Plan now to unload taxpayer bus route

Greyhound announced Monday it’s pulling out of Western Canada and that means you’re probably going to be pulling out your wallet as a result.

Governments of all levels will inevitably be asked to pick up the slack by implementing new transportation services where Greyhound used to run. That’s not a bad thing, but let’s just hope politicians think of an exit strategy before buying a fleet of buses.

If you’re lucky enough not to have to rely on Greyhound, just remember there are plenty of people who do.

Some are too sick to drive and need to take a bus to medical appointments. Some know their limits and choose not to drive in the winter when they go to see family. Some can’t afford a vehicle and have no other options.

Therefore, it is an essential service, especially in a country as large and as empty as Canada.

We found that out the hard way in Northern B.C., where the disappearance of women along the Highway of Tears has been blamed in part on them hitchhiking between underserved communities. In response, the provincial government last year started a new bus service along that route.

And in May, the provincial government announced the creation of a new bus service that stretches from Prince Rupert east to Valemount and all the way north to Fort Nelson.

The most expensive ticket is $45.

The service was initiated in response to Greyhound exiting Northern B.C.

We agree the provincial government — and perhaps municipal governments like the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, which is in the public transit business — should pick up the slack for now.

But as the feds have promised to do with the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the service should eventually be handed back to the private sector with a little less red tape.

Greyhound has long complained service-level regulations are too restrictive.

Perhaps that’s the price companies have to pay for a government-sanctioned monopoly, but those concerns must be addressed to set up new operators for success and get buses back into the private sector where they belong.

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