Greyhound is Gone

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

If you made the choice to live there many years ago when the bus was a good option and suddenly you have a few months to figure something else out, it's a tough spot to be in. Depending on the location it may not be possible to sell a home and come away with enough to live anywhere else.

Not Greyhound's responsibility at all, but saying, "Oh well, you chose to live there," seems a little harsh to me.

It might be a little harsh, but that doesnt mean its wrong.

Just because you locate somewhere doesnt mean that circumstances will never change.

I'm dealing with this right now, my in-laws live in a small rural community and they're having health issues, unfortunately that limits their mobility but theres not medical services where they are.

Do we bring the Hospital to them? No. They have to consider relocating.

Yes its inconvenient. Such is life. Nothing stays the same forever.

[Jordan!]

I just want to say, to the ####### that stole my Gameboy on a Kelowna to Calgary ride in about 1993.

GO ROT IN HELL A HOLE!

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Locke

Do we bring the Hospital to them? No. They have to consider relocating.

Bring the hospital to them or make them move to the hospital? It seems like having something such as a bus service would be a good compromise between those choices.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Locke

I have no inside information, I'm just putting the obvious pieces together.

Had a look at the NDP Budget, and you are piecing the dots correctly:
NDP Budget


TRANSPORTATION
The Ministry of Transportation is making smart investments in the
transportation system to create good jobs and contribute to Alberta’s economic recovery. Transportation’s expense is budgeted at nearly $1.5#billion. The ministry is developing key economic corridors, modern public transportation, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure. Transportation will launch a rural transportation pilot program to connect residents in rural communities, and lay the foundation for a permanent program.

And then this article from March:

Transportation Minister Brian Mason announced the pilot at Wednesday’s Rural Municipalities of Alberta (formerly the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties) spring convention in Edmonton.

He was mum on a dollar figure attached to the project, saying more details will be included in Budget 2018.

The plan makes good on part of the NDP’s 2015 election platform to reinstate more bus services to rural communities.


Now that said, Municipalities were expected to make their own recommendations, suggesting that transportation strategy was done from a more local or intra-regional angle than simply a provincial one.

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by Locke

Do we bring the Hospital to them? No. They have to consider relocating.

Yes its inconvenient. Such is life. Nothing stays the same forever.

We have Stars and ambulances too, or should we all move next door to a hospital.
Or next to a police station or a firehall for that matter.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Honestly, I wish Greyhound was leaving Ontario too. What a brutal company. I drive, but prefer to relax when traveling long distances. Greyhound made it impossible to know what bus was going where at what time. There were multiple times I tried to book from Oshawa, which has a bus terminal, and as far as I could tell there are actually not any buses leaving from Oshawa going anywhere even though they list is as a stop.

I wish that GO would just take over for Greyhound everywhere. And I hope that the void is filled in the west somehow, as public transportation is massively important and it would be great if we were able to be less reliant on personal vehicles.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by keratosis

We have Stars and ambulances too, or should we all move next door to a hospital.
Or next to a police station or a firehall for that matter.

Okay, thats overly simplistic. But if you live an hour away from a hospital then regardless of an ambulance you have to factor that into your lifestyle choice.

The existence or lack thereof of Greyhound isnt going to move that needle in emergencies.

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by Locke

Okay, thats overly simplistic. But if you live an hour away from a hospital then regardless of an ambulance you have to factor that into your lifestyle choice.

The existence or lack thereof of Greyhound isnt going to move that needle in emergencies.

No. I think you were over simplistic. You don't like it? Move. Not always that simple.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by keratosis

No. I think you were over simplistic. You don't like it? Move. Not always that simple.

Its not simple. And its not a matter of whether you like it or not.

Nothing stays the same forever. If you've chosen to live in some rural hamlet and have medical issues and you either cant drive or dont have a car and Greyhound calls it quits its not up to the Government to get the Hospital to you.

Thats overly simplistic.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its not simple. And its not a matter of whether you like it or not.

Nothing stays the same forever. If you've chosen to live in some rural hamlet and have medical issues and you either cant drive or dont have a car and Greyhound calls it quits its not up to the Government to get the Hospital to you.

Thats overly simplistic.

Not only will we save tax dollars by not subsidizing transportation, but just think of all the savings for the government on health care if we just let them die in their crappy little towns since they have no access to proper health care.

Sounds like a win-win to me.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Not only will we save tax dollars by not subsidizing transportation, but just think of all the savings for the government on health care if we just let them die in their crappy little towns since they have no access to proper health care.

Sounds like a win-win to me.

Okay, so everytime someone from a small town needs their annual physical the Government should helicopter them to the nearest hospital and get Greyhound to pay for it.

Got it.

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its not simple. And its not a matter of whether you like it or not.

Nothing stays the same forever. If you've chosen to live in some rural hamlet and have medical issues and you either cant drive or dont have a car and Greyhound calls it quits its not up to the Government to get the Hospital to you.

Thats overly simplistic.

Yup, you are exactly right. Nothing stays for ever. But maybe we should be choosier about what we jettison. Not saying greyhound is one of them but makes me wonder what we give up to move forward.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Am not sure what other options there are, but an inter-town bus modeled on the "Naked Bus" model in New Zealand, using a subscribed passport system or pre-packaged route pass, wouldn't be the worst option. Many people head back to their hometowns on the weekends to visit friends and family, so small town visits are often not "one-off" visits for most regular bus travelers (lots of commuter types). Have a pay-as-you-go option with card tapping or an app booking would also be a way to fill seats. Also allow Skip the Dishes to drop off food on the bus at the halfway/intermission point.

Feel like something might pop up in its place if something already hasn't.

Naked bus went out of business, so not the best model to follow.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

[...]

User title on point.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Locke

It might be a little harsh, but that doesnt mean its wrong.

Just because you locate somewhere doesnt mean that circumstances will never change.

I'm dealing with this right now, my in-laws live in a small rural community and they're having health issues, unfortunately that limits their mobility but theres not medical services where they are.

Do we bring the Hospital to them? No. They have to consider relocating.

Yes its inconvenient. Such is life. Nothing stays the same forever.

You know what is likely more economic than relocating them to a full time government funded assisted living facility? Providing bus service for them to get out patient treatment.

[para transit fellow]

Aging in place is still the cheapest form of seniors care.

Even if someone moves to Calgary, the accessible transit services still cost taxpayers a ton of money. For example, Calgary transit access needs a budget of 26 million... And they don't leave Calgary...

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Party Elephant

Naked bus went out of business, so not the best model to follow.

Didn't realize they were shutting down on July 15. Not done yet

Still, 12 years in operation is pretty good. They are based on the concept of megabus in the UK, which was started in 2003 and still going strong today.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by SebC

Relocating people is easy relative to providing a bus service?

I think so. It is reasonable to assume that of those living in remote locations only a very small fraction depends on public transportation to get to closest bigger municipalities. Assisting those people to relocate would be much easier in a long run than keeping government-funded bus routes operating in perpetuity.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

I think so. It is reasonable to assume that of those living in remote locations only a very small fraction depends on public transportation to get to closest bigger municipalities. Assisting those people to relocate would be much easier in a long run than keeping government-funded bus routes operating in perpetuity.

A lot of these isolated communities are reserves. So not really that easy to relocate those residents. And in fact a great deal of those people do rely on buses to get medical attention.

[para transit fellow]

this link downloads a small excel spreadsheet -- listing all the fixed route intermunicipal bus operators in Alberta.

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca...d_Services.xls

scanning through it, you can get a sense of which parts of Alberta have service providers other than Greyhound