Greyhound shutting down Canadian operations... maybe good time for Via Rail?

This came across Reddit's "transit" section: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/greyho ... -1.6025276

Greyhound Canada is shutting down all of its remaining bus routes in Canada, permanently.

The bus company says all of its remaining routes will cease operations as of midnight Thursday.

...

"A full year without revenue has unfortunately made it impossible to continue operations," spokesperson Stuart Kendrick said. "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."

Guess Via Rail's going to get a passenger bump?

Could this be a chance for VIA to expand outside the Corridor?

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Greyhound already downsized heavily in 2018, eliminating western service (west of Sudbury) and all
rural routes. There has been concern that this would leave remote communities with no transit
options and remove timely delivery (package express) to businesses in such areas that cannot
afford to rely of delays by private trucking or express carriers.

If Greyhound as a for-profit company couldn't make a bus work (arguably the most cost effective way of serving small markets), what makes anyone think that government funded heavy rail is going to do any better?...

In response, Megabus will expand service in Ontario.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, company staff said double-decker Megabus vehicles will be servicing OC Transpo’s St.-Laurent station, just east of Ottawa’s downtown core and off of Highway 417, between Thursdays and Sundays starting on May 20.

The update said a new route to and from Ottawa will service downtown Toronto, Scarborough
Town Centre and Kingston.

Declining fare revenue and a 95% decline in traffic are traffic are blamed for Greyhound's shutdown.

Greyhound Canada senior vice-president Stuart Kendrick said the complete loss of so-called
farebox revenue during the pandemic has forced the company to permanently cease operations.
He said despite the ongoing challenges with its remaining routes, nothing could have prepared
the company for the dramatic 95 per cent drop in passengers at the outset of the pandemic.

The decision is a blow to rural and remote areas that rely on a patchwork of private intercity bus
companies for transportation. The service has long been part of a network linking smaller
communities and big cities, offering an affordable and convenient mode of travel for everyone
from essential workers and students to the elderly and backpackers.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 7:13 am It's been proposed "down below the 49th" to have Amtrak acquire Greyhound Lines (US); possibly
an agency "topside", such as VIA, consider same. I think both are "smart moves" as such would
allow each agency to continue providing surface transportation.

If Greyhound shrinks or is acquired, what will become of Greyhound affiliated carriers such as Peter Pan in the
Northeast? They often share or pool fleets and have joint ticketing. Other carries also have joint through fares

Would there be "antitrust" issues of government having control of surface interstate passenger service?

Alphaboi wrote: ↑Thu May 13, 2021 6:14 pm Could this be a chance for VIA to expand outside the Corridor?

No.....what was left of Greyhound Canada was in Ontario and just reaching to Montreal from Ottawa. Their routes were already closely paralleled by VIA.

The major route between Toronto and Montreal wasn't even Greyhound. It's MegaBus.

Greyhound did not run east of Montreal. That's Orleans Express......and Maritime Bus from Riviere-du-Loup to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.....and Covid aside you can still get all the way to St. John's, Newfoundland on DRL Bus.

NS VIA FAN wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 9:59 pm What was left of Greyhound Canada were already closely paralleled by VIA.

Did any regional carriers and local/tribal governments step in to take over any of the western and rural
routes dropped in 2018?

Has ONR considered expanding bus or rail service as a result?

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 10:05 pm

NS VIA FAN wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 9:59 pm What was left of Greyhound Canada were already closely paralleled by VIA.

Did any regional carriers and local/tribal governments step in to take over any of the western and rural
routes dropped in 2018?

Has ONR considered expanding bus or rail service as a result?

Ontario Northland can now get you all the way to Winnipeg:

https://www.ontarionorthland.ca/en/pdf-schedules

There's also several regional carriers across the west now.....and Greyhound USA will still continue routes (post Covid) to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

electricron wrote: ↑Fri May 14, 2021 11:40 am The major problem with all “scheduled” intercity transportation options on a National scale are regional transportation providers providing services on the most lucrative routes without a schedule. I am assuming it is the same competition issues in the USA as Canada. Each casino or tourist destination hotel in the USA offers some way to transport you there; by sea, air, or land. If I need to get to the Choctaw casino in Oklahoma from Dallas, there is a private bus charter available, likewise to Branson, Missouri, or Shreveport, Louisiana. I do not need to take Greyhound. With all the private charters available for the lucrative profitable markets, all that is left for Greyhound are the unprofitable markets they must provide service to on a schedule.

I strongly believe rigid scheduled intercity bus services will soon be gone forever.

Seems to me the dog is competing also with scheduled services like Megabus that take the profitable city pairs. And the less branded buses for popular routes, like the NEC. And luxury buses for some routes.

Greyhound shut down on the 13th of May 2020 - temporarily so it was said then. This article is from May 7th, 2020.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/greyho ... -1.5559180

Recently the CBC news interviewed a young woman in Windsor who said she always takes Greyhound to Toronto and didn't know what she was going to do from now on. I suppose she had no reason to go to Toronto for the past year and has never heard of VIA. Even with reduced service, there are two trains a day in each direction. Porter Airlines completely shut down a year ago - supposedly temporarily. Air Canada has one daily flight at an outrageous fare.

VIA did acquire some extra passengers, but not all of them were the sort of people that VIA would want. It will sound snobbish to some people, but after some of the many incidents in the coach(es) of the Canadian (especially one that involved a knife fight) some VIA staff blamed the number of incidents on the type of passengers who normally travel by bus.

A western company called Rider Express, which expanded to fill some of the void left by the 2018 Greyhound cuts in the prairies, has announced its intentions to open routes in Ontario and Quebec
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/greyho ... -1.6026564