Feds, province announces $136M in transit funding for B.C.

Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announces transit funding in Langford.

The federal government said it will spend millions to help BC Transit provide better service to commuters on Vancouver Island and other parts of the province.

More than $136 million in joint funding from the federal government and the provincial government will be used for five transit projects. The projects include adding 118 new buses to the BC transit fleet, building 100 new transit centre, installing onboard cashless fare to 790 buses, installing real-time technology that tracks the exact location of buses on 270 buses, and purchasing generators for transit facilities in Nanaimo, Whistler and Kamloops. The generators will allow service to continue during power failures.

“It’s 60 million dollars to BC Transit to continue the work they are doing to make sure we have effective usable transit across the province,” Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, said during Friday’s announcement in Langford.

The Canadian government will contribute more than $60 million to the projects while the provincial government will contribute more than $52 million. Municipal governments will also be funding portions of the projects, bringing the total investment amount to almost $136 million.

Real-time technology, called NextRide, is already available in Nanaimo, the Comox Valley, Squamish, Whistler and Kamloops. It’s set to be rolled out in Kelowna this fall and Victoria in the winter.

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