Dawson Creek resident Randy Chau says his community needs better public transportation, and sent a letter to the City of Dawson Creek, outlining concerns and a proposal to expand current services in the South Peace.
“When I first moved here in 2016, the options to travel into and out of this ‘city’ were plentiful. There were direct flights from Central Mountain Air to Vancouver from the Dawson Creek airport and the Greyhound coach busses carry passengers to and from this place on a daily basis,” wrote Chau.
Public bus services ran six days a week until 7:30 p.m. at that time, he added, noting the bus service now only runs two routes on weekdays that end after 4:40 p.m. The city employs just two main bus drivers for the north and south side routes, says Chau, which can leave service gaps when drivers call in sick.
The Dawson Creek airport no longer has a major airline carrier, and the BC Bus North Program and Alberta’s Cold Shot have replaced Greyhound, which closed its services a few years ago.
Half of Dawson Creek’s population can be labelled as vulnerable citizens due to their age and rely on public transportation, Chau further explained, and two thirds of the working population also rely on those services.
Dawson Creek has a population of 13,063, and 2,940 are 55 years of age or older, with many older residents no longer able drive, 1,410 youth (10 to 19 years old) and 965 people (20 to 24 years old) attend school or college 10 months of the year, explained Chau further, breaking down the demographics of public transit users.
An on-demand public transit system would alleviate the travel challenges of those groups, says Chau, suggesting that the city look at expanding services.
“With an improved on-demand bus system - it increases the reliability of service and instill trust back into public transportation. As more people learn about this, the goal is for more citizens to become environmentally sustainable to reduce carbon emissions caused by driving,” writes Chau.
City council, during their Dec. 11 meeting, voted to send him a letter back highlighting work already done to address transit issues, and inviting him to discuss the issue in-person at council chambers.
“We’ve had a lot community dialogue with residents about transportation and there’s a lot going on,” said Mayor Darcy Dober, who appreciated the level of detail in Chau’s letter.
You can read Chau’s letter here:
Letter From Randy Chau by Tom Summer on Scribd
