Whitehorse tries to update its bus service — again

The City of Whitehorse is making another attempt to change its public transit service, starting with updates to routes in the northern part of the city this summer, according to its mayor. 

"Change is hard sometimes for people, but we're hoping people will try this out," Laura Cabott told Elyn Jones, the host of CBC's Yukon Morning. "We can't keep going back to the drawing board because the service we have is just not meeting the demands." 

The city tried to update its transit service last summer, but after getting feedback from the public it ended up going back to the drawing board. 

Cabott said the city learned three things at the time: people want more service downtown and around schools, shops, and the hospital; people also want more bus stops to have benches and shelters; and that "people felt like we sort of sprung this on them." 

As of July 1, there will be a new route in the Whistle Bend area and buses travelling northern routes will be coming to stops more frequently, said Cabott. The changes being rolled out this year are phase one of the transition, and can be found in more detail here.

The city says phase two will update routes in the south of the city, next year.

"It's the same service, same routes. So what people are used to, it'll still be there, we've enhanced it by more frequency and we've enhanced it by adding extra on top, as opposed to changing the whole system," said Cabott. 

She also said in the next year or two, people can expect to see more infrastructure at transit stops — like benches and shelters. Such changes, which make the city more inclusive and accessible, are "part and parcel" to Whitehorse's strategic priorities, said Cabott. 

"We live in a winter city, so if we expect [people] to ride or want them to ride, we need to provide a comfortable place to wait for the bus," she said. "We definitely need to do better there." 

Will fares be free?

Cabott said the changes mean the transit system is going to cost Whitehorse up to $400,000 more per year. 

Even so, the city is doing a study to figure out if it can offer its bus service to people for free or if it can reduce fares. 

Cabott said the City of Whitehorse is also waiting to hear back from the Yukon Government about funding to temporarily make the transit system free after a landslide forced the closure of Robert Service Way. The roadway has been closed since early last month.