Situation
Pacific Western Transportation (PWT) was seeking clear market research data to support its bid to add a highway route from the Alberta border through to the BC interior, to essentially replace what used to be offered by Greyhound. They had tried to get permission from the BC Passenger Transportation Board in the previous year, but were rejected because their support letters and community petitions could not be verified by the Board as being from actual residents of the area. The Board also presumed another bus provider’s service of two days per week as being sufficient.
Solution
PWT contracted Tenato to conduct research in two ways. First, to speak to local-area leadership to verify the need for the new service, requesting formally signed letters of support. Second, to design and field a survey that would clearly ask residents of the area if they needed additional public ground transportation.
Results
Tenato was able to interview and acquire support letters from the mayors of each town on the route, MLAs, Indigenous Leaders, the health care community, key employers, and local post-secondary institutions. We also had participation from over 460 survey respondents of residents in the area, who provided their contact information for verification. PWT said of the project, “Thank you Jacqueline for all you and your team have done on this project; I don’t think we could have asked for more; this documentation is an outstanding piece of work.” PWT’s application process will be submitted in the coming weeks, and they expect to hear feedback in 2024. We also received positive media press supporting PWT’s efforts.
