For two months this summer, TransLink’s on-demand buses will offer a new approach to transit for people on Bowen Island.
Using an app called “TapRide," anyone on the island can book a bus to come pick them up at the location of their choosing.
The on-demand buses will still have boundary limitations but offer new routes outside the existing bus service and passengers will not need to follow set schedules.
“This is a bit of an experiment. We are going to be in the learning mode,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond. “The transit on-demand model has significant future potential.”
Translink hopes as many people as possible adopt the pilot project and use the app instead of driving.
Bowen Island mayor Gary Anders is also encouraging visitors to plan their trips car free.
“Our tourists will now be able to enjoy parts of the island that were not previously available to them," Anders said.
Translink said the pilot project will cost the Mayor’s Council $200,000 and there are no guarantees yet it will work perfectly.
“There are a variety of things we need to learn,” said Desmond.
Translink will monitor the app’s customer and operator experience as well as demand for the service.
The pilot project will run from July 15 to Sept. 15.
“This pilot project can serve as important test bed for what the future of public transit might look like across the province,” said Parliamentary Secretary for TransLink Bowinn Ma.
