A Greyhound spokesperson said the company has spent “several million” to put the new measures in place, but insists the move is not directly connected to the murder of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus last July, just west of Portage la Prairie, Man.

“Greyhound had already been doing a two-year study and upon completion felt it was appropriate to move on to the next steps,” says Abby Wambaugh.

The added security measures began Dec. 2 in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg with other major cities to begin screening Dec. 15, however Wambaugh could not say which cities or when.

The move is welcomed by the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1374 based in Calgary where Greyhound’s Western Canadian offices are located. A policy allowing Greyhound drivers to screen passengers and carry-on luggage has actually been in place since 9/11, but for the most part, drivers did not take on the task says Jim Higgs, president of the union.

“We have always felt carry-on was the biggest problem because there was the possibility someone could be carrying alcohol or a weapon. Now that will be addressed,” he says.

Higgs points out that Greyhound is paying for the additional security measures themselves and has not received any funding from Transport Canada, unlike the airline industry which has a fund that receives funding from each ticket sold.

“This is coming right out of Greyhound’s bottom line,” says Higgs.

However, in July 2007 Transport Canada did provide Greyhound Canada with $285,000 under Transit-Secure funding to conduct a threat-risk assessment and Ontario Northland, which runs passenger buses in Northern Ontario, received $187,500 for a risk assessment.

Cities such as Ottawa have also received Transit-Secure funding for their municipal transit systems. In March of last year the City of Ottawa received $1.26 million to enhance security measures on OC Transpo municipal buses.

While other bus lines have not announced that they will be adding additional security measures, Higgs says he thinks the Greyhound move will “start a chain reaction” — even though it is one of only a few companies with major inter-city routes.

The screening of Greyhound passengers has been contracted out to Securitas in the western cities, but Wambaugh would not confirm who the third part operator will be in other cities.

A spokesperson for Securitas in Calgary indicated all questions about the Greyhound screening contract were to be handled by Greyhound.

The items Greyhound has listed items not acceptable for carry-on include knives, tools and other sharp objects. A list of unacceptable (and acceptable items) is available on the Greyhound website.