Greyhound Canada
![]() | |
![]() Motor Coach Industries 102DL3 in Toronto in October 2014 | |
Parent | FirstGroup |
---|---|
Founded | 1929 |
Ceased operation | May 13, 2021 |
Headquarters | Burlington, Ontario |
Service area | Quebec and Ontario |
Service type | Intercity coach service |
Alliance | Greyhound Lines Trailways of New York |
Website | www.greyhound.ca |
Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC was the Canadian affiliate of Greyhound USA, and part of the North American operations of FirstGroup. It ceased operations on May 13, 2021.[1]
Though the company previously operated throughout much of Canada, at time of closure operations were confined to the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, providing services in the main centres such as Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Barrie, London, Hamilton, Kitchener, Windsor, and Niagara Falls.
While Greyhound Canada has ceased operation, its parent Greyhound USA says that it will resume cross-border routes once the Canada/US border reopens.[2][3]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Greyhound_Canada_bus_1284_to_Vancouver.jpg/220px-Greyhound_Canada_bus_1284_to_Vancouver.jpg)
In 1929, Greyhound Canada was founded as Canadian Greyhound Coaches Limited by George Fay and Speed Olson, operating first in Nelson, British Columbia and then Alberta.[4] It was sold to Greyhound USA in 1940. In 1948 it purchased a controlling interest in bus manufacturer Motor Coach Industries, taking full ownership in 1956.[5]
In 1992, Gray Coach was purchased from Stagecoach while control of Motor Coach Industries passed to Greyhound USA. In July 1996, Greyhound Air was established operating Boeing 727s.[6] In September 1997 the business was purchased by Laidlaw.[7] The Greyhound Air business was not included and shut down. Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines was purchased in 1998 followed shortly after by Penetang-Midland Coach Lines. In 2007 it was included in the purchase of Laidlaw by FirstGroup.[5][8]
Western Canada service termination
In February 2018, Greyhound Canada received permission to terminate its two remaining routes on Vancouver Island running from Victoria, British Columbia to Nanaimo and Vancouver. Tofino Bus Services subsequently took over these two Greyhound routes.[9][10]
Greyhound Canada terminated service along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia with the last run being on May 30, 2018. Greyhound said it was losing $35,000 per day on routes in Northern British Columbia and in parts of Vancouver Island, and had lost $70 million in the six years prior to 2018[11] At the time, BC Bus North stepped in to provide services between Fort Nelson, Prince Rupert, Prince George, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.[12][13][14]
Greyhound Canada also terminated service from Prince George, British Columbia to Whitehorse, Yukon with the last trip from Whitehorse occurring on May 30, 2018.[15]
From 2014 to 2017, ridership along that part of the route between Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson had dropped from 18,307 to 9,647 passengers.[16]
Greyhound Canada announced on July 9, 2018 that it was cancelling all services west of Sudbury, Ontario. The sole remaining route between Vancouver and Seattle would be operated by Greyhound USA. Greyhound Canada claimed the cancellations were due to declining ridership, which dropped 41% nationwide since 2010 and 8% in Western Canada alone in 2017. The cancellations took effect on October 31, 2018.[17] Greyhound said that the decline in ridership was due to increased car ownership, subsidies to competing passenger carriers, competition from low-cost airlines and regulatory restrictions.[18]
COVID-19 and service termination
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada resulted in a 95 percent drop in ridership. Thus, Greyhound reduced service on March 25, 2020 and suspended six routes on April 5, 2020. On May 6, 2020, Greyhound Canada announced it would permanently shut down all its remaining bus services which it did on May 13, 2021.[19] Greyhound refunded tickets and travel vouchers for travel after May 13.[20][21][22]
Besides the pandemic, Greyhound also blamed ride sharing and subsidized competition from Via Rail for the shutdown, [23] which affected 400 employees.[19]
Greyhound Canada planned to sell its bus stations,[20] and to sell its bus fleet. It placed its fleet of 38 buses on auction scheduled for January 18, 2022. Some of the buses feature wheelchair capability, leather seats, multimedia screens and on-board restrooms.[23]
Routes
Routes listed below are those that were in service prior to the then-temporary suspension of service in May 2020, all of which were permanently terminated in May 2021.
Regular service
At the time of its closure in 2021, Greyhound Canada's scheduled bus services were confined to Ontario and Quebec, although all routes were already suspended on May 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[24]
At the time of its service suspension, Greyhound Canada operated the following routes:[25]
- Toronto–Ottawa–Montreal
- Toronto–London—Windsor
- Sudbury–Ottawa/Toronto
- Toronto–Kitchener/Guelph/Cambridge
- Toronto–Niagara Falls
- Ottawa–Kingston
Greyhound Canada also operated a number of services to the United States, but through services to large US cities were provided by its US-based parent company Greyhound Lines.[25] Most routes operated by Greyhound Canada were to border cities, such as Buffalo, and Detroit, with service further into the US provided by Greyhound Lines.
