Hays ? Greyhound plans to close a dozen bus stations in Kansas and Missouri this summer as part of an effort to contain millions of dollars in revenue losses.

Greyhound Lines Inc. officials announced last week that the company would close 260 small-town stops throughout its 13-state northern region between Chicago and Seattle to cut costs.

Effective Aug. 18, Kansas stations in Abilene, Ellsworth, Goodland, Oakley, Quinter, Russell, WaKeeney and Wamego will be removed from regular service. About 12 stations will remain.

In Missouri, stations in Concordia, Odessa, Sweet Springs and Maryville will be pulled.

The number of routes in both states won’t decrease, just the number of stops. Similar changes in other regions of the country will take place over the next two to three years.

Greyhound spokeswoman Kim Plaskett said the closures had been in the works for some time and were part of a long-term effort to increase revenues. In 2002 and 2003, the nation’s largest intercity transportation company lost $140 million.

“The process really started in summer 2001, when the transportation economy began to change and passengers and revenues declined,” Plaskett said.

For travelers in Missouri, Kansas and across the United States, the changes could force some customers to drive to larger nearby cities for transportation.

But Greyhound contends that riders will benefit from faster service between points and fewer stops.

“After doing a high-level review of the entire country, we realized that our current network is not an effective use of resources. Many of our routes are unprofitable,” Plaskett said.