Whitehorse moving ahead with next steps of new plan to improve bus service

City councillors in Whitehorse have given an early green light for a new plan to change the city's transit system.

The plan would add two new bus routes and increase transit service hours by about 35 per cent. Some routes would be restructured but most stops would remain unchanged. Six stops with low ridership would be scrapped.

During a development services committee meeting Monday night, councillors agreed to let city staff take the next steps in the plan. That work is still conceptual and the plan could change after the city gathers public input.

"I would hate to see us sort of dither and hold back and wait," said Mayor Laura Cabott, who noted council had charged staff with coming up with a new plan after the last one prompted backlash from transit users.

Monday's decision follows a failed plan earlier this year to modernize Whitehorse's transit routes. In June, councillors hit the brakes on that plan because they'd received a deluge of negative feedback and concerns from residents.

Bus riders called for more service

Jason Bradshaw, Whitehorse's transit manager, said residents felt the city should expand its services instead of redirecting services to higher-demand areas at the expense of smaller neighbourhoods. They also wanted to keep bus transfers to a minimum.

The new plan aims to alleviate some of those concerns. It would bring more service to about two-thirds of the city and maintain service to the rest. And some routes would bypass areas prone to traffic bottlenecks, such as Riverdale and Marwell.

It also aims to help with traffic congestion, Bradshaw noted, especially in the north end.

"One of the major deficiencies with our transit system is with the growth of Whistle Bend. We don't really have very good transit for them," he said, noting the plan would give that neighbourhood direct service to downtown Monday to Friday instead of just on the weekend.

"This proposed change ... will provide Whistle Bend immediate transit services in the summertime that will get them right downtown."

It would take three years for the new plan to be phased in, at a cost of about $1.85 million over those years. A detailed financial analysis would be developed once the plan is a little further along.

With council's go-ahead, staff can now start testing route timings to make sure they're viable.