CALGARY, Alberta R.B Colborne, who quite possibly was most successful North American motorcoach operator of the past 50 years, died here last month after a short illness. He was 85.

At the time of his death, Mr. Colborne was the founder, owner and chairman of the Pacific Western Group of companies, the largest motorcoach operation in Canada, the second-largest family-owned motorcoach company in North America, and the fifth-largest motorcoach business on the continent.

Only Academy Bus of Hoboken, N.J., among the 4,500 family-owned bus companies in North America, is larger, according to figures compiled by Metro magazine. Pacific Western operates more than 500 motorcoaches.

What truly sets Mr. Colborne apart, however, is that he essentially built his company from scratch, starting in 1961, and along the way created what is perhaps the most-iconic and baffling bus operation in North America, Red Arrow Motorcoaches.

But beyond his business acumen and achievements, Mr. Colborne had a consuming passion to elevate the image of bus travel -- and Red Arrow was how he transformed that passion into reality.

In essence, he resented the fact that much of the industrys image was reflected in and by Greyhound, and he was committed to developing a successful company that would be the polar opposite of the travel of last resort that was Greyhound.

Red Arrow phenomenon

For the uninitiated, Red Arrow is a successful luxury intercity service, operating primarily between Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton in central Alberta.

Since Mr. Colborne created Red Arrow in 1979, a busload of U.S. and Canadian companies have tried to emulate his innovation but few have succeeded, and none have succeeded anywhere near as well as Red Arrow. (See Aug. 15, 2004, Bus & Motorcoach News.)

Fifteen years earlier, Mr. Colborne formed Diversified Transportation Ltd., providing shuttles for construction workers to a plant site in Fort Saskatchewan, north of Edmonton. Diversified continues to provide employee transportation services to the Canadian Oil Sands, as well as construction industries throughout Alberta and Canada.

Today, the company Mr. Colborne founded is composed of four business lines, and more than 20 brands, with operations in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Yukon Territory, as well as its home base of Alberta.

Mr. Colborne was a native of Calgary and following graduation from high school in 1944, he enlisted in the Canadian Air Force and then the Army and was sent to Toronto. While in training, the end of World War II in Europe was in sight, so he wasnt sent overseas.

In 1946, he returned to Alberta, attended the University of Alberta and was a member of the Golden Bears hockey team, which was Western Canadian Intercollegiate Hockey Champions in 1946-47 and 1947-48. Mr. Colborne played left wing. He remained a lifelong sports enthusiast.

In 1949, he went to work for General Motors Acceptance Corp. Seven years later, he purchased Wetaskiwin (Alberta) Motors Ltd., where he became dealer principal. Among the vehicles offered by the dealership were buses.

Becoming a bus operator

In 1961, he acquired a small school bus company from one of his customers who didnt have an heir to take over the business. He quickly developed a special connection with the passenger transportation industry and an affinity for finding and developing business.

While living in Wetaskiwin, he was an active member of the community, president of the Kinsmen Club, member of the local Chamber of Commerce, and served a term as mayor.

His community service continued after he moved from Wetaskiwin. For eight years, Mr. Colborne served Alberta on the Auditor Generals Audit Committee and also was a board member for the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School in Okotoks.

He was a founding member of the Van Horne Institute for International Transportation and Regulatory Affairs, which was established to assist industry, government and the public in addressing issues affecting transportation and supply chain logistics.

He also served as president of the Western Canada Motorcoach Association.

In 2003, the Ontario Motor Coach Association honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

The man he was

Mr. Colborne was widely admired and respected by colleagues, and even competitors, for his integrity, values, accomplishments, innovations, strength of character, and leadership. He was known for being truly appreciative and grateful for his employees and their contributions to the organization they helped him build.

Friends say he was compassionate, generous and never too busy to help a friend or associate.

Mr. Colborne didnt retired, though he gave up the title of CEO, to his son Michael, about 10 years ago. He also cut back his work week to 40 hours.

Michael Colborne attributes his fathers long and healthy life to the fact he didnt retire and continued to come to the office daily.

Mr. Colborne is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jeanne; sons Rick and Michael, and daughters Lynne Brennan and Catherine Vogelgesang,

Memorials in Mr. Colbornes name have been established with the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta, 340-1202 Centre St., SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 545, and The PREP Program, Woodbridge PREP Centre, 2004-12 Avenue NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1J7.