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Welcome to On the Move, your one stop for everything public transit related. Stay up to date on local and international news, top stories, and exciting events and actions.
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Tuesday June 23rd, 6pm — Where's the Bus? The Rural Transportation Crisis in BC
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New event from the Transit Alliance: Where’s the bus? For many people, it’s hard to get around BC by public transit. There’s a bewildering mix of public, private, health and community services, no integrated timetable, and often no service at all. Join us as we ask the question: “What’s to be done?”, with first-hand accounts from Creston, Kitimat, Gabriola, and elsewhere, and experts who have spent years focussed on the challenge. Register here
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Movement (Vancouver)
Transit users and allies are welcome to attend a rally against fare increases and to demonstrate a need for a Low-income Transit Pass on July 1, 2026 from 12pm to 1:30pm at Metrotown Station.
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Better Transit YYJ
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Better Transit YYJ is challenging Victoria's transit system to a foot race and we need YOU to help do that! They are calling on BC Transit and the City of Victoria to ensure that the bus always wins by giving buses dedicated lanes and smart signals. Come join us in racing the bus! Race the Bus event on June 12, 2026. More details and how to be a member here.
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Justice for Vancouver SkyTrain Janitors
From SEIU Local 2: SkyTrain Cleaners are speaking up for their rights and for public safety. Join us in calling on TransLink to meet with the janitors to address the important issues they have raised. Sign the Petition here!
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Victoria Transit Riders Union
Fare - Free Transit for all BC Seniors, Youth, and People with Disability (PWD). Learn more on how to support here!
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Movement (Vancouver)
Possible transit strike highlights how essential public transit is
Lower mainland transit workers voted 99% for a strike mandate in negotiations with TransLink and the possibility of service disruption because of stalled contract negotiations is a frightening one. Interruptions or reductions in essential transit services are nothing less than a crisis for hundreds of thousands of riders and their families. More than a minor ‘inconvenience’, transit outages mean lost incomes, inability to get medical services, disrupted lives and an economic drop.
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The Public Transit Alliance of BC says the consequences are severe, making it critical that TransLink and ultimately the BC government, one of the main funders, step up in negotiations and reach a fair agreement with the employees. The possibility of loss of transit services highlights how absolutely essential a public service transit is. Public transportation is essential all over BC, not just in the lower mainland. For many people in the province’s interior and on the island transit services are too infrequent or completely absent. This is an on-going crisis that impacts thousands of British Columbians and their families.
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“Because the barriers people face on public transit today are not accidents or oversights. They are policy choices.”
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— Heather McCain (Community member)
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“Transportation is one of the practical barriers that turns disadvantage[s] into poorer outcomes. In larger centres there are more local services, more transportation options, more specialists and more backup. When things do go wrong in rural and remote communities, people often have fewer local services, longer travel times, higher out of pocket costs, and more dependence on family, volunteers or informal rides.”
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— Paul Adams (BC Rural Health Network)
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“I wan[t] to highlight [...] the Public Transit alliance has the potential to be a very great advocate for urban, rural, indigenous communities, disability advocates, seniors, labor in all of these community organizations.”
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— George Anderson (MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for Transit)
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“[I] feel very grateful to the work of this coalition to push our decision makers to, to modernize our approach to transit planning and prioritize safe, effective public transit."
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— Emily Lowan (Leader of the BC Green Party)
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These testimonials are from our April 2026 Alliance Launch Party. To learn more about this event please see 'We Launched’ featured in this issue.
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On the evening of April 28th, 2026, 125 people representing more than a hundred different climate and transit oriented organizations from the province logged onto zoom to join our official launch of the Public Transit Alliance of British Columbia. The evening saw the sparking of conversations on transit as a public health issue, barriers relating to the rural transit gap, and the need for interconnected transit for all.
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A number of guest speakers presented, including Paul Adams (B.C. Rural Health Network), Emily Lowan (leader of the Green Party of BC) George Anderson (MLA, the Parliamentary Secretary for Transit), Keith Wiley (West Kootenay Transit Action), and Eric Doherty (Transportation Planner). Each speaker addressed issues relating to transit from health, affordability, and inclusion. There were a few polls throughout the evening to capture interest for the alliance from participants, measure immediate needs, and vote on the alliance logo. One live poll reported an overwhelming support for action, with 81% of participants calling for an urgent, province-wide interconnected transit network.
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The launch party captured media attention from over a dozen British Columbia news sources, bringing attention to our call to action. Our first campaign as an alliance seeks to build a modern, frequent, safe, and affordable intercity bus network that connects rural and urban communities throughout key service routes in British Columbia. The Public Transit Alliance is inviting organizations and individuals across British Columbia to join the campaign, volunteer, and advocate for a connected transit future.
