Taking transit in Whistler

ADVISORIES

Face coverings required on BC TransitBC Transit COVID-19 update (November 27)– BC Transit requires use of face coverings onboard and at covered bus stops

BC Transit COVID-19 Information

Face coverings are mandatory effective August 24, 2020.
BC Transit has increased the maximum passenger load per bus to 38 passengers as of July 1, 2020.
For more information on how BC Transit operations are affected by COVID19, visit bctransit.com/covid19 .

The Whistler Transit System is a partnership between the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), BC Transit and Whistler Transit Ltd. (the operating company). Transit service is offered 365 days a year with additional service added on most holidays and weekends.

Transit Future Action Plan: Have Your Say!
Share your thoughts between January 7 to February 7

BC Transit and the Resort Municipality of Whistler are seeking the public's feedback on ways we can improve the Whistler Transit System.

Feedback for the Transit Future Action Plan began last winter with the on-board surveys in February 2020. The current online survey is based on information collected from those passenger surveys. In addition, this survey will allow BC Transit to gather additional information on how COVID-19 has affected transit ridership in Whistler.

Member of the public are invited to provide their feedback through an online website and survey available at: engage.bctransit.com/whistler .

The public engagement window is open from January 7 until February 7, 2021.

If you cannot complete the online survey, please contact edalsanto@whistler.ca or call 604-935-8197. Paper copies are also available at the Municipal Hall Customer Service desk and on-board buses.

For more information, service updates and alerts in the Whistler Transit System, visit bctransit.com/whistler.

Winter Schedule with Weekend Extra Buses until April 5, 2021

Download the Winter Rider's Guide or pick one up on the buses. Extra Weekend and Holiday Buses shown in green and grey boxes.

For more information visit bctransit.com/whistler.

BC Transit requires the use of face coverings on buses and at shelters

BC Transit, in alignment with TransLink and other transportation agencies, will be proceeding with mandatory use of face coverings on buses in BC Transit communities across the Province as of August 24. For more information visit bctransit.com/COVID19

Free face mask with 6-month, 12-month, December or January bus pass purchase
Get your free reusable face mask at Municipal Hall Customer Service desk (while supplies last) when you buy your 6-month, 12-month, December or January bus pass. Courtesy of the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW).

Resources:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/there-is-little-evidence-that-mass-transit-poses-a-risk-of-coronavirus-outbreaks/

NextRide: See where your bus is in in real-time

Travel better, faster, and more efficiently the Whistler Transit system using NextRide . Follow your bus on a map in real time and find out when your bus will arrive using the NextRide service.

How to use NextRide on iphone or android

Open either Chrome or Safari on desktop or mobile.
Go to bctransit.com/whistler
Click on the “NextRide” button in blue.
Click “Search By Address” and enter your departing address.
Select the name of the neighbourhood you want to depart.
The bus stops will appear as blue dots.
Click on a bus stop and a list of the next three bus arrival times will pop up.
Click on “Show Route” for the bus(es) available for you to catch.
The bus icon will show you in real time where your bus is.
Click on the bus icon to see how full the bus is.

NextRide hacks to help you find your bus

See how full your bus is by clicking “Search By Route” and tapping the bus icon.
Green = seats available
Yellow = a few seats are left
Red = standing room only
Get emailed when your bus is near by finding your route and clicking on the bell icon.
Find your bus fast using the bus stop code on the physical street sign or by tapping the stop sign on the map.
Follow multiple routes on your mobile device. Enter your stop code, then select "Show Route" on all the routes that you want to see.
Save NextRide to your phone by tapping the 3 dots on Android or the box with the arrow at the bottom of the iPhone screen, then selecting “Add to Favourites/Home Screen”

Keep the kids (and you) happy

Looking to avoid that endless odyssey from the parking lot to the ski lift? Take the bus and get dropped off right in front of the lifts. Your kids will thank you.

Did you know children and youth under 12 years of age ride free when accompanied by a paying adult?

The 10 Valley Express: say goodbye to transferring buses

Avoid waiting to transfer buses in the Village this winter with the 10 Valley Express. It connects neighbourhoods north and south of the Village during peak periods by providing a one-seat trip so there’s no need to transfer buses in the Village.

10 Valley Express tips

In order provide the quickest travel time possible, the 10-Valley Express bus uses existing transit stops along Highway 99 and to avoid congested areas that lengthen trip times, it does not detour into Meadow Park Sports Centre, Whistler Village or Whistler Creekside.
Other stops include the reinstated “Olympic” stops on Highway 99 at Whistler Village and Whistler Creekside as well as short detours into Rainbow Plaza, Nesters Mall, and Function Junction.
Travel time on the 10 Valley Express from Emerald to Function/ Function to Emerald will be approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic volumes. This is reduced from the previous travel time of over an hour as riders needed to transfer buses to continue north/south.
Full schedule for the 10 Valley Express is available at bctransit.com/whistler.

When are free buses available in Whistler?

Route 4, 5, and 8 Village Shuttle routes are always complimentary, sponsored by the Province of B.C.'s Resort Municipality Initiative. Route 7–Staff Housing Complimentary Shuttle is free from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. in the winter only. All buses are free on weekends in the summer. All buses are also free on December 31 after 6 p.m.

