Vancouver 2025

The City of Vancouver is a coastal seaport on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the western half of the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver is bounded to the north by English Bay and the Burrard Inlet and to the south by the Fraser River, and covers an area of 44 square miles. On the western end of the city is the 400-hectare Stanley Park. The city population is 766,296, whilst the greater metro area has in excess of 3m. Much of the city centre is built on a gentle incline from the waterfront and features a mixture of heritage buildings and ultra-modern architecture. Coast Mountain Bus Company, an operating subsidiary of TransLink, provides bus and trolleybus services, operating 1550 conventional buses on 232 routes and 262 trolleybuses on 13 routes. There are thriving convention, visitor and cruise sectors which are catered for by several coach companies. 

Wilson’s Transportation Ltd of Victoria, Vancouver Island operate express services from various points in downtown Vancouver to Victoria on Vancouver Island using BC Ferries Connector name. The summer schedule has six daily departures and the winter schedule has four with a total end-to-end journey time of four hours. Photographed at the Vancouver Pacific Central Station terminus is fleet number C262, a Prevost H3-45, acquired from Pacific Coach Lines in 2019.  

Coast Mountain Bus Company 18381, Nova Bus LFS HEV, BAE HybriDrive HDS200.  104 buses of this type entered service between November 2018 and May 2019. Service 22 is a north-south route connecting South Vancouver and Downtown Vancouver every 15 minutes. The bus is photographed south bound on Burrard Street.

Universal Coach Line is based in Richmond, an area south of central Vancouver close to the international airport, and provide private hire, contract and tourist services. Prevost H3-45 new in 2015 wears a vinyl wrap for the free shuttle service to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, 9km from downtown. The free shuttle operates all year round with pick-ups at Canada Place on the water front and the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the city centre. On the day of our visit Universal were providing a multi-vehicle shuttle service from the Canada Place Convention Centre, hence the No.2 on the clipboard in the windscreen.

Epic Rides was founded in 2010 offering minivan services from the international airport. In 2025 they operated five Volvo powered Prevost H3-45 coaches from downtown to Whistler, a ski resort in the Blackcomb mountains 121 kilometers from Vancouver, up to six times a day, with a journey time of 1hr 45mins. The coach is making a left turn into the city centre terminus located on Melville Street adjacent to Burrard Skytrain Station and the Hyatt Regency hotel.

Vancouver receives around 800,000 cruise passengers and over 11m visitors a year. Westcoast Sightseeing have been providing sightseeing services in Vancouver since 1984. Currently in excess of fifty-one vehicles of various types are operated including Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 double-deckers. Fleet number 293 is an ElDorado Escort RE dating from 2001 and used primarily on hotel transfers to the main tour fleet. Big Bus branding is used for much of the operation and a booking kiosk is maintained at Canada Place on the waterfront. 

Coast Mountain Bus Company 21025, an NFI XDE60 delivered in 2021. The last of a batch of 25 delivered between March and June 2022. Operating route 2, a north-south route connecting Dunbar Loop and Downtown Vancouver via Kitsilano. It is a frequent 15 minutes service operating seven days a week. The bus is turning from Burrard Street into Pender Street.

West Vancouver Transit (Blue Bus), formerly West Vancouver Municipal Transit, is owned and operated by the District Municipality of West Vancouver under a contract with TransLink. The system started operating in 1912 and is one of the oldest continually operated municipal transit systems in North America. Fleet number 907 is one of nine Nova Bus LFS units built in 2009. Route 250 is an east-west route connecting Horseshoe Bay with Downtown Vancouverl. The bus is on West Georgia Street in downtown, approaching the end of the route. 

No visit to downtown Vancouver can ignore the extensive trolleybus network with 13 routes, 262 buses and over 370 kilometers of wires.  Coast Mountain Bus Company 2144, an NFI E40LF Škoda 19 ML 3550 K/4 dating from 2006 waits at the junction of Granville Street and West Hastings Street approaching the historic area of the city centre. Route 16 is an east-west route connecting 29th Avenue Station and the 63rd Avenue Loop at West 63rd Avenue & Granville Street, operating every 10 to 15 minutes. 

Bus and Coach World

Downtown Toronto 2025.

