By Oli Herrera

NATIONAL BUS SERVICE PETITION

Greyhound bus replacement? Petition for nationwide bus service nears deadline

Mar 2, 2022 | 5:01 PM

PRINCE GEORGE—Transportation is one of the many issues that people in rural communities face across Canada. British Columbia is no stranger to it.

In downtown Prince George, what was once a popular bus stop for travellers to get to other communities, lays dormant. This came after Greyhound announced it would cease operations in Canada.

The Province of B.C. rolled out its own transportation service with a focus on the north back in 2018. However, an auditor’s report from 2021 found that BC Bus North only covered 56% of the stops that Greyhound covered in northern B.C. The auditor says that a long-term plan is still needed.

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That led to Skeena-Bulkley MP Taylor Bachrach to backing a petition for the government to create a national bus service.

“With the lost of Greyhound, people have fewer transportation options than ever. There are many cases in which people need to get between provinces, between cities, and especially for rural Canada. This is a big thing.” said Bachrach.

The petition has garnered nearly 1,100 signatures. Bachrach calls this an opportunity for the government to create a service that’s “much better than what Greyhound provided.”

Smaller communities need it the most says Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen. He adds it’s a benefit that spreads to everyone.

“Where the resources are, where the money is coming from and the actual activity is–is in small rural communities in rural British columbia. Those are the areas that there needs to be significant thought process into. To encourage young people to come up to in the north.” said Thiessen.

Various bus services along with BC Bus North exist, but with fragmentation of transportation, reliability becomes an issue.

“We need to have one reliable bus service that can offer the security, offer the convenience of coming through at a regular basis and that everybody knows.” said Thiessen.

Bachrach adds that affordability and environmental issues can be solved with a national public bus service.

“It’s about quality of life in rural canada. If we believe that rural communities matter, that rural lifestyles are an important part of the fabric of our country. We need to support those lifestyles and transportation is such an important aspect of that.” said Bachrach.

The deadline to sign the petition is March 9. The MP will then table the petition and the federal government will need to respond.

Information on the petition and how to sign it can be found here.