So, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is one of the few higher eduction establishments in BC that will not be subscribing to the U-PASS scheme this year. Let's examine the facts.
The majority of universities in BC are located in Vancouver or Victoria, where the density of population - and therefore the quality of public transit service - is way higher than in Nanaimo. The result? Students see a real benefit from joining the scheme. VIU's student population is distributed throughout the city and beyond - including some from out of town, and from the gulf islands (especially Gabriola).
Nanaimo's low population density results in many parts of the city being poorly served by public transit - even to downtown, let alone to VIU way out there on the edge of town. The result? No chance of achieving a sustainable transit network that will meet the needs of a majority of students.
Stalemate? Not necessarily.
The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN), as the supplier of BC Transit services in the city, is set targets for passenger growth which they will only meet if they can encourage many more students out of their cars and onto their buses. RDN's Transit Business Plan identifies the growth in demand for transit to VIU, but continues to plan on the basis of students' willingness to accept a bus journey that involves an unreliable transfer in the city centre - or at the Country Club Exchange.
BC Transit acknowledges that almost half (46%) of the respondents to their 2008 passenger survey in Nanaimo reported that their journey involved a mid-route transfer - and that 44% of those transfers took place at Country Club Exchange - and, by implication, the majority of those will be students at VIU. It's time that RDN acknowledged that mid-route transfers are a major discouragement to existing passengers -and a complete non-starter when it comes to attracting new transit users.
RDN must reappraise its priorities and develop a route network that minimises the need for transfers, and focuses on providing reliable, frequent services where the demand can be demonstrated, even if that means that some lesser used routes are dropped.
It is wholly unrealistic to expect RDN and BC Transit to provide high frequency services from all over the city directly to VIU. They simply would not be sustainable. However, it is equally unrealistic for the RDN to expect every student to contribute to a network that will, at best, only serve two-thirds of the student population.
Maybe the concept of U-PASS is simply wrong for Nanaimo - and what is needed is for RDN to focus on delivering a quality service to VIU on the busiest routes, with tickets priced at a level that students will be willing and able to pay. This concept works widely in the UK, where it is the bus operators that take the financial risk - and, by providing the quality and frequency of service that the market demands, the customer (read: Student) will use transit by choice. Maybe choice is something that the RDN and VIU Student Union should think about more seriously.
A recent article in the Nanaimo Daily News has generated a wide range of views on this topic. These can be followed at http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=cc1f6d46-3123-4a9d-947d-acb42640ea4e
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