The cost of a one-way trip on the Nanaimo-Cowichan express bus (NCX) could drop from $7.50 to $5 as of April 1.

The Cowichan Valley Regional DistrictB次元官网网址檚 committee of the whole recommended the reduction of the fares for the NCX to the board at its meeting on Nov. 13 after a presentation by B.C. Transit and transit officials with the district.

B.C. Transit, the Regional District of Nanaimo and the CVRD launched the NCX service at the end of March, 2022.

At the time the service was established, some CVRD directors expressed concern the fares were too high, and recommended that staff monitor for feedback and possible effect on ridership.

According to a staff report, the general feedback from riders has indicated a preference to reduce the fares on the NCX, and the RDN has indicated affordability and access to the service be prioritized over cost recovery.

The RDN will be considering the fare reduction for the NCX later in November.

BC Transit is also recommending the NCX fare drop to $5, which is the same as the fare on the Fraser Valley express bus.

The fares for the two other commuter transit services in the region, the Cowichan-Victoria express (CVX) and the Shawnigan Lake -Victoria express (SVX) routes would remain at $10 if the CVRDB次元官网网址檚 board passes the recommendations from the committee, and the fares for conventional transit within the Cowichan Valley would rise from $2.25 to $2.50.

Statistics provided by BC Transit suggest the annual revenue from the NCX will decrease by $16,261 if the fares drop to $5, despite ridership increasing on the route by approximately 13 per cent, while the estimated revenue impact resulting from the proposed changes to the conventional service is an annual increase of $26,545. 

Cowichan Bay director Hilary Abbott asked why itB次元官网网址檚 not being recommended that the CVX reduce its fares, while the NCX would see its fares drop by 33 per cent.

Rachelle Rondeau, the CVRDB次元官网网址檚 transit analyst, said the CVX is an altogether different service from the NCX and serves a different demographic.

She said the CVX was initially set up to provide a commuting option for mainly government and other office workers, and to reduce traffic congestion on the Malahat.

B次元官网网址淲e are seeing a little bit of change over time in that we have introduced more of a midday trip to provide new travel options for non-6 a.m. riders but, that being said, the CVX service, in the way itB次元官网网址檚 set up, is very expensive to operate and we havenB次元官网网址檛, believe it or not, received a lot of feedback in regards to reducing that fare,B次元官网网址� Rondeau said.

B次元官网网址淲hat we do receive the most feedback on in general is improving the (CVXB次元官网网址檚) service, serving more areas, and improving frequency.B次元官网网址�

Rondeau said the other difference between the CVX and the NCX is that the CVX runs mainly from the south of Duncan to Victoria and the bus is not stopping in different communities along the way, and riders can usually get to their main destinations on one fare.

She said, however, the NCX stops in a number of different communities on its route.

B次元官网网址淪o a fare, for example from Ladysmith to Duncan or from Ladysmith to Nanaimo airport, of $7.50 seems quite a bit higher for those shorter trips, while the original intention of the service was from the Cowichan Valley to Nanaimo,B次元官网网址� Rondeau said.

B次元官网网址淎s well, the Victoria Regional Transit Commission didnB次元官网网址檛 review the CVX as part of their fare-review process and there wasnB次元官网网址檛 any appetite to consider reducing the fares on the CVX.B次元官网网址�

Jim Wakeham, the CVRDB次元官网网址檚 senior manager of transit, acknowledged that the CVRD has received few complaints about the $10 fare on the CVX, but said another reason that thereB次元官网网址檚 no recommendation to lower the fare is that the CVRD is doing a bit of a balancing act between the tax-requisition amounts that are required to run the transit service and user fees from bus riders in this yearB次元官网网址檚 budget.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 grant funding thatB次元官网网址檚 gone away so weB次元官网网址檝e used substantial amounts of our operating reserves while thereB次元官网网址檚 been a number of years of no tax increases for transit [approximately eight years] and now itB次元官网网址檚 catch-up time,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚n our upcoming budget discussion in a couple of weeks, thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be significant increases [in costs] on both our commuter and conventional transit functions.B次元官网网址