On Tuesday, July 23, the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Board of Directors approved a transit service expansion plan that will be rolled out in January 2020 to address ridership growth. The plan involves the addition of 5,900 annual conventional transit hours and 1,700 annual custom (handyDart) transit hours. Conventional transit service expansion will involve the creation of two new routes, the adjustment of three existing routes and an increase in holiday coverage to include Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Good Friday.
Route expansion initiatives include the following:
- Adjustment of Route 7 (Cinnabar) to go Downtown with no routing to Cedar
- Creation of Route 8 from Cedar to VIU
- Creation of Route 78 from Downtown to Cassidy/Nanaimo Airport
- Additional hours to increase the capacity of Route 40 (VIU Express)
- Restructuring of Route 30 (Nanaimo Regional General Hospital) to reflect usage patterns
The custom transit expansion will provide additional handyDart service to meet the demand for regularly scheduled trips and individually-requested trips within the City of Nanaimo. This expansion is designed to reduce waitlists and make custom trips more readily available to residents that require this service.
The net cost for the conventional transit service expansion is $470,450 and requires two additional Compressed Natural Gas buses to be leased from BC Transit. The cost for the custom transit expansion is $67,900 and requires the lease of one additional handyDART light duty vehicle from BC Transit.
“Transit is one of the key strategic areas that the RDN Board identified as a priority in our 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, and we are actively seeking ways to improve opportunities for residents to move effectively through and around the region,” said Chair Ian Thorpe. “The January 2020 transit expansion is an exciting step in developing a thriving transportation network that meets the evolving needs of transit users.”
For expansion details, including new route maps, visit Expansion Plans. To view the Transit Future Plan (2014), visit Transit Future Plan. For details on the expansion initiative, visit South Nanaimo Local Area Transit Plan.
For more information, please contact:
Daniel Pearce
Director of Transit and Emergency Services
Regional District of Nanaimo
250-390-6565
dpearce [at] rdn.bc.ca (dpearce[at]rdn[dot]bc[dot]ca)