Fear not, weary Sea to Sky corridor commuters: Local officials are promising to restore service on the Squamish-Whistler commuter route, which makes its last run early Sunday (April 25) as soon as possible - perhaps by the end of this year.
Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland hopes the service will be restored by Labour Day.
Brian Barnett, general manager of engineering and public works for the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), said the unbridled success of the three-and-a-half-month pilot project which comes to an end this week has prompted officials of corridor communities to examine methods of permanently upgrading corridor transit service.
That, Barnett said, could well lead to more frequent commuter bus service to Pemberton and Mount Currie in addition to regular, permanent Squamish-Whistler service.
"The goal is to establish more comprehensive service throughout the corridor," Barnett said. "Mount Currie and Pemberton are interested in more service between their communities and to Whistler, and this approach would provide that."
A few months ago, Barnett and other officials said it might take two years for officials to go through all the hoops necessary to establish a regional transit authority (RTA) similar to the Lower Mainland's TransLink.
RTAs operate independent of the provincial government. But under the model that appears to be gaining support in the corridor, a regional transit commission (RTC), local officials would exercise control over routing and scheduling but would still receive funding and planning help from Crown-owned B.C. Transit.
Under both models, local officials have the authority to levy gas taxes to help pay for transit. Both would require the approval of the provincial government, but the RTC model would require less time to establish and would include help from B.C. Transit, Barnett said.
That help includes a commitment by B.C. Transit to supply the buses, to supply fuel purchased in bulk at lower-than-normal prices, and help with planning-related issues.
"By the end of the year I would expect that we'd know whether it's in the process of being approved," Barnett said of the proposal for a Sea to Sky transit commission.
"The Greater Victoria Regional District has a transit commission that involves the mayors of municipalities in the Greater Victoria area, and they also have a three-cents-a-litre fuel tax," he said."One of the things we are going through now is questioning each community," Sutherland said. "Squamish supports some type of commuter service."
The success of the Squamish-Whistler service, which began Jan. 3, is borne out by statistics. Preliminary data indicates that a daily average of 233 passengers made the trip from Squamish to Whistler and back - higher than officials' projections.
In a letter distributed to riders on Sea to Sky Transit buses, officials said that the last run would be Sunday's 7:45 a.m. bus from Whistler to Squamish - the one that takes those working the night shift in Whistler home. The final trip will include prize draws as a thank you to those who used the service.
The letter also apologized for the service disruption.
"It's disappointing that we can't continue the service, but at this point we have to stop it and we'll get it back up and running as soon as possible," Barnett said. "The staff in all the communities are working hard to see that that happens."
Regular rider Ravinder Kooner said he was shocked to learn the service was ending but he was glad to hear work is being done to bring it back.
"It was very sad news for us," Kooner said of the termination of the service.
Kooner caught the commuter bus just three doors away from his house five days of the week.
He felt the bus reduced impacts on the environment by taking cars off Hwy. 99 and he felt safe riding the bus.
Reluctantly, Kooner is going back to commuting in a private car with his friends. Carpooling is actually a cheaper option, said Kooner. Despite that,ß he said he and his friends would always chose the commuter bus over carpooling.
-Whistler Question/Squamish Chief staff writers
