Wednesday’s closure of Greyhound bus service eliminates a convenient stop for Tri-City travellers and removes a major employer for the city of Coquitlam.
As of midnight Oct. 31, the long-serving bus service shut down down, to be replaced by a few new bus transportation services — but none with stops in Coquitlam.
A visit to the Coquitlam depot Wednesday found the doors still open and a bus rounding the corner to drop off riders but an otherwise silent operation.
As many as 42 people were to be laid off during the closure, according to company reports earlier in the year, and a for sale sign was also posted on the corner of the property at 100 Woolridge St., just west of Ikea.
While replacement bus services are being established, stops in Coquitlam appear to be ruled out for now. But Firat Uray, the owner of Rider Express based out of Saskatchewan, said it’s possible a Coquitlam stop could be arranged in the future, depending on need and bookings.
The service offers routes between Vancouver and Calgary as well as Calgary to Winnipeg but the closest stop is the Pacific Central Station off Terminal Avenue in Vancouver. The company has six large coaches ready to roll, with the first scheduled service on Nov. 1.
Uray said people can still call the company and arrange for pick-up or drop-off as long as the location is close to Highway 1.
“We don’t want to go 20 minutes or half an hour,” Uray said, “But five minutes is OK.”
Another intercity bus service, called Ebus, will run between Vancouver, Kamloops and Victoria, with pick-ups at the the River Rock Resort and Casino in Richmond as well as the Vancouver bus station and the Fraser Heights rec centre in Surrey.
