Over 50 per cent of Manitobans think the government should step in to make up for the loss of Greyhound services in rural communities, according to a study out of the Angus Reid Institute.
The poll, which spoke to 1,500 Canadians adults, comes less than a month after it was announced that the transportation company was stopping passenger bus and freight services in Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and all but one route in British Columbia.
The numbers out of Manitoba fall in line with what is seen in the rest of Canada. Overall, 64 per cent of respondents said they’d support a bus service funded by the provincial government and 60 per cent said they’d support one funded by the federal government.
Out of all the demographics it was women between the ages of 18 and 34 who were most receptive of government funding, while men of the same age range were the least.
Although many of the respondents believe that bus services are vital to rural communities, few of them were frequent users of Greyhound. One fifth of respondents said the last time they traveled with Greyhound was five to ten years ago, and 44 per cent said it was more than ten years ago.
The cuts to Greyhound services are set to take effect at the end of October, though Manitoba is pushing for an additional two months.
