West Vancouver’s Blue Bus can no longer efficiently serve the 257 bus route so, starting this September, they’re handing it over to TransLink’s biggest operator, Coast Mountain Bus Co.
We foresee already that this is going to wound a few egos in West Vancouver where people are proud of their Blue Bus. After all, it’s the oldest municipally owned bus line in North America and it’s the last one standing under TransLink.
But while West Vancouverites pay for the Blue Bus, TransLink reimburses them for every dollar they spend. And when it comes to where the buses run and how often, West Van doesn’t get any more say than any other municipality would.
They do have their own bus depot here on the North Shore but it’s because that depot is over capacity that the 257 is joining TransLink’s fleet. When the change happens, the route will have more service with larger buses.
While the Blue Bus may be a point of pride, that pride has costs in terms of an additional level of administration at the District of West Vancouver. The staff and drivers have their own union, which means another master to please. Yet Mayor Michael Smith never misses an opportunity to bash TransLink for its perceived inefficiencies.
On closer inspection, we feel the Blue Bus is something of an anachronism that’s hard to explain in the modern day, like a vestigial limb or having two North Vancouvers.
Given the choice between protecting a sacred cow and getting better service, we want better service; hold the beef.
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