{"id":4878,"date":"2025-09-09T17:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/?p=7345587"},"modified":"2025-09-09T17:03:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T00:03:00","slug":"kamloops-eyes-massive-transit-expansion-as-tru-enrolment-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4878\/kamloops-eyes-massive-transit-expansion-as-tru-enrolment-falls\/","title":{"rendered":"Kamloops eyes massive transit expansion as TRU enrolment falls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kamloops is gearing up to expand its bus service, but it’s coming just as its ridership dwindles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting next year, a planned expansion for local bus routes would include 11 new buses and nearly 30,000 of transit hours, city council heard today, Sept. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes as Thompson Rivers University enrolment falters amid cuts to foreign students across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think we have to be nimble. (TRU is) very concerned about the drop in students there,” Coun. Mike O’Reilly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved as proposed, the first year of the three-year expansion would include a 1.3 percent property tax increase, according to a staff report to council. For the average household that’s $45 over the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The university’s enrolment has dropped by around a tenth overall and roughly 25% among foreign students<\/a> alone, who take up a significant minority of the entire student body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O’Reilly and Coun. Kelly Hall suggested the city should consider reducing those bus hours in the future if ridership takes a hit by dropping university enrolment, so long as the bus expansion is approved. Coun. Katie Neustaeter said the expansion “comes with a big price tag” and would be a difficult cost to approve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some councillors in favour of the expansion saw it as a long time coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t think it’s an expansion, I think it’s a catch-up,” Coun. Nancy Bepple said. “We’ve had some more hours in the last five years, but… this is the first substantive change to service.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An increase in bus hours and frequency means fewer cars on the road, less congestion and fewer road expansions needed to come out of city coffers, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before it’s approved, the plan will go through 2026 budget talks and weighed among other projects on the go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I think we have to be nimble. TRU is very concerned about the drop in students.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":4879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1285,492,493],"tags":[],"region":[206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-4878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4878\/kamloops-eyes-massive-transit-expansion-as-tru-enrolment-falls\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Kamloops eyes massive transit expansion as TRU enrolment falls","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4878\/kamloops-eyes-massive-transit-expansion-as-tru-enrolment-falls\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/4878\/kamloops-eyes-massive-transit-expansion-as-tru-enrolment-falls\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-hd-mediaitemid93003-6215.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-hd-mediaitemid93003-6215.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Levi Landry"}],"creator":["Levi Landry"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-09-10T00:03:00Z","datePublished":"2025-09-10T00:03:00Z","dateModified":"2025-09-10T00:03:00Z"},"rendered":"