To:

• The Right Honourable John Horgan, Premier of BC
• The Honourable Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure
• The Honourable George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
• The Honourable Bowinn Ma, Minister of State for Infrastructure
• The Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance

Dear Provincial Leaders,

We, who are residents of British Columbia, present you with this request:

That whereas BC Transit and TransLink provide a valuable service in BC; and

The Greyhound bus network has been replaced by an inferior patchwork of private operators providing less frequent service on fewer routes; and

The CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 has set the goal of achieving a 25% reduction in kilometres driven by light-duty vehicles compared to 2020, and meeting this target will require much improved inter-community bus service ; and

Many families can not afford to buy and operate a car, especially with gasoline prices running so high; and

Many smaller communities are underserved or not served by transit at all; and

There is not a secure bus service in rural areas, people can be driven by necessity to hitch-hike, and therefore risk assault or death, especially Indigenous women and two-spirited people; and

Many seniors cannot safely drive for hours on snowy highways to medical appointments in larger centres, and the existing rural health authority bus services are inadequate; and

In November 2020 the Union of BC Indian Chiefs wrote to the Premier of BC, urging the development of a unified, provincially-owned and operated public transportation system across BC, bridging communities and making transportation accessible for all; and

The BC Bus North service along Highway 16 (‘The Highway of Tears’) between Prince Rupert, Prince George, Dawson Creek, Fort St John, Fort Nelson, Valemount and communities between has demonstrated the value of such a inter-community bus service; and

Many current rural bus services are very infrequent, with no bus shelters, and no signage to tell riders when the next bus is coming; and

Electric transit buses and highway coaches with ranges upwards of 300-kilometres are already available from Canadian and international companies; and

An affordable inter-community bus service combined with urban public transit, safe cycling routes and car-sharing can enable families in both large and small communities to get around with fewer cars; and

The urgency of the global climate crisis requires us all to reduce our impact on the Earth, which includes driving less and owning fewer vehicles;