Red Arrow’s first year serving Grande Prairie a small success

Red Arrow has been providing a bus service between Grande Prairie and Edmonton for a full year now.

John Stepovy, director of business development for Red Arrow, says the first year has been okay, with a reasonable engagement in Grande Prairie and the communities between here and Edmonton.

“Certainly lots of room for improvement. We have lots of capacity, and we’re working very hard on trying to build ridership.”

Stepovy says their busses are well equipped with plenty of space, free wifi, and on board washrooms, and people who travel on Red Arrow can either use their time to be productive, or to relax.

“If you’re travelling for business reason, you can be productive. Talk on your phone, connect to the wifi, work on your computer, do what you need to do. If you’re a student you can catch up on your homework, or take a nap.”

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He adds that the highways can get dangerous, especially in the winter, and it’s safer to be on board a bus with a professional driver, rather than risk being tired or distracted behind the wheel.

Red Arrow wants to continue expanding their services; since they opened up in Grande Prairie they have gone from one trip to Edmonton a day to two, but Stepovy says more regular riders need to be on board in order to be sustainable. After that, he says they will begin looking at more trips, and other routes to different destinations.

“We field calls and enquiries all the time about times and about stops, but we need to focus on this corridor and this route and solidifying that long term. Then we can certainly start thinking about growth and expansion.”

He wouldn’t say how many people traveled on Red Arrow busses in first year, but did comment on how the numbers spiked during holidays. He says they are trying to do more marketing and advertising, and hopes to see more people turn to their service over the winter months, become lifelong customers, and avoid potentially dangerous winter driving.