Powell River Regional District (PRRD) staff have been directed to contact Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) about the possibility of creating a bus link to Vancouver.
PRRD committee of the whole discussed the idea of creating a regional bus connection to Vancouver at its Thursday, November 12, meeting.
Maggie Hathaway, in her capacity as MLA Nicholas Simons’ constituency assistant, approached PRRD with a request to look at creating a replacement bus service for Malaspina Coach Lines, which ceased operations in September.
“People in our region have a need,” said Sandy McCormick, electoral area d director. “Connectivity for residents is a real issue.”
Electoral area C director Colin Palmer told the committee the regional district does not have any mandate to run such a service, nor does it have the ability to levy a tax to do so, despite there being a need for such a service.
“We don’t wish to be callous or nasty,” said Palmer. ”We just want to say regional government cannot do it.”
Electoral area A director Patrick Brabazon told the committee that at least one SCRD director is interested in looking at the idea further.
But whatever form the replacement takes, he added, it will need the support of the SCRD, Tla’amin (Sliammon) and Sechelt first nations and BC Transit.
“I don’t think we should kill this. [The] concern about the service is right, but I don’t think we should kill the idea just yet,” said Brabazon.
He added that the idea is still worth exploring as residents on the southern Sunshine Coast also have been without bus service since the private coach lines stopped running, but he cautioned that it could take as long as a year to create a replacement.
Brabazon said he knows of at least one commercial interest that may be willing to set up a service, but that too could take some time.
