B.C. Transit's three year plans for the South Okanagan and Penticton transit system were discussed at today's regular council meeting, Feb. 5, 2019.
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February 05, 2019 - 4:45 PM
PENTICTON - The near future of transit in Penticton was revealed to city councillors today.
B.C. Transit senior manager Chris Fudge provided a primer on the service to Penticton City Councillors at this afternoon’s council meeting, Feb. 5.
Fudge also took a few minutes to outline upcoming projects planned by B.C. Transit for the Penticton and South Okanagan transit system over the next three years.
A key priority in the near future is implementation of a twice daily weekday bus service to Kelowna, slated for implementation this fall.
The draft design concept is complete and is being presented to B.C. Transit’s working group.
“We’ll shortly be seeing what that service will be rolling out like,” Fudge told council.
It remains to be seen how well the present system will connect with the new Kelowna route, Fudge said, adding potentially earlier service may be needed in Penticton to make that connection.
Other future transit priorities and expansion over the next three years include a number of projects that have been on the books for some time.
Those projects include an extension of bus services into upper Wiltse and Sendero Canyon, increased service frequency on the city’s route five (Main Street) and extended night service on Friday and Saturday.
“Those are items that have come up in the past, and we’ll be looking at the right time to slot them into our expansion plans,” Fudge said, adding he was also aware of interest in service to the Penticton Indian Band.
“That’s on our radar, as well,” he told council.
Fudge said Penticton and South Okanagan transit riders will soon be able to take advantage of the latest in bus tracking technology through implementation of the “NextRide” system. The technology uses a web-based passenger application which will allow commuters to see the location of their bus along its route as well its predicted arrival time. The system rolled out in Kelowna in November 2018, and is expected to be implemented in the Penticton and the South Okanagan in the next year
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019