he _ A10.- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Proposed Greyhound cuts draws out local opposition www.hawkair.ca Hewkan ¥ ’ Call your | local travel “ase 4 Th Teac Stata (Gi Gia By DUSTIN QUEZADA GREYHOUND SHOULDN’T be allowed . to cut its northwestern daily bus service in half, local offi- ~ -.cials told the provincial Pas- senger Transportation Board ata hearing here Nov. 4. Reducing service to just one bus going east and one ‘going west each day would -f place a hardship on resi- dents, ‘they said. City councillor — Christensen, who is also the vice chair of the Northwest Hospital District, was con- cerned about the ability of people to come to Terrace. - for appointments, with the "city’s 19-medical specialists who service the region. ‘Many people come in for medical. appointments and leave the same day,” Christensen said. “The cost for a two-day stay would be huge.” “School . trustee. ° ‘Diana "Penner said Greyhound. is a. cerned valued and. integral. corner-~ stone of the community, that ‘offers safe and economical transportation. -Kitimat-Stikine regional district . administrator Bob Marcellin said he was con- that | Greyhound wasn’t taking into account ' that the service here is the end of the line: so below average ridership should be. - expected, | Greyhound | ‘Canada “ap-* plied i in March 2005 to: the Passenger services, claiming low rider- ship on the route. “Tt boils down to de- ; Stew | Transportation: ’ Board. for the reduction in TERRACE CITY councillor Stew Christensen, left looks on while Kitimat-Stikine regional. district: director Bob Marcellin speaks at a Nov. 4 hearing into Greyhound S proposal to cut its northwestern bus service. mand,” said Greg Shephard, - vice -president of business , operations with Greyhound Canada. “There just aren’t --enough people on that route and mainly it’s the two night 7 buses.” Greyhound’s application would cut the I1 p.m. east- bound bus’and the 7:50 a.m. : - westbound bus from Ter- race, _ Its 12:30 p.m. eastbound ° and »6:15. p.m. westbound “buses from here would not be affected. . The bus company under- took a three-month study in 2004 to review all routes and locations in Canada from a cost and revenue . perspec- tive. | And the company deter- mined that the local route does not match its per mile _ break: even. figure of $3.31 for passenger service. The route was deter- ‘mined to be earning $2. 38 per mile. Additionally, the route has competition — three and four days a week in winter and | summer — from VIA Rail. 4 Transportation. ~ board chair Dennis Day said ap- plications for service reduc- tions must pass three tests. The first is the public need in which the public’s influence would be weighed against the carrier’s case. Second, is the fitness of the carrier, a point Day said wasn’t an issue with ‘Grey- hound. * ., And third was the impact respectively on the transportation indus- try. “Our mandate is to grant the reduction, refuse it en- tirely or (determine) what ” :meets the public needs, Day Said. said a route Greyhound ap- plied for service reduction in Manitoba was granted only a partial reduction. _ into his considerations of the ~ company’s application. “ “When we look at the ap- provides, what other carriers are operating and public re- action,” Day said. _ For instance, of the seven routes Greyhound . applied for a service reduction in the spring, the first five were granted without public hear- .. ings because there were oth-. er service alternatives and _ the impacts were smaller. - Hearings were also held in Sandspit, Prince Rupert, Terrace and Smithers... . Day said he expected to _make a decision within a- - month. He is also consider- ~ ing Greyhound’s application for service reduction on'a. . route from the Lower Main- land to Penticton that went through the same public hearing process. The Passenger Trans- portation Board is an inde-. pendent tribunal that makes decisions on applications. | for special authorizations to ‘operate passenger directed vehicles and inter-city buses in British Columbia. For instance, Shephard . He | said Greyhound’s . competition would factor plication, we look at what - other services the carrier — \/Q GO BABY co! | 6 Days A Week 635-5225 Lazelle Mini Mall Mon Fri Noon-5: ‘30pm + Sat. 10:00am-5:30pm | WAW, onuin com Check oud our 5280 oF call €36-7283 for pOvertaning information Business Insurance Wightman & Smith Insurance 4645 Lakelse Avenue, Terrace (250).638-1424 | www.terraceinsurance.com Take advantage of any one of our | Fall Service Specials below and you'll receive a “Drive In and Win” contest card. 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