Highways Minister Archie Lang is concerned about recent suggestions that Greyhound may be eliminating bus service to the Yukon.

For individuals and businesses, Greyhound service is essential, Lang told the Star this morning.

His wife, Karen, used to manage the Watson Lake depot for years while the couple lived there.

Lang said the Yukon government has not been approached to see if it's interested in subsidizing the service.

However, he knows for sure that Greyhound is seeking funding from the federal government to help maintain certain routes.

Whether one of those routes is specifically the Yukon route, he said, he's not sure.

"Greyhound has communicated in respect to their concern about the northern Canada route and they are certainly putting a financial package before the federal government," he said.

"It is something we are concerned about."

Greyhound announced this week it will cease operations in Manitoba in 30 days and in northwestern Ontario in 90 days because it can no longer afford to service those areas.

The feasibility of continuing Greyhound bus service to the Yukon is under review, company spokeswoman Maureen Richmond confirmed Thursday.

Richmond said in addition to announcing it will halt operations in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, Greyhound is evaluating routes and the feasibility of its 1,400 service points right across Canada.

"We are taking a look at particularly the smaller routes and smaller communities, to make sure folks are utilizing the service, and if they are, what are the numbers and does it make financial sense to continue," she said from her office in Cincinnati, the home base for First Group America, Greyhound's parent company.

Richmond said there is no time frame at this point to complete the evaluations or make any further announcements.

Federal Transport Minister John Baird said Thursday the announcement of cuts by Greyhound amounts to a heavy-handed tactic meant to bully the provincial governments of Manitoba and Ontario into providing financial support.

The company is seeking $15 million to keep the Manitoba and northwestern Ontario services alive for another year while it figures out how to rearrange its approach.

In addition to the evaluation process, Greyhound officials are in discussions with the federal government regarding the possibilities of regulation changes and subsidies to help continue service on routes which are not financially feasible otherwise, Richmond also confirmed.

Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president of Greyhound Canada, said this week that part of the company's problems are tied directly to government regulations which have increased costs Greyhound can no longer absorb.

There are as six full-time employees in Whitehorse, with four staff in the terminal and two drivers. There are another two or three employees who provide the service at the Watson Lake depot.

Lang said he's heard in different conversations over the last 10 days that Greyhound has been talking about terminating all service north of Grande Prairie, Alta., and throughout all of B.C.

It's only talk so far, and nothing's in writing, but sometimes these things have a way of turning out to be true, the minister suggested.

Lang said he has a hard time believing Greyhound would pull out of Vancouver and the West Coast market, just as he doesn't see Air Canada leaving Vancouver anytime soon.

As for the northern route, he said he's not so sure.

Greyhound, said Lang, is an important transportation service not only for passengers, but for freight.

The service, for instance, is used regularly by the health department to ship supplies from the Whitehorse General Hospital to Watson Lake, he pointed out.

Brenda Leach, deputy mayor of Watson Lake, said today the service is invaluable to the community.

Locals without vehicles who need to travel to Whitehorse for medical or other reasons are always taking the bus, she said.

Leach said businesses in town rely heavily on the freight service.

"I think it would be a huge impact," she said, though emphasizing there has been no announcement so far, and that it's just talk right now.

Lang suggested the Yukon government wouldn't be in a position to talk financial assistance for Greyhound even if the company did ask, given the territory's small population.

If the company does leave, there's still the possibility that some northern entrepreneur would step in to fill the void, the minister pointed out.