OTTAWA, Ont. Transport Canada reports that Canadas charter, shuttle and sightseeing bus industry has grown at an annual rate of 5.8 percent during the past decade.

In its latest annual report, Transportation in Canada 2006, the federal agency said that revenue for the Canadian charter, shuttle and sightseeing bus industry totaled $559 million (Canadian) in 2005. That was up from $513 million in 2004 and $318 million a decade ago.

Charter, shuttle and sightseeing companies compose the third-largest segment of Canadas bus industry, following the urban transit and school bus sectors. However, the charter-shuttle-sightseeing segment has had the second-fastest growth rate, trailing urban transit service by only 1/10th of a percentage point 5.8 vs. 5.9 percent for the transit sector.

Scheduled intercity bus services in Canada posted combined revenues of $378 million in 2005, according to Transport Canada, up from $369 in 2004 and $246 million in 1995. The annual growth rate for intercity carriers during the decade was 4.4 percent.

Intercity bus service links all Canadian provinces and territories except the territory of Nunavut in far north-central Canada. Greyhound (and its subsidiaries) is the largest line-run company in Canada, like it is in the U.S., and primarily operates in Ontario and the four western provinces.

In Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, the major intercity provider is Groupe Orléans, which operates as Orléans Express in Quebec and Acadian in the Maritimes. There also are a number of smaller regional and local line-run carriers, particularly in Quebec.

In the charter, tour, shuttle and "other" commercial bus services sector, the most prominent operators are Pacific Western Transportation Ltd., Brewster Transportation & Tours, and Coach Canada.

The big school bus operators in Canada are Laidlaw, FirstBus, Pacific Western and Stock Transportation. Most school bus operators in Canada also provide some charter service.

There are roughly 1,500 bus operators in Canada, including public transit systems, moving more than 1.5 billion passengers annually. In 2005, the Canadian bus industry generated an estimated $8.5 billion in total revenue, including government operating and capital contributions.

Governments heavily subsidize public transit in Canada, like they do in the U.S. Fifty-six percent of transit revenues in 2005 were government contributions.

Transport Canada is the equivalent of the USDOT. Its 2006 report and the 10 preceding annual reports, can be found at www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/anre/menu.htm.