Seven years after its departure, Greyhound buses may be returning to B.C. highways.

An application has been submitted by FlixBus, who bought out Greyhound in 2021, to the BC Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) with service expected to begin operating one month after PTB approval.

"This would provide your residents with direct connections to major centres for medical appointments, educational opportunities, and business travel, while also opening to increased tourism and economic activity," reads a letter issued by FlixBus Public Affairs Managers Andrew Miller.

Greyhound ended almost a century of service in B.C. when it left Western Canada in 2018, before departing from Canada entirely in 2021.

FlixBus plans to operate 84 trips weekly across four interconnected routes in B.C. and Alberta, three of which will see stops in Merritt:

* Vancouver-Calgary (one daily round trip + one round trip operating six days/week) including stops at Surrey, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Merritt, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden, and points in Alberta;

* Vancouver-Kelowna (two round trips operating six days/week) including stops at Surrey, Abbotsford, Hope, Merritt, West Kelowna;

* Vancouver-Kamloops (one daily round trip) including stops at Surrey, Abbotsford, Hope, and Merritt;

Miller also said that rather than operating as a single corporate entity, Greyhound would contract with established local operators who would provide the vehicles, drivers and regional expertise to keep the routes operational.