This is not good news for persons with disabilities and those who opt to function without a Driver’s License. Below are four articles related to the Greyhound Bus closure topic found on CBC News since September 2017.
I have been an intercity bus passenger, mostly on Vancouver Island and the BC Interior since August 3, 1978 when I had to relinquish my BC Driver’s License due to failing vision. Other than periodic flights to some destinations, riding with others who happen to be heading my way, or sometimes recruiting people to facilitate my getting to a chosen destination, I have long relied on Greyhound to get there. Yes, we have other options now on Vancouver Island, however neither of those other two options offer wheelchair accessible vehicles nor their schedules often require me to spend additional nights in Hotels due to poor rural service.
I live in Parksville and when work keeps me in Victoria beyond 3:00 PM I am not able to get all the way home, necessitating a night in a Hotel. Also, the earliest I can arrive in Victoria is 12:00 Noon because the first bus out of Parksville doesn’t leave until shortly after 9:00 AM. I remember in the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s riding on Greyhound busses that were full or nearly full most of the time, and their schedules made sense. I could leave for Victoria on the 6:30 or 7:00 AM bus, and I could leave Victoria on the 7:45 PM bus and get home to Parksville, and to Port Alberni where I lived then.
It’s been my experience that when Greyhound started to cut back on schedules years ago the ridership went down accordingly, to the point that they have become irrelevant to me and many passengers over time. Also, the cost of a ticket has gone up to the point where many who live on limited incomes find it difficult to take the bus today.
I don’t know what the answer is, however it should be well understood that not everyone has a car in the driveway, and our ability to connect with family and our chosen communities has just been curtailed beyond reason for a country as rich and diverse as Canada. I hope that Provincial and Federal Governments work with affected Canadians to work out solutions that will work for passengers, and that will allow Intercity and transit operators to provide transportation under profitable and sustainable models.
Greyhound to end all bus routes in Western Canada except 1 in B.C.
CBC News, the Canadian Press Posted: Jul 09, 2018 2:40 PM ET
‘It’s very disappointing’: Greyhound opts to cut some rural B.C. Interior stops.
Courtney Dickson CBC News Posted: Feb 23, 2018 4:14 PM PT
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/greyhound-southern-interior-1.4549732
Goodbye Greyhound? The thread stitching together Canada’s North wears thin.
Yvette Brend CBC News
Posted: Sep 01, 2017
Greyhound plans to continue freight delivery in northern B.C., even if passenger service ends.
Andrew Kurjata CBC News Posted: Sep 01, 2017
albertruel 