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The board that will rule on whether to grant a licence for the Fed Bus has said that they already accept the public need for it. The granting of the licence will then be based on the business plan submitted by Feds and the bus company, any objections that the board receives, and the hearing in July. Greyhound has already filed an objection.

Student Transportation of Canada Inc. has applied for a licence to provide the Fed Bus service. Whether the Ontario highway Transport will grant the licence will be based on the application, any objections and the hearing scheduled for 24 and 25 July. The application and date of the hearing were known earlier, but the application and hearing dates were officially announced 27 May 2006.

The directions with the application form says that the board will have to determine whether issuing a licence will serve "public need and convenience." Applicants also need to submit a business plan.

OHTB Board Secretary and Manager Felix D'Melio said, "An application is made up of two parts: public support and business plan. In this case we aren't asking for the public support because we know that it is supported by the students."

Some of the details of the STC licence application.

• The service would be between the City of Waterloo and each of Toronto, London, and Hamilton.
• It would be restricted to members of Federation of Students, University of Waterloo.
• The service would be restricted to Fridays, Sundays, and statutory holidays.
• It would only use "Class D" vehicles, which includes school buses.
• Chartered trips under the licence would be prohibited.

Lew Aldrich of Greyhound said on 26 May that they had already filed opposition to the application. He also said that, starting in September, Greyhound would go ahead with scheduled service from University of Waterloo campus to Toronto, Hamilton, and London, all the points that Fed Bus currently serves.

Other factors that the board may consider are listed in the licence application:

The Board will have to determine from the information on file, if the issuance of an operating licence to an applicant will serve “PUBLIC NECESSITY and CONVENIENCE”. Over the years, the Board has given amongst other considerations to the following factors, when considering what constitutes public necessity and convenience:

• the transportation needs of the public as seen through the public witnesses
• the adequacy and quality of the existing services
• the level of competition in the area in question
• the choice of modes of transportation
• the convenience of the public
• the uniqueness or distinctiveness of the proposed service or equipment
• the viability of the proposed service and market sustainability
• the fitness of the applicant ... financial, operational and safety
• the impact on existing carriers if the service were granted

Please demonstrate by the information you provide how your proposed service meets the above-mentioned factors as they pertain to your particular application.

• STC applying for licence for Fed Bus, Greyhound opposing 26 May 2006