In order to encourage more people to ride public transit in Whitehorse, there needs to be more frequent, timely and more direct or express service during peak hours, city council heard Tuesday night.

That was recommendation number one of the seven recommendations the Transit Task Force reported after concluding its 18-month study of the $2-million-a-year system.

Speaking on behalf of the task force, Chris Sorg reported that after 18 months, extensive participation from Whitehorse's major employers and the Yukon government, an employee destination survey and numerous public consultations, the system is in need of an overhaul.

'Residents have been waiting 18 months for the outcome of the Transit Task Force,' said Sorg, a downtown business owner.

'They're not based on a personal agenda; the results are based on the survey results,' he added. Of the seven recommendations, the first one was by far the most important.

After 18 months, the task force recommends:

ï Providing more frequent, timely, and more direct service during peak commuting hours.

ï Enhancing weekend service by improving Saturday service and adding Sunday service, which currently doesn't exist.

ï Enhancing evening service.

ï Establishing a downtown, Canada Games Centre, Yukon Arts Centre/Yukon College loop.

ï Appointing two members of the task force as advisors to the Whitehorse Transit Joint Scheduling Committee instead of extending the term of the task force.

ï Moving to a loop-based system instead of the current hub-and-spoke-type system.

ï The development of a five-year transit and strategic and marketing plan.

Sorg said the task force, made up of himself, Mike Cottrell-Tribes, Bobbi Morgan, Diana van Eyk, Doug Graham, Denise Leschart, Leslie Robert, Jenny Trapnell, Jack Thompson and former members Debbie Chartrand, Al Fedoriak and Darryl Hewitt, suffered from 'burnout'. Consequently, they were not recommending that the task force continue.

'We think it's time to pass this on to council, but we do think there needs to be (citizens) need to be appointed to the transit scheduling committee,' he said.

Sorg said after the meeting that with major employers in Whitehorse, including YTG, Northwestel Inc. and Wal-Mart, the task force performed an Employee Destination Survey. It was done electronically and was accessed through the city's website.

He said of the 1,101 people who visited the site, 571 completed the 30-question survey and gave a total of 747 recommendations.

While there were a number of respondents who were happy with the current service just over 40 per cent '57 per cent' rated the system as poor and in need of improvement.

Major improvements called for, states the report tabled at council, were more frequent service, called for by 61 per cent of respondents; express commuter service, requested by 58 per cent; and longer hours of service, called for by 45 per cent.

'Most people say that they have to be at work between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. ... and they must leave work between 4:30 and 5 p.m,' Sorg said.

'There was a lot of comments about people only being able to use the service one way,' he said.

Many people get off work after bus service ends in the early evening can't use the system to return home, Sorg added.

He also mentioned that the bus service that does come downtown shouldn't stop at Ogilvie Street, as it currently does; it should go all the way to the downtown core.

Sorg said council should also consider how people will get to the multimillion-dollar multiplex, as the current system makes it difficult to access by public transportation.

'We have this big facility on the hill; how are people going to get there?

'If you want people to go there, they have to be able to get there,' he said.