Castlegar City Council got some bad news at their July 15 meeting — the city will not be getting expanded bus services or a route to the Grandview Heights neighbourhood.
The process to seek a new service for Castlegar has taken years and involved multiple layers of government. Public transit in the West Kooteny is a bit unique because it includes multiple municipalities and districts working together to coordinate transportation not just within their own cities, but between them as well.
In 2020, BC Transit undertook a regional consultation process to look at how transit could be improved in the West Kootenay. The results highlighted needs across the region, including expanded service in the southern part Castlegar.
That finding was reinforced by Castlegar residents living in the area and through feedback gathered during the city's Official Community Plan update process so council set expanding bus service as a priority.
Throughout 2023, a proposal was refined that council thought would meet transit needs, but still be affordable to local tax payers who must fund part of the service.
The chosen option would have extended the existing Route 34 bus to include service to Grandview Heights, adding 400 additional bus hours with an annual cost of $92,563. The City of Castlegar would have to pay $58,000 of that amount.
A second option that added 1200 additional bus hours and increased peak service and evening routes was rejected by council because they felt the $146,000 annual price tag was too much for local taxpayers facing heavy inflation and an already increasing tax burden.
The proposal was then approved by both the Regional District of Central Kootenay and BC Transit.
The new route was scheduled to launch in September 2024.
The final funding request was sent to the provincial government for approval and that's where the project stalled.
Tom Dool, the RDCK's data analyst and public transit coordinator told city council, "For the first time ever, requests for transit service expansion exceeded capacity of the Provincial Operating Grant."
Council expressed their disappointment in the way the province had decided to prioritize and allocate funding.
"It was the provincial government who didn’t want to give funding … It was a provincial decision on what priorities are important," said Mayor Maria McFaddin.
"It wasn’t that this body didn’t come up with the money and do it’s job," added Dool. "It’s that the province was totally over subscribed in terms of transit funding.
“We are letting them know, very clearly, that this is a regional priority. It is a big deal for West Kootenay Transit, not just for the City of Castlegar.”
Across the West Kootenay only a few proposals were approved. The #99 Kootenay Connector that runs from Castlegar to Nelson will see more service because it was deemed a safety issue. The existing buses are frequently full with riders needing to stand while travelling at highway speeds.
The #10 bus that runs from Nelson to the North Shore will be extended from Six Mile to Balfour. The reasoning behind that decision was that it serves as a medical services connection enabling people to access healthcare.
With transit expansions typically taking about a year and half from proposal to implementation, council plans to continue to actively pursue increased service. But Castlegar is unlikely to see any transit improvements before 2025 or 2026.
Dool suggested that the public lobby for what they want by sending letters to the West Transit Services Committee and the West Kootenay Transit Committee and requesting that their concerns are passed on to the provincial level.
He said you can also let the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure know that you want to see a better investment in the West Kootenay's public transit system,
