Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors are pushing for more drastic transit improvements over coming years.
On June 27, directors recommended potential transit improvements to 2028 that went beyond those put forward by staff. At a committee of the whole meeting, the committee said it wanted to see costing to increase Route 90 (Langdale Ferry/Sechelt Express) service to every 30 minutes during high-demand periods on weekends as well as weekdays.
The accelerated plan the committee supported would also see Route 2 (West Sechelt) increased to 60-minute frequency Monday to Saturday, with that upped to 30 minutes during peak demand times starting in mid-2026. Moving that enhancement up by a year could allow for the creation of a new route dedicated to connecting upper and lower Gibsons in mid-2027. That was one year earlier than recommended in the staff report provided to the committee.
The committee also added a call for SCRD and BC Transit (BCT) staff to report back this fall on the operational and financial impacts of those moves, given that transit facilities at the SCRD’s Mason Road complex are already at capacity and ongoing staffing shortages.
The committee’s recommendations will go for board consideration before the SCRD takes an August month-long break from scheduled meetings.
More services, more costs
The early estimate for the next operating year – including the expansion – is about $260,000 for the SCRD. The Year 2 further acceleration is looking to cost the local government more than $300,000. In both cases, the province would need to provide matching funds.
Reflecting on Route 90 enhancements slated for this year that were supported locally but not provincially, Gibsons area director Silas White, said, “All this planning goes out the window when the province doesn’t come up with their share of the funding.”
At the meeting, BCT senior manager, Rob Rigma reminded the committee that the SCRD was successful in getting provincial support for handyDART expansions in 2024. He qualified that the extra money for Route 90 wasn’t approved due to “unprecedented demands” last fiscal year from the variety of systems that BCT works with. Along with a higher-than-normal number of requests for correspondingly larger dollar amounts, BCT also continues to face difficulties securing the buses needed to provide expanded services. Rigma noted that along with increased costs to buy equipment, BCT’s suppliers often could not fill all the orders they were receiving.
Local housing crunch for buses (as well as residents)
While the SCRD’s ability to accommodate more buses at its Mason Road works yard is already strained, White pointed out that planning for transit expansion at that yard or adding facilities at different locations is part of this year’s staff work plans.
“We need much better transit now,” White said.
Area B (Halfmoon Bay) director Justine Gabias concurred, calling the committee’s focus on acceleration of the transit expansion a “bold” plan, even though it does not add capacity in her area, or where services don't currently exist, during the first two years. Areas without bus service on the lower Sunshine Coast include the East Porpoise Bay/Sandy Hook/Tuwanek corridor in Sechelt and the expanse from Secret Cove in Halfmoon Bay to Egmont/Earls Cove.
Speaking to how the province is mandating local government increase housing density, especially in areas adjacent to transit services, White said the province also needs to support enhancing public transportation, which he said is currently “not convenient” in many areas of the Coast. He commented that “once the province supports us to get the frequency [of bus service] higher, we all need to use transit more."
