A public transit link along the Sea to Sky corridor is one step closer to reality.
Service options have now been identified by BC Transit after a study was conducted on the feasibility. Results of the study were released October 18th and show the public interest in a potential transit service. Details in the study include proposals about potential routing, bus stop locations and infrastructure requirements.
The Province will now work with local governments in the region to develop a governance and funding model. BC Transit says that if the service is implemented, approximately 15,000 annual hours of transit service to the corridor will be implemented, based on the study’s suggestion. That translates to six round trips on weekdays and four round trips on weekends between Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver, where passengers would be able to transfer to the TransLink system. The study also suggests adding two new daily round trips to the existing service between Pemberton and Whistler.
If the 15,000 annual transit hours model goes ahead, residents would see 7 buses servicing the Vancouver to Whistler route (with total costs of $3,060,000) and 1 bus servicing the Pemberton to Whistler route (costing $250,000). Annual costs would be split between the participating communities and the Province. BC Transit is currently working on this model possibly being implemented in 2019/20.
Market analysis estimates ridership at 575 people daily initially, with ridership likely to increase. Over 3,700 people took part in the study that included open houses and surveys.
Filed under: BC Transit, Pemberton, Sea to Sky, Squamish, Transit, Vancouver, Whistler