Evidence-backed policies
In the Okanagan, our public transit is stagnating. 73% of Kelowna residents, 82% of Penticton residents and 79% of Vernon residents are not transit users (1).
Meanwhile, transportation is the largest source of emissions in British Columbia (2), and is the second biggest expense for most Canadian households (3). Public transit is a powerful tool that can help address British Columbia's simultaneous cost-of-living and climate crises.
Ridership rates are low across the province, except for some outliers. Victoria, for example, has nearly 50% of residents regularly using public transit, and 58% use transit in Whistler. This means that with the right mix of incentives and high quality service, significant ridership is possible.
Each of our goals is intended to build a transit service that is public, accessible, and community-driven.
Public and local management
Management of transit across the Okanagan is contracted out to private firms
Management of Kelowna's transit has been sold multiple times between multinational firms based in other countries. France-based TransDev currently owns the contract
The contracts are not public. We do not know how much of our tax money the firms are paid, or how much they take in profit
In 2022, Kelowna's service was reduced by 15% because TransDev was unable to keep enough buses on the road (1)
BC Transit contracts 9 years long, with a maximum 6 year extensions. During those 15 years, there are no specific quality incentives in the
contracts (2).
Estimated cost:
$0. The same money that is currently paid to private firms could instead by used to create good, local jobs within a new Okanagan Transit Authority.
HandyDart service 365 days a
On Sundays and holidays, HandyDart service is replaced with a cost-shared taxi service. Users are expected to pay 50% of taxi costs to get around - which can be a substantial expense.
Increasing service to Sundays and holidays is continually the number one request to improve HandyDart service (3)
Taxi drivers do not always provide the same level of assistance to riders as HandyDart does (4).
Estimated cost:
A HandyDart trip costs $35 on average (5). The additional cost to the system will total the difference between the current costs of replacement taxi service on Sundays and holidays, and the cost per trip of replacing those with HandyDart trips.
Frequent service + transit on-demand
A network of transit professionals from across 89 Canadian and US cities identified frequent, all-day bus service as one of the top three policies that can transform a transit system in just two years (6).
The number of buses in Kelowna cannot be increased until a new transit yard is built. There is currently no commitment from the city or province to build the required yard.
The Victoria Regional Transit System provides 809,813 service hours per year (7). In comparison, the Kelowna Regional Transit System provides over 190,000 service hours per year, and less than half the service hours per route (8). The VRTS has more than four times the ridership.
Increased frequency is ranked by BC Transit users as the best way to improve ridership (9).
Estimated cost:
The targeted cost per service hour for 2023/24 is $156.45 (10). The cost will be offset by increased ridership if the changes improve service quality.
Fare free transit for teens
Free transit for youth 18 and under in Kingston increased youth ridership from 30,000 trips to 600,00 trips in just one year (11).
The transit for teens campaign has widespread support across British Columbia (12).
Barrier free access to public transit allows youth, and especially lower-income youth, to access new activities and services, feel a stronger sense of freedom, and to feel included with their peers (13).
Estimated cost:
Kingston is a similar size to Kelowna. Before the youth pass program, they had 30,000 youth trips per year. In Kelowna, similar ridership would cost $75,000.
Additionally, Kingston is also seeing a significant increase in ridership after students end the program, which can offset the lost fares. The number of youth passes (25 and under) sold in April 2023 was 608, versus 255 in January 2017. Youth will continue to use the bus, increasing paid ridership after they age out of the free transit program.
Summary
Without more information, it is difficult to name the total costs for these improvements. What we do know is that each of these policies would bring several additional benefits to the community. Considering secondary benefits (such as easing traffic congestion, access to jobs and other economic stimulus, and health benefits) the vast majority of researchers find that every single dollar invested in public transit returns more than a dollar of benefits. Some calculate over $4 of benefits for every dollar spent on transit in rural and small cities (14). The costs will also be offset by increased ridership.