Brent Bowker: Chilliwack Election Transit Questionnaire Response

1. Will you prioritize the opening of a new transit operations facility? The current facilities are holding the city back from growing transit, and adopting a cleaner fleet of transit vehicles.

I support building our our transit system. If a new operations facility is part of that system then I would advocate for that.

2. Will you prioritize the construction of a proper downtown transit exchange? The current setup requires transit vehicles to make large loops around a variety of city blocks and through a number of signalized intersections just to turn around at the end of a route or to switch from one route to another. This is a major detriment to providing frequent and reliable transit. Passengers may need to travel a great distance just to get from one of our current "downtown exchange" stops to another.

As the downtown is being redeveloped we should certainly look at how to better integrate transit and improve service. A formal downtown exchange sounds like a great idea and a good way to centre the transit around downtown.

3. Will you support increased service levels and reliability, including on Sunday's & Holidays? People who get around by transit need to do so, even on the weekend. On Sundays, the main route in Chilliwack, route 51 only runs hourly, with a late start and early end.

Yes, we can’t expect transit adoption to increase if we aren’t making it accessible at all times.

4. Will you work to see Handy Dart service extended to weekends? In Chilliwack, people who rely on Handy Dart to get around, are not able to do so except during "normal business hours" Monday-Friday. This is inequitable.

Yes, I agree this is inequitable. Individuals using this service should be able to access it on weekends as well.