It’s official — Ladysmith will be part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District Transit Service.
Ladysmith council consented to the adoption of the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD)’s Transit Service Establishment Amendment Bylaw during the Feb. 4 council meeting.
The bylaw received three readings at the CVRD meeting on Jan. 9, and it adds the Town of Ladysmith as a participant in the Transit Service Area and amends the apportionment of the cost-sharing formula among the participating areas.
All service area participants must consent to the adoption of the bylaw before it can be submitted to the Inspector of Municipalities for approval.
According to the bylaw, the annual costs of providing transit services in the CVRD will be apportioned among the participating areas on the basis of:
• City of Duncan — 7.26 per cent
• Town of Ladysmith — 9.72 per cent
• Town of Lake Cowichan — 5.42 per cent
• District of North Cowichan — 29.05 per cent
• Electoral Area A (Mill Bay/Malahat) — 7.43 per cent
• Electoral Area B (Shawnigan Lake) — 10.88 per cent
• Electoral Area C (Cobble Hill) — 7.64 per cent
• Electoral Area D (Cowichan Bay) — 5.87 per cent
• Electoral Area E (Cowichan Station/Sahtlam/Glenora) — 6.48 per cent
• Electoral Area F (Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls) — 5.26 per cent
• Electoral Area I (Youbou/Meade Creek) — 4.99 per cent
“What this is doing is getting the whole CVRD contributing toward the cost of Ladysmith’s transit, so it is a very good thing for the community and what they have been asking for for a long time,” said Coun. Duck Paterson. “I’d like to thank staff and council because this is something the community has been asking for, and we’ve also been on record as asking [BC Transit] to move up the date of the connection to the north end, which the community has been asking for.”
It was announced Jan. 14 that the Town of Ladysmith would join the Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System and that BC Transit services will be coming to Ladysmith this fall. As Ladysmith joins the Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System, local transit in Ladysmith will replace the existing trolley service with two 20-passenger community buses and provide 3,000 service hours per year. An additional 1,100 annual service hours will also be included in the expansion to connect Ladysmith with Chemainus and the rest of the Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System.
The town will keep one trolley, and it will be used for community celebrations such as the Festival of Lights.
