Mayor Calls For Rejection of Greyhound Service Reduction
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 3:58 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Mayor Shari Green has sent a strongly worded letter to the members of the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board about Greyhound’s application for service reduction.
She focused on the dangers which face women along the Highway 16 corridor and the fact that many of the communities facing the service reductions are along that route.
“An important suggestion from the Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendation Report was a shuttle bus transportation system along Highway 16. The proposed reduction in service by Greyhound goes against the very need these northern communities have.”
Mayor Green also calls on Greyhound to work with other parties, including Northern Health, to resolve the concerns it has about Northern Health Connections bus service. “The best outcome would be for the Board to reject the application and urge the Provincial Ministers responsible, the Health Authorities and Greyhound, to all work to resolve this concern for all parties, so residents of the Highway 16 corridor and the North, especially women, can count on a safe highway transit system.”
She has sent a copy of this letter to the Premier, all MLAs, councils for the northern communities facing service reduction, Regional Districts, Northern Health and Interior Health.
Greyhound claims it is losing lots of money along some routes, and it’s application calls for service reduction on 18 routes including 4 that have stops in Prince George. The company blames, in part, the bus service provided by Northern Health so patients can get to appointments with specialists. Greyhound says that service is heavily subsidized and not policed to ensure only those who are on a medical journey are on the bus. Northern Health responds that in some cases patients need to have someone accompany them, but other than that, the passengers all have medical appointments.
Comments
Greyhound was running full services to the neighbouring communities when each of these women disappeared along Highway 16. They chose (for whatever reason) not to take the bus, but to hitchhike instead.
This seems an emotional rather then logical reason to implore Greyhound to continue services.
News flash Sheri. Not everyone can continue to hemorrhage money and continue on like all is well. We don’t all live in the twisted reality of you and the City Councellors. Maybe inviting them along to China with you would help change their minds.
Maybe Mayor Shari Green and her cohorts should take the bus to Vancouver, when they go to China and save us some money.
There is no way that the BC Passenger Transportation Board can compel Greyhound to continue to service area’s that are costing them money, without coming up with some sort of subsidy. Thats because the ultimate threat from Greyhound is that they will leave the Province entirely, which would be a biggar problem.
They are losing money because people dont use the bus as much as they used to. Its much like the old days when people used to travel by train on a regular basis. Gone the way to the Doo Doo Bird.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of this.
Daisybee makes a good point about the full service during the Highway of Tears tragedies.
Perhaps we need go get into smaller bus companies in smaller towns, with intergrated services.
Time for people to use their heads, and invest some money.
The bus is scary. I wouldn’t put my daughter on a Greyhound bus for anything.
need more security at the bus stations
Greyhound charges way too much money for short trips! If you’ve got a medical appointment along one of greyhounds routes that the NH bus covers, why wouldn’t you take the $20 one way bus?? Also, if you are a companion of someone with a med appt, it’s a savings. It’s subsidized because the BC Government and Northern Health wanted to provide an affordable alternative for people to get to medical appointments throughout BC, especially in communities where specialists won’t move, or where there isn’t a big enough medical infrastructure to accommodate them. Poor Greyhound. Maybe they should’ve looked into providing the subsidized NH bus instead if complaining that they are losing money. Ailing people are saving money for medical needs. I think that’s more important than a companies bottom line. However, if the government can force Greyhound to remain in business on failing routes? That’s not fair, either!
all of you gys are right. Green just wants to beak off all the time. why don’t they use the bus to get to vanc.? green is all about exploiting her position as mayor to get famous. she is expensive to have as a mayor! as far as greyhound goes. c’mon, for the love of mud.! companies are closing. people are leaving town. airport ridership is down. greyhound is losing passengers. time to take a very costly vacation on PG`s tab! right shari?
In the past week the Premier used the death of a girl who took her own life as the result of bullying to try to score political points. Unconscionable.
Now there is a discussion about Greyhound and its financial problems and Green throws that phrase “Highway of Tears” in there. What does Greyhound’s request to council have to do with those deaths?
As daisybee pointed out, Greyhound was running full services when all of those disappearances/deaths occurred.
Crap Green.
I love how our policial leaders think that a company should take a loss because of the greater good. How about this your Worship, you take a pay cut for the greater good.
OD: “In the past week the Premier used the death of a girl who took her own life as the result of bullying to try to score political points. Unconscionable.”
Scoring political points? How do you figure that? Maybe you would have been happier to criticise a lack of leadership or call the premier ‘uncaring’ if she said nothing.
OD: “Now there is a discussion about Greyhound and its financial problems and Green throws that phrase “Highway of Tears” in there.”
Mayor Green mentioned the Highway of Tears symposium report. I don’t see an issue with this.
I am not a Christy Clark or Sheri Green supporter, but those comments weren’t very accurate or fair.
As for Greyhound, they can’t be expected to continue operating at a loss, nor should they be subsidized by the taxpayer because it sets a bad precident. As someone mentioned, fewer people are taking the bus nowadays for a variety of reasons. And despite all of the warnings, people continue to hitch hike, regardless of whether the busses are there or not.
Greyhound actually has a monopoly in BC on ticketed passenger service between communities. In return for the monopoly on paying routes in the southern part of the province they are required to run buses on the less-profitable routes. That’s why they have to ask permission to reduce service. I bet that if you looked at overall Greyhound profits, they do have a profit, even with these routes that are losing money, becasue they all balance out.
“I bet that if you looked at overall Greyhound profits, they do have a profit, even with these routes that are losing money, becasue they all balance out.”
Clearly those ‘overall’ profits are going down, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking. It would make sense that they try to shut down the less used routes first.
Ok Sara Smith, Greyhound has had business
interference when Northern health got into the bus business. Greyhound probably has a legal case against the province.If Greyound say they lost money, I dont know why you would say otherwise, you must be a NDP.In your world all co make nothing but money. Maybe you should try running a business.
The mayor of PG is a self serving moron. The only subject she’s interested in, is giving herself a raise, or improving the street in front if her store. Bad, bad, mayor.
JB: You question Clark’s sincerity for yourself, I’ll question her sincerity for myself.
How does “Highway of Tears” have anything to do with what Greyhound approached council about?
It was the union that mentioned the Hwy Of Tears. Green did not initiate that thought, she just jumped on the band wagon, sort of speak. It was suggested at the symposium that Greyhound bus drivers stop and give hitchhikers a free ride. As ridiculous then as it is now ! The union is now using the example as a need to keep all the bus routes going. Green should have stayed out of it. Greyhound needs to make money or they will fold. Greyhound does not have an open bank account subsidized by the middle class taxpayer. Does Green really think Greyhound cares about a mayor that can’t even run her own city?
Why does Northern Health run a separate bus service as opposed to paying for patients and their companions to take Greyhound? That would give Greyhound more business and would presumably save money overall since there would be no need for the additional buses, drivers, etc. Does Northern Health serve communities that Greyhound does not, or provide additional services?
Uh, Palopu, with all due respect, Doo Doo and Do Do describe two very different articles. One had feathers and a beak, like Shari G, the other, well the other has no feathers, and generally smells awful. Now do do doo doo, if it still existed…………………..;)
metalman.
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