Whitehorse puts the brakes on transit system changes

Whitehorse city council voted unanimously Monday night to put the brakes on changes to the city's transit system.

Earlier this month the city announced it was implementing a modernized transit route network beginning July 1 that included replacing regular bus service in three neighbourhoods with an on-request service, added two new transit transfer hubs, and increased service at peak times.

City councillor Jocelyn Curteanu said the feedback the city received after releasing the new plan "has been overwhelmingly negative, highlighting substantial concerns and confusion."

Councillor and deputy mayor Ted Laking said he hadn't received as much feedback from citizens on an issue since last winter, when snow removal was a concern for many in the city.

"Individuals in the community that rely on transit to get to work or to pick up their families or get their groceries have been stressed out and concerned about the impacts of what this may have on their daily commute," Laking said. "And so I think that this is the right thing to do to make sure that we get it right."

Back to the drawing board

Curteanu put forward a motion calling for the city's administration to review the public's feedback and organize more public consultations on the issue.

The motion also directs administration to recommend improvements and calculate their estimated costs, and delay the implementation of the modernized network and report back to city council by the end of the year.

The motion was unanimously approved by the mayor and councillors.

In 2018, the city commissioned a transit master plan that resulted in recommendations to, among other things, increase services on the busiest routes, improve existing route alignment and schedule service that better matches ridership demand.

"I guess my concern is that after a draft plan was done, it didn't really go back to the public. And now that we've announced a launch date, our citizens are coming back with concerns and criticisms and confusion," said Curteanu.

Costs

While Mayor Laura Cabott supported Curteanu's motion, she cautioned that any improvements to the transit ridership system will end up costing more.

She said the system that had been planned to begin July 1 was chosen because it addressed the city's objectives – increase ridership, decrease traffic congestion and have more riders take the bus – and was cost neutral.

"Any enhancements to what [will be] presented in this new route is likely going to cost us money, to cost taxpayers money," she said.

The mayor said that adding Sunday bus service earlier this year cost the city $250,000.

She said she expects any major changes to the transit system won't happen now until next summer when school is out.