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How Wilson’s plans to succeed with intercity bus routes abandoned by Greyhound

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John Wilson, president and CEO of Wilson's Transportation, said he is expanding service into the Lower Mainland to cover routes that Greyhound will abandon on Wednesday (via Adrian Lam/Times Colonist).

Island bus company Wilson’s Transportation added buses to its fleet, hired new drivers and is expanding into the Lower Mainland to cover some of the routes being abandoned by Greyhound Canada.

High fuel costs, a labour shortage and unpredictable ridership make it difficult for inter-city bus services to turn a profit, but the company’s owner, John Wilson, hopes Wilson’s can thrive where Greyhound failed.

“You have to be more strategic with your scheduling,” Wilson said. “And make sure there’s the connectivity (between routes).”

Beginning next week, the company will run twice-daily routes from Vancouver to Kelowna and Vancouver to Kamloops, with departure times lining up with the B.C. Ferries Connector bus that runs between Victoria and Vancouver.

“We're hoping with our connectivity to the B.C. Ferries Connector service, they'll be able to feed right into each other and grow the service,” Wilson said.

B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said 83 per cent of Greyhound’s routes will be covered by a mix of private companies or government-subsidized services by the end of this year. Trevena said the province has been working with the Passenger Transportation Board to fast-track applications to ensure bus companies will be on the road when Greyhound goes dark.

Tofino Bus had already expanded its Victoria-to-Nanaimo service when Greyhound Canada announced it was withdrawing from the Island in February. That’s why Greyhound’s announcement in July that it was pulling services from Western Canada had little impact on Vancouver Island, said the company’s owner, Dylan Green.

“Before they announced their national plan, we increased our frequency to make sure there was no disruption of service,” said Green. He said the company is now expanding its freight service Box By Bus.

Wilson’s is still waiting for the transportation authority to approve its application for a Vancouver-to-Whistler route, which would cost passengers between $35 and $45, Wilson said. The Vancouver-to-Kelowna and Kamloops routes will cost just over $60. Wilson said the prices are comparable to Greyhound’s.

Wilson’s will be competing with Ebus, which will offer two daily routes between Vancouver and Kamloops and two additional routes from Kamloops, through Kelowna to Vancouver.

Regina-based Rider Express has announced plans to launch a long-haul Vancouver-Calgary-Winnipeg route along the Trans Canada Highway and, in November, a Highway 16 route linking Edmonton and Saskatoon, said manager Shauna Hardy. Both routes will directly replace Greyhound routes.

With a $2-million investment, Wilson’s has added 10 buses to its fleet and hired a dozen new employees. The company is hoping to eventually expand service to Calgary and Edmonton.

Wilson said long-haul bus riders are drying up as many people can find low-cost flights for a similar price.

Ride-share and carpooling apps, such as Poparide, are also disrupting the market for inter-city bus companies, Wilson said.

“I think there’s a lot of challenges with intercity bus services, ride-share being one of them, (as well as) low-cost airlines,” he said. “But there's still a need for sure.”

Last May, Calgary-based Pacific Western Transportation was hired by the province of British Columbia to operate its B.C. Bus North service after Greyhound cancelled service to Prince Rupert and Dawson Creek.

Passengers aren’t waiting for the last Greyhound service Wednesday to check out new options. According to Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president of Greyhound Canada, ticket sales have already fallen off to the point that some route frequencies are being reduced.

“Demand is quite low as we run into this last week or 10 days,” he said. “You’ve got single-digit riderships on the schedule that we have left throughout Western Canada, so that’s probably about a 50 or 60 or 70 per cent decline based on what corridor you look at.”

The company planned to stop selling tickets on long-distance routes a few days before the buses stop running to help ensure passengers aren’t left stranded and holding the unused half of a two-way ticket, Kendrick said.

— Katie DeRosa, Times Colonist (with files from The Canadian Press)