Port Moody’s Shoreline Shuttle could become a regular summer feature, says Mayor Mike Clay.
Seven weeks into the pilot bus service program that links Inlet Centre and Moody Centre via Rocky Point Park and Brewers Row on summer weekend afternoons and evenings, its ridership is growing, according to the city.
The free service experienced a slow start, with only 92 riders on its opening weekend in June.
But last weekend, during RibFest, when Port Moody’s Rotary Club paid for increased frequency of the service to every 15 minutes to make it more convenient for people attending its event at Rocky Point, 928 riders hopped aboard the bus at one of its 13 stops.
According to statistics compiled by the city’s engineering department, ridership on the shuttle jumped to 127 on its second weekend of service, June 8 to 10, and then jumped again to 149 and 198 riders in the weekends that followed. An extra day of service over the Canada Day long weekend, which included Golden Spike Days and the opening of the Friday night market in the parking lot of the PoMo Station Museum, helped swell ridership to 747 before slipping back to 209 for July 13 to 15.
Clay said the numbers are encouraging and the service is making it easier for residents and visitors to explore various parts of the city without having to rely on a car or fret about parking.
“I heard a lot of conversations from the other riders that they were learning of new areas and businesses in the city," he said.
Clay said the flexibility of the service so the city can adjust it to accommodate demand on busy weekends has been a boon.
The city is spending $50,000 for the 20-passenger bus service, which runs a circuitous 8-km route every 30 minutes from 4 p.m. to midnight on Fridays;, 1 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays; and 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays until September. It was implemented to relieve some of the congestion at Rocky Point Park and Brewers Row, especially during events like RibFest, Canada Day celebrations, the night market and the Sunday concert series.
Schedule adjustments will also be made for Car-Free Day on August 19, and the Labour Day weekend.
• For a full schedule of the shuttle service as well as a map showing all the stops, go to portmoody.ca.