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(Slide from 2026 Launch Presentation)
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Learn more about our efforts for an Intercity Bus Network here!
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Read more from some of the media coverage about our launch:
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The City of Surrey and TransLink are working to update Surrey’s transit network. Movement YVR has created their own plan for what we think transit in Surrey should look like. Buses in Surrey are slow, indirect, overcrowded, and sometimes downright unpleasant to ride. We believe Surrey transit riders deserve better, so we’re proposing 3 big ideas which could improve your ride: create new bus routes; expand bus infrastructure; and improve pedestrian infrastructure. Read more.
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Youth in Action: The Push for Free Bus Passes for Adolescents
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From Nanaimo Climate Action Hub: Until last month, high school students paying for their access to buses was unquestioned. Despite the clear benefits of public transportation for both civilians and the environment, Nanaimo had made no movements to make this resource more accessible to youth. That is, until last month, when a delegation of students from Dover Bay, Cedar, and Wellington decided to speak up, proposing free bus passes for all students aged 13-18. The motion for a staff report on how it can be done and paid for was approved by the Board. Read more.
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(Photo from Nanaimo Climate Action Hub)
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Half-price transit approved for low-income adults, seniors, teens
From Kelowna Courier: Half-price bus fares have been approved for low-income Kelowna adults, teenagers, and seniors. City councillors unanimously supported the reduction at a meeting on Monday with some expressing the hope it would lead to an increase in transit ridership. “I’m just really pleased to see this come forward,” said Coun. Luke Stack. He said council had wanted to introduce discounted fares a number of years ago for certain ridership groups but was told to hold off pending the introduction of new digital fare payments such as B.C. Transits Umo program. Read more.
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Tap-to-pay Launches on Victoria Buses
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Bus riders in Greater Victoria can now pay fares with a tap of a debit card, credit card, or mobile wallet as BC Transit rolls out contactless payment across the Victoria Regional Transit System. Read more.
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Citizens' group calls for hospital routes bus routes in Cowichan
From Kelowna Courier: Half-price bus fares have been approved for low-income Kelowna adults, teenagers, and seniors. City councillors unanimously supported the reduction at a meeting on Monday with some expressing the hope it would lead to an increase in transit ridership. “I’m just really pleased to see this come forward,” said Coun. Luke Stack. He said council had wanted to introduce discounted fares a number of years ago for certain ridership groups but was told to hold off pending the introduction of new digital fare payments such as B.C. Transits Umo program. Read more.
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South Okanagan man gathering signatures for bus service connecting Penticton, Keremeos, and Princeton
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From Castnet, Kelowna: A South Okanagan man has launched a petition, hoping that a bus service from Penticton through the Similkameen to Vancouver can be revived. John Cowan is a former Canadian Pacific Railway train conductor who has set his sights on righting what he sees as a wrong for citizens of the valley. In October 2018, Greyhound bid their final farewell in Penticton. Since then, no regular commuter bus service has been available connecting Penticton through the South Okanagan and Similkameen communities to the Lower Mainland. The petition can be found online here.
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Making it easier to navigate buses in Northern BC
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From Denis Agar, Movement: You may be surprised to hear that there are dozens of different transit operators across Northern BC. The problem is finding them, and understanding what kinds of journeys are possible. We wrote a brief memo explaining how better information could stitch these disparate services into a single network. We hope to persuade them to release their timetables in a format that will allow them to be displayed on Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc. Read more.
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How intercity bus lines are re-branding to attract new riders
From USA Streetblog: Getting people riding the bus isn't just about service; it's also about style. State governments are stepping up efforts to attract new riders to intercity bus services, using catchy names, rolling out new apps and websites, and touting the ride’s enjoyment — all to shake the perception that bus travel is only a last resort. Read more.
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TRANSwa expands routes and is free on Sunday
TRANSWA in Western Australia provides intercity bus and rail public transit to 240 destinations and is free on Sundays. Read more.
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Electric buses have passed a brutal cold-weather test
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From Reasons to be Cheerful: Overhead chargers on key bus routes in Madison, Wisconsin are enabling the zero-emissions vehicles to run despite freezing conditions. Just a few years ago, electric buses routinely faltered in cold conditions. Now, with better batteries and strategically placed chargers, Madison is testing whether those doubts still hold. Madison is among more than 100 U.S. cities that have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Electric buses are key to that goal. Read more.
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(Photo from Metro Transit)
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Thank you for reading our very first issue of On the Move - want to join our efforts? Visit our website to learn more about how you or your organization can help.
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The Public Transit Alliance of BC recognizes the various unceded Indigenous territories and lands in which our efforts take place on.
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