News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

On July 9 the CRD Board passed a resolution that will result in two questions to be put to public vote in September regarding an extended bus service to several outlying areas.  

For the past 18 months there has been a CRD test transit service in place, extending the existing bus service to include 150 Mile House with a stop at Sugar Cane, Commodore Crescent and Mountview Store, with a loop to Shaw/Winger Road and the Chilcotin Road store. 

CRD Area E Director Steve Mazur said that during the first year, the bus service was separate from the City’s line, but starting in February, was fully integrated. People could catch a bus in a rural area and connect with the City bus.

The service has been provided through a grant for BC Transit, a general grant-in-aide, tax dollars from the whole CRD and some funding through the CRD Community Works fund, which is our share of the Gas Tax,” he said. “The service was on a pilot basis, and the funds weren’t long-term.

“If CRD tax payers don’t agree to be taxed for the extended transit service, the service will stop,” he continued. “There will be a referendum on September 25 with advance polls on the 17th and 18th and if it’s not passed, the service will stop.”

 He said that there are two parts to the service. One is a standard bus route with a regular schedule and the other is the Handi-Dart. If you need transportation to a medical appointment and have a doctor’s signature, the bus will pick you up at your home, take you to the appointment and back home

“To make the tax affordable, we spread a wide net over the area, which conforms to the recreational taxation area,” he said. “There are a number of areas included---Essler, Borland Valley, Flett subdivision, and Wildwood---who don’t get much in the way of service, but would still be taxed.”

The referendum in September will include two questions: are you in support of the taxation levels for both the standard bus service and the Handi-Dart, or are you in support of the Handi-Dart service only?

 Steve Mazur explained that during the first year of the pilot project, when they were working out the scheduling and when it wasn’t integrated with the City bus system, the extended routes were not well-used. “Based on that, we looked at things and decided to give it a better shot. There’s no question that ridership has gone up---the bus usually carries between two and four people.”

He said that the result of the voting will depend on whether people see it as a positive service---saving money on fuel and making ‘greener’ choices. “It has to be convenient and meet people’s needs,” he stated. “We have started to address those things during this process, and now it’s decision-time.

“I suspect that if the taxpayers say ‘no’ it may be four or five years before we take a run at this again.”

| More...