Bus Service From Powell River To Vancouver Cancelled PERMANENTLY!

[the shark hunter]

... holy smokes!  i found out yesterday that the bus that went from powell river to vancouver stopped in september!



... this is devastating for our town and it leaves many people stranded: youth, students, people who don't drive (me), and especially medical patients!  thanks christy!



... the government has an obligation to step in and reinstate a bus service as quickly as possible ...



... do you have a bus service to vancouver from where you live that people rely on?



... comments about this?

[J0E]

Sorry to hear that Sharkie.



Was it a public or private service for the residents of your town?

[the shark hunter]

Sorry to hear that Sharkie.



Was it a public or private service for the residents of your town?

... it was private, Frank ...

[RW]

What does that have to do with the government?

[the shark hunter]

What does that have to do with the government?

... well, they do administer transportation in the province.  and if they've got two ferries on the route (which they do) they should provide a bus for foot passengers.  if private business can't handle it anymore a responsible government would step in to help ...



... thanks for your reply ...

[Anonymous]

What does that have to do with the government?

I know in some provinces, that Greyhound has a deal with government. How it works is they get a monopoly on milk runs between bigger cities, but in return they have to service remote communities.

[RW]

They don't manage all transportation such as Greyhound.

[Anonymous]

They don't manage all transportation such as Greyhound.

No, I don't mean some provincial governments manage Greyhound. I mean they limit competition on some runs in exchange for service on others.

[Anonymous]

What does that have to do with the government?

I know in some provinces, that Greyhound has a deal with government. How it works is they get a monopoly on milk runs between bigger cities, but in return they have to service remote communities.

I think it was like that in Alberta Herman, but now we have Red Arrow which runs from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge..



They have nicer buses and charge more though.

[the shark hunter]

They don't manage all transportation such as Greyhound.

... they do to some extent, RW.  they regulate the industry and issue the license the bus company holds ...

[RW]

That doesn't mean they can dictate which routes they have to run.



I think Greyhound may be on its way out.

[the shark hunter]

That doesn't mean they can dictate which routes they have to run.

... as Herman said above, a route arrangement could be part of the license agreement ...

[Anonymous]

That doesn't mean they can dictate which routes they have to run.



I think Greyhound may be on its way out.

They did here up until about 2008. I'm not sure what arrangement, if any, they have now with the provincial government.

[the shark hunter]

... don't get me wrong, i do get RW's point that the hands-on administration of privately run bus services is NOT the responsibility of the government ...



... but before you say "what does bus transportation have to do with the government?" keep in mind that the crown IS in the bus transportation business and is BY FAR the biggest provider of bus transport in the land.  therefore it's not unusual to expect that they would provide service on the sunshine coast to vancouver route ...

[cc]

I sympathize a lot with the problem sharky, but is it that "the crown IS in the bus transportation business and is BY FAR the biggest provider of bus transport in the land" ?



or is it that govt "regulates" service?. There is a great distinction between the 2