Buses could be running later at night. Vernon council budgeted $80,000 Wednesday to extend
transit service beyond the current 6:30 p.m. but exact details on which
nights will have later routes is yet to be determined. “We had a goal in our official community plan of increasing people’s participation in transit,” said Coun. Mary-Jo O’Keefe. “That helps with our roads.” It’s been suggested buses could run until 9:15 p.m.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with other nights possibly going until
just after 7 p.m. to accommodate shift workers at Vernon Jubilee
Hospital. Other possibly users of an evening service are students attending classes at Okanagan College and people going to the movies. Coun. Brian Quiring isn’t convinced Saturday service is necessary. “I don’t think people are taking the bus to restaurants,” he said. “There is free parking downtown on Saturdays so people are driving.”That suggestion was countered by Coun. Juliette Cunningham. “There’s the movies and theatre events,” she said. Mayor Rob Sawatzky believes Saturday service should be considered. “If we keep a couple of people on a Saturday night from
drinking and having (motor vehicle) accidents, it would be worth it,”
he said. The $80,000 is the city’s contribution to evening
service and B.C. Transit’s funding must still be determined. Coldstream
could also participate in the extended service but if it does not, late
evening runs would not go into that municipality. The only opposition to budgeting the $80,000 at this time came from Coun. Bob Spiers. “I actually am in favour of extending the hours of bus service during the entire week if it is required,” he said. “But I wanted more details on what the estimated
ridership would be, total hours of new service etc, when the phase-in
period would be, would there be a trial period and the duration of that
trial period and an indication of the performance level measure that
would constitute whether the trial was a success.” Depending on the planning process, evening transit
service could be available when the new transit terminus on 31st Avenue
possibly opens in March. Council also decided Wednesday to make another change to transit. Sunday service will become available in Vernon on two statutory holidays — Canada Day and Remembrance Day.
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Transit comes with a cost
By Editorial - Vernon Morning Star Published: January 06, 2012 1:00 AM
The City of Vernon is proceeding with evening transit service after being told there is a strong public demand for it. A total of $80,000 has been budgeted to possibly run
buses until 9:15 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and other nights
having a service until just after 7 p.m. for shift workers at the
hospital. This sounds great if you’re wanting to go out Friday or
Saturday night to a movie or a restaurant. Students attending evening
classes at Okanagan College will also benefit as will those people who
have to work at night. They can leave their cars at home, reducing their
carbon footprint and easing traffic and parking, particularly downtown. But we’ve all seen buses with only one or two people
aboard, and sometimes there is only the driver. Is that a prudent use of
money when there are so many other pressures facing the city? The city says it’s initiating evening service based on
public demand, but have there been any actual studies that forecast how
many riders there will be? Is there anything that indicates people are
willing to give up the car culture and actually commit the time needed
to use public transportation? More than likely, this is just another
Field of Dreams, where you build it and you hope they will come. Ultimately, transit is an important service in terms of
improving the environment and extending the life of roads. People
should be encouraged to use the bus. But politicians and administrators always need to remember who is paying the bill.
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