 

The city of Toronto is situated on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, covering an area of 630sq km with a population of 3,025,647. The shoreline stretches for 43 km. The majority of downtown, like many North American cities, is laid out in a typical grid (block) system. Traffic flow is relatively light with the exception of the Gardiner Expressway, an ugly elevated roadway running parallel with the shoreline, which remains clogged for most of the day.

Public transport is provided by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). There are three metro lines (the fourth line is permanently closed); eleven tram (streetcar) routes and numerous bus routes. Services are frequent and there is an extensive night time network. 

The public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is provided by GO Transit a division of Metrolinx which is an agency of the Ontario Government. Whilst trains operate into the city centre, very few buses on the GO network do so as most provide feeder services to train and metro stations around the perimeter. The exception being at peak times when the city centre Union station bus terminal on Bay Street is used and provides the opportunity to see double-decker Alexander Dennis Enviro 500s in service.  

Toronto Transit Commission 8476. NovaBus LFS, new 2015. Operating route 114, this is an east to west route following the lake shore until it reaches Bay Street when it turns inland for the short distance to the route terminus at Union Station, from where a loop around the block brings the bus back onto Bay Street ready for the return journey. The photograph shows the bus on Bay Street at the junction of Harbour Street shortly after leaving the water front.

Go Transit/Metrolinx 2578 an MCI D4500, new in 2014, parked on the upper level of the Union station bus terminal, located at the north-east corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard. The departure board displayed three routes departing from the terminal, of which route 21 to Milton, west of the city, was the most frequent. The service terminates at either Go Transit Lisgar Station or Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal at Square One, with journey times of between 1hr 10mins and 1hr 50 mins.  

TOK Coachlines (Tokmakjian Inc.) operate a free shuttle bus service between Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Downtown Toronto. 2805 an ElDorado E-Z Rider ll BRT, new in 2016, one of four in the fleet currently available for this service, and photographed on Front Street.  Tokmakjian Inc. began operating the service in April 2016, taking over from Pacific Western which had operated the service since its inception. 

TOK Coachlines (Tokmakjian Inc.) 3401. TEMSA TS30, new 2020 is one of three currently in the fleet. TOK Coachlines, a division of Tokmakjian Inc. (formerly Can-ar Coach Service), is a coach company based in Concord, Ontario. Founded as Travelways in 1948. Cy Tokmakjian took over the company in 1983 and changed the name to Can-ar Coach Service, rebranding as TOK in 2010. 

Eastern Charter Inc. 102 a Prevost H3-45, new to Autocar in 2014. Eastern Charter are a subsidiary of Universal Coach Line. In late 2023 they became a contractor for FlixBus, and operate the London-Toronto-Ottawa route. The coach is in the livery of Compass Holidays based in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Rider Express 19 is a Prevost H3-45. Rider Express Transportation is a company that provides scheduled passenger transportation and parcel express services based out of Regina, Saskatchewan and operating in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The company pick up on Lake Shore Boulevard outside the Union Bus Terminus, operating services from Toronto to Ottawa via Kingston; Ottawa via Peterborough, and Toronto-Niagara Falls, operating 4 days a week.

Gallexy Tours Ltd of Toronto GT5588 a Prevost X3-45, new in 2013 and previously operated by Concord Coach Lines. In April 2022 Gallexy became a contractor for FlixBus, operating the routes from Toronto to Ottawa, London and Sarnia, Niagara Falls, Sudbury, and Owen Falls. The coach is at the junction of Lake Shore Boulevard West/Lower Simcoe Street having come off the Gardiner Expressway. 

When the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Hockey Team play at the Scotiabank Arena in the city centre the police are out in force to control the large (18,800 hockey capacity) good natured crowd. However, just in case someone needs a night in the cells, transport is at hand. Parked on Bremner Boulevard is Toronto Police Events Support vehicle, Orion 07.501. New to Toronto Transit Commission in 2006.

Bus and Coach World

Canada (14 visits, 43 years).

