Acadian told to maintain bus routes
Published on June 18th, 2010
Chris Shannon - CB Post
Company lacks knowledge of area it serves: board
SYDNEY — A lack of understanding of Cape Breton’s geography and demographics has sunk a request by Acadian Intercity Coaches to reduce the number of runs it services between Sydney and Halifax. In a Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board decision released Friday, evidence provided by Acadian Bus Lines executives also showed there was a concerted effort to bolster routes between Halifax and New Brunswick’s three main urban centres at Sydney’s expense.
The board also refused to drop the runs between Kentville and Digby.
The bus service cited, on average, a 15 per cent decline in ridership between Sydney and Halifax from 2008 to 2009. Each day Acadian Lines, on average, carries between 22 and 42 passengers per trip in this corridor, as well as parcels.
The board finds Intercity does not know its customers. - UARB decision
In an exchange between one of the three utility and review board members hearing the case, and Manon Piché, vice-president of marketing and strategic development for Groupe Orléans Express Inc. and the Acadian Bus Group, it was clear Piché didn’t know her company’s coverage area in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, or the island as a whole.
There is something wrong here. Unless I am mistaken Acadia Lines/Group Orleans is a private concern. Why does a private bus company need to approach some government agency top get permission to change routes or rates? Imagine being told by government 'you don't know your customers'. What of course is needed is a free market for bus services/shuttles here in Atlantic Canada. I can understand NS Power, since it is a quasi-monopoly, being pseudo-regulated, but not transportation companies. How are we to evolve this industry if government will not permit companies to make the best decisions for themselves?
