Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors want to see more frequent and easily accessible transit service on the Coast, but that will take more study and funding if those goals are to be realized.
That common desire was made evident during a presentation by BC Transit at the Jan. 6 infrastructure services committee meeting.
The transit authority told the committee it wants to double ridership by 2020, investing a total of $14 billion into BC transit between now and then. But the Sunshine Coast will see only a very small sliver of that pie as most of the $14 billion is earmarked to be spent in larger cities like Vancouver.
"It sounds like we continue our core service and you guys help us if you can sometime," said West Howe Sound director Lee Turnbull.
"This talk is more aimed at showing where the province is focused, but everyone has specific regional goals they need to achieve," said Tom Day, manager of strategic planning for BC Transit in response to Turnbull's comment.
The Coast's regional goals include increasing ridership; however, directors felt ridership will not improve if the level of service stays the same.
"We do want to increase our ridership as well, but it will only increase ultimately to better levels if we have more frequent and broader service," added Roberts Creek director Donna Shugar.
Sechelt director Keith Thirkell said there is currently no bus service along Sechelt Inlet Road, which eliminates the possibility of about 1,000 people in the area potentially using the service.
"That is a key area of the Sunshine Coast that is not serviced," he said.
Transit representatives said Sechelt Inlet Road has been identified as a potential bus service area and it will be considered during a 2012/13 route utilization review. In February, the Sunshine Coast transit service will install new electronic fare boxes that will better provide information for that utilization review.
"The new fare box and vault technology being introduced will provide monthly information for route performance and other valuable metrics, for example: bike rack usage, fare disputes and confrontational or aggressive behaviour. I'm really excited to get some of these in place and utilize the data," said Sunshine Coast Transit manager of transportation and facilities Brian Sagman.
BC Transit officials suggested the SCRD look at six key areas when contemplating future ridership initiatives, including increasing land-use density along major transit routes; investing in park and ride stations; improving transit infrastructure such as bus stops and passenger information; actively promoting transit and other sustainable transportation options; investigating new fare policies and opportunities; examining routes; and eliminating poorly performing transit services.
Directors also discussed the new Pender Harbour bus service and noted more frequent service to and from Pender Harbour would likely result in higher ridership on that route.
It was also thought that it may be beneficial to create a family fare for riders to encourage more usage. Sagman said he would look into the idea.
"We will be having public consultation sessions in Egmont and Madeira Park to identify all the ideas to improve service there. Then we'll package that together and do it all at once. We're looking at sometime in February to have those sessions," Sagman said.
