Local company applies to take over routes after Greyhound puts brakes on service

Continuing bus service post-Greyhound An Edmonton company is finalizing plans to offer passenger and freight bus services in Alberta. CTV Edmonton's Amanda Anderson reports.

An Edmonton company is finalizing plans to offer passenger bus and freight services in Alberta to help fill the void that will be left when Greyhound cancels service to the Prairies.

Cold Shot already offers bus service in several Alberta communities in partnership with Greyhound, and now the owner plans to continue the service.

“We’re designing a plan so that the same communities we’ve been offering services to through Greyhound, we can [continue to] cover those areas,” owner Sunny Balwaria said.

The routes include services from Edmonton to Grande Prairie, Peace River, Camrose and Cold Lake.

Cold Shot also plans to add routes to Jasper, Calgary and Fort McMurray.

The company has 10 buses and will add 55 to its fleet by November.

“We have from a nine-passenger bus to a 20-passenger bus. There's no point to having 55-seating buses because we all know that ridership is declining,” Balwaria explained.

Saskatchewan’s Rider Express also wants to take over the routes from Greyhound.

It plans to offer bus service to Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. The bus company is purchasing full-sized coaches for the routes.

Greyhound will cancel its services on October 31.

With files from Amanda Anderson