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Squamish to Whistler commuter service funding won't come from hotels

Commuter bus still in jeopardy as Whistler funding runs out Dec. 31

It seems unlikely that the hotels in Whistler will help fund the Whistler-Squamish commuter bus service.

Human resource managers of major hotels met on Oct. 5 to discuss the possibility of helping to fund the service but decided this is a problem the local governments need to resolve.

"I don't think there's an appetite for the businesses to subsidize the service," said Roger Soane, general manager of Fairmont Chateau Whistler and chair of Tourism Whistler.

"I hope it doesn't get removed, but I don't think there's anywhere in the Lower Mainland where businesses subsidize a transit service. I mean, don't we do that with taxes? I don't think you will see the hotel community step up and say, 'OK, we need to subsidize this service,'" he said.

In September, Whistler council approved a fare increase for the commuter service from $5 to $8 per ride beginning Nov. 1 (a book of 10 tickets went from $45 to $72, and a monthly pass will cost $232 from $145). But the municipality, which currently subsidizes the service from a special fund, only has money for the bus until the end of 2010. Council will consider the possibility of extending the service into 2011 as it reviews its budget.

Soane said that many of the hotels provide travel allowances for employees. The Fairmont offers $8.50 per day to cover travel expenses, but that starting in November, that will cover only one way for Squamish residents commuting to Whistler. The absence on this service will cause some hardship on the Whistler employees who use it, but Soane said it's too early to tell what hardship's hotels and other businesses may face.

Either way, Soane said this is a trial that probably shouldn't be tested.

"We shouldn't be taking away public transport, we should be enhancing it," Soane said. "The majority of public transport in the world today is subsidized one way, shape or form. I suppose it all comes down to who should be paying the subsidies. Is it Squamish, is it Whistler?"

Squamish council has directed staff to investigate the issue and dialogue with Whistler, with a view to maintaining the service or finding an alternative service.

"There wasn't any dialogue about it (in council) but there are other ways to get people to work," said Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner. "One would be a ride sharing program, but those are ideas that are going to be discussed. We understand that Whistler has concerns about funding the program, obviously, so we'd like to understand those concerns and hopefully work with Whistler to resolve the issue."

Between January 2005 and April 2007, the service operated as a winter-only pilot project, the cost of which was shared equally by District of Squamish and the RMOW. BC Transit stepped in for the 2007-08 winter season, signing a contract with the RMOW, using the same framework that already existed for the Whistler service. BC Transit funds 47 per cent of the service.

In this case, Squamish became a silent partner and the two municipalities have equally split the remaining 53 per cent. But because the agreement is officially between the RMOW and BC Transit, the RMOW has the ability to increase fares without Squamish having to sign off.

"Our staff had been in discussion (with Squamish) since summer," said Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed. "I had advised not just the mayor, but the regional district board of Whistler's review of the situation."

Whistler taxpayers are not currently funding this service. Funds for the commuter service originates from a contribution from a developer for future transit improvements and had been sitting in a holding account until the Whistler-Squamish commuter service project came forward.

The RMOW has been drawing from that account to fund their portion of the service, but that fund will run dry at the service's current levels of funding - which was partly why Melamed did not support staff's original proposal to council to extend the service into 2011.

The mayor said he doesn't want to eliminate bus service between Squamish and Whistler but it is conceivable that the RMOW's contributions to the service will eventually have to be subsidized by Whistler taxpayers - for a service that very few Whistler residents use.

Gardner said there is some urgency to resolve the issue soon because there is a deadline looming and Squamish residents who work in Whistler will need to know how they will be getting to work this winter.

"As I understand it, the winter months, ski season, is the most critical period when people need transportation," Gardner said.

Whistler council raised some concern at the Sept. 21 meeting that Squamish residents might take advantage of the commuter service as a cheap way to go skiing or snowboarding, instead of using it for work, for which the commuter service was originally conceived. Gardner said the first he had heard this concern had been in the past couple of weeks. He said it is something that Squamish staff will be investigating.

"It wasn't intended to be a ski bus," he said. "I think there are businesses in Whistler that do benefit from having their employees having a cost-effective way to work. A safe way to work should be a part of the dialogue."