Greyhound Canada suspends all bus routes in Canada due to COVID-19

Greyhound Canada will halt all of its bus routes in Canada starting next Wednesday, May 13, because of the coronavirus.

The company controversially stopped its service in Western Canada in 2018, but the pandemic has caused ticket sales for its remaining routes in the eastern part of the country to plummet by 95 per cent.

The company has already scaled back its operations during thepandemic, including nine domestic routes on April 5, andthree trans-border routes between Niagara Falls, Ont., andBuffalo, N.Y.; Windsor, Ont., and Detroit; and Montreal andChamplain, N.Y.

The company said that as of midnight next Tuesday, the following remaining routes will no longer be in service:

• Windsor to London
• London to Toronto and Toronto Airport
• London to Kitchener
• London to Toronto Local (Woodstock, Brantford, Hamilton, Mississauga)
• Toronto to Ottawa
• Ottawa to Montreal
• Ottawa to Kingston
• Kitchener/Guelph to Toronto

"As we continue to navigate this situation, we will keep our customers and employees who are affected by this temporary shutdown top of mind," said Stuart Kendrick, the company's vice-president, in a release.

"We regret the difficulty that this will cause them, but this decision came as a last resort option to address the uncontrollable consequences and devastating impacts of this pandemic,"

About 400 employees will be temporarily laid off as a result of the decision.

In a statement to CBC News, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the closure "another big hit to people who have the least," since it is primarilywomen, low-income earners, seniorsand many essential workers who depend on long-haul bus routes to get around.

"The inter-city bus companies have asked for relatively little to keep rolling. The federal government has to quit pointing fingers and make sure the crucial bus companies and the people who rely on them get the support they need," Singh said.