The recent announcement that the BC government is granting Translink $479 million is good news for the future of transit in Metro Vancouver. Access to a well-operated transit system should be seen as a basic human right.
Good for Metro Van, but what about the rest of the province?
With the contraction of the intercity bus industry in BC, intercity travel by bus has become challenging, if not impossible. Here in qathet there has been no reliable bus service to Vancouver since the Malaspina Coach Lines service was shut down almost 10 years ago.
Two years ago, Powell River Regional Transit System began operating a service to Saltery Bay five days a week. A private bus operator agreed to provide a connecting service from Earls Cove. That service proved to be costly and unreliable. At present it is suspended until May.
Sunshine Coast Regional District has identified the Halfmoon Bay to Earls Cove section of Highway 101 as service priority. It will only require an increase of 750 service hours and one bus.
If the province has almost a half billion dollars to help out Metro Vancouver, surely it could provide a financial incentive to fill in the missing link in the qathet to Vancouver service.
Tim Larsen is a qathet Regional District resident.
