Greyhound Canada announces service cuts across Manitoba this summer

WINNIPEG – Several Manitoba communities will lose Greyhound passenger bus service in July, but the province is hoping other companies will step in to fill the void.

“There’s been interest in locally-based providers in the private sector. We have at least one other major bus company … that has indicated its interest in coming to Manitoba,” Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said.

Greyhound announced Thursday it will eliminate 12 routes and reduce service on three others as of July 1 due to low ridership.

Passenger service will end on routes including Highway 2 between Winnipeg and Brandon, Highway 3 between Winnipeg and Brandon, and a route that serves Winnipeg, Steinbach and Sprague.

Other routes will continue with reduced service, including the major Winnipeg-Brandon run along Highway 1.

The announcement was the latest step in an ongoing shift away from what was essentially a regulated monopoly. Greyhound has for years served the entire province, using profitable routes to subsidize smaller ones. But in 2009, the company threatened to pull out of Manitoba entirely, saying the financial losses were piling up.

The government stepped in with $3 million a year in subsidies to keep the Greyhound system running, while also planning to open up the market to competition by this year.

Ashton admitted that replacement companies might not fill up every existing route, and may not be in place by July. They could also use smaller vehicles instead of buses on some routes.

The cuts, which will affect only passenger bus runs and have no impact on parcel and freight service, have municipal leaders worried.

“It’s hard to say, until it’s actually happening after July 1, what is going on,” Doug Dobrowolski, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

“The concerns are level of service and age of the fleet – like what kind of buses are (new companies) going to have.”

The end of Greyhound’s province-wide service means the company will no longer receive subsidies, Ashton said, and replacement companies will not receive any either.