After more than three years of reduced ridership due to COVID-19, BC Transit has seen steady increases.
Jamie Weiss, Senior Media Relations for BC Transit, says they’re now experiencing a province wide return to Pre-Pandemic levels including in all three Cariboo communities they serve.
He gave an example of that from the week of September 18th to 22nd.
“For that week 100 Mile House had roughly 40 passenger riding a day, that’s about 95 percent of Pre-Pandemic ridership. Williams Lake also looking at roughly 40 passenger counts per day, that’s about 95 percent of Pre-Pandemic ridership and Quesnel had roughly 300 daily ridings which is about 94 percent of Pre-Pandemic ridership.”
Weiss said people are coming back to public transit and that BC Transit is continuing to work hard to provide safe and reliable public transportation for people that need it.
He added at one point during the pandemic they had ridership as low as twenty percent of Pre-Pandemic levels.
“We’re going to keep trying to provide better service for our customers because we want more people to take public transit.” Weiss said, “It’s a more sustainable way to get around. It’s more affordable especially when you consider the cost of gas and car insurance. If you’ve never taken the bus or it’s been awhile now’s a great time to hop on and see your community from a completely different perspective.”