Ebus to offer solution to Greyhound bus gap
An Edmonton-based company is looking to fill in some of the gaps left behind by Greyhound, offering bus service between Kelowna, Vancouver and Kamloops.
Ebus has applied to the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board to start operating passenger routes from Kelowna to Vancouver, Kelowna to Kamloops and Kamloops to Vancouver.
Ebus is owned and operated by Pacific Western Transportation Group, the largest privately owned passenger transportation enterprise in Canada.
“We’ve been offering scheduled services in Alberta for 40 years with (our sister brand) Red Arrow and with Ebus since 2011,” said John Stepovy, director of business development with Ebus. “With Greyhound leaving, the opportunity was there.”
Unlike Greyhound, Ebus focuses solely on passengers, and does not offer freight service.
“Our coaches will have seatbelts and wifi and power outlets and a washroom on board,” said Stepovy.
The plan is to have two round trips from each city daily.
There will also be scheduled stops in other cities such as Vernon, Merritt, Hope and Abbotsford.
However, those stops are dependent on reservations.
“We design our system to move people as efficiently as possible between cities, so we don’t just stop automatically,” said Stepovy. “If someone’s booked to get on or off then we’ll stop.”
Ebus is now awaiting approval from the Passenger Transportation Board before confirming times and fares.
It is also in the process of finding local pickup and drop-off locations.
Since Ebus does not offer freight services, it does not need large depots, said Stepovy.
“Our model that’s been successful in Alberta has been to partner with hotels and things like that,” he said. “It’s more of a safe and comfortable spot for people to wait, and it’s nice to have access to food and things like that.”
Greyhound will cease operations in Western Canada on Oct. 31.
“Our hope is to be able to start service prior to Greyhound leaving to ensure there (are) no gaps for the public,” said Stepovy.