New transit partnership connects Sunshine Coast to Lower Mainland
B.C. Transit is working with a private company to close gaps in service
A new transit service connecting the Sunshine Coast to the Lower Mainland is set to launch June 28.
The bus service, a partnership between B.C. Transit and the privately run Sunshine Coast Connector, will run from Lund, south to Langdale, where people can catch a ferry to Horseshoe Bay in Metro Vancouver.
The initiative is the result of feedback from Powell River residents who identified that route as a priority for transit, getting rid of a gap that existed in B.C. Transit options between Earls Cove and Half Moon Bay.
Because the Sunshine Coast Connector was already operating in the area, B.C. Transit worked with them to align schedules and provide information to riders on both lines about making connections between the two. They remain distinct services, however.
Customers in Lund would buy a $2.25 B.C. Transit ticket to get to the ferry terminal at Saltery Bay, and would then need to book and pay for a trip with the Sunshine Coast Connector through the company's website or by phone to continue south.
"What we recognize is that regional transit is a priority for customers," B.C. Transit government relations manager Rob Ringma told All Points West host Kathryn Marlow.
"As we work to develop new, better regional transit connections, we should really look at all the transportation options that are available to our customers and try to find unique, and to be quite honest, creative ways to help them get from point A to point B."
Ringma said this will be a permanent service and that the Sunshine Coast Connector has committed to two trips per day.
Information about service times can be found on the B.C. Transit website.
With files from All Points West