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Not allowed on Hwy 3? The bus is an option

Inter-city bus companies see increased demand

With confirmation last week Highway 3 is not expected to open for leisure travel until early next year, some families may weigh other ways of getting to or from the Lower Mainland for the holidays.

Airlines have added capacity but fares close to Christmas don’t come cheap, although the government insists there will be no price gouging.

So, how about taking the bus?

EBus, Rider Express and Mountain Man Mike’s are three inter-city operators listed by the government as having a special exemption to travel along Highway 3 as an essential service, and perhaps not surprisingly, people are using them.

“We are seeing a number of sold-out schedules over the Christmas period,” Glen Desjardine, the operations manager for EBus in B.C. told Kelowna10.

“We’re building demand … I think there has definitely been an uptick in demand,” he noted. Until the Coquihalla highway re-opens for commercial traffic, Highway 3 will remain restricted to non-essential travel.

The government is expected to offer an update Wednesday on Coquihalla repairs, which may indicate an even earlier re-opening, sooner even than the early January timeline offered last week. It remains to be seen if that route re-opening to commercial traffic would allow for non-essential travel on the Crowsnest Highway in time for some part of the holidays.

Journey taking 90 minutes longer

The vehicle used by EBus for its twice daily trips between Kelowna and Vancouver seats 52. Desjardine is confident it can handle growing demand but warns potential passengers things are slow on the roads.

“With the traffic and whatnot that Highway 3 is seeing, it’s an honest 90 minutes [extra],” Desjardine explained. “We’re leaving Kelowna at 9 a.m. and getting into Vancouver at approximately four o’clock in the afternoon.”

The company typically offers two daily runs between Kelowna and Vancouver but Desjardine said they may have as many as six trips per day around Christmas. His recommendation is to think ahead, book early, and be flexible with your travel arrangements.

Rider Express offers a regular service between Kamloops and Vancouver, andMountain Man Mike’s runs between the West Kootenay and Vancouver twice a week.

Published 2021-12-13 by Glenn Hicks

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