Photo: BC Transit

Penticton's transit expansion request was denied by the province due to funding constraints.

Penticton council is disappointed that the city won't see any expansion this year for their BC Transit operations.

Council made a request for transit expansion last year, particularly hoping to see more service for improving Route 5 on Main Street — by far the most popular route — then move into evening service on all local routes.

Unfortunately, that request was not approved by the province.

At Tuesday's meeting, council heard from BC Transit representative Bartley Walman, who said it has become a competitive process for municipalities to get more service.

"Requests for transit expansion across the province, typically, we see about 60,000 hours or so requested, and we can typically accommodate around that number. The past few years, we've seen almost 200,000 hours requested," he said.

He went on to explain that the hours the municipalities are awarded come down to critical issues rather than improving "what is already a good service", like Penticton’s.

"The City of Victoria represents about 50 per cent of our total ridership, but received about 20 per cent of our total hours. The Central Fraser Valley was unsuccessful in a large part of its requests. Communities like Whistler and Kamloops received about half of the hours that they requested," Walman said.

He added that he's committed to championing the expansion for Penticton's system still.

Coun. Isaac Gilbert expressed his frustration that the provincial government denied the program, while mandating that municipalities need to have zero parking minimums in certain areas.

"Just super disappointed in the province again, coming in with sweeping mandates to tell municipalities what to do, but not bringing the resources in. And this is not just a Penticton problem, this is a provincial problem," he said.

"It seems that the politicians that are in higher levels of government—federal, provincial—like to put their names on capital projects, but are unwilling to give the funds and resources to ensure that those infrastructure projects and those operations are actually functioning to the ability to serve the people of their community."

Mayor Julius Bloomfield echoed Gilbert's vexation.

"Densification comes in conjunction with a number of other things that have to happen with improvements in infrastructure, but also improvements in transportation," he added.

Council encouraged the BC Transit representative to take their message back to the province.

It was noted that since council introduced the Free Transit for Youth 13 – 24 program in early 2024, ridership has seen a good uptick.

"Since implementation in April to the end of December, roughly 63,200 trips have been taken by 12,177 unique users through this program," Kristen Dixon, the GM of Infrastructure with the city, said.

Since the increased rides were not approved, financial implications for Penticton in the budget are fairly minor, with slight inflationary cost increases that have been largely offset by the forecasted fuel costs.

Staff said no amendments or changes to the budget are required as a result of the city not being successful at this time, and future expansion costs will be reviewed as part of the upcoming 2026- 2030 budget process.