Greyhound Ceases Canadian Operations

Due to sustained ridership declines in Ontario and Quebec, Greyhound Canada is discontinuing all operations on its remaining routes in Ontario and Quebec, and permanently closed all services in Canada effective May 13.

The announcement has no impact on Greyhound Lines’ operations within the U.S., which will continue to operate cross-border express services on the following routes when the border reopens: Toronto to New York  -  Toronto to Buffalo  -  Montreal to New York  -  Montreal to Boston  -  Vancouver to Seattle.

Greyhound Lines Inc. is a separate entity from Greyhound Canada.

“We deeply regret the impact this has on our staff and our customers, as well as the communities we have had the privilege of serving for many years,” said Stuart Kendrick, sr. VP, Greyhound Canada. “A full year without revenue has unfortunately made it impossible to continue operations. Thank you to our dedicated staff for their commitment and service, and to our customers for choosing Greyhound Canada during better times. The company remains committed to honoring its labor agreements with employees and funding the commitments to our pension plan participants.”

Greyhound Canada implemented a range of cost reduction steps during recent years, including frequency adjustments to route schedules and other efficiency measures.

In 2018, after years of declining ridership and the impact of a changing and increasingly challenging transportation environment, including de-regulation and subsidized competition such as VIA Rail and publicly owned bus systems, the difficult decision was made to suspend service in the western part of Canada, the company said in a statement. Services continued in Ontario and Quebec.

The pandemic, and required travel restrictions to help keep Canadians safe, brought a further dramatic drop of approximately 95% of normal volumes before operations were fully suspended in May 2020.

With the service reliant on the farebox, Greyhound Canada officials said it just was not possible to sustain operations with a significant reduction in ridership and the corresponding revenue loss.

Officials said Greyhound Canada has made significant outreach efforts to provincial and federal governments for financial support for the industry. Financial investments from governments for Canada’s intercity bus sector have been negligible. Operations are not feasible absent of financial support.