Rose.

"Generally this means giving them the means needed to return home, or to another location considered reasonable or necessary, like a treatment centre," Rose says. "In many instances, inmates are picked up by friends and family at the end of their custodial sentence. Other transportation alternatives include taxi vouchers, rides from staff, and the pick-up service that some community resources like treatment centres provide."

Rose adds that B.C. Corrections is expecting to use these alternatives more frequently going forward after the shut down, adding the service is aware of ongoing work by a federal, provincial and territorial working group specifically looking at the intercity bus issue. Private operators are also expressing interest in certain routes, and Rose says both of these options could potentially be used for inmate transport.

It's difficult to say how many inmates in Kamloops and Oliver are released every year, but residents in those areas are likely expecting the province will find alternatives to avoid soaking up that demographic in their own towns and cities.

Dean Purdy with the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union says he isn't sure yet if the changes will affect staff but he's concerned that there could be an added strain on resources within the corrections branch.

"If it puts more strains on correctional officers…. then we will be looking to that as a concern because we're already overworked, we're already understaffed," Purdy says. "We're already up against a wall with shortages and overtime... Anything that adds to possibly more of that is only going to exacerbate the situation."

Since Greyhound announced its cancellation of all but one route in B.C. earlier this year, at least one Alberta company has applied to B.C.'s Passenger Transportation Board to operate coach buses through select routes in the Southern Interior.

Some people have also voiced their reluctance to turn to ride-sharing services once the routes are cut off.

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