By Adam Donnelly

More transit hours announced for Kamloops

Aug 26, 2016 | 9:37 AM

KAMLOOPS — During the 2015/16 transit year, the Kamloops Transit system saw over 3.4 million trips taken on buses round the city – Today, it was announced BC Transit has made some changes to the transit schedule throughout the city beginning September 4th to benefit those riders. Along with the changes to the bus schedule, an additional 2000 hours of HandyDart service has been added, a move which one local organization says is long time coming.

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Changes are coming to the Kamloops Transit System, but don’t worry: they’re changes you asked for. As part of the Fall Schedule beginning on September 4th, some tweaks have been made to several bus routes throughout Kamloops.

“[It’s] going to look like a few few additional trips here and there. We’re also going to see a re-routing on the #7, just a small re-routing in the downtown,” Megan Beaulieu, Assistant Transportation Engineer with the city, explained.

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Along with the scheduling changes, an additional 2000 hours of HandyDart service has been added in the city, to help address the growing demand.

“We’ve seen a lot of longer waits on HandyDart,’ Beaulieu said. “This 2000 hours, we’re expecting it to go a long ways towards improving service.”

Brenda Prevost, executive director of the centre for seniors information says the additional hours are sorely needed.

“[HandyDart] is the Number One way seniors in this community get to medical appointments, for those who don’t have their own transportation,” Prevost explained.

She hopes this is the first step down a path where the transportation needs of seniors in the community are further addressed.

“It’s a step in the right direction for sure, having more hours,” Prevost told CFJC Today. Despite that fact she added “I don’t think we have all the answers right now for the HandyDart system.”

Megan Beaulieu says that’s part of the plan. The city will start looking at where the transit needs of Kamloops are headed in the next couple of years.

“The changes we’re doing for September, they’re relatively small. They’re just tweaks,” Beaulieu said. “For September 2017 and 2018 we do have additional service hours. That’s really going to help us work towards our transit future plan.”

Effective September 4, the following changes will take effect:

-Route 4 – Pacific Way: An early morning trip will be added to get riders to Thompson Rivers University by 6:47 a.m.

-Route 7 – Aberdeen via Bestwick: A minor route change will be implemented for the downtown portion of the route and a new bus stop will be added on Columbia Street servicing Royal Inland Hospital.

-Route 10 – North Shore TRU Express: A mid-afternoon trip will be added at 2:57 p.m. from TRU to the North Shore Transit Exchange.

-Route 13 – Yellowhead: The first trip of the day will leave earlier at 6:57 a.m. from Heffley Creek to better connect with Route 10 at the North Shore Transit Exchange.

-Route 14 – Batchelor Heights: An evening trip will be added at 8:22 p.m. from the North Shore Transit Exchange.

BC Transit has also increased HandyDART service by 2000 hours annually, in an effort to address demand in the early afternoons on weekdays, as well as weekend mornings.