Greyhound replacement OK for Vancouver, Kelowna bus

Two bus companies have been approved to provide service between Kelowna, Kamloops and Vancouver, filling in gaps left behind by Greyhound.

In July 2018, Greyhound Canada announced it was ceasing bus service in B.C. as of Oct. 31.

Edmonton-based Ebus 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.

The board set the minimum frequency level for Ebus at one round trip per day.

Ebus, as well as other approved providers, may increase its service levels at any time, without board approval. The route between Vancouver and Kamloops will take Highway 1 and Highway 5, with stops in Abbotsford and Merritt.

The route between Kamloops and Kelowna will take Highway 97 and Highway 1, with a stop in Vernon.

The route between Kelowna and Vancouver will take Highway 97C, Highway 5 and Highway 1, with stops in Merritt and Chilliwack.

The board also issued a preliminary approval for an application by Wilson’s Transportation to serve to serve Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver.

Wilson’s operates on Vancouver Island as the island’s largest charter bus company. The route between Vancouver and Kelowna will have stops in Langley, Chilliwack, Merritt and West Kelowna.

The route between Vancouver and Kamloops will stop in Langley, Chilliwack and Merritt.