In less than two months – three months at the most – the bus shuttle service between the Kelowna International Airport and the Town of Osoyoos will become a reality.
The goal of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce is to have it up and running on April 1.
If that proves to be impossible due to logistical reasons, then May 1 will be the target date and there’s no reason to believe, under any circumstances, that there would be any further delays, says Robert Linttell, the chamber’s acting director of transportation.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) process is scheduled to close by the end of this week.
The chamber’s board of directors will then review all of the companies that have applied to win the contract and ensure they meet all of the criteria to provide a quality service at a reasonable price.
With April 1 less than eight weeks away, it’s expected the chamber will announce the winner before the end of this month.
There’s no reason whatsoever to believe that a quality shuttle service between the airport in Kelowna – which now handles more than one million passengers annually – and one of the primary tourism destinations in the entire country won’t be a huge success.
It will be incredibly beneficial for a resident of Osoyoos to jump on a luxury bus and take a shuttle from this community to the Kelowna airport for a one-way ticket expected to cost between $30 and $40.
For this price, you not only don’t have to drive, but you don’t have to bring your own vehicle, burn any fuel or pay the exorbitant parking fees that are part and parcel of leaving your vehicle in an airport parking lot.
If you’re not heading to the Kelowna airport, the shuttle will offer an affordable alternative to travelling to communities across the South Okanagan, including Oliver, Okanagan Falls, Penticton, Summerland, Peachland and West Kelowna.
This shuttle service should prove extremely popular for seniors who will assuredly want to take advantage of leaving their car or truck in the driveway and being able to hop on a bus and spend a day shopping, sightseeing or visiting friends or loved ones in other towns and cities in the South Okanagan.
As Linttell points out, the only way this shuttle service will be successful is to offer quality transportation at a reasonable price.
If you charge too much, people will simply take their own vehicles or find alternative bus transportation with BC Transit or Greyhound.
With tens of thousands of tourists pouring into this community each spring, summer and fall and snowbirds flocking here every winter, all signs indicate the new shuttle service is going to have a lot of regular customers in Osoyoos.
And with Kelowna International Airport now one of the busiest airports in the country, the shuttle service is sure to bring more tourists from across Canada and around the world to Osoyoos and the South Okanagan than ever before.
Kudos to the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors and Linttell on working so hard over the past year to make this shuttle service a reality.
If done right, the winning company should be able to run a successful and profitable business and give residents from Osoyoos and across this region a viable and affordable means of transportation for decades to come.
