Changes to BC Transit routes in the South Okanagan will allow riders to travel between Osoyoos and Kelowna every week day. (File photo)

By Vanessa Broadbent

Osoyoos Times

Starting next month, Osoyoos residents will be able to bus to Kelowna every weekday with new changes to BC Transit routes in the South Okanagan.

On Sept. 3 BC Transit, in partnership with the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen is launching a new route connecting Penticton and Kelowna that will operate two round trips every weekday, as well as two additional midday trips on Mondays.

The new route 70 Penticton/Kelowna will replace route 60 Kelowna/Osoyoos, which only operated on Mondays. However, BC Transit is also adding two round trips to the 40 Osoyoos/Penticton route on Mondays, which will now follow a fixed route in Penticton and Oliver.

Town of Osoyoos director of corporate services Janette Van Vianen told town council about the changes at their Monday morning meeting.

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“A transit future plan had been established a few years ago and one of the requests for growth was the need to have transit service from Penticton to Kelowna,” she said. “Up until now, the only transit system taking people to Kelowna is the South Okanagan Transit service which only provides this service on Mondays.”

The new BC Transit changes initially included a shorter layover time for riders using the afternoon route from Osoyoos to Penticton.

Currently, riders have two hours and 20 minutes from when the bus arrives in Penticton to when it leaves for Osoyoos again. The schedule initially proposed by BC Transit only allowed for one hour in Penticton.

“The change was concerning as this would not allow residents any time to attend appointments or do business in Penticton and would virtually be an empty bus headed back to Penticton in the afternoons,” Van Vianen said.

BC Transit said the changes were necessary for “budgetary reasons,” Van Vianen said.

Town staff worked with BC Transit and the RDOS to change the schedule to allow for more layover time in Penticton, and as a result the new schedule will operate similarly to the current one.

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“The public should not see much of a change from the previous schedule and basically the departure times from Osoyoos to Penticton will remain the same, as will the arrival times in Osoyoos from Penticton,” Van Vianen said.

“There is a slight difference regarding some of the stops within Penticton itself and their arrival and departure times that people should refer to in the new rider’s guide or on the BC Transit website to note any changes that may affect them.”

However, keeping the longer layover time will add an additional cost of $4,000 to $8,000 for the South Okanagan system.

“That amount is shared with the Town of Oliver and the RDOS areas serviced by the system and include Areas A, C, and D,” Van Vianen told council.

“Therefore the actual cost to provide a better overall service to the citizens in the area is minimal.”

Schedules and more information about BC Transit’s route changes is available online at bctransit.com/south-okanagan-similkameen.