For travel into areas not served by Greyhound, passengers could sometimes transfer onto other bus lines which maintained inter-line agreements with Greyhound:
QuickLink
Greyhound operated a commuter service in Southern Ontario known as 'QuickLink Commuter Service'.[26] A list of cities served by this service:
Greyhound Courier Express
Greyhound Courier Express was a courier division of Greyhound Canada. It provided courier and freight service to more than 1,100 destinations across Canada and internationally by bus or air. [citation needed]
Stations
Fleet
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2021) |
As at October 2018, Greyhound operated 436 vehicles, but it has an extended fleet through connecting operators:[27]
Make/Model | Description | Fleet size | Year acquired | Year retired | Notes |
Motor Coach Industries D4505 | suburban coach | 42 | 2006 | Active | ![]() |
Motor Coach Industries G4500 | suburban coach | 65 | 2002 | 2014 | ![]() |
Motor Coach Industries D4500 | suburban coach | N/A | 2001-2002 | Active | ![]() |
Motor Coach Industries 102EL3 | suburban coach | N/A | 2000 | 2015 | |
Motor Coach Industries 102C3 | suburban coach | 76 | 1991 | 2011 | |
Motor Coach Industries 102D3 | suburban coach | 20 | 1994-1996 | 2015 | ![]() |
Motor Coach Industries 102DL3 | suburban coach | 189 | 1994-2000 | Active | |
Prevost Car H3-45 | suburban coach | 2 | 1995 | 2018 | Most retired and sold in 2016 |
Prevost Car X3-45 | suburban coach | 17/54 | 2008/2010-14 | Active | ![]() |
denotes wheelchair accessible vehicles
Historic
- MCI MC-7 suburban coach
- Twin Coach 38S transit bus
- MCI Courier 100, 100A, 100B, 100C suburban coach
- MCI Courier 200, 200A, 200B suburban coach
- MCI Courier 95, 95D, 96, 97 suburban coach
- MCI Courier 85A, 85-X suburban coach
- Western Flyer Coach P-41R "Canuck" rear engine intercity coach
- MCI MC-1 suburban coach
- MCI MCX-1 suburban coach
- MCI MC-2 suburban coach
- MCI MC-3 suburban coach
- MCI MCX-4 suburban coach
- MCI MC-4 suburban coach
- MCI MCC-5 suburban coach
- MCI MC-5A suburban coach
- MCI MC-6 suburban coach
- MCI MC-8 suburban coach
- MCI MC-5B suburban coach
- MCI MCX-5 suburban coach
- MCI MC-9 suburban coach
- MCI 96A3 suburban coach
- MCI 102DL3 suburban coach
- Yellow Coach 743 intercity suburban coach
- GMC PD-3302 rear engine parlour coach
- CC&F/Brill IC-37 intercity coach
- GMC TDH-4506 "Old Look"
- GMC TDH-4509 "Old Look"
- Motor Coach Industries 96A3
- Motor Coach Industries 102A3
- Motor Coach Industries 9
- Motor Coach Industries-9Sp
- Prevost Car Le Mirage XLII
- International 3400
- Van Hool TD925
- Setra S 417 HDH
- Designline EcoCoach
Most buses are registered in Alberta and bear the province's license plates. In Ontario, Voyageur buses and some Greyhound buses have Ontario plates.
Older buses sport the old colours of the American parent but with a Canadian flag. Between mid-2000s to early-2010s, certain buses had a white base with large greyhound image on the front and sides with a large light grey wording Greyhound on the sides along with a maple leaf. Since mid-2010s, most buses were painted in the same navy-blue-and-grey livery with the US-based parent company with no additional markings, and thus were virtually indistinguishable from US Greyhound buses.
Transmissions
From the 1985 model year 96A3 to the 1995 model year D4000 and D4500 (102D(L)3), as well as the first Prevost H3-45 coaches, Greyhound Canada specified manual transmissions in all their intercity coaches. At first, five speed Eaton Fuller transmissions were equipped in all 96A3 and 102A3 coaches. Beginning with the 1989 model year 102C3SS coaches, Greyhound Canada specified seven speed manual transmissions.
Allison B500 and B500Rs have been used on coaches equipped with Automatic transmissions until the D4505s which use the ZF-AStronic (automatic standard) transmission.
