Jason Lum: 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.
Yes. Not only that, I have actively raised the concern directly with the Ministry of Transportation, and BC Transit. Including providing solutions to assist finding a suitable location, and advocating to expand the current gas tax eligibility for the acquisition of land for a new facility
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.
Yes. With the redevelopment downtown (District 1881, Maan Property, Wellington/Main) I believe we have an opportunity to re-think the downtown exchange to make it easier and more efficient for riders.
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. I have a long public track record of supporting increased transit services. I was the Chair of the Transportation Advisory Committee when we completed the last Transit Future Action plan implementing the largest increase in service hours in Chilliwack's history. It's also important to note that even though the City put forward a suite of increases this last term - the Province of British Columbia froze the BC Transit budget - putting all of our planned expansion on hold.
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.
I agree, which is why I raised the concern with our Transportation Advisory Committee, as well as the Minister of Transportation, and Minister of State for Transportation this last UBCM. The City of Chilliwack is actively looking at how we can re-allocate our local cost share to increase service hours for Handy Dart without waiting for the Province to un-freeze it's funding for Handy Dart.