The company has cancelled all operations for the duration of the pandemic
By Erika Morris
After a 95% drop in ridership since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Greyhound has decided to pull the plug on its services indefinitely. The buses will stop running as of May 13.
Trips from Windsor, ON, to London, London to Toronto and Toronto Airport, London to Kitchener, London to Toronto Local, Toronto to Ottawa, Ottawa to Montreal, Ottawa to Kingston, and Kitchener to Toronto will no longer be available through Greyhound.
Greyhound also cut costs and temporarily laid off employees while waiting for financial support. The company says its services rely on fare purchases and it cannot sustain operations without government support.
Greyhound Canada cut back its operations iin 2018, cancelling service in the Prairies, British Columbia, and northern Ontario due to severe declines in demand, and with the onset of the pandemic in late March, the company canceled nine more domestic routes and three trans-border routes.
Some have spoken out against the decision to halt intercity routes, including New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who said that seniors, low-income earners, and many essential workers depend on the services. Singh hopes to pressure the federal government to include public transport in the economic recovery plan.
Major commercial flights and trains have also been drastically reduced, leaving Canadians few options for travel. The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents many Greyhound employees, says the federal government has given them the cold shoulder and failed mass transit.
“As we continue to navigate this situation, we will keep our customers and employees who are affected by this temporary shutdown top of mind,” Stuart Kendrick, the company’s vice-president, said in a release.
“We regret the difficulty that this will cause them, but this decision came as a last resort option to address the uncontrollable consequences and devastating impacts of this pandemic.”
Photo: iStock/typhoonski.