 

Canadian Pacific by Hank Snow is a song describing a journey by CP Rail across Canada that resonated with me from a youthful age. Today, however, the journey described in the song, from Newfoundland on the east coast to British Columbia on the west coast, is no longer possible by train, but it can be re-enacted by road and in a much shorter time than the 43 years it has taken us. Our exploring by RV has been somewhat geographically erratic but for the sake of this article the route is in logical order from the Atlantic (east) to Pacific (west) coast and north to Alaska with the operator information being current as at 2025.

We begin on a poignant note, on the west coast of Newfoundland, looking out over the Gulf of St. Lawrence towards the province of Labrador, known as ‘iceberg ally’, watching icebergs slowly melt and disappear into the sea. Turning inland and crossing the relatively flat geography of Newfoundland to the island’s west coast and the capital, St John’s. St. John’s is set around a large natural harbour with a narrow entrance overlooked on both shorelines by two former British military batteries, with a current population of 223,667. St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus) has a fleet of 59 buses, 51 of which are NovaBus LFS’s (Fig. 1) dating from 2001 to 2016, operating 22 routes. The remaining eight buses are smaller, used primarily for demand response operations.

Moving on south via the ferry onto Cape Breton Island and an anti-clockwise drive via the Highlands Nation Park and crossing onto Nova Scotia heading for the ferry port at Caribou (Fig.2). Before 1997 the only way onto Prince Edward Island was via the ferry. After May 31^st 1997 the Confederation Bridge joined the eastern Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The 12.9 kilometre (8 mile) long bridge is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water. The Island has a small bus fleet of 19 vehicles mainly second hand, operating as T3 Transit in the capital Charlottetown and rural districts.

Returning to Nova Scotia, the next stop on a clockwise route around the province is the capital Halifax. Located on either side of an inlet off the Atlantic Ocean with a population of 492,199. Public transport in the greater Halifax area is provided by Halifax Transit, (Fig.3), with 376 buses and 5 passenger ferries. The modern fleet with an average age of just under nine years consists primarily of NovaBus and NFI products. 71 bus routes are operated including three regional express services which connect to an extensive park & ride network and, in the case of service 320, the airport.

Moving on to the north shore of Nova Scotia overlooking the Bay of Fundy, famed for having the highest tides in the world, we come to the largest town in the area, Kentville and then the much smaller town of Wolfville. Wolfville is at the centre of the local wine industry and in summer a seasonal Routemaster bus tour operates from the local tourist information office to various wineries. The more conventional bus network is operated by Kings Transit Authority (Fig.4), with a fleet of 16 buses, operating five routes with variations, some timetabled to last almost two hours.  

The journey across the next province, New Brunswick, is relatively bus free. The most frequent sightings are of Coach Atlantic express services operating in and out of Halifax. Skirting the USA border and following the St. Lawrence River, we now enter the French speaking part of Canada and the next stop, Montréal. The largest city on the trip so far, with a population of 1,762,949 and popular as a tourist destination with many historic buildings and a riverside promenade. Société de transport de Montréal (STM) (Fig.5), serves the city with a fleet of 1,988 buses, primarily NovaBus LFS’s, covering 149 all day routes, 23 rush hour, 23 night and 45 express routes.

From Montréal it is a long drive following the St. Lawence River, the north shore of Lake Ontario, through the endless urban sprawl of greater Toronto, eventually arriving into central Toronto. Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and the metropolitan area has a population of 7 million people. It is modern, vibrant and cosmopolitan but with a relaxed air and laidback vibe that is helped by its location on Lake Ontario and a beautiful waterfront. The modern architecture, some of it stunning, does overshadow what remains of the older city buildings but not in a detrimental way. City transport is in the hands of the Toronto Transit Commission (Fig. 6) with a fleet of 2,066 buses, plus a fleet of trams and light rail units. The majority of the bus fleet prior to 2015 consisted of vehicles from Orion Bus Industries, whilst more recent deliveries are from NovaBus. The greater metropolitan area is served by Go Transit with an extensive bus, coach and rail network, most well-known to readers will be its large fleet of Alexander Dennis Enviro 500s. Moving on, and a complete contrast as the city gives way to hundreds of miles of lakes and trees before heading inland for even more trees, all within a relatively flat topography.

