WATCH: New bus service between Alberta cities started on Friday with the arrival of Europe’s largest intercity bus carrier. But as Carolyn Kury de Castillo reports, a local company warns that without government support, less profitable routes in rural Alberta may come to an end.
Riders will be able to travel to and from Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Fort Macleod, Okotoks-Aldersyde and Claresholm. “We had great success in Ontario and we were excited to jump at the chance to move to Alberta based on our success in Ontario and the need in Alberta,” said Jonas Pearce, government affairs associate with FlixBus.“We work with local operators who know the markets and the roads better than we do, so they operate all the trips and we are able to give them a platform,” Pearce said.Since then, several domestic carriers have entered the market like EBus, Red Arrow and Cold Shot.
Cold Shot has been in business for 18 years, doing freight and started with passengers in 2013. The company also delivers smaller packages.