No hearings on bus cuts

Photo: Greyhound

Proposed services cuts in B.C.

The Passenger Transportation Board of B.C. isn’t planning on holding any public meetings in the Similkameen Valley related to Greyhound’s application to stop serving the Hwy 3 corridor.

A series a public hearings in Northern B.C. are set for next week — where Greyhound has applied to stop serving all together — but board chair Catherine Read says budget constraints won’t allow any such meetings in the Southern Interior.

The bus service is looking to eliminate stops in Princeton, Keremeos, Hedley, Eastgate and Manning Park by rerouting the Vancouver to Osoyoos route through Kelowna and Penticton.

Local politicians and business leaders have decried the proposed cuts, with some seniors relying on the Greyhound to reach appointments in the Lower Mainland.

Read said the Passenger Transportation Board has received more than 220 submissions on the cuts, although she’s not sure how many have come from the Similkameen.

The board has also received a petition with 1,000 signatures on service cuts to Lytton and communities in the Fraser Canyon area between Cache Creek and Hope.

“We have have a lot of submissions and we will be taking those into account,” she said.

The board will issue a descion on the cuts in early 2018.