BC Transit to unify services across RDCK and RDKB
By Castlegar Source
The vision of a unified transit system covering both the Kootenay Boundary and Central Kootenay regions is a step closer to reality, according to Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff.
Chernoff is also chair of the newly-formed West Kootenay Transit Committee, which had its first meeting Wednesday.
“We met yesterday with BC Transit, and that’s when it was announced,” said Chernoff, referring to a broad umbrella service covering both the RDKB and RDCK, including Castlegar, Nelson, Nakusp, the Slocan Valley, and more.
“It will mean efficiencies in management, in asset use (vehicles), routes between cities,” he said, adding they want to one set fare for everyone and institute a monthly pass that can be used for transit throughout the area.
“It’ll be better for Selkirk College; for residents who live in one city but commute to another – for everybody,” he said, adding service improvements could be especially noticeable for riders who have to transfer, as schedule times haven’t been coordinated between cities in the past.
He said there’s no set-in-stone timeline as yet, but he hopes to see improvements take effect as early as this autumn.
