The Okanagan needs public transit that serves a growing community
That means spending public money on public services, rather than paying profits to private companies
The Okanagan Transit Alliance believes that public transit should be publicly managed by a regional team of city councillors, transit workers, and citizens. We are asking BC Transit to keep the public in our public transit.
HOW DOES KELOWNA'S TRANSIT WORK?
The problem with private transit
We believe that public transit should be just that - public. That means that our tax money and transit revenue is spent on great transit service, rather than going overseas as profits for private companies. The Kelowna Regional Transit System is currently operated by French-based Transdev Group. BC Transit recently renewed the contract with TransDev for one year, but the contract expires March 31st 2024. After that, BC Transit will decide whether to continue with First Transit, or pass the contract to another private company - but we want something different. We're asking for transit in the Okanagan to be managed by local decision makers. We don't need a private company (whose first priority is cutting costs for higher profits) managing an essential public service. Transit supports tourism, schools, shopping, and daily life in our region. We're asking for transit in the Okanagan to be managed by local decision makers, to make it more accountable, responsibly managed, and to keep our public funds right here in our community. We envision the Central Okanagan Transit Authority - and we need your help to put our community first.
