The pandemic proved to be tipping point for Greyhound Canada.
The motor carrier said it is permanently discontinuing all operations on its remaining routes in Ontario and Quebec, and will permanently close all services in Canada effective today.
All Ontario and Quebec routes — excluding border service — that were temporarily suspended in May 2020 will permanently end as of midnight, May 13.
That means:
- Sudbury-Ottawa/Toronto
- Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal
- Toronto-London-Windsor
- Toronto-Kitchener/Guelph/Cambridge
- Toronto-Niagara Falls
- Ottawa-Kingston
In its decision rationale, Greyhound said the pandemic brought a dramatic drop of approximately 95 percent of normal volumes before operations were fully suspended in May 2020.
The motor carrier said their service is reliant on the farebox and they were not able to sustain operations with a significant reduction in ridership and the revenue loss.
Greyhound Canada said its outreach efforts to provincial and federal governments for financial support for the industry went unanswered.
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The following cross-border routes are still intact:
- Toronto to New York
- Toronto to Buffalo
- Montreal to New York
- Montreal to Boston
- Vancouver to Seattle
Customers holding tickets originating in Ontario or Quebec for travel within Canada after May 13, 2021 may request a refund. Also customers with non-expired Canadian travel vouchers may request a refund of unused travel voucher funds. Tickets can be refunded at the customer's request by calling 1-800-661-TRIP (8747).
"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, senior vice president, Greyhound Canada, in a news release.
"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," he said. "The company remains committed to honouring its labour agreements with employees and funding the commitments to our pension plan participants."
