Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

WAVE boasts highest ridership in province

The number of passengers to take the Whistler and Valley Express has increased every year since the service began in 1991.

The number of passengers to take the Whistler and Valley Express has increased every year since the service began in 1991.

It now has the largest number of passengers out of the 69 transit systems in BC Transit’s municipal systems program and carries more passengers in every hour of service than any other bus system in the province.

Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly said that the WAVE was a key service provided by the municipality and one of our major resort successes.

"With the continued increase in riders, we are succeeding with our transportation management programs," he said.

WAVE carried 2.87 million passengers last year compared to 2.56 million the year before, an increase of 12 per cent.

It is difficult to make comparisons to other Canadian transit systems because of the tourism industry, but Whistler’s transit system ranks above average for all but the very largest transit systems in the country.

It has consistently been one of the top performing municipal transit systems with regular ridership increases, high cost recovery rates and solid performance in terms of passengers per hour.

This year the WAVE was recognised by the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships as a successful example for a private sector service contract for the delivery of public transit in North America.