The July 9 announcement that Greyhound Canada was shutting down all services in western Canada October 31 is upsetting local leaders.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Colleen Powell said the decision would greatly affect the area. She added that rural transportation is very much needed to get to the cities.
"The town has noticed a decline in Greyhound routes over the last 10 to 15 years," Powell said. "It would be nice to have rural transportation in the area. This may be a national issue, but the decision to shut down services is certainly a blow to the community."
In a July 12 email, Peter Hamel, Greyhound's regional vice-president for western Canada, said that since 2010, market conditions for intercity transportation has become increasingly challenging.
"Despite best efforts over several years, ridership has dropped by 40 per cent in Alberta, province-wide," Hamel said. "We sympathize with the many small towns and rural areas such as Athabasca, where we have proudly provided service. But simply put, we can no longer operate unsustainable routes.”
In the email, the company said that between April 2017 and March 2018, the company had 252 outbound passengers from Athabasca, and they also had 333 arriving passengers.
In a July 10 press conference, transportation minister Brian Mason said they are working with similar departments across Canada to address the issue of rural transportation.
"We understand many of the communities will continue to be served by competitive carriers whether its Red Arrow or smaller, more local operations," Mason said. "But there are going to be a number of communities left without service. And we'll be in touch with those communities."
Powell said all levels of government need to step up and solve the issue of what to do about rural transportation.
"When I first moved here 30 years ago, we had Greyhound four times per day," she said. "Buses would come up going to Peace River, and they would also come up going to Fort McMurray, and would stop here partway through. Now, I do believe we have one bus that leaves at 9 a.m., and comes in at 2 a.m. While declining ridership is likely one reason for the shut down, the company never really came in at times were people were able to take them."
Powell added that it's a problem for people who have no other access to a vehicle when they are needed.
"The announcement was a surprise to me, as I thought they were still doing okay in the major cities," Powell said. "But getting out to the rural areas has been a challenge for a number of years now."
She said over the years, Greyhound also lost much of their parcel business to companies like Purolator.
In a statement made July 11, Premier Rachel Notley said she would bring up the Greyhound decision during the Council of the Federation meeting July 18 and 20 in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick.
Village of Boyle Mayor Colin Derko said that his community gets their packages delivered to Fort McMurray overnight, and that anyone needing a ride from there or to Edmonton could just use the Greyhound.
"It's going to be a little tougher now," Derko said. "The village has citizens who use the bus quite regularly."
In the Rural Health Services Review Report released by the then-Tory government in March 2015, a lack of public transit and dependence on friends or relatives for rides were listed as barriers to proper health care for rural residents.
But there is a glimmer of hope, with local bus company Northland Travels Ltd. operating out of Lac La Biche since April 3.
Owner Rico Fechner said with Greyhound shutting down, it will likely open up a few new doors for the company.
"Opening up new routes in the area is also a possibility," Fechner said. "I have actually scheduled a meeting with the minister of transportation in Edmonton within the next two to three weeks to possibly implement more routes, and maybe even include Athabasca."
Currently, Northland Travels Ltd. takes passengers from pick-up points in Lac La Biche and Boyle, and drops them off at Edmonton's Belvedere LRT station. Fechner added that expansion means purchasing another bus, and organizing any new route with Transport Canada.
