Greyhound bus service will continue in Manitoba -- for now. The company s decision to backtrack on a threat to cut service in Manitoba starting Oct. 2 and lay off more than 200 employees came after Greyhound officials met with Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux yesterday. Lemieux wouldn t say what, if anything, the company asked for during the meeting, but said he didn t promise Greyhound money or anything else, other than a pledge the company s operations would be on the agenda at an Oct. 22 meeting of federal and provincial transport ministers. "We agreed to work on short-term and long-term solutions and we agreed to work together," Lemieux said. "They want to do business in Manitoba and that s what they expressed to us." Bus company brass said they were pleased with what they heard from Lemieux and said they will keep bus service running as they continue to meet with government officials to hammer out a solution over the coming weeks. "We have delayed any operational cessation on Oct. 2," said Greyhound Canada senior vice-president Stuart Kendrick. "There s been nothing promised in detail but (Lemieux) was very understanding and had the opportunity to take a very close look at the issues." While the continuation of service could prove to be temporary, Kendrick said no new deadline had been imposed. "Hopefully we re going in the right direction and the outcome will be positive," Kendrick said. Earlier this month, the company said it would need $15 million from the federal and provincial governments to subsidize unprofitable routes it is forced to run in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, or it would stop serving those areas altogether. "There s no money on the table from the provincial government of Manitoba," Lemieux said. "But we re open to all kinds of solutions. Even though there s no money on the table today, there may be (at some point). We re not closing the door on that." Kendrick said Greyhound officials hope to meet with the Ontario government in the coming days but said the company still plans to cut service in Northwestern Ontario on Dec. 2 should no subsidy arrangement be reached. [email protected] But would still need public $$ By PAUL TURENNE , SUN MEDIA Last Updated: 14th September 2009, 4:03am -A Winnipeg-based bus company says it may be willing to provide service to all of Manitoba if Greyhound pulls out of the province, but not without government help. Ontario s Caribou Coach Transportation Company said Thursday it may be prepared to make a go at the Winnipeg to Sault Ste. Marie run if Greyhound pulls out of the region. Now Gerry Boutin, president of Boutin Bus Lines, said his company might be willing to continue service across Manitoba, and possibly into Northwestern Ontario as well. "We d like to take over whatever Greyhound is not able to operate. We d take as many (routes) as we can," Boutin said. "We re looking financially right now at it with a backer, and doing a feasibility study." Boutin bus lines has buses, vans and trailers and currently operates three routes as a subcontractor for Greyhound, which owns the rights to the runs. The four-year-old, Winnipeg-based company runs routes between Winnipeg and Pine Falls, Sprague, and Koostatak (Fisher River). Boutin said he d like to continue those runs and add more in Manitoba if Greyhound ceases operations. Greyhound threatened to do just that earlier this month unless it gets a $15-million subsidy from government to cover losses on small, unprofitable routes it s required to maintain. Boutin said he too would need a subsidy from the government, and although he hasn t put a figure on it yet, he believes it would be less than Greyhound is asking for. "It wouldn t cost us that much. We re a smaller company. We re not as top-heavy," he said. "The reason we would need help from the government is because I believe Greyhound s intention is to keep the freight, so we d just be doing passengers. If we don t have the freight business, the revenue wouldn t be as much." Boutin said he believes he could make money on a few routes without a subsidy, but even if his company did move freight, that wouldn t be enough to profit on many routes. "We re a local company and all of our employees are from Manitoba," he said. "If they re pulling out I wouldn t like to see another company from another province coming in and doing what we can do in our own backyard." [email protected]
Boutin Buslines Inc is Winnipeg-based company (Manitoba, Canada) with a phone number 8885085600. Our data show that the company is located at the address: PO Box 153. The company has a web site: www.boutinbuslines.com.
Unfortunately сompany staff has not yet provided of company's activities, mission and detailed description.