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.

Omnibus World

Skagway, Alaska at the turn of the century.

 

Westours (Westours Motor Coaches, Inc.) coaches in the depot Skagway, Alaska.

The Municipality of Skagway Borough, located in the Upper Lynn Canal at the head of Taiya Inlet, is home to the northernmost ice-free, deep-water port in North America and known today as a port of call for many of the cruise ships plying these waters.

Skagway is historically considered the gateway to the Gold Rush of 1898, and today has a permanent population of 1,240. For the road traveller there are two ways of approaching the town - either by car aboard the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry that plies its trade from Bellingham, Washington State to Homer Alaska, or driving from Yukon, Canada via the White Pass.

This might seem unlikely territory for a major coach operation, but a short walk from downtown on the Klondike Highway soon dispels that notion. There, on the right-hand side of the road is what today is known as the HAP (Holland America Line and Princess) Bus Yard which supplies vehicles for the cruise ships in Alaska and Canada's Yukon. A collaboration of both cruise companies with headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska and operating just under 300 motorcoaches. Before HAP came HAL, Holland America Line (Westours), Inc., a holding company that controlled three subsidiaries: Westours Motor Coaches,  Evergreen Trails and Westmark Hotels of Canada. On 8^th April 2002 HAL acquired Horizon Coach Lines Ltd., with its operations mainly concentrated in Canada.

Gone are the days of the gold rush, replaced by the rush of motorcoaches as they whisk the cruise passenger on day excursions into the Yukon and woo betide any car driver that gets in their way. On one occasion a convoy of coaches was preceded by an escort vehicle clearing the road ahead to ensure speed was maintained on the steep inclines.

For a more sedate experience the Skagway Street Car Company operates a sightseeing tour from the historic downtown area, and at the time were using White Model 706s dating from 1936/37. I believe these vehicles are now located in Yellowstone National Park. The company makes tentative historic links to Martin Itjen, who in 1923 gave Alaska's first motorized sightseeing tour in Skagway.

The best time to enjoy Skagway is when all the cruise ships have gone and the town reverts to its sleepy, dusty former frontier self. Walking along the boardwalk you can almost hear the jangle of spurs, so grab a stetson and find your inner John Wayne.       

Prevost Model: H5-60. Westours (Westours Motor Coaches, Inc.). 1990 Prevost Model: H5-60 coach in the depot Skagway, Alaska. Sold to Absolute Charters. Converted into an RV in October 2019.

 Skagway Street Car Company, 1936 White Model 706.

Skagway Street Car Company. 1937 White Model 706.

Omnibus World

Halifax, Nova Scotia re-visited 2015

Halifax, Nova Scotia re-visited 2015 

When travelling outside the UK, it is seldom that we find ourselves re-visiting a city. In 2015 however circumstances dictated we have a layover in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Not only was it a re-visit but it occurred twenty-five years to the week since our last visit and I found myself standing on the same downtown street photographing buses.

Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The metropolitan area had a population of 414,400 in 2014 with 297,943 in the urban area centred on Halifax Harbour. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996; Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and the Municipality of Halifax County.  The Town of Halifax, named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax, was established in 1749. Today it is the most easterly point on the Trans Canadian Railway.

Halifax Transit operates buses and ferries in  Halifax Regional Municipality. Formerly known as Metro Transit, the agency announced on July 15, 2014, that it was changing its name to "Halifax Transit" to reflect the city's new brand. The roots of Halifax Transit date back to June 11, 1866 and the Halifax City Railroad Company, which began operations with five horse-drawn trams on rails.  There are currently 312 buses in the fleet, 273 of them low-floor vehicles. In addition, there is a separate fleet of wheelchair-accessible buses for its Access-A-Bus service. The primary conventional service operates on 65 routes, including three Community Transit routes, two express routes operating as "MetroLink" which began service in August 2005, and three rural express routes operating as "MetroX" which started in August 2009 and include the regular airport link. Halifax Transit also provides two passenger ferry routes, connecting downtown Halifax with Alderney Landing and Woodside in Dartmouth. Each route is serviced by a pair of vessels. The ferry services are integrated with the bus services; the fares are identical, and transfers are accepted between the two systems.

Bridge Terminal, which opened in 2012. This is the largest of the Park & Rides, located adjacent to the north side of the Angus L Macdonald Bridge in Dartmouth.

Route numbers in the 00s, the 10s and the 20s are primarily Halifax-based routes. Routes in the 30s are rush-hour only routes serving Halifax. Routes in the 40s are university routes serving the University campus which normally operate only during the academic year. Routes in the 50s, 60s and 70s are primarily Dartmouth-based routes. Routes in the 80s and 90s are Sackville and Bedford routes. Routes in the 100s are the MetroLink routes, routes in the 300s are the MetroX routes, and routes in the 400s are the Community Transit routes.

