The owner of an independent Alberta bus company is considering offering passenger service between Edmonton and the Northwest Territories.

Greyhound cut passenger service to Hay River in October of last year after the province of Alberta ended a deal it had with the company that protected it from competition in exchange for maintaining minimum service levels to remote or rural communities.

Bob Romano, owner of Alberta Connection, said he thinks he could make the route work by offering a convenient schedule and a comfortable ride with amenities such as a microwave oven and satellite internet. The trip would cost $200 in each direction.

“There's two ways to look at it,” he said. “One, you do it with little to no cost and you have difficulty getting ridership, or you come out and do it in a way that would appeal to people and say ‘that's a bus I'd have no problems spending the next 12 hours on.’”

To make it work, Romano said he would have to sell at least six tickets on every bus. He's looking to the town and the territorial government to guarantee this by working to fill the seats or buying the seats themselves.

“If there's a way we can step forward and encourage that, even if it takes a little bit of commitment on our part, then I don't think we should be beyond thinking that as a possible option for sure," said Hay River town councillor Kevin Wallington.

Romano still has to present his idea to the town and to the territorial government, but said he could have the service up and running by the end of the year.