Now the wheels on the bus go round and round Okanagan Falls

PENTICTON – Two new transit routes will provide service to residents surrounding Skaha Lake.

Beginning next Monday, Jan. 19, inaugural service on Route 20 will begin with five round trips per day from Okanagan Falls to Penticton. Stops will also be made at Skaha Estates and Heritage Hills, with the regional run terminating at Cherry Lane Shopping Centre in Penticton.

The route is timed to coincide with Penticton transit routes three, four and five.

The bus will run from 6:41 a.m. to 6:22 p.m Monday through Friday, with an initial three week free trial period to allow users an opportunity to get acquainted with the system.
After Feb. 6, cash fares are $2.25 for adults and $1.75 for students.

A second route, known as Route 21, will provide local service through five round trips per day to popular community destinations in Okanagan Falls. Operating hours will run Monday to Friday from 7:09 a.m to 5:52 p.m. It, too, will run free from Jan. 19 to Feb. 6, after which time cash fares will cost $1.50 for adults and $1.25 for students.

The new routes are the result of a split partnership between the regional district and B.C. Transit. The regional district pays 41 per cent of the cost of the service while recouping transit revenue, which brings the regional district share to 52 per cent. B.C. Transit covers the remaining 48 per cent.

Taxpayers in the Okanagan Falls service area pay for the service, said RDOS Community Services Manager Mark Woods. The service area, known as Area “D” east, covers Okanagan Falls and east of Skaha Lake to the Penticton city boundary. The service was approved by taxpayers through the Alternate Approval Process in October, 2014.

Regional District Okanagan Similkameen and B.C. Transit staff will be on hand at the IGA bus stop in Okanagan Falls between 8:30 – 9 a.m. and 11:30 – noon to answer questions about the new service.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.