Red Arrow is ending its experiment in Ontario. A few months ago, Pacific Western (operator of Red Arrow) was acquired by Keolis (operator of Orléans Express), and they are now transfering the Ontario routes to the Orléans Express brand.
From the June Motorcoach Newsletter (published by Pacific Western & Keolis):
There are some exciting changes coming in Ontario. The same quality service you know and love, operated by Red Arrow, but we'll proudly operatebuses from Orlean's Express (sic) brand - a part of our shared Keolis family. This allows for an even more seamless travel experience all the way from Toronto to Montreal. Now with more spacious vehicles that have 52 seats instead of 36.
The claim of more spacious buses is a blatant lie. Orléans Express buses are exactly the same size as Red Arrow buses (literally the same model). The reason they have more seats is that they use a denser 2+2 seating layout with less legrom, while Red Arrow uses 2+1 seating with massive seats and massive legroom. So the Orléans Express buses are considerably LESS spacious for customers.
In the same newsletter, they announced 11 additional coaches for Alberta Red Arrow service, which I assume are the Ontario buses returning back west. It doesn't say when those buses will be leaving us. I have a ticket on Red Arrow tomorrow and they haven't notified me of any bus change so presumably not immediately. But maybe my return trip in a couple weeks will be on a more cramped bus.
I'm not sure what this means for my future travel between Ottawa and Toronto. I have fairly wide shoulders so the 2+1 arrangement was a huge selling feature. It is uncomfortable for me to work on my laptop for extended periods with my shoulders scrunched in, so other bus operators are a pretty unattractive option for me. Via Rail has enough shoulder room, but with the chronic delays due to CN, there's no way I can justify the higher ticket prices for a trip that's just as long as a bus. I do have a car, so I guess I may just start driving instead, especially when they eliminate tolls on Hwy 407E.
I think Orléans Express is doomed to fail in the Ontario market. They are generally higher priced than the other carriers, but unlike Red Arrow, they lack the premium service offering to back up the higher price. I do like Orléans Express - in my experience they are the second-best bus company in Ontario after Red Arrow - but I doubt that's enough to be competitive on a route with 5 competing low-cost carriers (Flixbus, Megabus, Rider Express, ONExpress, OurBus).
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