After six months in service, Squamish’s only commuter bus to Vancouver has a dedicated passenger list of eight.
“I am very optimistic,” Squamish Vancouver Shuttle owner Eduardo Torres said.
On weekdays, the 21-seat bus leaves from the Squamish Adventure Centre at 7 a.m. and ends its trip at the Waterfront Station on West Cordova Street. The shuttle returns to Squamish from Seymour Street and Cordova at 5:30 p.m.
The company recently purchased a second bus, dedicating one solely as the commuter shuttle and using the other for tours. The Squamish Vancouver Shuttle has a cargo area in which bicycles can be transported.
Interest in the service is growing, Torres said. He’s received emails from people looking to move to Squamish, but questioning whether the community has transit to the Lower Mainland.
“The increase is one per month,” Torres said of the passenger count.
The District of Squamish has no current data on how many residents commute to Vancouver for work, said Coun. Susan Chapelle, chair of the district’s Transportation Issues Select Committee. Officials do know there are approximately 4,000 single vehicle trips to the Lower Mainland on weekdays, but don’t know how many of those people are commuting, she noted.
“It would be really great to have some stats on that,” Chapelle said.
The Squamish Vancouver Shuttle is filling a void for commuters, she said. Chapelle hopes that in the future the company will be able to add a service later in the morning.
“[Squamish Vancouver Shuttle] is people that noticed a problem and tried to resolve it themselves,” she noted.
In a push to fill the bus, the service is now selling books of five tickets for $100. A single round trip sells for $25. For more information on the shuttle, visit www.squamishtovancouvershuttle.com or call (604) 802-2119.
