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Squamish commuter bus pilot to start January

Fuel tax, regional transit authority to be considered if project successful

Starting on Jan. 3, the Whistler and Valley Express, the Squamish Transit System and B.C. Transit will be offering commuter buses between Squamish and Whistler. The pilot project, which has been in the works for several years, will see buses from Squamish to Whistler to reflect peak travel times for resort employees, especially hotel workers.

According to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, the number of people commuting from Squamish to Whistler grew by 62 per cent over the past five years, to approximately 1,000 people a day.

More commuter buses between Squamish and Whistler have been a topic of discussion in the wake of two serious accidents on Highway 99 involving resort employees commuting to and from Whistler. In a horrific crash last January seven people, including five resort employees, were killed in a head-on collision with another vehicle upon returning to Squamish after the night shift.

Brian Barnett, the general manager of engineering and public works, says safety was certainly a factor in the decision to launch a pilot project, but it wasn’t the only reason.

"Certainly highway safety is a part of it, but also it’s consistent with our goal of trying to get cars off the roads," he said. "We know from highway monitoring that a large number of vehicles belong to employees, so it will provide a transit service that will help to reduce traffic and air quality concerns we have."

Surveys among staff have also indicated that there is strong support for the commuter bus, which could eliminate over 31,000 car trips during the pilot period.

Greyhound currently offers six round trips through the day for $10.50 each way (or $56 for a book of 10 tickets), but a large number of staff continue to drive, sometimes after working a night shift. In a report presented to council in June, it was noted that the price of Greyhound service, $5.60 to $10.50 a trip, was a barrier for many people using the service; at that price it was almost as cost-effective to drive or carpool.

The commuter bus would be available for between $3 and $4 per trip, with three round trips a day. The first round-trip bus would arrive in Whistler around 8 a.m., followed by an afternoon bus at either 2:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. and a night bus at around 11:p.m. – the exact details are still being confirmed, as transit officials met with hotel managers on Thursday. The bus would likely stop in Creekside on the way to and from the village, but would avoid all other stops.

"We’ve been working with the hotel sector to make sure (the bus service) meets all the demands for their employees, including provisions for day shifts, afternoon shifts and night shifts," explained Barnett.

Five shifts will be assigned to the route, including three buses from Whistler and two buses that B.C. Transit is bringing from Victoria. All five buses will be the larger models currently in use, which are approved for highway driving and already employed between Whistler and Pemberton.

Paul Tormey, the general manager of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, says the project sounds positive so far, although he would like to know more about it.

"We’re (the hotels) meeting with representatives from the RMOW this week so we’ll get more details about it, but it’s certainly going forward," he said. "I think it’s a fantastic option for all our staff that live in Squamish, it’s long overdue."

Tormey says that the Chateau has approximately 100 employees who lie in Squamish, out of a payroll of 600.

Scott Pass, the manager of Whistler and Valley Express, says the service could work well for transit services in both Whistler and Squamish. Finding drivers wouldn’t be a problem, because a large number already live in Squamish, and could begin and end their shifts with the commuter service, "taking even more cars off the road."

Highway construction is a challenge, but he says the work will make the transit service even easier to deliver in the future. "What we’ve seen with the Pemberton service is that the logistics can be overcome, and that people do really appreciate having this option," said Pass.

At $3 a trip, it is expected that the commuter bus would recover 38.7 per cent of costs, which are estimated to be $469,190 through the spring, based on a ridership of 87,000. At $4 a trip, the service would recoup an estimated 47.1 per cent of costs, which exceeds the current 44.2 per cent cost-recovery of the Whistler and Valley Express, which is already the best in the province.

The costs of the pilot project will be shared by Whistler and Squamish transit services, B.C. Transit (through the Ministry of Transportation) and the Whistler Hotel Association.

At $3 a ride, with an estimated $287,000 in costs, Whistler and Squamish would each pay $118,745, B.C. Transit would pay $40,000 and the hotel association $10,000. At $4, with an estimated $247,000 in costs, Whistler and Squamish would pay $98,995 each.

The pilot project will run until spring, at which point it will be evaluated. "If we get good utilization of the service and people want to continue to use it, then we will consider that a success for the pilot program," said Barnett. However, he pointed out that the pilot project would also be considered successful if the project gave them some insight into what would make the program successful in the future.

If the pilot program is successful, the partners in the project will look into creating a regional transit system that encompasses Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton, as well as the rural areas surrounding those communities. If the province agrees to create a Sea to Sky Regional Transit Authority, that body would have the authority to collect a regional fuel tax, similar to taxes collected in the Lower Mainland to fund transit. A one cent per litre tax would generate approximately $250,000 for the transit authority, allowing for the continuation of the Squamish-Whistler pilot project, as well as the expansion of the Whistler-Pemberton service.

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is discussing the transit authority option, but has yet to take a position.

The details of the pilot project will be presented to Whistler council on Dec. 6.