Whereas public transit is essential for enabling all community members to participate in society and access important services; rural areas have very few alternative transportation options or providers such as taxis, ride share and accessible transportation services, and depend on reliable regional transit systems; And whereas provincial funding to BC Transit for service expansion is not sufficient for local governments to realize their public transit expansion plans; And whereas BC Transits expansion funding evaluation process emphasizes ridership as a key criterion in allocating expansion hours which fails to recognize the needs of smaller, rural or Indigenous communities who rely on transit: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial government to increase funding for transit service expansion in rural communities recognizing how essential the service is to these populations; And be it further resolved that BC Transit revise its transit service expansion allocation scoring criteria to ensure that rural communities also benefit from provincial transit expansion funding.
Ministry of Transportation and Transit The Ministry of Transportation and Transit recognizes the unique transportation challenges faced by smaller and rural communities. Transit is one of many shared mobility options available to communities in BC along with services offered by the public, private or non-profit sector, such as inter-city or community buses and shuttles, taxis and ridehail, car share, school transportation, and health transportation services. The Ministry recognizes the strong desire of many local governments to expand service and meet their growing needs. The Province cost-shares in all BC Transit services and since 2017, the Province has increased BC Transits operating funding by more than 70 percent, increasing transit service levels across the province. And while the provincial government helps fund transit service in BC, decisions on routes and service levels are made by local governments. Under the BC Transit model, local governments are responsible for requesting service from BC Transit that meets the needs of their community and that they are willing to cost-share. BC Transits evaluation process helps determine which proposed service expansions from local governments can advance. BC Transit considers a variety of factors when making this decision, including fleet share, ridership potential and critical operations factors. This evaluation process balances the needs of all transit systems across the province. To discuss BC Transits evaluation process, local governments are encouraged to reach out to their BC Transit government relations manager.