Image Credit: Contributed / Ebus

By Ashley Legassic

EBUS APPLICATION

Ebus approved to expand Shuswap routes; denied Cariboo route

Sep 9, 2019 | 3:10 PM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — A charter bus company in the Cariboo is breathing a sigh of relief after the Passenger Transportation Board denied Ebus’s application to operate in the area.

Randy Gertzen is the division manager for Adventure Charters and Rentals. The company applied to, and was approved by, B.C.’s Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) earlier this year to provide a bus service through the Cariboo and Southern Interior after Greyhound folded.

The company serves routes from Prince George to Surrey and Kamloops to Williams Lake. The Prince George to Surrey run stops throughout the Cariboo and Fraser Canyon, which Gertzen says fills a gap in those communities.

Last month, Ebus was granted approval to expand its service in the Shuswap and Okanagan through its existing runs. However, part of that application, which sought to operate a Kamloops-to-Prince George route which would include stops in Cache Creek, 70 Mile House, 100 Mile House, Lac La Hache, Williams Lake, Quesnel and Hixon, was denied.

“Regarding public need, we have received very little compelling evidence from the applicant to show that the service currently provided by (Gertzen Ventures Ltd.) is not meeting the public need,” the PTB decision states. “There were no letters of support from users or potential users for the additional features the applicant proposes.”

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The PTB added that allowing Ebus to operate in this route could be detrimental to Adventure Charters and Rentals.

Gertzen says he’s glad the board understood his company’s point of view.

“I think (the board) took that into account and I’ve got to give them credit for that because… Ebus and Pacific Western Bus out of Prince George who owns Ebus, they’re a pretty big company so we’re up against some big people there so we felt pretty good about that,” he said. “Thank you to all the people that supported us and made the panel think in our way, and we came out ahead in this one.”