As Sunshine Coast summer tourism picks up, so too is ridership for the region’s new charter bus service, Sunshine Coast Connector.
Sechelt residents Dmitry Tyunin and Lana Zanazovsky own the bus line, a startup offering intercity connections between Powell River and Vancouver.
To meet summer demand, last winter the province, with the support of local city and regional governments, fast-tracked Sunshine Coast Connector’s transportation licence application. Operations began in mid-May.
“[Ridership] started slow, but it is picking up recently,” said Tyunin. He explained that the company has finally started to hit the break-even point with passengers.
“Before last week, we were driving empty. It was crazy,” he said.
With the increase of tourism and word spreading that the company offers a reliable transportation option, Tyunin said he is optimistic about the company’s future.
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons gives much credit to the entrepreneurial spirit of the company.
“I know the importance of the route to the Sunshine Coast,” said Simons. “I continue to have a lot of hope and confidence that they will be able to grow and thrive.”
City of Powell River councillor Maggie Hathaway said she is delighted that the service is up and running.
“It’s absolutely an essential service for the people of Powell River,” said Hathaway. “I don’t think we can do with out it.”
Despite efforts to show that Sunshine Coast Connector is here to stay, the company has faced some criticism about its fares.
Powell River resident Diana Park said the price to take the bus roundtrip has held her back. “It’s a bit too expensive for me,” said Park.
But Park said she hopes the bus line survives. “We do need it, but it’s often the more poor people that catch [the bus], and likely they don’t have the money to pay the prices,” said Park.
Tyunin said the company has stepped up its marketing with advertising campaigns in local media and word of mouth is spreading. Potential customers have been phoning to inquire about the schedule, which Tyunin acknowledges is more complicated than that of the previous bus operator, Malaspina Coach Lines. Malaspina ceased operations in September 2015.
Sunshine Coast Connector is running a shuttle service from the Town Centre Hotel to Saltery Bay ferry terminal; riders then walk on the ferry. At Earls Cove they board another bus that takes them to Vancouver.
The company also runs another route between Earls Cove and Langdale ferry terminals. Tyunin said the company chose this arrangement as a cost-saving measure to cut down on ferry fares.
Lund residents Nancy and Raphael Merkosky caught the bus for their trip to Vancouver on Thursday, June 30, to pick up their new boat.
“We really like it,” said Raphael. “It gets you onto the first ferry of the day.”
Nancy said she thought it was a smart approach to have the shuttle to Saltery Bay and then have passengers walk on the ferry. “It just makes sense,” she said.
According to Hathaway, if Sunshine Coast Connector was not able to start up, responsibility for bus service would have fallen to local and provincial governments, something that government would not have been able to
pull together so quickly.
“It would have taken a lot longer for us to get something going,” said Hathaway. “They’ve done a fabulous job and their heart and soul is in this to make it work. I’m optimistic that this will work.”
Even though Sunshine Coast Connector is a different company than Malaspina, Simons said it will be a challenge for the new company to rebuild the public’s confidence and differentiate itself from Malaspina’s track record.
Communities along the coast went without regular service to Vancouver for more than 10 months after Malaspina shut down, and inconsistent service the last several months the company was open left those not able to fly or drive without reliable transportation options.
“People don’t trust we’re going to last, but I explain we are here. We’ve bought the buses; not lease, not rent,” said Tyunin. “We won’t stop the company. It has enough financial support.”
