Increased HandyDART service in the Regional District of Nanaimo area is expected over the coming years.
The RDN's transit committee, at a meeting Thursday, Oct. 3, approved a recommendation that includes the addition of 3,000 custom transit hours for the door-to-door service for customers with mobility and other challenges, beginning in 2026. According to a staff report, 2,000 hours will be allocated to increase service on weekends and add service on holidays, while 1,000 hours will boost weekday service.
In an e-mail, Darren Marshall, RDN senior manager of transportation services, said the 2,000 hours were deferred from 2024-25 and together with the 1,000 hours, will bring HandyDART customers service that is in line with conventional transit.
Three more HandyDart vehicles would be leased to accommodate HandyDart passengers, the report noted. RDN Transit is a funding partner with B.C. Transit and its share of the expanded HandyDART service is estimated to be $138,000 annually, with lease costs included in that figure.
B.C. Transit said it could not provide lease costing as communication is limited with B.C. in the midst of a provincial election campaign.
The buses won't be new, noted Mike Getchell, RDN manager of transit operations, at the meeting, and will be transferred from other transit systems.
"We will be sticking with our fleet type, [compressed natural gas] buses," he said. "Most likely they'll come from Kamloops. We will have some work to do on them when they first arrive to make sure they're up to our standards, but realistically … we do expect them to arrive probably November of this year."
Other aspects of the recommendation taking effect in 2026 include 1,000 service hours for the inter-regional Route 70 NCX Nanaimo-Cowichan Express which would add busing on Sunday as well as "improve on-time performance on the NCX," according to staff.
The board is expected to vote on the recommendation at a meeting Oct. 22.