Free buses

Route 4: Marketplace Shuttle runs from Gondola Transit Exchange to Marketplace in the winter only.
Route 5: Upper Village/Benchlands Shuttle runs from Gondola Transit Exchange to Blackcomb Mountain Base Lodge and the Benchlands year-round.
Route 7: Staff Housing Complimentary Shuttle Times
From December 7, 2019 – April 19, 2020 between 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., service on Route 7 Staff Housing is free. This is a pilot project sponsored by Whistler Blackcomb, Fairmont Chateau Whistler and Gibbons Life.
Route 8: Lost Lake Shuttle runs from the Gondola Transit Exchange to Lost Lake Park every day from Wednesday, July 1 to September 7, 2020.
The complimentary weekend free summer service is funded by parking fees from Day Lot 1-5 courtesy of the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb as part of the Whistler Transportation Action Plan 2018-2028.
New Year’s Eve: On December 31, there will be complimentary transit service from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. compliments of the Resort Municipality of Whistler. There will be extra buses leaving the Village from midnight to 4 a.m. For additional bus times, visit bctransit.com/whistler.

Discounted bus passes: Whistler Experience Spirit Pass

The Resort Municipality of Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb and the Chamber of Commerce have partnered to offer Whistler Experience® participants 6-month and 12-month Spirit Transit Passes as part of the 2017 Transportation Action Plan. With your valid Whistler Experience number, a 6-month Spirit Transit Pass is $220 and a 12-month Spirit Transit Pass is $410. That’s one month free with a 6-month pass or 20 per cent savings over buying monthly passes, and four months free with a 12-month pass or a 30 per cent savings over buying a monthly pass!

How to purchase the Whistler Experience Spirit Pass

To purchase a 6-month or 12-month Spirit Transit Pass, come to the Customer Service desk at Municipal Hall between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding statutory holidays. You must present your Whistler Experience® number to claim your discount when purchasing your Spirit Transit Pass. Please read the Terms and Conditions.
For employers wishing to purchase passes directly for their staff, please contact Emma DalSanto (details at the bottom of this page).

Whistler High School Bus Pass Pilot Program 2020-2021

The Resort Municipality of Whistler launched a pilot project that will put all Whistler students in secondary school on Whistler’s local transit for free in 2020. Council endorsed resolutions presented by the Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) at their regular meeting on November 5, 2019 which included a recommendation to launch a pilot project that would provide all Whistler secondary students with free bus passes for the Whistler Transit System. The funding for free transit for Whistler Secondary students will come from an increase to monthly parking passes in Day Lots 1, 2 and 3. Phase 1 bus passes are valide from January 2020 through September 30, 2020. Students who were in Grade 12 will be able to continue using their free pass after graduation, until September 30, 2020.

Due to disruptions related to COVID19, we were unable to fully evaluate the effectiveness and cost of the pilot program as planned in the spring 2020. The Pilot program has been extended to the 2020/2021 school year. All Whistler high school students will receive a bus pass with their name and photo that will be valid from October 1, 2020 until October 15, 2021.

As with all of the Whistler Transit System 6-month and 12-month bus passes, the High School Bus Pass has the pass holder’s picture and is not transferable. We are partnering with school photographer using their photos for this year's passes. The Whistler High School pass is only valid on the Whistler Transit System. Click here for High school Bus Pass Terms and Conditions. To help evaluate the pilot program, there is a survey included with the parent/guardian permission form attached and there will be a follow up on-line survey sent out this fall/winter.

We are working with the administration at Whistler Secondary School and the Waldorf School to launch Phase 2 of the pilot program. Introductory letters with permission forms are being sent to parents by email through the school contact channels. If you need a Permission form, you can download one here.

Passes are currently being produced by RMOW staff and are being distributed to the students through the schools in late September and early October.

Update–October 21, 2020

Passes have been printed and distributed to Waldorf School and Whistler Secondary School (including on-line and home schooled students) with face masks. If you have not received your pass, we may not have your school photo or we did not received your parent permission form. Please contact edalsanto@whistler.ca.

If you live in Whistler are attending on-line school or are home schooled, you are included in the pilot program as you should be registered at Whistler Secondary School receiving information about the program through the Whistler Secondary School communication channels. Please indicate this on your parent permission form.

Contact

Emma DalSanto
Transportation Demand Management Coordinator
edalsanto@whistler.ca
604-935-8197

Transit service expansion

Since Spring 2017 the Whistler Transit System has seen a 16 per cent increase in service hours due to the Resort Municipality of Whistler and BC Transit methodically increasing service frequency. The RMOW approved expansion of 1,750 annual hours in 2017, an additional 6,500 hours in 2018/2019 and another 2,500 annual hours in 2019/2020. The expansion has been used to improve frequency on existing routes and since December 2019, the majority of the expansion hours have been used to introduced a new route, the 10-Valley Express. The current Whistler Transit System now has 72,300 annual service hours.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the RMOW and BC Transit has been signed to add 2,500 hours every year for three more years (from 2020/2021 to 2022/2023). That equates to a total of 17,000 more service hours between 2017 and 2023, making it easier for everyone to catch the bus and get to where they want to go, when they want to go.

Regional transit initiatives

A regional transit service is being pursued for the region stretching from Mount Currie to Metro Vancouver by local and First Nations governments in the area. Regional transit will help connect the communities and improve mobility and affordability, as well as reduce environmental impacts and traffic. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) went to RMOW Council on June 19 for endorsement and is going before other partner councils this summer. From there the next step will be to meet with the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure to continue to develop the model and get funding support.

Learn more about initiatives to enhance transportation in the Sea to Sky Corridor.