BC Transit, a provincial Crown Corporation operates and administers
conventional, fixed-route public transit services in British Columbia's major metropolitan
centres of Vancouver and Victoria and in 24 smaller communities across the province.
BC Transit service is available to 76% of the province's residents.
BC Transit has been successful in providing innovative services that respond to
community needs. Some of these innovations include the introduction of lift-equipped
and low-floor buses to improve accessibility, the use of bike racks and lockers to
integrate transit with cycling, the integration of school bus and transit services to build
transit ridership and improve efficiency, and the targeting of the post-secondary student
market with special services and discounted fares. The introduction of innovative services
to the non-metropolitan areas of the province has been facilitated by BC Transit's
Municipal Systems Program and the three-way partnerships between BC Transit, local
governments, and operating companies that it provides. Much of the planning for this
program is done by BC Transit staff in Victoria, allowing for the easy transfer of
experience between systems.
A key area for future transit innovations in B.C. is in the creation of a provincewide
public transportation system with integrated services and information. This would
involve the creation of regional transit services in areas where development is coalescing
into continuous corridors, rather than in discrete settlements.
Although BC Transit has been successful in introducing a range of innovative
services around the province, questions remain as to whether BC Transit's general
service provision strategy is as cost-effective and accountable as possible. The current
funding and governance arrangements in the province have created a situation that is
weak on local accountability and which may perpetuate the provision of uneconomic
services. Further research is needed to fully address this issue.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8084 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Fisher, Ian Randell |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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