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Greyhound BC Service Discontinuations & Replacements


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This topic is about info on Greyhound's discontinuation of service in BC and possible service replacements.  

Here are some options on what to replace Greyhound with: 

1.Government Run Transit System (Like GO Transit) 

2.New Private Transit System 

3.BC Transit Creates New Suburban Intercity Routes 

People, especially in rural areas REALLY depend on Greyhound to get places they need to go. Your Ideas could shape the future. Any inappropriate posts will be reported. 

Thanks!!:DB)

Edited by Urban_Monkey Transit
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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, buizelbus said:

EXPAND BCBusNorth, maybe place it under BCTransit jurisdiction. Possibly even a CMBC intercity service between Vancouver and Fraser Valley/Sea to Sky area.

The current plan for the Sea to Sky if everything goes smoothly is starting September 2019 BC Transit will be introducing a new route between Squamish and Vancouver, re-implementing the route between Squamish and Whistler and expanding the current 99 between Whistler and Pemberton to connect all communities in the region. The routes will have 6 round trips on week days and 4 round trips on weekends

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We already have the WestCoast Express and the Fraser Valley Express for the Valley, but equipment upgrades and increased service would be welcome.

Translink has made some noises about increased service on the 701 as well.

There is a plan in place to extend service on the 66 to Hope as well, though I am uncertain at this time of the timeframe for it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On September 21, 2018 at 5:11 PM, buizelbus said:

EXPAND BCBusNorth, maybe place it under BCTransit jurisdiction. Possibly even a CMBC intercity service between Vancouver and Fraser Valley/Sea to Sky area.

Either CMBC does the new buses or they create a brand new transit system for express buses around Vancouver to Hope, Abbotsford, Squamish etc.

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  • 11 months later...

Diversified Transportation (Ebus) has now applied for a Kamloops-Williams Lake-Prince George route, which will compete with the infrequent Adventure Charters service that operates four times a week along the Fraser Canyon corridor from Surrey to Prince George.

Wilsons Group (BC Ferries Connector, BC Connector, VI Connector, TofinoBus, YYJ Shuttle) has applied for a service to Whistler.

Mountain Man Mike (yes seriously) has begun once-weekly service along the previously unserviced Crowsnest Corridor between Kalso and Vancouver via Princeton.

Rider Express has once again reduced their frequency (to twice weekly) on their interprovincial route along the Trans Canada and cut out several smaller communities.

It's really the wild west out here now. Trying to figure out what bus companies service your community requires a lot of Google searching to even get started. Beyond that, companies are not being transparent about what services they operate. For instance, IslandLink Bus refused to provide a complete schedule upon request, and Wilsons Group makes no indication on any of their websites that they operate all of the following services: Grey Line, BC Ferries Connector, BC Connector, TofinoBus, VI Connector, Mt. Washington Ski Bus, and Vancouver Island Coach Lines. It is becoming increasingly complex to determine scheduling. I have been flip-flopping on the idea of creating a consolidated schedule or route planning tool, but unfortunately Canadian copyright law prohibits redistribution of scheduling information without the express permission of the publisher.

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  • 2 months later...

EBus's application to service the Kamloops - Prince George route was rejected by the government after the existing provider, using a non-accessible, bathroom-less bus that required a transfer to get to Kamloops, complained that they would be pushed out. While I'm all for the small guy, there's a point when you don't want to be sitting on the equivalent of a community shuttle for seven hours and it would be nice to have an alternative.

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1 hour ago, InfiNorth said:

EBus's application to service the Kamloops - Prince George route was rejected by the government after the existing provider, using a non-accessible, bathroom-less bus that required a transfer to get to Kamloops, complained that they would be pushed out. While I'm all for the small guy, there's a point when you don't want to be sitting on the equivalent of a community shuttle for seven hours and it would be nice to have an alternative.

Who is the current provider?

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20 hours ago, Thomasw said:

Who is the current provider?

Adventure Charters Intercity Bus, and my previous claim of sitting on a community shuttle for 7 hours was wrong, you would instead be sitting on the equivalent of a community shuttle for eleven hours with their schedule. Pretty much my worst travel nightmare, and I'm a fan of sitting on buses. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
3 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Capital City Depot has gotten a rather shoddy and bizarre paint job, I assume due to graffiti or nearby businesses tired of a boarded up building. All signs of the PCL sign that used to be visible are now gone thanks to the new paint. 

