In the wake of a Whistler council vote to reduce the resort's portion of the Squamish-Whistler commuter bus funding, council for the District of Squamish has deemed the system an essential service and unanimously supported Mayor Greg Gardner's motion to either find a way to continue the service or provide alternatives.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler vote last week to cut back on its portion of the cost beginning Nov. 1 means commuters will now spend $6 more per day, $87 more per month, or $1,044 more per year on the Squamish-Whistler commuter service.
And as of 2011, it's unsure if the service will continue at all since Whistler is considering backing out completely, and Gardner said it's unlikely Squamish could afford to take on the extra cost.
The DOS and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) started the bus service as a joint initiative after seven Squamish commuters were killed in a head-on collision on Highway 99 in 2005 when the driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel after a long day at work.
BC Transit funds approximately 46 per cent of the service leaving Whistler and Squamish to split the remaining 54 per cent down the middle.
Whistler committed to a funding partnership until 2010, and Mayor Ken Melamed now says he believes Squamish should fund the entire cost just as Pemberton and Mount Currie pay for the Pemberton-Whistler bus service.
"There's no way in my mind we can justify having one funding model for Pemberton and another for Squamish," Melamed told The Chief.
Melamed said the mayor of Pemberton keeps asking him "how come you're not paying half of our service like you do for Squamish" and there's no good answer.
"My view is I don't think we should be funding the service at all," said Melamed.
"These services are there to serve residents of those communities [Pemberton and Squamish] and those communities need to decide how they're going to fund that."
He said there are enough living accommodations in Whistler to house workers wishing to work for the resort, however they may not enjoy a large home and yard as they would in Squamish.
Several Squamish residents have complained about the toll the price increase would take on commuters.
"The price doesn't make it feasible to take the bus, it makes more sense to drive," said Dave Samsqanch, who has ridden the bus to Whistler for work for two years.
"Even with a truck that isn't great on gas, you can go there and back for $20, only $2 more than the new bus price."
Squamish council expressed concern over losing the service during the council meeting Tuesday (Oct. 5), and Coun. Paul Lalli was adamant a solution be found.
"This service is in my mind heavily used and I've received a number of phone calls of people who are upset about the price hike," he said. "Also, in the vein of being more green, keeping cars off the road is an important aspect of the service."
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale suggested the Whistler Hotel Association be included since they need the commuting employees.
"I suggest they should be contributing," she said.
Melamed said this was a "fantastical notion."
He said he doesn't believe hotels would get onboard since only a few hotels contributed during the initial year - for a total $15,000 - and no monies have been volunteered since then.
Squamish DOS staff will report back to council no later than Nov. 2 after collaborating with the resort municipality into researching options to continue the service or find alternatives.
