While improved transit is on the way for Castlegar in the evenings and at the south end of town, city council is hoping to speed up providing a bus to the Grandview Heights neighbourhood.
Tom Dool of the Regional District of Central Kootenay and Daynika White of BC Transit appeared before council to explain plans to expand local routes, but cautioned the planning horizon is normally very long.
In the works are two new round-trips for the No. 99 Kootenay Connector between Castlegar and Nelson, two new weekday trips for the No. 98 Columbia Connector between Castlegar and Trail, and two more weekday trips for the No. 33 Selkirk College run.
Weekday service will also be extended to 8 p.m. and coverage will be improved in South Castlegar. However, Dool explained they are always planning three years in advance, and the changes would take effect in the fall of 2024 at the earliest, assuming provincial funding is in place.
The total cost of the improved service is $489,000, of which the city’s share is about $250,000, which would provide 2,200 more hours per year.
But council was chiefly interested in adding a route that isn’t yet in the works.
“My big concern is Grandview,” mayor Maria McFaddin said. “Mostly because there is a whole seniors development up there. Some don’t have licenses and now they’re stuck. It’s one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods at that end of town and we need to make sure we’re servicing it. A lot of people take in students to supplement their income but without bus service, it limits those options.”
Dool explained Sept. 29 is the deadline for local governments to approve expansion requests so they can be implemented in the next fiscal year. He said while the turnaround is tight, it is possible for the city to get its request in before then. White said BC Transit could have costing ready for the city in late August.
The president of the Grandview Heights strata later noted the nearest stop is over a kilometre away on 14th Avenue in the Southridge neighbourhood and said he was puzzled why Grandview could not just be added to the existing loop, rather than creating a new service. But McFaddin said transit schedules are very complicated.
Meanwhile, responding to a question from council, Dool said any new buses won’t be electric for now. While they could be added someday, for the moment two obstacles stand in the way, at least in this region: steep hills and the need for heat, which drains the battery.
Dool said West Kootenay transit ridership is now at three-quarters of pre-COVID levels. He expects to see a return to 2019 numbers around 2025.
