'Welcome back': After 19 months, Greyhound buses to resume between Canada and the U.S.
You know it's been a very long pandemic when the thought of waiting for a connection in the Albany bus terminal sparks a celebration.
But many Montrealers will be celebrating when they hear that after 19 months, Greyhound Canada has announced it will be resuming service across the border in just two weeks.
Nov. 8 is when the U.S.-Canada land border will finally open to Canadians driving south, as long as they're fully vaccinated.
Greyhound said in an email to subscribing customers on Monday that it's ready to resume service the same day.
"Welcome back to the United States," said the email's subject line. "We're ready to reconnect."
The busy Montreal-New York bus route isn't the only one restarting, with several trips a day, along with what appears to be a single bus leaving each morning from Montreal to Boston.
Greyhound will also be offering service over the border from Toronto (three trips a day) and Vancouver (two trips a day), both also starting Nov. 8.
Bookings opened immediately after the announcement, and at least a few buses appeared to sell out, with only three departure times left by Monday night for the first day of travel.
Greyhound even suggested a few reasons Canadians might want to cross the border, in case they'd forgotten: "Reconnect with friends, enjoy the upcoming holidays with family or even plan your trip to warmer weather this winter," the company suggested.
While Greyhound Canada permanently closed all of its routes within Canada this spring, three years after ceasing service in Western Canada in 2018, it said the company would continue to exist and only to offer Canada-U.S. routes.
19 MONTHS OF LOGISTICAL HURDLES
Many won't need that kind of reminder. The restarting of cross-border buses will be a dramatic change for many people separated from loved ones since March 2020.
Canadians have been able to fly south the entire time, but not all can afford that option, nor do their friends and family all live in American areas easily accessible by air.
Americans, meanwhile, have been able to cross the border northwards since August, but only if they have access to a car. Cross-border or one-way car rentals can be very hard to find and prohibitively expensive.
It's been even harder than that, however. Those willing to piece together a more complicated journey, such as getting a cab the final short distance and crossing on foot, have also been stymied, public transportation to areas near the border also disappeared in the pandemic, at least near Montreal.
For example, amid global self-isolation and with the loss of its Canadian customers, in spring 2020 Amtrak decided to truncate the New York-Montreal train line to end service at Albany, about half the distance of the past route.
Greyhound also stopped serving upstate New York along its former Montreal-bound route.
Monday's news means that the entire cross-border area around Montreal and upstate New York will now be reconnected for the first time in two years, therefore, as well as bringing back one of the most popular links between New York City and Montreal.
Buses did continue in the pandemic within the U.S. to Buffalo, the closest American destination to Toronto, and to Seattle, the closest city to Vancouver.
Amtrak said in a statement that it is working with federal agencies to resume three services: Amtrak Cascades to Vancouver, B.C., Amtrak Maple Leaf to Toronto and Amtrak Adirondack to Montreal.
The company said it hopes to resume passenger rail service "a short time after the borders reopen and will announce at a later date when services will be restored."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.