Cloverdale needs ridesharing, as current transit 'woefully inadequate,' says BIA

The Cloverdale Business Improvement Association (BIA) is supporting efforts to bring ridesharing to Cloverdale.

In a post to Twitter, Cloverdale BIA executive director Paul Orazietti said the board of directors would like to see ridesharing services, such as Uber or Lyft, come to the town centre, as transit is “woefully inadequate & future does not look promising.”

“Ridesharing is a good thing to have in the toolbox for transportation,” he told the Reporter.

RELATED: First look at Surrey SkyTrain renderings along Fraser Highway

In Cloverdale, “we have really bad transit. It’s woefully inadequate.” Not only that, he said, but the City of Surrey’s proposed transit projects will not have a positive impact on the downtown core.

If Surrey mayor Doug McCallum’s push for SkyTrain to Langley becomes a reality, it will bypass the Cloverdale BIA’s district completely. The proposed 17-kilometre route will extend from Surrey’s King George Station down Fraser Highway to 203rd Street in Langley.

Without extra transit to get people from Cloverdale to the SkyTrain, it won’t be much of a solution to existing transit issues, Orazietti said.

(An approximation of the proposed SkyTrain route along Fraser Highway. It bypasses the downtown Cloverdale business core.)

Meanwhile, “we’re stuck with a bus that comes to the community twice an hour.”

The BIA hears that the lack of transit impacts businesses, particularly larger employers who have problems attracting new employees. “They’re having problems bringing in people who [use transit]” he said.

The Cloverdale BIA joins other Surrey business organizations, including the Surrey Board of Trade, in advocating for ridesharing due to “inadequate” transportation systems.

This looks like the bus system in Surrey!! https://t.co/gSWPTIYySW

— Paul Orazietti (@Paradeguy) March 12, 2019

In a November 2018 press release, Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman said, “Ride-hailing services will allow for a reliable source of transportation as current transportation systems in place are inadequate especially in cities like Surrey.”

In a presentation to Surrey Board of Trade members in January, transportation minister Claire Trevena said the province was working towards having applications open for ridesharing in fall 2019. Mayor Doug McCallum, who has said he doesn’t support ridesharing services in Surrey, will have to “worth through” his opposition to it, Trevena said.