Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Chad Klassen

2022 MUNICIPAL ELECTION

ELECTION ISSUES: Transportation

Oct 13, 2022 | 12:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — Over the last few years, the City of Kamloops has increased transit hours to encourage more riders. Before the pandemic, there were about 15,000 passengers per week.

Mayoral candidate Sadie Hunter says at one point as a single mom she didn’t have a car and would ride the bus with her child to daycare and then to work. She doesn’t think she could do it now and notes transit needs to become more reliable in the city before more people use it.

“I feel transit has gotten a little bit better, but we still have a lot more we can do to make it easier for people to access it and jump on it and have it be a viable mode [of transportation] and option for people, so they’re not worried about missing work or being late for work, missing a class,” she said.

Hunter says once Kamloops transit is more reliable, it will increase ridership and change how people use cars and move around the city.

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Reid Hamer-Jackson decided to spend a month riding the bus and noticed the flaws immediately — from long wait times to lack of routes. He says all that needs to improve for people to even want to take the bus regularly.

“We live in a climate where you can get 45°C and -30°C or -40°C, and I’m going to tell you something right now, that bus doesn’t just show up, and it’s due to what’s happening at the top with management, it’s not due to the drivers,” noted Hamer-Jackson. “The drivers are stressed out. They’re very low-staffed and the buses just don’t show up sometimes.”

Ray Dhaliwal feels the city should be completely switching to electric vehicles, aside from heavy machinery. On the transit side, he knows the city needs more drivers.

“Somehow we need to get more people to run these buses. We have the units, we have the green units, the natural gas. Now, we just need the people to implement that,” said Dhaliwal.

Arjun Singh feels the city has good transit hours, but also knows BC Transit has struggled with a shortage of drivers, which he says is causing delays on certain routes.

At the same time, Singh wants the city to build out active transportation pathways, such as bike lanes, quicker.

“I think it’s important for us to have safe, efficient cycling lanes, multi-use paths all over the city, so people can get anywhere in the city, especially in the core areas, on a bike or walking efficiently,” he said.

Dieter Dudy acknowledges public transit is difficult in a city that’s spread out like Kamloops is. He’s encouraging more people to go electric and find other ways to cut down on carbon emissions.

“Geographically here, we’re very car-centric, so I guess electrify. Find other options to carbon-based vehicles and just carry on from there,” noted Dudy. “It’s difficult here. Electric bikes or simply walking. All those things are available to us.”