Greyhound winds down service

Retired bus driver Iain Gray ambled through Calgary’s cavernous Greyhound depot on its last day in operation, a gold pin with the bus company’s logo on his jacket.

Gray dropped by the station on Wednesday – the last day for most Greyhound routes in Western Canada – in the hopes of visiting a former colleague after his final run from Revelstoke.

“It’s just a blooming shame,” Gray, who is 77 and drove buses for 30 years until 2003, said of Greyhound’s exit.

“It’s the best place to work at. You couldn’t imagine how good it was.”

Greyhound announced in July that it would wind down all but one of its routes in Western Canada and northern Ontario. A U.S.-run route from Seattle to Vancouver is the only one that remains.

Gray said he loved doing local runs, particularly through the Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta and into the British Columbia Interior.

“I liked going through the little towns and the people,” he said. “You get to know the agents and all that kind of stuff.”

Two weeks ago, he flew to Salmon Arm to go fishing with his brother and decided to take the Greyhound back to Calgary.

“The bus was full, believe it or not,” said Gray, who noted that service had been reduced to two trips a day from five or six.

“If you talk to the driver, those trips are full, but that’s not enough to keep the company running.”

Ottawa announced Wednesday that Canadians left isolated will have to wait two years for potential permanent replacements. Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the government is open to helping affected provinces pay for bus service in communities where other companies have not taken over.

Greyhound’s decision ends service in some 400 communities and leaves about 420 people out of work. The carrier has been active in Canada for about 85 years, but has seen a 40 per cent decline in rural ridership over the last decade.