Eventually, having crossed from Eastern to the Central time zone and into the province of Manitoba, Winnipeg is on the horizon. Offering little for the tourist, this mainly industrial city with a population of 836,250 merely serves as a staging-post for us before continuing west. The city does however have a bus network provided by Winnipeg Transit with 633 buses (Fig.7). In June 2025 a new bus network was launched breaking the network into eight service types with more direct routes and easier interchange points, being called a ‘spine-and-feeder’ system by the Transit Authority. Between 2018 and 2021 the Authority purchased 202 new buses.

If we remained true to the original Canadian Rail route and the song lyrics we would now head off in the direction of Saskatchewan, eventually entering the province of Alberta to visit Edmonton. We however are taking the more southerly route into Alberta, the next stop being Calgary, gateway to the Rockies. The city is probably best known for the Stampede in July. Dissected by two rivers, the city centre is pleasant enough although nothing outstanding. Calgary has had a transit system since 1909 (Fig. 8). Today 1,016 buses operate 269 routes and 216 light rail cars are operated over two routes with a third under construction. Time to move on, The Rockies are calling.

One of the world’s most scenic drives, the 288 km (179 miles) between Banff and Jasper through their respective national parks are outstanding, although climate change has had a dramatic effect on the scenery since we first travelled the route over 40+ years ago. This, however, is Brewster Transport territory which is considered to be Canada’s oldest tourist company (Fig. 9). The history of Brewster was inexplicably linked to the development of tourism in the Rockies, when in 1892 the manager of Banff Springs Hotel made an evening visit to John Brewster at his dairy farm to ask if he knew of anybody willing to guide his hotel guests. It was in 1915 that the first motor vehicle was trialled resulting in an order for five Canadian built Overland vehicles, five seven seat Model 86-Ts and one five seat Model 85. Whilst ownership and management ebbed and flowed between various Brewster family members, financial stability was lacking. In 1965 Brewster Transport was purchased by Greyhound Canada. Subsequently, the business was acquired by Viad Travel and Recreation now trading as Pursuit, a multi-national tourist business, but the Brewster name remains dominant in the Rockies.

Before leaving the Rockies the final town of any size is Jasper, population 4,735 and the place where our travels and the railway once more converge. The Municipality of Jasper provides a three-route bus network using Ford Cutaway vehicles (Fig. 10). From here, both the road and rail routes start to descend out of the mountains and head south towards Kamloops. Whilst the railway line then heads west, we continue south to Osoyoos, an inland holiday resort on the Canadian/USA border where a sign on the lakeside beach reads ‘Going for a swim-remember your passport’. No time for a swim as we head west, eventually reaching Vancouver.

Vancouver has grown exponentially in the decades since our first two visits, the Metro Vancouver population now standing at 3,431,713. The city remains welcoming with a chilled, laid-back and waterside vibe. It is also the last point where we intersect with the cross Canada rail system and is the final verse in the Hank Snow song. On our first visit BC Transit (Fig. 11) was responsible for all public transport. However, on 1^st April 1999 operations were split, services in the Metro Vancouver area were transferred to Coast Mountain Bus Company, an operating subsidiary of TransLink. Coast Mountain Bus Company provides service in all 21 municipalities that make up Metro Vancouver area. Currently 232 bus,13 trolleybus, ten night bus and 6 Express bus routes are operated by 1,414 buses and 262 trolleybuses. Fleet renewal will see NovaBus supply large numbers of new electric buses during 2025-6 and unusually, orders for Solaris Trollino 12m and 18m trolleybuses have been placed for delivery in 2026-28.

Leaving Vancouver, heading south, you cross the Arthur Laing Bridge which affords a wonderful view of the huge transit depot with line upon line of buses and trolleybuses. On our journey we are heading for the ferry to Vancouver Island departing from Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. The crossing takes 90 minutes, initially across open water before cruising serenely between the Gulf Islands and arriving into Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. This crossing is well connected to public transport, on the mainland Translink operate bus route 620 whilst on Vancouver Island BC Transit operate two frequent services between the ferry port and downtown Victoria, the island capital. Alternatively, Wilson's Transportation Ltd., under the BC Ferry Connector name, operate an integrated coach/ferry service from various points throughout Vancouver city (Fig. 12).

