A new BC Transit operations and maintenance facility capable of housing up to 50 buses is on the way for Squamish.
Public transportation corporation, BC Transit, has bought a piece of land at 1130 Resolution Way in a bid to help expand transit services across the Sea to Sky.
“The strategic acquisition of land for a future transit operations and maintenance facility is a critical step to secure the ability to increase the transit fleet, add transit service, and support the transition to battery electric bus alongside the local development plans,” BC Transit senior media relations and public affairs advisor, Jamie Weiss, told The Squamish Chief.
Weiss said that the site was officially purchased on Oct. 23, 2023 for $15,737,500.
“Additional planning and design work are needed to further develop plans and a business case to secure support, funding and ultimately construct a new facility that would support fleet expansion of up to 50 buses in the next 25 years,” he said.
While they weren’t able to share an exact timeline for the construction of the facility, Weiss said the next steps include:
- Developing an investment strategy
- Developing a Facility Planning and Design project to identify concepts and costs of necessary site improvements
- Determining the investment strategy to help secure local government support and inform the development of business cases for future funding applications
As for when they anticipate the facility to be up and running, Weiss said it was again “too soon to determine.”
“However BC Transit and the District of Squamish have begun the procurement process to acquire consultants for the Planning and Design project and expect to have developed a layout concept by fall 2025,” he said.
Council comments
The District of Squamish received a letter from BC Transit at their regular council meeting on Jan. 7 where councillors shared their excitement over the project.
Coun. Chris Pettingill said the announcement of the facility was “kind of a big deal.”
“It doesn't really look like it from the title, but you know, BC transit has acquired some property which apparently can house, over time, up to 50 buses,” Pettingill said.
“We know in terms of increasing our transit, many people want that. With regional transit and all of these things, there's been a number of obstacles; buses is one, and a place to put buses has been another obstacle.
“So this doesn't solve all the problems, but with the price of land and the unavailability of land, having this piece is a huge, huge deal for our community, and so it's really worth celebrating. It's been a long time coming, so it's really exciting to see this.”
Coun. John French said it was more than “kind of a big deal.”
“It's not kind of a big deal, it is a huge deal, and this is very important for the future of not just our transit system here in Squamish, but potentially, probably, hopefully, regional transit,” he said.
He also took the opportunity to shout out Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote, whose election campaign focused on the need for regional transit.
“Our new MLA, Jeremy Valeriote, has been talking a lot in the last little bit about regional transit. It sounds like he has got the provincial NDP seeing the benefits and agreeing with us here in the corridor that it is no brainer,” French said.
Mayor Armand Hurford said the acquisition of the site was an “important piece of the puzzle” to advancing transit services in Squamish.
“It is something that is much needed, should, or when the provincial powers ... endorse a path forward for regional transit. So, I do think this is an important piece,” he said.
“We have been challenged even with implementing our internal expansions here, so this addresses that and leaves capacity that I think is best used for that regional piece. So hopefully, this is the first piece of multiples that will advance our public transit in Squamish and hopefully the Sea to Sky as a whole.”
The letter
In the letter to the muni, BC Transit senior government relations manager, Rob Ringma, said it is common for the corporation to buy land when looking to expand their facilities across B.C.
“When making long-term investments with communities BC Transit has a preference to own lands and facilities for business continuity purposes, competitive proposals for transit operating contracts, long-term financial predictability, and to advance strategic initiatives, such as the implementation of local and regional transit services and battery electric bus (BEB) fleets,” Ringma said.
“This investment will …support the transition to a BEB fleet, and enable improvements in five distinct networks: Frequent Transit, Local Transit, Custom Transit (handyDart), Regional Transit (within Sea to Sky Region), and Interregional Transit between the Sea to Sky and Metro Vancouver Regions.”
For more information on transport services in Squamish visit the BC Transit website.
