Rider Express bus service to start in Western Canada on Monday

As Greyhound will be wrapping up its Western Canada service at the end of October, Rider Express is prepared to bridge the gap for some routes.

Routes from Calgary to Vancouver and back as well as Calgary to Winnipeg and back will start running on Monday, Oct. 29 — two days before the Greyhound service ends.

“It’s another opportunity to serve Western Canada. We are talking about four provinces, maybe five, (Ontario) which is almost 10 million people. This bus service is much needed,” Firat Uray, Rider Express and Transportation Ltd. owner and president, said in August.

The bus depot will add six more 45- or 55-passenger buses.

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Twice-a-day trips between Vancouver to Calgary and daily trips between Calgary and Winnipeg will also be offered seven days a week. He said stops in small towns could be accommodated if someone requests a pick-up or drop-off.

Rider Express is already servicing twice-daily routes between Regina and Saskatoon, twice-daily runs between Saskatoon and Prince Alberta along with weekly routes between Regina, Saskatoon and Swift Current.

As for future bus stops, Uray said the company plans to find new locations as existing Greyhound terminals are too expensive to operate. He said he’s currently in talks with Husky stations in Calgary for potential stop locations.

Route information and ticket prices are expected to be on the Rider Express site by Thursday, Oct. 25. Ticket costs will be the same as Greyhound tickets to start, Uray said on Wednesday.