Whistle Bend busing may be expanded
The future of transit service for Whistle Bend will be on the discussion table at city hall when council considers the 2016 budget.
The future of transit service for Whistle Bend will be on the discussion table at city hall when council considers the 2016 budget.
A total of 57 people signed a petition filed with the city last month calling for better transit service to the city’s newest subdivision.
“We, the residents of Whistle Bend, are hereby requesting that the City Transit provides service to and from Whistle Bend area,” states the petition, filed with the city on Aug. 24.
“Transit service would be required from approximately 6 a.m. onward.”
Coun. Mike Gladish made note of the petition at a council meeting earlier this month.
Currently, bus service in and out of the neighbourhood is part of a route that also travels through Ingram, Granger and Porter Creek. It is limited to peak hours on weekdays from 7:27 a.m. to 9:27 a.m., then from 2:55 p.m. to 5:52 p.m.
Buses stop at Casca Boulevard and Olive May Way at 8:10 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 3:10 p.m., 4:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. through the week on the route.
“The current Whistle Bend route was added to the service Nov. 10, 2014,” city spokeswoman Jessica Apolloni stated in an email correspondence.
“We were able to offer the existing service because of an agreement with the (Yukon government) for Porter Creek (Secondary) School students to access city transit.”
The agreement gives secondary school students throughout the city the option of a city bus pass rather than using the conventional school bus system.
Those who choose the city bus pass opt out of the school bus service.
Apolloni said it’s up to council to ultimately decide service levels for the overall transit system, with city staff bringing forward information that may be factored into the decision, such as population and ridership levels.
With the municipal election set for Oct. 15, it will be up to the next council to decide if there will be any increases to bus service in and out of Whistle Bend.
“This is a budget item planned for council to discuss in 2016,” Apolloni said.
Comments (7)
Up 0 Down 0
yukon56 on Sep 22, 2015 at 6:26 pm
What is the cost of the total transit bill divided by amount of riders? Taxi service may be more cost effective. I personally am sick of seeing these huge buses with one or two riders
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yukon56 on Sep 21, 2015 at 8:28 pm
See the buses up for salvage sale by the city. I doubt the city will recoup anything for this ridiculous experiment. We cannot afford to run this overpriced and oversized transportation system.
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Bob o link on Sep 17, 2015 at 10:40 pm
The transit system is a joke. No where else will you see full size busses running around with a few people on them. In other cities they use smaller buses for less of a demand routes which all of ours would fall under. Buses parked for breaks is something else you won't see anywhere else. Breaks from what? Extremely inefficient.
Up 65 Down 3
Rusty on Sep 17, 2015 at 1:30 pm
The city builds up a new subdivision and is surprised that the people who live there want adequate public transportation? This isn't rocket science people.
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Not a big city on Sep 17, 2015 at 10:45 am
Some people don't realize that we're not a big city with endless money resources! They move from down south and expect the same service levels like in a major metropolitan area.
In Whitehorse where a lot of people have three or more cars in their driveway the transit system is not a top priority and even harder to run because of the geography of the city (spread out with long distances).
If you decide to buy in Whistle Bend - do some research before and then you would see that there is only transit for school kids (as per council).
Please don't let all other citizens pay for it: The result will be another tax hike and more huge buses running with 5 or 10 people most of the day!
(I still don't get it why they're not able to buy smaller buses anyway...)
Up 45 Down 5
Smurf on Sep 16, 2015 at 11:26 pm
Another tax hike in the forecast to spend even more money for our wrong planned, over subsidized and luxurious transit system.
Don't people realize that the city is already spending like hell?
Do they even know what this will cost: At least one new bus and wage for the driver, fuel, maintenance and probably a fare increase in addition?
Are the people who signed the petition even aware of that they have to pay more property tax? Maybe it's not high enough right now...
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yukon56 on Sep 16, 2015 at 3:31 pm
Cheaper to pay for cab service for 56 people, ridiculous