Victoria, capital of British Columbia with a population of 397,237 has a small town cosmopolitan feel. The 56 route bus network is operated by BC Transit with a fleet of 301 buses (Fig. 13): the majority of older single deckers being NovaBus LFS’s, whilst more recent deliveries are New Flyer Industries XN40’s. Of greater interest, although not for this magazine, are the 47 Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 double deckers in the fleet. Many services operated by the Enviro’s, layover/depart from outside the Legislative Assembly on Government Street, whilst other routes using more conventional buses layover in Belleville Street.

From Victoria it is now a 498km (309 miles) drive to Port Hardy in the north of the island. As you head north the character of the island changes, from the flat well populated south to the rugged, sparsely populated north, where bears still roam. The destination is Bear Cove Ferry Terminal at Port Hardy for the BC Ferries car ferry to Prince Rupert, sailing through the Inside Passage, a journey of 16 hours 20 minutes. Hard to believe, but after all the miles and hours Prince Rupert is still in BC Transit territory and home to a two bus outstation (Fig. 14). Over the last three decades the outstation allocation remains at two vehicles: in 2025 these are GW Vicinity’s operated on behalf of BC Transit by PW Transit.

The long journey north and inland with just a minor diversion to visit the town of Stewart (Canada) and an unhindered walk into the adjacent town of Hyder (USA), eventually brings us to the last major city on the journey and the last transit system at Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon territory. Perversely, the area was better known to the Victorians than travellers in the 20^th/21^st century because of its importance during the goldrush era and still has a frontier feel. Whitehorse Transit is a small fleet of 13 buses operating 8 routes, originally started in 1976 as the Women's Minibus Society and the city became responsible for the network in 1981 (Fig. 15). The original fleet was supplemented with second hand vehicles during the mid-eighties and subsequent fleet renewal has been sporadic, as has support for the operator by city council members. Reading through the archive of council minutes it becomes clear that over the decades the general consensus has been, the network is too costly for a small city with a population of just 31,913. Just as the gold miners of old, we continue north.

The Yukon is sparsely populated, even by Canadian standards, as we travel along highway two before turning onto the Dempster Highway, eventually crossing into the Northwest Territories, and reaching the end of the road at Inuvik. Retracing our route back to highway two, we eventually arrive in Dawson City, but not before encountering a final tourist coach at Dredge No.4 National Historic Site (Fig. 16). We cross the Yukon River and leave Canada via the ‘Top of the World’ highway and enter Alaska, to start a new adventure.   

Fig 001. St. John’s Transportation Commission (Metrobus). BPC 346 (1208), NovaBus LFS with 38 seats, one of nine in the fleet, purchased in 2012. Route 3 has two variants, A and B, the A which this bus is operating misses out Eastern Health and Highland Drive at the northern end of the route. ‘Village’ shown on the destination blind is a large shopping centre at the southern end of the route, used as a timing point, the bus continues a loop around the local area before returning back north.

FIG 002.  A Prevost LeMirage of Greene Coach, Canada alighting from the PEI ferry, June 1990.

Fig 003.  New in 1982, Halifax Transit 867 is a General Motors Diesel Division (GMDD) T6H-5307N New Look, retired from service in 2004. Seen in downtown Halifax on route 7, a short twenty-minute route to the north of the city centre, operating every fifteen minutes. 

Fig 004. Kings Transit Authority No. 65 an ElDorado EZ Rider II (BRT style) from 2021. Seen in Wolfville on service 2E (E denoting east bound), nearing the end of the route, with just seven minutes remaining before terminating in Grande Pre.

Fig 005. Société de transport de Montréal (STM), 40-034, NovaBus LFS HEV, new in 2020. 251 of these buses were delivered in 2020 with two subsequent batches totalling 178 delivered in 2021/2. 40-034 is at the bus stop on Beaver Hall Hill operating route 35 from Angrignon Parc, adjacent to the metro station and large park & ride, in the south of the city to McGill Metro Station in the north. Griffintown shown on the destination screen is located in central downtown, it being a Sunday I am assuming this is a short working. 

