WITH WHISTLER BLACKCOMB operations suspended until at least the end of April, the Whistler Transit System will be moving directly to Spring/Summer/Fall base service on March 27.
Further, the Resort Municipality of Whistler is offering temporary free transit as of March 20, which will allow for rear-door loading to help with social distancing.
Transit users are encouraged to visit bctransit.com/whistler to see how the changes will affect them directly.
With the measures taken to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across B.C., transit ridership has dropped between 30 and 50 per cent across the province, said BC Transit communications manager Jonathon Dyck.
"It's not unexpected given what's happened ... there are a lot of factors going into this right now, and our priority is just providing that transportation service that people can rely on," Dyck said.
"We know that people are using our service to get to work, including at health care facilities, and to go and get groceries or pharmaceutical needs ... we're still providing service and we're working to continue to do so based on our available resources."
BC Transit's drivers are still doing an "exceptional job" given the current circumstances, Dyck added.
"It's like anybody that's providing an important community service right now," he said.
"They're out there, they're still providing the great customer service that they can—granted with the social distancing piece that we all have to be aware of right now—and working hard to get people to where they need to go."
Like other institutions, BC Transit is following the lead of health officials when it comes to its COVID-19 response.
The operator has implemented enhanced cleaning measures for its fleet of buses across the province, including daily cleaning, enhanced disinfecting cleaning for high-touch areas including stanchions, hand straps, stop buttons, doors, and seat tops, and enhanced cleaning practices at transit facilities.
For more information on routes, fares, and schedules in Whistler, call 604-932-4020 or visit bctransit.com/whistler.
