New bus routes and schedules for Nelson and region start July 2
By Bill Metcalfe
Transit service will be free on July 2 to celebrate a new system of bus routes, fares, and schedules that will kick in on that day across the West Kootenay region.
In Nelson there are significant changes, with separate routes and schedules for Uphill, Rosemont, and Fairview.
Connections between Nelson and the rest of the region have also been overhauled, making it possible for the first time to travel between Kaslo, Nelson, Salmo, Nakusp, Fruitvale and Trail on a coordinated schedule. In the past, schedules existed independently, making connections across the region difficult.
A unified fare structure between all those places will have three fare zones. An adult ticket for any of the Kootenay, Columbia, and Slocan zones is $2.00, and a multi-zone ticket costs $3.50. In the past, there were multiple uncoordinated fares and fare zones throughout the region.
The new system features a detailed guide on how to get to and from LV Rogers Secondary, Trafalgar Middle School, or Mount Sentinel Secondary School from anywhere in the region. Students can buy semester passes.
There will be special provisions for transportation to health facilities, and a handyDART system will continue to provide door-to-door, shared service for people who are unable to take the fixed-route service.
B.C. Transit has published a rider’s guide to the new system. Tickets and passes can be purchased in Nelson at city hall, the Regional District of Central Kootenay office, and Wait’s News.
Regional cooperation is the key
“I am really excited about this,” said Councillor Donna Macdonald. “It has been a long time coming, with public input, drawing and re-drawing the plan, and now it’s done. We will continue to monitor and tweak as the need arises.”
Macdonald sits on the West Kootenay Regional Transit Committee along with Mayor Karen Hamling (Nakusp), Mayor Lawrence Chernoff (Castlegar), Area E representative Ramona Faust (RDCK), Councillor Kathy Wallace (Rossland), Councillor Don Duclos (Montrose), and Mayor Larry Gray (Fruitvale).
The committee formulated the new system in conjunction with B.C. Transit, the provincial government body that funds 47% of the cost of transit in B.C. It coordinates transit systems and provides transit expertise to local governments.
Live music on Nelson buses on July 2
Barry Nelson of the Nelson Transit Community Group, a rider advocacy group that has provided a lot of input into the new system, says it “looks reasonably good.” He told The Nelson Daily that the group has not yet met to systematically examine the changes.
Nelson says his group will be providing live music on the free buses in Nelson on July 2.
Related stories in The Nelson Daily:
Transit riders weigh in on new bus proposals (April 2012)
New bus routes in Nelson by fall? (April 2012)
One more step toward transit sanity (June 2012)
BC Transit presents bus improvement findings to council (August 2012)