Fig 006. Toronto Transit Commission 8523, NovaBus LFS dating from 2016, on Front Street/Union Station terminus about to depart on service 114 for Commissioners St at Carlaw, although the timetable states Lake Shore Garage Loop, a large bus depot just to the east of the terminus. The 114 has a ten-minute headway during the day. TTC operate 215 daytime routes, 27 night routes, 5 community routes, 27 express services. 

 

Fig 007. Winnipeg Transit 919, New Flyer XD40, fitted with Cummins L9 engine and Allison gearbox, delivered in 2024. Photographed on Kennedy Street running off duty from route 10. This area of the city has a few historical buildings housing the Legislative Assembly and Law Courts. 

Fig 008. 7^th Avenue, Calgary, Ontario Bus Industries 01.505 and Siemens U2 light rail units compete for road space. The bus dating from 1981/2 has long been retired, the last of their type operating in 2002, whilst the light rail units dating from 1980, are gradually being replaced. 

Fig 009. Brewster Transport in the Greyhound era. MCI MC-8, ex Greyhound USA, in the bus park at the Columbia Icefield. Just visible are two of several ex-school buses used for hotel/ski transfers.  

Fig 010. Ford Cutaway from the Jasper Transit fleet turns from Patricia Street onto Pyramid Lake Road operating on the Green Route. 

Fig 011. BC Transit V3116 a New Flyer Industries D40 one of 109 units built in 1991, it became 3306 in the Coast Mountain Bus Company upon its creation on 1^st April 1999. Route 404 originally operated from Ladner Exchange to Vancouver International Airport Domestic Terminal, however over the years various amendments to the route has resulted in it now running in the southern district of Richmond, connecting the Riverport Entertainment Complex and Richmond–Brighouse Station.

Fig 012. Parked on the ferry deck whilst crossing from Vancouver to Vancouver Island is Wilson’s Transportation Ltd., C262. Formally 2004 in the Pacific Coach Lines fleet, this Prevost H3-45 is fitted with high capacity seating specifically for the service. 

Fig 013. BC Transit (Victoria Regional Transit System) 4247, a VMC (Vicinity Motor Corp.) Classic V30 CNG dating from 2022, one of fifteen in the fleet. Route 10 operates between the Royal Jubilee Hospital and James Bay Village via downtown Victoria.

Fig 014. BC Transit depot (outstation), just off 2nd Avenue (Yellowhead Highway), Prince Rupert, British Columbia. 6774, OBI Orion 01.504 built in 1981, retired in 2003. 5349, GMDD T6H-5307N "New Look" built in 1973 for Prince George Tours & Transit. Transferred to the Bureau of Transit Services (later BC Transit) in 1978. Arrived in Prince Rupert 1994 and retired by 1999.

Fig 15. Whitehorse Transit, Orion Bus Industries 'Orion I'. An early model with the single swing-in front door. The bus is promoting the 2000 Artic Winter Games. Photographed at the Ogilvie Street Terminal about to depart on what in 2025 is service 101(City Central).

 Fig 16. Westours (Westours Motor Coaches, Inc.), MCI E4500 coach parked at Dredge 4, Dawson, Yukon. Dredging occurred in the Yukon between 1899 and 1966 as a very efficient means of mining for Klondike gold.

Bus and Coach World

The Maritimes: Nova Scotia.

Acadian Lines 205, MCI 102-A3 in the Antigonish terminal adjacent to Highway 4 at 53 James St, 160 kilometres northeast of Halifax. Antigonish has a population of 4,656.

The Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada has weather conditions at the best of times described as changeable, however, in 2023 it was more biblical. As we stood at the bus stop, rain lashed down whilst just a few miles away and in the direct line of our bus route, wild fires raged. Having booked and paid for a pick-up (Coach Atlantic requires a minimum three hours’ booking notice), we had little choice but to travel. The omens were good, as our Ford E450 cutaway arrived on time from Lunenburg, having made an intermediate stop in Bridgewater. The service joined highway 103 for the remainder of the journey into Halifax, making just one stop on route at the Valerie Avenue car sharing park adjacent to the highway. On approach to the Halifax suburbs, the driver received a State Government warning message on his mobile devise advising him of impending road closures due to the proximity of the wild fires. Over the previous few days, we had become used to these messages appearing on tv screens and mobile phones: they let out a loud klaxon sound followed by the screen turning red and a warning message. The highway remained open for us, although the junctions off were closed and we soon arrived at the first city centre stop, a large edge of town shopping centre. Next stop, rather unusually, was the car park of a drive through burger restaurant, followed by the hospital and finally to the downtown terminus on Hollis Street, adjacent to the Via Rail station. In four decades of travelling this route, 2023 was exceptional although passenger transport in this part of Canada has seen its fair share of trials and tribulations.  

