Rider Express to operate on soon-to-be cancelled Greyhound routes in West

SASKATOON A Saskatchewan-based private bus company announced Monday it will provide bus service on the transportation routes Greyhound Canada plans to discontinue later this year.

Rider Express, which currently serves Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Swift Current, says it plans to launch a Calgary to Winnipeg and an Edmonton to Winnipeg route that will include Saskatchewan stops in mid-september. The Calgary to Winnipeg run will pass through Regina, and the Edmonton to Winnipeg route will pass through Saskatoon.

Owner Firat Uray said the company wants to give people options for travel. If all goes well, it will look at expanding beyond these routes into British Columbia and potentially Ontario.

“We see it differently than Greyhound has seen,” Uray said, estimating about 10 million people live in Western Canada. According to the last census, the combined populations of the four western provinces is more than 11 million, using Statistics Canada figures.

“So we think there is an opportunity that we can have success,” Uray said.

At launch, one westbound and one eastbound trip will be made each day, six or seven days a week.

The company already has a couple of buses lined up for its new routes and has purchased a fullsized bus, Uray said in a phone interview.

“We’ll expand our fleet according to passenger amount and according to demand.”

Earlier this summer, Greyhound Canada announced it would end both freight and transportation service in Western Canada as of Oct. 31, with the exception of the Vancouver to Seattle route.

The bus company said it has recorded a 41-per-cent decline in ridership since 2010 and could not foresee a market environment that wouldn’t continue to decline.

The shutdown has raised concerns about safety risks that vulnerable people may face in the absence of accessible transportation, specifically Indigenous women and girls who live in remote areas.

Greyhound’s announcement follows the provincial government’s shutdown of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company last year. In the absence of a provincial bus service, a few private companies have shown an interest in providing transportation services, but few are up and running.

Low ridership on the Prince Albert to Saskatoon route led Rider Express to end service on that route, but within weeks it was restored. Ridership has increased since then.

The company recently launched a Swift Current to Saskatoon line, which Uray said is “going well.”

Another company, Dical Transport, has scheduled passenger runs between Regina, Melville, Balcarres and Fort Qu’appelle.

Former Prince Albert Grand Council chief Ron Michel announced the launch of a medical transportation service geared toward Indigenous patients earlier this year.