Unions
- Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1415 represented unionized Greyhound employees in Ontario and Quebec and is based in Toronto.
Notable incidents and accidents
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/40px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png)
- December 23, 2000: An attempted hijacking of a Greyhound Canada bus near Thunder Bay, Ontario left one woman dead and 31 others injured.[28]
- July 30, 2008: Tim McLean, a passenger on an Edmonton to Winnipeg schedule, was beheaded by another passenger near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The attacker was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder, but later found to be not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.[28][29][30][31] Greyhound Canada withdrew ads with the slogan There's a reason you've never heard of "bus rage" following the event, citing that the campaign was "no longer appropriate".[32]
- September 21, 2008: A young man was attacked by another passenger on a Greyhound Canada schedule in Northwestern Ontario. Police arrested a 28-year-old man near the town of White River, about 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of Sault Ste. Marie, shortly after the bus driver let him get off at the side of the highway.[33]
- December 16, 2010: A Toronto Transit Commission 505 Dundas streetcar was heading eastbound at River Street when it crashed into a Greyhound Canada bus after running a red traffic signal. 17 passengers, including 4 schoolchildren, received serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.[34]
References
- ^ Evans, Pete. "Greyhound Canada shutting down all bus service permanently". Canadian Broadcasting Coproration.
- ^ "Greyhound set to resume bus service to Canada as U.S. border reopens". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 27, 2021.
- ^ "'Welcome back': After 19 months, Greyhound buses to resume between Canada and the U.S." CTV News. October 25, 2021.
- ^ Foran, Max (1982). Calgary, Canada's frontier metropolis : an illustrated history. Windsor Publications. p. 322. ISBN 0-89781-055-4.
- ^ a b Historical Timeline Greyhound Canada
- ^ Greyhound Starts Discount Airline in Canada Business Travel News November 25, 1996
- ^ Laidlaw plans to buy Greyhound Canada for $72 million New York Times September 3, 1997
- ^ FirstGroup buys Greyhound buses BBC News February 9, 2007
- ^ "Tofino Bus Services to take over Greyhound routes on Vancouver Island". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 25, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ CBC News (February 25, 2018). "Tofino Bus Services to take over Greyhound routes on Vancouver Island". CHEK News. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Greyhound makes final passenger trip on B.C.'s Highway of Tears". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 23, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- ^ Joseph, Rebecca (July 9, 2018). "What are the alternatives to Greyhound in Western Canada? | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Boynton, Sean (April 25, 2019). "B.C. strikes deal with Ottawa to keep funding BC Bus North on routes that Greyhound abandoned | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Little, Simon (May 29, 2018). "B.C. announces new northern bus service to replace Greyhound | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Dougherty, Michael (July 11, 2018). "Without the Greyhound bus, it'll be much more difficult to discover Canada". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Transportation board approves Greyhound route cuts in Northeast B.C." Alaska Highway News. February 21, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Greyhound cancels most of its routes in Western Canada". Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ "Greyhound Canada to end service in Prairies, B.C., eliminating 415 jobs — and leaving small towns in the lurch". Financial Post. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Dickson, Janice (May 6, 2020). "Greyhound Canada announces temporary shutdown of remaining routes". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ a b Bundale, Brett (May 13, 2021). "Greyhound Canada to cut all bus routes, end operations". globalnews.ca.
- ^ "Greyhound Canada to cut all routes, end operations". CTV News. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Greyhound Canada Closes its Services in Canada". May 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Fleet of Greyhound buses up for sale after company shut down all Canadian operations permanently". Toronto Star. November 18, 2021.
- ^ Fox, Chris (May 7, 2020). "Greyhound Canada to temporarily shut down amid 95 per cent decline in ridership". CP24. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Greyhound Canada Closes its Services in Canada". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Greyhound.ca -". Greyhound.ca. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Fleet Greyhound Canada
- ^ a b "Greyhound slaying sparks debate over bus security". CBC News. August 1, 2008. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "40-year-old suspect held in gruesome Manitoba bus killing". CBC News. July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Beheading suspect in court - CTV News". CTVNews. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ McIntyre, Mike (March 6, 2009). "I saw the entire attack, heard the screams ... Vincent Li not criminally responsible for bus killing, beheading, cannibalization". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
- ^ "Bus suspect utters death wish - CTV News". CTVNews. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ "Man stabbed aboard Greyhound bus in northern Ontario". CBC News. September 21, 2008. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ Doucette, Chris (December 17, 2010). "Bus driver charged in crash with streetcar". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
External links
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