Greyhound services at a crawl due to Coquihalla closures

Feb 11, 2017 | 9:42 AM

KAMLOOPS — If you’re scheduled to pick up a friend or family member from the Greyhound bus station today, expect a wait.

Troy Saul, General Manager of the Greyhound station in Hope, says ongoing Coquihalla Highway closures the last few days have services at a crawl at most of their Interior stations, including Kamloops, with Lower Mainland stations seeing the worse back-up.

“You’re probably looking at buses being at least an hour late at most stations and then you’re not even sure if your ticket will be honoured,” said Gaul. “Some people may have to wait the following day because of the significant back-up.”

Vancouver buses were put on hold most of the day Friday due to the highway closure between Hope and Merritt, with some buses arriving five hours late into Hope.

According to Saul, the backups were so bad 300 people were forced to sleep overnight at the Vancouver Greyhound station on Friday, with two Kelowna buses en route to Vancouver stranded overnight on the Coquihalla Highway Friday night among hundreds of other drivers.

While chaotic, Saul stresses no trips have been cancelled during B.C’s current snowstorm.

Greyhound customers travelling Saturday are advised to arrive extra early and be prepared to wait.

If that doesn’t work, Saul says Greyhound will do its best to honour customer’s tickets the following day or give out a refund.