So when it comes to buses, it has been evolution rather than revolution. Perhaps just two steps from GM 'New Look' to accessible Nova Bus FLS! If we take it in the context of the UK bus industry where in 1990 the Dennis Dart was just two years old, the Dominator was in full production and Leyland still had four years of Olympian production remaining, none of which were low-floor. In Halifax the last order for GM 'New Look' buses had just been completed, production in Canada ending in 1986 and the first 1990 deliveries of MCI TC40-102N Classic were being introduced. In 2015 New Flyer Industries are delivering the third batch of XD40 Xcelsior, a model first introduced in 2013. It is unfair to dismiss the lack of revolution without putting the operational environment in context. Canada regularly appears in the top three of developed countries with the lowest person taxation. This translates into lack of Government expenditure on roads. Roads which suffer from extremes of weather, causing paving to lift, resulting in continual patching or no maintenance; an environment the British standard light-weight bus would struggle to survive in. Regardless of age the Halifax fleet is virtually rattle free; compare this to the recently delivered First Bus Wright Streetlites which have rattled and squeaked from day one. The heavy weight 'yank tank' construction style is ideally suited to the Halifax urban environment.

Halifax Metro 867 delivered in July 1982. A GM 'New LooK', model T6H-5307N fitted with a Detroit Diesel Series 71 V8 two-stroke diesel engine and Allison V730 transmission, a traditional three-speed automatic with a lockup torque converter. Photographed in 1990.

Between 1990 and 2015 Halifax Metro took ten different batches of vehicles. From 1994-96 the TC40-102N Classic remained the preferred model, although now manufactured by NovaBus, some were propane-powered test buses, later converted to diesel. In 1999/2000 NovaBus supplied eleven LFS models, originally designated for use on low floor routes, but suffered from malfunctioning ramps and “kneeling” mechanisms. Also in 1999 New Flyer Industries delivered three D30FL fully accessable models and became the supplier of choice for the next ten years, delivering 184 D40FL and D60LFR articulated hybrid diesel-electrics. Only other vehicles delivered during this period were ten GMC/Glaval C5500 Titans. From 2010 to 2012 NovaBus supplied 56 LFS/LFS Artic models. In 2013 Freightliner/Glaval delivered six S2C Legacy's. New Flyer Industries returned as supplier between 2013 and 2015 with forty-five XD40 Xcelsior's.

Halifax Metro 931, MCI TC40-102N Classic. Photographed in 1990 and now withdrawn. 

Halifax Transit 987, NovaBus TC40-102N, new in 1996. Fitted with Detroit Diesel V8 engine and Allison gearbox. One of eleven delivered. Photographed in 2015.

Halifax Transit1197, New Flyer XD40 Xcelsior delivered in 2014. This model has an 8% weight reduction compared to previous models; measures 12m long, 2.6m wide and has Cummins ISL 280 engines with Allison gearboxes and weighing in at slightly less than a Mercedes Citaro. Halifax buses like all heavy weight single-decker buses have messy interiors, with seats at various levels fitting around wheel-arches and fuel tanks. Windows are double glazed, seats are metal bucket type covered in moquette without any padding. One noticeable difference is around the driver’s area. The driver sits on a plinth with a solid bulkhead behind, but no cab door or security screen. The cash collection shoot sits atop a bank note reader, protruding from the dashboard.

Halifax Transit 528, NovaBus FLS delivered in 2012.This is one of nine exclusively for the Fall River/Airport MetroX service. Fitted with Cummins ULSD ISL 8.9L 280hp engine and Allison transmission. Photographed at the downtown on street terminus in 2015.

Away from the municipal operations, other changes taken place include the reduction in services offered by private operators between downtown and the airport. In 1990 this was an eighteen hour-a-day service to most hotels, now this is reduced to middle of the day, but the Halifax MetroX service 320 has increased to hourly, although only picking up from one stop in downtown.

Airport transfer service in 1990.

Also in 1990 Nova Scotia had an extensive express network with the major operator being Acadian Lines, today this operator no-longer exists.  The company was established in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 1 August 1938 as Nova Scotia Coach Lines and remained Nova Scotian-owned until December 1995, when the Irving Transportation Group purchased the business and merged SMT (Eastern), an Irving subsidiary which also operated scheduled and chartered bus services in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Irving expanded Acadian Lines throughout the Maritimes, north into Newfoundland and south into Maine, USA. In 2004, Irving Transportation Group sold Acadian Lines to the Orléans Express (Keolis group), known in the UK for operating partnerships in Southern Trains and the Nottingham tram. Between 2006 and 2011 most of the route expansions undertaken by Irving were cancelled due to low ticket sales. From 2 December 2011 until 16 May 2012 the company completely shut down its New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island operations after it locked out 59 drivers from the Amalgamated Transit Union over a contract dispute. Service restarted in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on 16 May with a limited route network. Acadian Lines ceased operations in all three provinces on 30 November 2012, citing financial losses due to regulatory inflexibility for routes, and about 120 people lost their jobs and the 38 coaches were sold off.

A sign of things to come, a Prevost built coach of Acadian Lines passes an Irving gas station in downtown Halifax 1990.

The main depot and departures point in Halifax photographed from the interstate  in 1990.

Today Coach Atlantic Group under the name Maritime Bus operates a limited people & parcel network in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The group owns over 100 vehicles and is involved in all forms of the coaching business.

Is it a bus, coach or van? A Ford truck conversion of the Maritme Bus fleet on Prince Edward Island in 2015.

A Coach Atlantic close to its home depot in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 2015.

The Canadian route licensing system, managed by the State, is reminiscent of the UK pre deregulation and Companies are heavily unionised.

It is very apparent that the structure of tourism in Nova Scotia has changed dramatically over the past twenty-five years. Coach touring is no longer a major element of tourism. Locals say the state of roads deter visitors from travelling longer distances and the growth of the cruise liner market with its dock/look/depart culture, limit visits to local attractions around Halifax.