Canada Premium Highway Bus | RED ARROW | Edmonton - Calgary

[@jakethepitador2558]

I used to take the Red Arrow back in the early 1980s. For the first few months after their start-up in '79, they actually had the equivalent of a flight attendant on board to serve you drinks/snacks. That was soon discontinued due to the added expense, but it was definitely a novel idea for the "grand opening" of their motorcoach service.

[@theglobalpeasant]

Wow! that's way before my time! Musta been a cool experience back then! But funny you mention that, I follow a KZbinr from Chile and sometimes I see attendants on the double deckers down there!

[@jakethepitador2558]

@theglobalpeasant yes, I just saw a You tube video of Red Arrow now operating a new service in Ontario. Apparently they are doing the attendant thing there. I am sure it is going to be temporary as a way to lure a regular clientele. It's popular with business commuters. I can't see that service lasting long though. Back to self-serve eventually am sure. Your video review was well done. Thanks for posting!

[@tylerhergott3893]

I remember when I traveled to Alberta about 22 years ago, I used Greyhound between Calgary to Edmonton and back. Greyhound when I used it didn't stop in Red deer, was express. It was I think about $50 each way, old buses.

[@theglobalpeasant]

$50?! 22 years ago? They got ya! Never rode greyhound and probably never will.

[@ArielCruzPizarro]

Nice trip, seeing the yellow meadows with the canola (here they are also called "raps"), and seeing a bus with that 2-1 configuration in Canada is quite striking, a nice Prevost unit. Greetings and thanks for sharing as always!

[@theglobalpeasant]

Always good to hear from you Ariel! I was also surprised. I do not know another company with a 2-1 configuration in Canada. I'm not very familiar with bus units, this is your expertise haha, but I think the Marco polo on your channel are my choice! I've been very busy, but I hope to catch more of your trips soon! Have a good weekend!

[@AndrewSephiTV]

For shorter routes like this one, the bus is a great option. When I took the bus to Calgary from Edmonton March this year, I paid 25C$ for the ticket (one way) and that includes free wifi, 1 personal item and 1 luggage. While going by plane would cost an average 80C$ and only includes one personal item and of course no free wifi. Including the time it takes to get to the airport, the fact you need to be there at least an hour earlier, and so on. The trip time from Downtown Edmonton to Downtown Calgary is almost the same by bus or airplane. I am from Brazil so I am used to travelling by bus on even 10 hours-long journeys due to how pricy is flying there. So the 4 hours from Edmonton to Calgary is very chill. I wish I could see more options between Edmonton and Jasper / Banff. In March I took my trip on Rider Express, and contrary to all the complaints the bus I took was very clean, arrived on time and we had a 20-minute stop at tim hortons which was great and the price was unbeatable. 3 times cheaper than taking an airplane.

[@theglobalpeasant]

Thanks for the comment. Yes I saw many poor reviews of rider express, but I'll look into it maybe next year. It's nice to hear the contrast from the bus in Brazil.

[@InstantLuc]

Its great this bus exists, but its rough this is what we have to settle for back home vs regular or high speed rail. I'm out in Tohoku near Yamagata and I can get from around nearby cities all the way to Sendai via trains. Maybe when Canada's population grows we will see more options!

[@theglobalpeasant]

Sadly it has nothing to do about pop growth! Canada had a solid train system in the 1900's and much of the track remains today. While Japan was building their rail system from 1945 onwards, we dealt with govt cutback after cutback. (I think the rabbit hole goes deeper and has a connection with US auto and gas lobbyists of the day). Nonetheless we see little revision now of rail service in the country. Shinkansen is fantastic!

[@jakethepitador2558]

@@theglobalpeasant Canada is the second largest country in the world but with a relatively small population. Most people will want to fly the vast distances to save time, and the cost is prohibitive to run a train system except for high density regional routes like the Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal corridor.

[@theglobalpeasant]

@@jakethepitador2558 Most definitely long distances require air travel, but there are several areas where train travel can be improved/ implemented. When it comes to trains, it doesn't have to be large trains like this but smaller 2 or 3 car DMU's which are cheaper to operate. I understand it's not as simple as that but its a start lol.

[@yvr2002rtw]

In Japan, you can fine even more luxurious buses. On some overnight buses they have seats that convert to lie flat airline style business class seats.

[@theglobalpeasant]

Been on many. Some are on this channel. Different ball game! Even the rest stops are great!