With the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) expected to give final approval to a transit expansion at its March 23 board meeting, where the budget was up for adoption, the corporate and administrative services committee has begun working out the details.
Representatives of BC Transit were scheduled to appear at the March 23 committee meeting, and a staff report prepared in advance said the anticipated 6,370 added hours of bus service would translate to:
• Express service every 30 minutes on Route 90 during the morning and afternoon peak periods of 5:30 to 9:30 a.m., and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Hourly service on Route 1, from 5 a.m. to midnight.
• Runs to the SCRD’s Field Road headquarters on weekdays during the morning and afternoon.
The report also said two new bus stops will be needed – at Field Road and Highway 101 and at the SCRD headquarters – as well as improvements to two others along 101 near Field.
According to a draft timeline from BC Transit, the infrastructure work should start this month, with schedules to be finalized over May and June, once BC Ferries releases its schedules. Promotion of the service upgrades would start in the summer with the expanded service beginning Sept. 5, the Tuesday after Labour Day.
The coordination with BC Ferries is seen as key.
“BC Ferries is currently working to reduce the number of yearly changes to their service schedule. This would enable transit to deliver the improved schedule more consistently throughout the year. Such consistency would reduce frustration around frequent transit schedule changes commonly heard during planning research and encourage transit as a travel habit,” said the staff report.
The SCRD’s portion of the expansion cost is estimated at $465,029 per year. Pro-rated for 2017, when expanded service will only be in effect for part of the year, the tax impact on a typical residential property is expected to be $1.51 for every $100,000 of assessed value. For 2018 and beyond it’s estimated at $4.62 for every $100,000.
The committee’s recommendation was not decided before Coast Reporter’s deadline.
