Currently, travelling by bus between communities in northern B.C. often involves booking with multiple different service providers, especially for those living in remote and Indigenous communities.
The Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) is looking to change that, by creating The Connected Network – a service that would allow people to book travel across multiple service providers with a single smart phone app. The service would also offer a website and call centre, for those who don’t have smart phones.
Travelling through the north often means “being our own travel agents” and coordinating trips between multiple services, NDIT CEO Joel McKay said.
“For a lot of people, it can be really difficult,” McKay said. “If you are going to meaningfully improve transportation in northern B.C., you need to be able to book through a single service.”
For more than a year, NDIT has been providing funding for 18 community shuttles – 14 of which are currently operational, with the other four coming online soon – serving rural and Indigenous communities in northern B.C., and helping to link them to the BC Bus North service, McKay said. In addition, there are the Northern Health and Interior Health Connections bus services, inter-city service operated by BC Transit, several private bus companies, BC Ferries and Via Rail all offering different transportation services in northern B.C.
NDIT hopes to launch The Connected Network in northern B.C. late this year or early next year, McKay said.
The total start-up cost is estimated to be about $1 million. NDIT is seeking roughly $250,000 in funding from the province, with the rest of the cost coming from NDIT and a private-sector partner.
Once the system is up and running, a portion of each booking would be used to pay the operational costs of running the service.
Initially, the plan is to offer bookings on the 18 community shuttles and BC Bus North, which NDIT has an existing relationship with, he said. If that proves successful, then they would look to expand the service to include BC Transit, Northern Health, Interior Health, BC Ferries and Via Rail.
Currently the plan is for The Connected Network to provide booking for travel between communities, not within them.
“We’re trying to start small and get it right,” McKay said. “If northern B.C. can successfully implement this technology… it would be the first region in Canada to have this integrated transportation booking system.”
If the system is a success in the north, it could even be expanded to connect the north to destinations across the province, he added. Improving transportation across northern B.C. will help reduce barriers to economic growth and provide greater accessibility for residents across the region.
While the technology would be a first for Canada, McKay said, NDIT is in discussions with a European-based company which operates a similar system in the Rotterdam area of the Netherlands. McKay could not disclose the name of the company, as negotiations are ongoing. The app allows travellers in the Rotterdam area to book a wide range of transportation options, from water taxis to rental cars.
“If it works in a very complex environment like Rotterdam, it should have no problems here in northern B.C.” McKay said.
On Thursday, the board of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George voted to write a letter in support of the proposal to the provincial government.
