Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
Alsask Bus Service has been operating a route from Alsask to Saskatoon since last summer and the company has added a branch route from Saskatoon to Regina.
Ximing Lu, the owner of Alsask Bus Service, first began operating a route from Alsask to Calgary in 2012 after Greyhound Canada discontinued its route. The former Saskatchewan Transit Company (STC) operated a Saskatoon-Alsask route that connected with Lu’s route.
When the provincial government shut down STC in 2017, it created a gap in service and Lu was awarded a permit by the Saskatchewan Highway Traffic Board in July 2017 to operate a route from Alsask to Saskatoon. The company has since added a route from Saskatoon to Regina, and the service began in December.
The company offers both passenger and freight service on all of its routes. Visit www.alsaskbus.ca to purchase tickets, and for information about schedules and fares. The service connects to Greyhound routes in the cities.
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There are bus depots in Calgary, Drumheller, Alsask, Kindersley, Rosetown, Delisle and Saskatoon, plus several flag stops on the route from Calgary to Saskatoon. You can book their trips starting at any of the flag stops using the online booking option.
Lu said the company has been operating its Alsask-Saskatoon route for about six months. He explained that the passenger service alone is not enough to keep all of the routes going, but the company’s freight service is picking up the slack to help maintain regular service between Calgary and Saskatoon.
The company offers daily service between Calgary and Saskatoon that operates seven days per week, and it has now added its new route between Saskatoon and Regina. Lu said schedules are available on the website for all routes.
He noted that Greyhound does not offer service between Saskatoon and Regina, so he took on the new route to fill another gap. He has an agreement with Greyhound and all of his routes connect to other routes in Regina, Saskatoon and Calgary. Lu said he has a good relationship with Greyhound.
Lu said he did not have to jump through any extra hoops with the highway traffic board to add the Saskatoon-Regina route because of the work he did in 2017 when he was granted a permit to operate the Alsask-Saskatoon route.
The owner said it is important for people to know they could book a trip to anywhere in Canada through his company due to his arrangement with Greyhound. A person could book a trip to Vancouver or Winnipeg starting at a flag stop on one of Lu’s routes.
He said if a person books a trip from Regina to Edmonton, they would first take his bus from Regina to Saskatoon. For example, people could book trips through Greyhound starting anywhere in Canada, and the itinerary would use his service to get from Regina to Kindersley or Saskatoon to Oyen if it is a part of their trip.
Therefore, booking a trip is seamless regardless of whether a person books a ticket through Alsask Bus Service or Greyhound Canada. Lu said it would be nice to have more passengers on his routes, but the combination of passenger and freight service is keeping the business viable.
Lu said a lot of people need the passenger and freight service between the three major centres, but it also works for people who need to travel or send a parcel from Hanna to Rosetown.
He said he has more plans for the future.
“I keep working on it,” he said, adding that he plans to keep pushing forward and making improvements. He will consider other branch routes to locations such as Prince Albert if it makes sense for the company. “That’s what I can do.”
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