Pending approval of the CVRD board, the cost of HandyDART passes in the Comox Valley will jump from $52 to $55 in April. Regional district directors at committee of the whole Dec. 10 approved the recommended increase, which will align with the cost of an adult monthly pass for conventional transit.
Another proposal is to replace transfers with a DayPASS-on-board program.
BC Transit is also working toward new fare collection technology to enable transit users to purchase and access fares from mobile phones, and/or banks and credit cards.
In addition, the discounted semester pass program will be extended to K-12 students. The program used to be limited to NIC students.
These proposed transit changes would take effect in April.
•The committee agreed to allocate $5,000 of chair Jesse Ketler’s 2020 renumeration to vice-chair Arzeena Hamir, from January to November 2020. The idea is to recognize the vice-chair’s role in supporting the chair, which includes co-chairing meetings of the Comox Strathcona Waste Management board.
The chair of the CVRD board receives a monthly salary of $2,773. Rates for 2020 will be set when the Consumer Price Index is confirmed.
•The committee favoured a motion from Courtenay director Doug Hillian to write to the Environment Ministry to request appropriate signage, in consultation with the K’ómoks First Nation, for Wood Mountain Park and to recognize volunteer efforts of the Forbidden Plateau Reclamation Society to clean up the former ski hill at the park. Volunteers removed dilapidated buildings, oil tanks and chairlift towers.
“This is a good example of citizens coming together to get something done that needed to be done,” Hillian said.
