Bowen Island now without public transit

BOWEN ISLAND (NEWS 1130) – People on Bowen Island have been left with no public transit, after TransLink pulled service this weekend, due to reduced ridership.

TransLink has been making the cuts all over the region, in the light of the fact ridership is down by about 80 per cent.

Mayor Gary Ander says they were taken by surprise by the timing. He says they were expecting the cancellation of the two transit buses on the island to happen mid-month.

He notes they are a small community, but he points out the people who take transit, do so because they have to.

“They are either essential service workers commuting to Vancouver to do their jobs or they are people going to Vancouver for their medical appointments,” says the mayor. “Now, we don’t have a bus service on the island and we have a lot of people who rely on that. We don’t have a cab service on the island at this particular time due to COVID-19, so we are kind of struggling here.”

Ander can’t put a figure on the number of people who would typically be using the bus system. He figures about 200 people work off-island, but he doesn’t know how many of those take transit. He says there have been about 30 people taking transit daily in the last couple of weeks.

He worries about one particular man who uses a wheelchair.

“One gentleman has accessibility issues. TransLink has the only bus on the island that has a lift on it. The man has to get down to the ferry. He has treatments at the hospital in Vancouver three times a week.”

He says there are already discussions between the Bowen Transit Society and TransLink about a work-around.

“They are definitely thinking about renting a van of some sort in Vancouver and getting the drivers who work for TransLink to try to get these people to where they have to go.”

But he admits it would be expensive and doesn’t know how long it could be sustained. He says there’s also an effort on the community level to offer people rides to the ferry terminal.

TransLink expects to suspend more bus routes in mid-May and says it will be making more announcements “in due course.” It adds that routes to hospitals and health care facilities will be prioritized.

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