Toronto, Ontario — In an announcement that will likely have significant impacts on transportation in Canada’s most remote corners, and undoubtedly serve as a severe blow to blues musicians the world over, Greyhound has officially ended operations in Canada as of Thursday.
According to the press release, this closure will have no impact on the American Greyhound Lines Inc., and in fact, cross-border services will remain available after border closures are lifted for the following routes:
- Toronto to New York
- Toronto to Buffalo
- Montreal to New York
- Montreal to Boston
- Vancouver to Seattle
“We deeply regret the impact this has on our staff and our customers, as well as the communities we have had the privilege of serving for many years,” said Stuart Kendrick, senior v-p of Greyhound Canada.
“A full year without revenue has unfortunately made it impossible to continue operations. Thank you to our dedicated staff for their commitment and service, and to our customers for choosing Greyhound Canada during better times.
The company remains committed to honouring its labour agreements with employees and funding the commitments to our pension plan participants.”
The pandemic has already shed light on the value and privilege of personal transportation and in this decision come many questions regarding the mobility of Canadians in the most rural and remote areas of the country, who may be unable to drive for one reason or another.
Anthony Perl, a professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., says governments need to step up to fill the gap to ensure that bus-based transportation networks can exist, either by subsidizing them like urban bus systems or by helping to develop a hybrid model such as a co-operative, which many other countries have seen success with.
“Bus services are an essential part of the future because of their lower environmental impact,” he said. “We just have to think of a way to make it economically viable.”
