Passengers will be able to bus to and from Nanaimo and Duncan on Sundays beginning this summer.
At their board meeting Tuesday, June 10, Regional District of Nanaimo directors gave the green light to allocate 1,000 service hours on the Route 70 Nanaimo-Cowichan bus for Sunday service beginning Aug. 31. Currently, the express bus runs Monday to Saturday from the bus exchange in downtown Nanaimo to a terminus point of Village Green Mall in Duncan.
Sunday busing "will align with service levels provided on statutory holidays for fixed-route transit, ensuring consistency and improved accessibility for all riders," an RDN staff report stated.
The recommendation passed, with Jessica Stanley, RDN Area A director, the lone dissenting vote.
"I know this is really great for Nanaimo, but from Area A's perspective … It drives by our community. There's Sunday bus service that we can't get on, but we pay for, but yet our own local buses don't run. So it's frustrating, and I do feel the need to say this is a city-to-city bus and a provincial initiative, and so they should be paying for it, not us," she said.
Paul Manly, Nanaimo director, voted in favour, but agreed with Stanley.
"I think it's a great idea to have this regional transit connection … I think we need to ensure that there are a couple more stops along the way, because I know in particular that parts of her area aren't served well by bus," he said. "I've worked with youths in that area who have worked in Nanaimo and tried to to get transportation to and from the area … and it's not possible."
Cowichan Valley Regional District, which teams with the RDN and B.C. Transit on the express bus, preferred to start Sunday service in September, the staff report noted, and it will complement CVRD's "other inter-regional expansion priority" to introduce Sunday service on the Cowichan-Victoria Express bus.
The annual projected cost is $132,000, according to the report, with RDN and CVRD responsible for $27,000 each.
Among Route 70 stops are ones in Nanaimo, Duncan, Nanaimo Airport and Ladysmith. A stop at Henry Road and the Trans-Canada Highway is begin considered as a stop for Chemainus.
For more information, visit www.bctransit.com/nanaimo/schedules-and-maps/route-70-ncx-nanaimo.
-files from Robert Barron/Black Press Media
