The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Manitoba's northern and rural communities may be asked to take the lead in ensuring continued highway bus passenger services. The NDP government has extended its subsidy agreement with Greyhound to July 1, at which point it's not clear what will happen to bus services. July 1 is the day the province will implement new rules it says will make it easier for private-sector bus lines to enter the provincial market. The rules will also create the opportunity for what the government is calling 'community-led, non-profit delivery of passenger services.' The province said it will consult organizations representing northern, rural, First Nation and M_tis communities to determine their interest in establishing inter-community transportation services on routes where private-sector services might not be available. 'We have committed to making changes so that privately run bus service is more sustainable,' Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said in a news release. 'We have also been approached by a number of companies interested in providing service for Manitobans under a new regulatory framework.' Ashton said inter-community bussing is important for many Manitobans, particularly those in northern and rural parts of the province. Consultations He said stakeholder consultations held in 2010 identified regulatory changes as a possible solution to sustaining this type of bus service in Manitoba. The province says the rules taking effect July 1 will also help sustain inter-community bus service on 'key routes' and offer greater flexibility for carriers. The rules will further help give providers, such as handi-vans, more flexibility in the type of service they provide. 'We want to ensure the changes will benefit Manitobans well into the future,' said Ashton. The province has since March 2010 given Greyhound $7.02 million in exchange for a guarantee the company would not scale back its services. An agreement signed in March 2011 lasts until March 31, 2012, but the province has now extended it until July 1. In a news release, the province did not provide any financial figure associated with the three-month extension. The province has always seen the bailouts as temporary until a long-term solution could be developed. Claiming it was losing money, Greyhound threatened to end all passenger services in Manitoba in early October 2009. It later agreed to negotiate with the province.
