The bus service Rider Express that replaced Greyhound is not fulfilling its licence requirements.
According to their licence that was issued from the Passenger Transportation Board last Oct. Rider Express is required to have a daily service between Calgary and Vancouver. At the moment, they are only providing it once a week.
Rider Express is based in Regina, Sask and was incorporated two years ago.
Michael McGee, acting director of the Transportation Safety Board said, “When the board approves a route, there are set terms and conditions that an operator needs to adhere to.”
Failure to do so can result in enforcement actions. However, McGee did not know what that could be in Rider Express’ case.
READ MORE: New bus route to ‘replace’ Greyhound along Trans-Canada Highway
Greyhound halted bus services last Oct. in Alberta, Sask, and Manitoba. The only route remaining in B.C. is Vancouver to Seattle.
According to Poparide, a rideshare app for travelling between cities in Canada, roughly 2,000,000 people were stranded by Greyhound’s departure.
The owner of Rider Express, Firat Uray wrote in an email that so far they are pleased with the service they provide. However, ridership is low. Uray hopes to increase to three days a week by the middle of March and have a daily service in April.
When Black Press spoke with Rider Express last fall the company said they would be providing a daily service from Oct. on-wards.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Passenger Transportation Board said they are working with Rider Express to “ensure they are in compliance with their license.”
“Filling the remainder of Greyhound’s routes is a top priority for this government and we continue to look at all options available to fill the gap left by Greyhound.”
The Passenger Transportation Board said another company can apply for the same route as Rider Express, however according to their website none have.
Â
@pointypeak701liam.harrap@revelstokereview.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
