Here’s how the bus company that replaced Greyhound in B.C. Interior is doing after year one

Ebus jumped into the void created by the closure of Greyhound last year and has slowly been building its traffic in B.C.

The company marked its first anniversary of service between Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver with one of its rare full buses this morning, Nov. 1, which arrived almost half an hour late at the Kelowna airport.

“We had 51 of 52 seats sold this morning. It was really exciting,” Ebus passenger experience representative Kat Reimann said. She added many customers love the bus because it’s new, has a large bathroom and even comes with seat belts.

But full buses aren’t the norm.

“The first year results have been what we’ve expected,” Ebus director of business development, John Stepovy said. “There’s been a slight amount of growth but we still have empty seats so there’s room to improve.”

Stepovy didn’t have ridership numbers.

There are only two pickup and drop off locations in the Central Okanagan – at Kelowna Airport and in West Kelowna. There are no immediate plans for something closer to downtown.

“When people get on the bus, they just want to get going,” Stepovy said.

That’s why Ebus doesn’t stop in every little town. Even in a city like Vernon, for example, if no one makes a reservation the bus just drives through.

In Kamloops, the bus drops off passengers at Sahali Mall, which can be a little concerning for some people. While Stepovy doesn’t know of any incidents there, he is working with the mall to try to improve the lighting.

Ebus expanded to Salmon Arm a couple of weeks ago so it’s focusing on growing that route before thinking of any other expansions, but nothing is ruled out in terms of more pickup spots or servicing other communities.

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