A Williams Lake-based bus company is pleased that the Passenger Transportation Board denied Ebus an application to operate a Kamloops to Prince George route.
Randy Gertzen with Adventure Charters and Rentals says his company already provides a similar service from Prince George to Surrey, and from Kamloops to Williams Lake.
He notes there isn’t enough demand to support two bus companies in the area.
“If we had to share the route between Prince George and Kamloops with them, we would have to shut down basically,” he said. “We had a lot of support from the mayor’s right from Prince George, right down to Hope because the Fraser Canyon would not have been serviced then either. They got the message in Victoria and did the right thing.”
Gertzen says he can’t see things improving too much in the future saying their biggest ridership is between Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, and 100 Mile House.
“You never know the way the government works, how it’s going to come out but we are very happy with the result of what they came up with,” Gertzen added. “The system worked for us this time but I’m sure they’re not going to give up because we’re a big company and we’re just a small fish in the ocean here. I’m sure they are going to take another run at us anyhow.”
Ebus was approved for a route from Kamloops to Kelowna via the Shuswap with stops in Chase, Sorrento, Salmon Arm, Enderby, and Armstrong. That service is set to start on October 7.