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October 20, 1998 12:00 AM, EDT

DALLAS (AP) — Greyhound Lines, the nation's only long-haul bus company, is being purchased by North America's largest provider of city transit fleets, school buses and ambulances.

Laidlaw Inc. of Burlington, Ontario, which already owns Greyhound Lines of Canada, announced Monday that it will buy its U.S. counterpart for $470 million plus the assumption of $180 million of debt.

The merger is subject to regulatory approval.

Passengers are unlikely to notice any difference from the ownership change, though the companies do expect better transportation service between nations.

Greyhound's headquarters will remain in Dallas and no immediate operational or personnel changes are anticipated. Greyhound employs 12,500 people nationally.

Founded in 1914, Greyhound Bus Lines has operated independently in the United States since it was spun off from Dial Corp. in 1987. A few months later, Greyhound bought its only nationwide competitor, Trailways Inc.

Since then, Greyhound has been the only national bus line in the United States, serving more than 2,600 destinations with 18,000 daily departures.