Alberta long-haul bus approved as Greyhound Canada ends B.C. service

An Alberta long-haul bus company has been approved by the Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) to service B.C.’s interior.

Three major routes will be available to customers travelling in B.C.: Vancouver to Kamloops, Kamloops to Kelowna and Kelowna to Vancouver.

“Our plan is to start operations prior to Oct. 31,” said John Stepovy, director of business development at EBus.

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Stepovy said there will be stops along the route and that the company is hoping to eventually expand beyond the three routes.

In July, Greyhound Canada announced it would end all service in B.C. with the exception of a Vancouver to Seattle run.

Those services are set to wrap up Oct. 31, and Stepovy said EBus is happy to be taking on the in-demand route.

“B.C. has been a market that we’ve had lots of requests for and of course the timing there, it absolutely made sense,” he said.

He added that the company hopes to have between six and eight buses on the road before the end of the month, adding that pricing — which hasn’t been set yet — will be competitive.

The ‘EBus’ brand was launched in 2011, but its parent company, Red Arrow, has been servicing all of Alberta for 40 years.