BC North Bus proving to be popular option for Northwest

Two months in Passenger numbers are on the rise
for the BC Bus North pilot project

The introduction in June of the new BC North Bus which serves communities from Prince Rupert through to Prince George and on into the Peace has proven to be a popular concept, with the ridership statistics showing strong gains in the eight weeks that it has been running.

The Highliner Inn still serves as the Bus hub for Prince Rupert
with the BC Bus North service using the bus bay for its travels

The highway coach run which was put into service on June 4th, features a schedule which sees Departures from Prince Rupert eastbound twice a week on Friday's and Sundays.

Arrivals from Points east of Prince Rupert pull into the Highliner Inn bus bay on Thursdays and Saturdays.

One Zone fares cost travellers thirty five dollars (Prince Rupert to Smithers).

Those travelling two zones (Prince George to Prince Rupert) pay a fare of 45 dollars.

Claire Trevena,  the Transportation Minister was in the Prince George area last week to check in on the service, which uses 44 seat bus coaches operated on a contract basis by Pacific Western Transportation for BC Transit, Pacific Western also operates local transit in many of the communities across the Northwest Highway 16 corridor.

 Two months into the highway service, the reports out of Prince George suggest that the Prince Rupert to Prince George run is being used by up to twenty passengers per ride along segments of the 446 mile journey.

Transportation Ministry promotes BC Bus North
Minister showcases BC Bus North Service
CFFS applauds BC Bus North
BC Bus North is growing in ridership after one month on the roads
BC Bus North ridership steadily rising through first month of service: Pinkerton

While the current schedule has proven to be successful, BC Transit will be seeking further feedback from transit users before they make any further plans towards increasing service.

The province is considering all of its options when it comes to the future for transportation across the Highway 16 corridor and to other areas of the province facing transportation issues.

Greyhound Canada ended its service to the North and Northwest at the end of May, with further plans to end all of their service to Western Canada as of October 31st.

Last week, Greyhound officials directed some of the blame related to their decision at the feet of the Provincial government, noting that subsidies and no bid contracts contributed to the Greyhound decision to exit service in the province.

Earlier this month we noted how the BC North Bus blueprint could be a helpful project for the province as it looks to address the end of service for many of the rural communities in British Columbia that will see the end of Greyhound service in October.

You can find out more about the BC North Bus here.

More notes on transportation across the Northwest can be found from our Highway 16 archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review