 

The plan had been to tear that down and the Empress owner was going to put up another building there, but I haven't heard anything about that for two years, nor have I seen any development updates for there (I don't watch very closely, though). Wonder what the plan is there?

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2 hours ago, Dane said:

The plan had been to tear that down and the Empress owner was going to put up another building there, but I haven't heard anything about that for two years, nor have I seen any development updates for there (I don't watch very closely, though). Wonder what the plan is there?

When I first moved to Victoria five years ago, it was the last year or two of the terminal being open. When it was closed, it was announced that it would be a housing project. Apparently someone has decided to sit on the hottest piece of real estate in Victoria. That being said... consider how long that motel sat abandoned across from the Spaghetti Factory before it was finally redeveloped. There's something seriously wrong with the system if, in a city short of housing, they can't even redevelop lots that are as city-centre as city-centre gets. 

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It appears that, even disregarding the COVID service suspension by Wilson on many of its routesWilson's no longer serves the Vancouver-Kamloops/Vancouver-Kelowna route with its BC Connector as its website redirects you to eBus's website for bus schedules. This doesn't surprise me as they were basically adding to eBus's schedule without all of eBus's stops, so it makes sense to contract eBus to do the route so they can serve more areas without the paperwork. If anyone knows what's going on here please let me know.

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  • 4 months later...

Wilsons has resumed services on the island and on the Sea-To-Sky corridor, though the North Island still has no service other than the local BC Transit services. Looks like they won't be resuming services on the Coquihalla, as they continue to refer people to eBus for that purpose. Mountain Man Mike's still hasn't started the Osoyoos-Kelowna Service, but it's still in the works. On a very different note, I got to hit the double-whammy of rare buses to spot in the Cariboo. I saw the afternoon run of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek-Clinton regional BC Transit shuttle (nice vehicle, thought it would be some beat up old community shuttle that had been retired from Victoria) but I didn't catch the number as I was busy, you know, driving. Also passed the Adventure Charters Intercity Bus, which despite the name is in fact a scheduled service both offered and operated by the aforementioned company. I'm glad they offer services along the Cariboo Highway corridor... but my god do they need a better graphic designer and a better identity. Their bus didn't look like an intercity service of any kind, it looked more like a tourist bus. We seriously need more cohesive services in BC. 

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  • 1 month later...

Mountain Man Mike's bus is now serving Osoyoos to Kelowna Airport with stops at pretty much all points between four times a week, should be interesting to see if the route is successful as theoretically is a doubling of (much slower) service already provided by BC Transit. 

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  • 5 months later...
1 hour ago, InfiNorth said:

I'm hopeful for them. While "normal" seems distant, I'm cautiously optimistic we have a normal-ish summer ahead for us. I think Wilson's business model is such that even without international tourism a reasonably vibrant local economy could keep them going. 

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21 hours ago, Dane said:

I'm hopeful for them. While "normal" seems distant, I'm cautiously optimistic we have a normal-ish summer ahead for us. I think Wilson's business model is such that even without international tourism a reasonably vibrant local economy could keep them going. 

I would say that it might actually help them a bit - consider the people who, instead of going to Hawaii for a week or Cancun, will head up to Tofino or Whistler on one of Wilson's services. That being said, they need a far more cohesive brand image and they need to bring their services under one umbrella so we don't have as much of a mess of fragmented services. 

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  • 5 months later...
On 8/15/2021 at 1:17 AM, T6H-5307N said:

Apologies for cross-posting... will post this in the appropriate motorcoach section as well.

Vancouver Island Connector / Tofino Bus / Wilson's BYD highway coach trial for Nanaimo-Victoria route.

https://www.vicnews.com/news/electric-bus-on-trial-run-serving-victoria-to-nanaimo-route/

DSC00942.thumb.JPG.ee77a5b0d541a6dc5977c248495bae4f.JPGDSC00943.thumb.JPG.6ffd7ac331a8ea502bdd9567b95349aa.JPG

 

Are/would they be allowed on the ferries?

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