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The thought of not heading to work at the Penticton Greyhound Bus terminal on Thursday morning for the first time in more than 34 years was not appealing in any way to Lynda Verrier.
The franchise owner of the local Ellis Street bus depot for the past 10 years said she worked every job imaginable, except bus driver, over more than three decades.
She worked her final shift Wednesday afternoon as the final Greyhound bus on the Penticton to Kelowna route was set to pull out of the station for the last time.
Earlier this summer, Greyhound Canada announced it was ending its bus passenger and freight service throughout western Canada, saying rapidly declining ridership over numerous years was no longer sustainable.
“Tuesday was my 34th anniversary,” said Verrier, struggling to hold back tears.
It was also a very emotional day for David and Ivy Leung, who have owned and operated the popular diner inside the Penticton Greyhound Bus terminal for the past 21 years.
Working for Greyhound Canada was a labour of love not only for her, but numerous members of her family, said Verrier.
“My Dad was a bus driver for 28 years,” she said. “I worked with my two brothers before that and then my husband Darren was our courier driver.
“My son was here for about 10 years and my daughter Krista was here right up until the end and so was my niece Sam.”
She met her “best friend in the world” through her job and that friend, Brigitte, is also losing her job after working with her for almost a decade, she said.
When Greyhound announced it was completely shutting down all operations in western Canada effective Oct. 31, it was a complete shock and the fact she won’t be returning to a business and job she loves Thursday morning has been difficult to deal with, said Verrier.
“I was in shock and I think a lot of people were,” she said. “Saying goodbye to loyal customers has been tough and so is the fact I’m losing my job … all of the above really.”
The Penticton Greyhound terminal will be put up for sale and franchise owners like herself won’t be receiving any compensation, said Verrier.
Verrier said she’s not sure what job she will pursue, but is definitely going to take a few weeks to get over the emotions of what’s happened.
“I not sure what I’m going to do to be honest,” she said. “But I am going to take some time off … I think I need that. I haven’t had a holiday in seven years, so some time off will be nice.”
Saying goodbye to loyal customers over the past few weeks has been difficult, but not as tough as walking out the front doors for the final time Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to feel, but I’m sure there will be tears,” she said.
Verrier said she noticed a decline in ridership over the past few years, but said the freight and parcel business was very solid and never thought a decision to close down operations across half the country would ever happen.
“I didn’t think for a minute they would shut the whole deal down,” she said.
David Yeung said it’s difficult to be leaving a restaurant and career he loved.
“We loved it here … that’s why we stayed so long,” he said. “But we had no choice.”
This past Sunday, more than 300 customers packed into the diner to say goodbye.
“We wanted to say goodbye and get rid of all our inventory,” he said. “It was very nice to see so many people come out to say goodbye.”
The diner’s daily breakfast featured healthy portions sold at a very reasonable price and he never heard a single complaint from a customer served breakfast in more than two decades, said Leung.
“We had the cheapest breakfast in town,” he said with a smile.
He and his wife don’t have any plans except to take “at least one year off” and then consider opening another small diner somewhere else in Penticton, he said.
“I’m 71 now and maybe we open another restaurant, but not right away,” he said. “Not for one year at least.”
Leung said he and his wife didn’t take a day off in 21 years.
“Very good job, but tough life,” he said. “We tried to make everybody happy.”
For more on Greyhound Canada, click here.
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