Town of Osoyoos council has agreed to work more closely with B.C. Transit to try and increase ridership after agreeing to renew its current contract for another year during Monday’s regular meeting of council.
The Town of Osoyoos has had an agreement with B.C. Transit to provide local bus transportation since 1996 and last year provided 1,800 service hours in this community, said Steve Harvard, senior regional transit manager for the Southern Interior with B.C. Transit, during Monday’s presentation to town council.
B.C. Transit currently provides bus service from the Town of Osoyoos to Penticton from Monday to Thursday each week at a cost of $5 and service every Monday to Kelowna at a cost of $10. There are numerous pickup points in town, with the main pickup point near Smitty’s Family Restaurant on Main Street.
The in-town service costs $1.50 per ride and takes riders to various dropoff points within the town, said Harvard.
There were just under 5,400 rides from riders in Osoyoos to Penticton in 2012, he said.
Over the last three years, there has been a gradual, but noticeable increase in ridership in Osoyoos, which is encouraging, said Harvard.
“We’ve seen an increase in ridership and revenue, which are two very good indicators people are using the service,” she said. “But I also think this has a lot of potential to grow.”
One of the goals B.C. Transit management would like to achieve is increasing awareness about the bus service being provided in this community, said Harvard.
“We want to get people to know this is not just for seniors and anyone can ride the bus,” he said. “We want to get a lot more people interested and aware of it.”
The increase in ridership over the past three years means the small passenger bus being used for trips to Penticton and Kelowna is more often close to full than empty, he said.
Coun. Mike Plante said there’s no reason this bus service shouldn’t be used by more people because the price is right and many people who travel to Penticton and Kelowna would use it if they knew all the details about the service being provided.
“I really do believe the system is under used, particularly during the summer months,” he said.
Coun. Michael Ryan said he would like to see B.C. Transit post information about routes and fares on both the Town of Osoyoos and Destination Osoyoos websites in the very near future.
Janette Van Vianen, the town’s director of corporate services, said there’s a misconception in the community that the B.C. Transit bus in Osoyoos is only available to seniors or for those needing a ride to medical appointments.
“It is there for everyone to use,” she said.
Mayor Stu Wells said the bus provides fantastic service for a very reasonable price and he also agrees more Osoyoos residents should be using it.
“We really, truly are not doing a good job of promoting this service,” said Wells.
With discussions underway between the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce and management at the Kelowna International Airport to finalize a plan to offer a shuttle service from the airport to communities across the South Okanagan, maybe it’s time for B.C. Transit to enter into negotiations to provide an expanded service that everyone would know about, said Wells.
“I don’t think the potential has really been tapped yet,” he said.
Harvard said he’s more than willing to meet with town administration to work on plans to better promote the service.
Wells said he’s looking forward to working more closely with Harvard and other B.C. Transit administration to increase public awareness about the service.