 

Left: Acadian Lines, a 1989 MCI MC-9 Special. Acadian had exclusive rights to operate on condition that the more profitable routes would subsidize the less profitable ones. Prince Edward Island had no regulations over the service, but in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, it could take five to eight months to get permission for a fare or route change. In 2010 it applied to reduce service between Sydney and Halifax from three trips a day to two, its 51-seat coaches were carrying an average of 12 people. Right: Acadian Lines 205. MCI 102-A3 on highway 4 heading towards Cape Breton Island.
   

In August 1938 Nova Scotia Coach Lines, a division of United Service Corporation of Halifax, was formed. It was renamed Acadian Coach Lines in 1947. The coach company provided intercity and charter service within the province of Nova Scotia. In December 1955, Acadian Lines was purchased from United Service Corporation by George C. Thompson, Ralph A. Pepper, and Gordon H. Thompson. Expansion followed with the purchase of the bus operations of Fleetlines Limited of Halifax and Highland Lines of Sydney, the largest urban area on Cape Breton Island. Other associated companies have included including Acadian Travel Agency, Wagner Tours and McKenzie Bus Lines. By December 1995, the Irving Transportation Group subsidiary SMT (Eastern) had acquired Acadian Lines and its charter coach subsidiary Nova Charter Services. SMT (Eastern) Ltd was established in 1937 by K.C. Irving.

MacKenzie Bus Line No.30 MCI MC-5B at Lunenburg. MacKenzie Bus Line was a coach operator based in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia beginning operations in 1933 by transporting residents to and from Halifax. During the war years, there was a lack of available housing in Halifax and people moved to the surrounding area and Mackenzie’s thrived - in its heyday, carrying up to 100,000 passengers a year. A garage was established on York Street, Bridgewater: this was a former WWII aircraft hangar transferred from the north shore region of Annapolis Valley by means of a flatbed truck. In addition to the route from Halifax, the buses also ran between Bridgewater, Crescent Beach, Petite Riviere, as well as Riverport, Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Hubbards, and Peggy's Cove. Unfortunately, by the early 1990s, low ridership eventually forced the company to discontinue its services along Nova Scotia's south shore between Halifax and Yarmouth via Bridgewater and ceased operations in 1998. De-licencing of the schedule service was granted by the Nova Scotia Government on September 23rd 1998. A short-term replacement was granted to DRL Coachlines Ltd.

By 2003 Acadian Lines now based in Moncton, New Brunswick operated intercity bus service between New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. However, in 2004 Acadian Lines, now the largest intercity bus service in the Maritimes, once again changed ownership, being purchased by Orléans Express an intercity and charter coach operator based in Montréal, Québec, a subsidiary of Keolis Canada (formerly Groupe Orléans). In September 2009 Groupe Orléans reorganized and in August 2012, it was announced Acadian Lines would shut down as it was no longer deemed profitable, the company losing $12 million since the acquisition in 2004 and having recently seen 59 drivers, maintenance staff and customer agents vote to strike. Provincial statistics show that in 2009, 171,000 passengers were carried, down from 500,000 in 1986. By 2011, the numbers were down to 148,000. The last day of operations was November 30, 2012 with a loss of 120 jobs.

Left :Nova Charter Services 4763, MCI 102 C3 resting in downtown Halifax. Right: Nova Charter 4726, MCI MC9. Photographed at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, Baddeck, Cape Breton Island. Once a major destination for coach tours, locals now blame deteriorating roads on the Island for the lack of visitors.    

