Ebus is suspending service in British Columbia as of this Sunday because of COVID-19.

The move is to try and help flatten the infection curve, with the company saying in a statement, the health and safety of passengers and staff is a the top priority.

The decision comes one day after the Federal Government began banning people with COVID-19 symptoms on domestic flights or inter-city trains. Inter-provincial buses were exempt as were commuter trains which is regulated by provincial and municipal governments.

“For almost ten years Ebus has been getting you Safely Home. Now, we’re encouraging the Ebus community to Stay Safely Home,” said an Ebus statement.

The Alberta-based company has staff in eight centres across Alberta, and three in B.C., including Kamloops, while serving over 40 communities including Chase, Salmon Arm, Merritt, Vancouver, and Kelowna.

“We feel a responsibility to these communities, and stopping our coaches from going into them seemed like best way to serve them right now,” added the statement.

The Ebus call centre will remain open to keep people updated on the status of bus service moving forward.

“Our response to COVID-19 was quick. We implemented cleaning, social distancing, hygiene education in our offices, and amended our cancellation policy to take some stress away during this time,” said the Ebus statement.

“But now, as experts in operations of onboard experience and moving people, knew we had to make this decision once we felt we could no longer fully protect our staff and passengers.”

In B.C., Ebus operates daily buses from Kamloops to Vancouver and Kamloops to Kelowna via the Shuswap, as well as a Vancouver to Kelowna bus.