Sighs of relief likely exhaled through cheers outside the Pacific Rim Visitors Centre as local leaders gathered to celebrate the long awaited arrival of a peninsula-wide public transit service.
The Alberni Clayoquot Regional District officially launched its new West Coast Transit program on April 2 and a ceremony was held at the PRVC on Tuesday, April 9, where a ceremonial ribbon was cut in front of one of the region’s new buses.
ACRD operations manager Eddie Kunderman thanked a happy crowd of stakeholders for coming to witness the event and spoke to the importance of the new service.
“This is obviously a very monumental occasion for the ACRD and the partner communities,” he said. “Today we are happy to celebrate providing a service to Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ, Tla-o-qui-aht as well as Tofino, Ucluelet and all stops in between.”
He noted the region has been waiting for a transit system for “a long time” and recalled the disappointment shared across the West Coast when the provincial government pulled out of a previously thought locked-in transit agreement during the Union of BC Municipalities Convention in 2022.
“I remember Nov. 16, 2022, shortly after we received the news that we didn’t want to hear at UBCM. It was the first meeting I had with Tanya at Watt Consulting and we were looking at, ‘How can we provide something as soon as possible for West Coast residents,’” he said. “I walked away from that meeting as excited as I’ve ever felt about the viability of the project moving forward without provincial funding, so thank you to Watt.”
He added he came onto the project when the process was already well underway thanks to a massive, collective, effort from organizations, like the Alberni Clayoquot Health Network and Clayoquot Biosphere Trust as well as a united voice from local governments.
“This much needed service, as we know, will play a vital part in removing the barriers to providing safe and affordable transportation,” he said. “I think everybody here can look in the mirror and know that they played a part in bringing this service to where we are now.”
Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government president Charles McCarthy said he was happy to see increased access for Hitacu residents as well as all West Coasters travelling across the peninsula to work or to explore.
“This has been in the making for a while, we’ve tried to get funding for it a number of times, and I’m glad to see that we’re at this stage here now where we can start getting people to move from place to place and see more of our traditional territory,” McCarthy said.
“It’s a start. Not everybody can drive and I think it’s something that will benefit us in the long run and hopefully it’s self sustaining. As we move towards that, I think there will be a lot of opportunities for the communities at large.”
Tla-o-qui-aht Chief Councillor Elmer Frank agreed.
“It is a great big milestone that we’re achieving and what the ACRD is doing to allow and create a very important component of what we’re continuing to look for in terms of public transportation,” Frank said. “It’s going to be a really important piece for us, allowing our people to use it for going back and forth to work. It’s been a real challenge for some of our people to have to pay $40-$50 for ridesharing or something when they have to go to work,” Frank said adding the service will benefit employees as well as the employers who rely on them.
“It’s certainly going to be really beneficial and helpful for them because I’ve seen it and I’ve heard it already. There’s been a lot of good feedback on what’s already happened with the transit.”
He added the transit system should help cut down on the parking issues being felt across the West Coast.
ACRD director for Sproat Lake Penny Cote spoke on behalf of the regional district.
“What a wonderful day, a long time coming and I’m so thrilled,” Cote said, expressing gratitude for Kunderman’s efforts. “Thank you so much for all the work you put in on this.”
She said the newly launched service required an all around team effort.
“There was a great collaboration amongst many to get this service up and running as quickly as possible after facing challenges in securing provincial funding,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful offering and an important service to help remove many of the barriers to accessing services the residents of the West Coast face.”
She added the service will improve the region’s overall health and wellness.
“The West Coast transit service will be an important connection to residents between Ucluelet and Tofino and everyone in between, while also increasing ability to access healthcare, employment opportunities, recreation, education and social opportunities,” she said.
“It will be a key part of reducing the potential isolation residents may feel due to the lack of affordable and safe transportation options.”
She added the service has already seen heavy use by residents and visitors.
“The regional district is very proud to have this bus service,” she said.
Tofino councillor Tom Stere expressed gratitude with all the regional partners who came together.
“This has been a long collaborative effort and this is the fruits of all of that labour. We hope to continue this service,” he said.
“This is an incredible service, well identified as a need on the West Coast. It’s taken a few years to get here, but we’re here now and we can celebrate this great news. Let’s keep this going.”
Ucluelet mayor Marilyn McEwen recalled working with Marcie DeWitt and the Alberni Clayoquot Health Network a decade ago trying to put a transit service in.
“We finally got Wheels for Wellness coming to the Coast and we finally got BC Transit to the table and then we lost Wheels for Wellness a couple of years ago and we lost BC Transit a couple of years ago, so this is really a cause for celebration,” she said.
“I’m just so proud of the ACRD for getting this happening.”
DeWitt also spoke during the event and spoke to the efforts the health network has made to lobby for the service.
“Congrats. Thank you so much to everyone for sticking it through and I’m looking forward to new developments,” she said, joking she threatened to tattoo ‘regional transportation’ to her forehead when drumming up support from local councils over a decade ago.
Kunderman commended DeWitt’s efforts.
“She did a lot of the work leading the West Coast transportation group,” he said. “The amount of effort that Marcie has put into this service is fantastic. I think I can safely say the service would not be here today without your efforts, so thank you.”
Electoral Area C director Vaida Siga recalled struggling to travel between communities and said the new service will offer a bevy of benefits.
“I just want to say congratulations for all the hard work,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming and I think it’s high time that it arrived. I was one of those people who had to hitchhike from town to town for appointments and work…It’s a safety issue that is being addressed. It’s a climate issue that is being addressed. Congratulations.”
Tofino mayor Dan Law noted residents have been waiting for the service to arrive for some time.
“This was an exercise in patience, but it’s an amazing regional accomplishment. It took a tremendous amount of effort and dedication and courage from all the communities and all the players and I’m really proud of the whole region,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”
More information about the service, as well as a bus schedule, can be found at the ACRD’s website https://www.acrd.bc.ca/wc-transit.
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