Posted: 7/7/04
By Barbara Brown
People who use the North Branch Greyhound stop at Skelton Drug for their local or long-distance travel will have to find another place to buy a ticket and board the bus after Aug. 18.
Greyhound bus services have been struggling to show enough profit to justify keeping several Minnesota and Midwest stops open.
Since summer 2001, Greyhound has seen a decline in ridership and the company said since Sept. 11 of that year, revenues have dropped significantly.
The company, founded in 1914 in Hibbing but recently moved to Dallas, reported a $29 million loss in 2003.
Last weekend, Greyhound Lines, Inc. said it would cease service to 260 towns in its region from Chicago to Seattle. In Minnesota, 56 stops will close ñ including the one in North Branch ñ and 43 more stops will close in Wisconsin.
Other stops on the chopping block along the St. Paul to Duluth route include Forest Lake, Hinckley, Moose Lake and Cloquet.
The company says the changes in Minnesota and all over the country will help the system run more efficiently.
After Aug. 18, local bus riders will have to go to the Twin Cities or another bus stop to purchase tickets. Tickets also can be purchased online at www.greyhound.com.
Greyhound also will lay off about 150 people and remove about 100 buses from its fleet.
ìMaking these changes will allow us to preserve the system and service in the region,î said Greyhound spokesperson Kim Plaskett. ìThis is the first step in a network transformation that will be carried out in phases over the next two to three years.î
During that time, the bus company expects to cut more services and make similar changes in other regions of the country.
The company said the changes are meant to remove the unprofitable or marginally profitable stops and streamline service for medium- and long-haul customers.
The North Branch site is one of the busier stops along the Twin Cities-Duluth route, said a Skelton Drug manager.
Skelton Drug does not offer the service as a money-making opportunity, the manager said. Instead, itís more of a convenience to its customers.
ìItís really a break-even venture for us,î she said.
Customers who use the North Branch depot come from the North Branch area as well as from points west like Cambridge and points east from Wisconsin.
Buses pick up passengers in the morning, around 9:30 a.m. and also in the afternoon, around 2:30 p.m. Up to 30 customers per month use the North Branch Skelton Drug stop.
The changes to service are not the first ones made in North Branchís Greyhound depot, the manager said.
About 20 years ago, similar changes were made and service in North Branch was lost for a while, the manager said. Eventually, Greyhoundís financial outlook changed for the better and the buses came back to town.
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