Shuttle company’s charter request denied

SYDNEY — The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board denied a Sydney shuttle company’s application to amend its motor-carrier licence last week.

Pengbo (Rick) Fu, owner of Pengbo’s Shuttle, filed the application to add a provincewide charter authority for charters starting in Cape Breton to any point in Nov Scotia, excluding cruise ship passengers.

Fu also applied to add an authority to provide backup cruise ship service to local tourism companies, including Bannockburn Tours, Cabot Discovery Tours Inc., Blackwood Tours and Blue Thistle Tours.

As part of the application filed on Aug. 28, 2019, the company, which operates a 28-passenger bus, testified a significant need for a mid-size bus in Cape Breton, noting a gap in the market for the midsize option. Fu planned to target smaller groups who wanted mid-size buses at an affordable rate.

Fu filed letters purporting to be in support of his application from the Port of Sydney, Destination Cape Breton Association, Cape Breton Partnership, Bannockburn Tours, Cape Breton Highlanders professional basketball team, Basketball Cape Breton, and Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration.

Other letters filed came from the Municipality of Victoria County, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Common Good Solutions, and Gordon MacInnis, vice-president of finance and operations at Cape Breton University.

The letters from Bannockburn Tours, Cape Breton Highlanders and CBRM were later effectively withdrawn.

Fu called three witnesses involved in various sectors of the Cape Breton tourism industry. The board heard from Tyler Mathis, economic development officer for the Cape Breton Partnership, Misty MacDonald, president of Cabot Discovery Tours, and Josh Rambeau, owner and operator of Gateway Taxi in North Sydney.

In the application, Fu referred to two recent applications by First Nations communities in the Sydney area, namely Membertou and Eskasoni, both of which had applied and received approval for mid-size buses.

Fu, who is authorized to operate a regular line-run service between Sydney and Baddeck, told the board he didn’t oppose those applications because it supports his view that this type of vehicle is needed in the Sydney market.

In the case of the First Nations application, the board noted those cases were distinguishable in that the buses will generally be used to serve those communities only and not the public at large.

Fu’s application was objected by Mary Dempster, vicepresident of Absolute Charters, Ryan Cassidy of Coach Atlantic Transportation Group Inc., as well as Craig Carabin and Mitchell Carabin on behalf of Transoverland Limited of Reserve Mines.

Dempster testified the objection based on the result of there being an insufficient volume of business to justify the addition of more equipment in the market.

Dempster later noted the emerging COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption to the local motor-carrier industry, this as the Canadian cruise ship season had already been postponed until July 1, at the time.

Craig Carabin and Mitchell Carabin testified the company considered there to be enough equipment in the Cape Breton area and no more capacity was required. Craig Carabin believed approval of Fu’s application would cut into the market served by Transoverland.

Carabin told the board the mid-sized market targeted by Fu can, and has, been served by Transoverland. He said the company owned a 24-passenger bus about eight to 10 years ago, however, at that time, there was no demand for the mid-sized vehicle.

Carabin also told the board he recently purchased two new motor coaches at a combined cost of more than $1 million, noting he needed all the business he could get in order to remain sustainable and invest in his fleet.

Fu denied Transoverland’s position regarding a negative impact if the applications were approved by the board. He told the board Transoverland serves the market with large motor coaches and has no intention to obtain the mid-sized bus.

Motor carrier transportation services are regulated under the Motor Carrier Act in Nova Scotia. The Motor Carrier Act regulates motor carrier operators to ensure a quality, safe and sustainably industry in the province.

In the decision, the board had concerns about the evidence provided by Fu in support of his application. The board felt much of the evidence was general and anecdotal in nature, lacking the concrete type of evidence the board needs.

The board accepted the evidence of the objectors that the existing operators are able to serve the market identified by Fu with the current motor carrier equipment fleet.

The hearing was originally set to be held in Sydney on Dec. 11 but was adjourned because of pending settlements and weather concerns and rescheduled for March 17.