The next chapter of bus and coach operations in Nova Scotia would begin with Mike Cassidy, owner of Trius Tours in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, introducing the Maritime Bus brand on the 1st December 2012, picking up the services and promising a seamless transition. Trius Tours operate under various brands; Coach Atlantic; Prince Edward Tours; Gray Line and T3 (Take Transit Today) for local services in Charlottetown, Cornwall, Stratford, and Summerside, all on Prince Edward Island. Trius Tours was started by George Brookins in 1986. On April 1, 2005, Mike Cassidy and Bill Keith purchased Trius Tours from Brookins for $500,000. Keith soon sold his shares to Cassidy.  Brookins was hired as general manager. However, not all has been plain sailing and in 2010 Brookins was found guilty of defrauding the company of $203,728.90. 

SMT (Eastern) 4803, Setra S215 HDH waiting at the Caribou Ferry terminal on route Prince Edward Island. Before the opening of Confederation Bridge in 1997 this was one of two ferry crossings - the other being at Cape Tormentine closer to New Brunswick. 

During September 2019 Dennis Campbell, proprietor of Absolute Charters, sold out to Mike Cassidy. Mike Cassidy’s Group had a record year in 2019 with revenues reaching almost $45 million. The company had a fleet of 275 vehicles and employed 515 people across the Atlantic Maritimes. In April that year, the company carried 19,000 passengers. A year later, when Covid struck it carried only 650 people during the same month. Both 2020 and 2021 were disastrous for the Group, financial losses were reported of $33 million in 2020 and $25 million in 2021 as Transport Canada enforced a Covid cruise ship ban in the Maritimes. Things were looking up in May 2022 as Cassidy signed a contract with Prevost for the supply of 50 Prevost H3-45 coaches over a five-year period. In June 2022, 10 Prevost H3-45 were delivered. 

Left: Maritimebus Ford truck cutaway conversion photographed at the Catholic Church of St. Peter on Prince Edward Island, June 2015. The church stands next to the Confederation Bridge view point. The world's largest bridge over icy waters opened in 1997 joining Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick. Right: Coach Atlantic PR49187 a Ford cutaway at the Halifax terminal awaits the author for the return journey to Lunenburg. The service still operated a Covid timetable of three return journeys a week, although this was due to increase to five from July 2023. Two semi-retired drivers alternate week about to cover the service.   

In June 2023, we found Nova Scotia much quieter than previous occasions and compared to the 1980s and 1990s the range of express services and excursions on offer were greatly reduced. The focus is now on cruise ship passengers. 

Left: Ambassatours, seventy-four seat Van Hool Astromega photographed June 2019 at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg. For visitors staying in the capital, Halifax, this is a popular destination as part of “Nova Scotia South Shore in a day” excursion. Right: Trius Tours Ltd 809, Setra S417 C56Ft fitted with Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine. The Company was founded in 1986 and is now part of the Coach Atlantic Group. Photographed at Peggy’s Cove information centre, rather than using the coach park at the lighthouse.

Left: Coach Atlantic 1901, MCI J4500 photographed June 2019. Maritime Bus does C$42 million in total sales, half of that is related to cruise ships and multi-day tours. Peggy’s Cove, just a short drive from Halifax, is the most popular destination for day tours with the coach park at the highest point, next to the lighthouse. Right: Absolute Charters 2006, MCI J4300. Absolute Charters (Ambassatours) had a temporary licence for twelve full size coaches between September and October 2018 providing services for cruise ship passengers. 2006 waits on the quay at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg adorned with a livery depicting various sights along the South Shore.

Left: Coach Atlantic 1924, Prevost H3-45 dating from 2019. Photographed in a very wet downtown Halifax, having departed the Hollis Street terminus. 

Right: Coach Atlantic 1024 a Prevost X3-45 on the stand at the Halifax Terminal, 1161 Hollis Street, awaits passengers for the 3pm bound departure to Sydney, Cape Breton Island. 

Left: Rear view of Coach Atlantic 2030, Prevost H3-45. On route from Lunenburg to Halifax, passengers get the opportunity to visit Amos Pewter and take a stroll around Mahone Bay. Right: Trius Tours Prevost H Series in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Covid proved a difficult time for the company. In Charlottetown where Maritime Bus has its depot, there were around 30 buses parked-up between early November 2019 and April 2021.

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