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(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

BC Transit is looking to add thousands of bus hours in Kamloops over the next three years.

It would mean first adding trips to core downtown and North Shore routes, then adding three entirely new routes, according to a City of Kamloops report.

Over three years, the planned expansion would bring nearly 30 per cent more conventional bus hours to the city.

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The first improvement would include nearly 14,000 bus hours to "restore" service levels to major routes in 2025, bringing more trips to the Tranquille and Aberdeen routes, for example.

In the fall of 2026, two new routes would be part of a nearly 15,000 bus hour expansion. One would be a new university-bound bus travelling from Valleyview and the other a southwest loop between Sahali, Aberdeen, Dufferin, Southgate and Thompson Rivers University.

The last new route is called Battle, but it's not clear where the downtown loop would go, according to the City report.

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If approved by council, City funding to the bus system would increase by around $3.2 million by 2027, up from a $7.8 million contribution in 2023. The BC Transit model sees local governments funding roughly a third of the regional system, bolstered by fare revenues to reduce the load on property taxes.

Conventional city buses aren't the only ones getting more hours under the proposed changes. HandyDART buses are expected to get nearly 4,000 more hours in three years, while a new airport route is also in the cards for Kamloops.

According to the report, Kamloops is a candidate for one of two communities set to test an on-demand bus service to the airport. Riders would do so on a smartphone app or by phone, and it would launch in January 2027 if Kamloops is chosen for the pilot project.

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