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In transit

Pique takes its own assessment of Whistler's bus system one sunny Friday morning

Well, if they're not going to do it then we will.

As part of its review of Whistler transit, BC Transit is examining all current routes to see what's working and what's not, what's needed where and what can be taken away.

BC Transit still has yet to do its origin destination and onboard passenger surveys to assess the needs of the community - those will happen in 2011 - so Pique decided to go ahead and do it first, by riding the bus from Function to the furthest point in Emerald Estates in order to see what types of people are riding and how satisfied some of them may be with the level of service.

Well, for one thing, you have to wait for it. On this particular Friday the sky's as smooth as crystal and the cold air nips at the ears only slightly, so it's tolerable, if not pleasurable while gazing at the snow-capped mountain peaks. But if the clouds roll over and if they're low enough in the valley that the water particles soak your clothes, it's a completely different story. And when the bus finally comes, you actually have to ride the thing.

At 10:20 a.m., the #2 Whistler Creek bus arrives at Pique 's Function Junction office - the last stop on its southbound route. There are only three riders onboard - an older gentlemen clumsily concealing a can of beer between his thighs with an issue of The Province and a lady who appears to be in her early 20s.

By 10:36 on this Friday morning, the bus is packed. People standing shoulder to shoulder by the time it reaches Nordic. The passengers are a variety of ages, with the majority in their 20s. Half the people here have snowboards or skis, taking up precious elbow and breathing room. Passengers are crowded at the front of the bus.

There are so many people, in fact, that six people are left at the Alta Vista bus stop for lack of room, having to wait another 20 minutes for the next bus with no guarantee they'll even get on. At Blueberry, someone rings the "Stop Request" bell for the first time this trip. It reeks of human sweat and unwashed laundry. Based on the accents darting around from all angles of the bus you'd think you were in New South Wales, if it weren't for the blanket of snow outside and all the toques inside.

BC Transit has counted about 2.7 million riders so far in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which is up from the year before. The number of passengers does fluctuate throughout the year, with summer and shoulder season ridership averaging between 5,000 and 6,000 per day, historically. Winter averages from years past are between 17,000 and 20,000.

The municipality's goal through Whistler2020 is to create a transit system that is a reasonable option and to make it the second preferred choice of transportation, after walking, cycling and other non-motorized methods, by people who don't necessarily have to take the bus.

Right now, at 10:42 a.m. on a late-fall morn', most people here have no other option for getting around. One of these youthful Australian snowboarders, talking about his sickly friend's dismal financial situation due to extensive medical expenses, says, "He's worse off than me, and I'm pretty bad."

"You don't have a job yet?" asks his friend.

"Nah," he says. He laughs and proceeds to discuss in no serious terms the job prospects that lay on the horizon. They don't sound promising.

 

The village hub

There is no direct route from the south end of town to the north, so a transfer must be made in the village, at the Gondola Transit Exchange.

The #43 Alpine/Emerald Combined leaves right at 11 a.m. Callum Jelly, a young Englishman, says there are a lot more people hitching along the road from Emerald and Alpine than from Function because service levels from the two areas are not as strong. Both the # 1 and # 2 buses, running northbound from Function and Cheakamus Crossing, run every 20 minutes, which averages to one bus every 10 to 15 minutes running toward the village along the south-end of the highway. The number 43 runs every 15 minutes during the day but the Emerald #3 only runs every half hour during peak hours after 7 p.m., and stops all together by 10, which means Emerald residents on the bus need to take the 40 minute ride through Alpine on the 43.

As he's saying this, Emma Dal Santo gets on the bus minutes later to head home for lunch. As traffic demand management coordinator for the RMOW she deals with all issues transit related in Whistler. It's appropriate that she's riding the bus, and fortunate that she's riding it at this particular moment, as Pique is engaging public transit riders in their thoughts on the system.

"We already provide a very high level of service for a town of 10,000 people," she says, but the town has changed quite a bit since the last origin destination survey was done in 2008.

Dal Santo says this is why BC Transit is currently reviewing Whistler transit, to see what the needs are and where service can be expanded.

It's well understood that there's more traffic coming from the south end of town than the north because more people live there, which explains the high frequency of service and frequently crowded vehicles. But now with Cheakamus Crossing open and Rainbow half completed, there's a need to assess where people are travelling to and from, as well as how to find out why people aren't riding the bus and how to get them on it.

These are facts and issues that will be sorted out in 2011, as Dal Santo explains, when the origin destination and onboard passenger surveys have been completed.

"The community has changed," she says. "BC transit was looking at doing it a year later... but we need the answers now."

"Rainbow is partially open now, and that's why the timing for this study is now. You have to see how the community has changed, because for the last at least 10 years, both places (Rainbow and Cheakamus Crossing) didn't exist, so you need to see how people move to these different areas," she says.

For the most part, people are satisfied, particularly at the south side of town. The village to Emerald and Alpine service is also agreeable during the day. At night, it's a different story.

Victoria Jacyshyn is one of three people left on the #43 bus heading toward Emerald after most people have departed at Meadow Park. Her blonde-haired little boy is using her thigh as a pillow. She says the transit is "all right" and "hard to rely on" when riding to and from the north end of town.

Her issue is with nighttime service in particular, when it takes about 40 minutes going from the village to her house in Emerald, riding through Alpine Meadows.

"It's pretty ridiculous," she says.

For some, the ride from Function to, say, the new Rainbow neighbourhood after work could take a whole lot longer than necessary. One of the ideas floating around to ease this lengthy bus ride is an Emerald to Function/Cheakamus express that would travel up and down the highway with maybe only one detour into the village or at Creekside, cutting an hour-plus journey by at least half. BC Transit offered the service during the Olympics, where it was widely used.

Jacyshyn says a freeway express bus "would be nice. The direct service is handy."

The bus finally arrives at the final Emerald stop at 11:22 a.m. What's normally a 20 minute trip took almost an hour and 22 minutes from the village. According to Jacyshyn, that same ride takes twice as long at night when passenger usage is way up.

"I'd say every time I'm on the bus there are 10 people who have to ride the 40 minutes," she says.

On the way back, it's clear what people who've lived in the north end of the valley have been complaining about. The 43 can be grueling for those who ride it every day and night, worming through all of Alpine and Spruce Grove. But there are only 15 people on the bus by the time it hits the village, versus the dozens that had been onboard coming from Function.

For a new guy in town, it's not all that bad. Justin Molloy is heading to work at Araxi from his rented home in Emerald. He arrived three weeks ago from Banff where the transit system is quite a bit weaker. There, riders need to drive or hitchhike to the lifts.

He says the frequency of the busses here "is really good" and he has no problem with travel times between Emerald and the village, even at night. In fact, most people Pique talked to had few problems with the level of service. But one thing is clear - new-comers and seasonal residents are more forgiving than longer-term residents of the level and quality of Whistler's transit service. It seems, based on this single two-hour bus ride on a Friday morning, people will demand more from the places they call home.