Minor public bus route changes could boost ridership by 6,100 trips and revenue by $5,900 per year, says B.C. Transit's business development manager.
Last week, the provincial Crown corporation released its draft service effectiveness review to the District of Squamish's transit standing committee. It included suggested bus route changes for this fall.
B.C. Transit recommends eliminating the Valley Drive loop on the No. 3 Valleycliffe trip because of low ridership, Tania Wegwitz said. That would provide faster, more direct trips for people on that bus and some extra minutes to improve reliability, the report noted.
The report also suggested reducing the service on the Vista and Northridge loops of the same route and increasing overall service on evenings and weekends to Quest University. The revised schedules align public transit to meet key school-bell times and delete the Squamish Seniors Centre bus.
The seniors centre service currently runs twice per weekday on the system's three routes, Wegwitz said. Instead, B.C. Transit is looking at the possibility of making use of existing handyDART to provide an alternative to the service it would eliminate under the plan, she said.
In 2011-'12, Squamish's handyDART vehicle provided 5,000 trips to passengers. Squamish's senior community is expected to grow to represent 15.2 per cent of the population by 2031, while the 55-years-and-older crowd will rise to 26 per cent.
By 2031 the municipal population is expected to double and the number of seniors will quadruple, the report noted. That will have a profound impact on transit services, Wegwitz said, as the demand for door-to-door services like handyDART increases.
Coun. Susan Chapelle, the committee chair, pitched for enlisting two handyDART buses. Overall, the fee for additional public transit service on evenings, stat holidays and an extra handyDART is $124,500, she noted. The handyDART portion equals $44,000 out of the district's pocket, Chapelle said.
B.C. Transit is also examining increasing local fares, Wegwitz noted.
"Your average fare is quite low," she said.
The district , Sea to Sky School District and B.C. Transit could find savings in shared functions, Wegwitz noted. Currently, all three have bus garages. There are possibilities in shaving dollars off fuel bills through the creation of a local bulk contract or building a joint fuelling facility to take advantage of B.C. Transit's province-wide bulk fuel contract, Wegwitz added.
