PLAYING PRO SOCCER University of the Fraser Valley goalie Mark Village signs with Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 A41
See pg. 6 for detailss
A B B O T S F O R D
FRIDAY
MARCH 27, 2015
Online all the time. In print Wednesday & Friday.
abbynews.com bb bynews.com ews m
Empty bus seats
Tyler OLSEN
Abbotsford News
O
n a recent Friday morning, the No. 7 Sumas Mountain bus chugs through a suburban Abbotsford neighbourhood, three passengers on board. One is a young man heading to the Abbotsford Recreation Centre for a skating practice – his daily routine. There is a young carless woman who says she plans to transfer for a University of the Fraser Valley-bound bus. And there is this Abbotsford News reporter, asking the limited occupants their destination. Throughout most of its morning trip – leaving from downtown at 8 a.m. and returning half an hour later – the bus has only a handful of riders, with most hopping on board nearer to the city’s centre. In this respect, the morning No. 7 is not unique – a fact that’s hard to miss by those who yearn for a time when Abbotsford’s transit system carries a significant portion of the city’s residents. In the 2013/14 fiscal year, the Central Fraser Valley regional transit system, which serves Abbotsford and Mission, had a ridership of nearly 2.4 million, or about 6,500 trips per day. That number lags behind other BC Transit regional systems in Kelowna, Kamloops, and the Regional District of Nanaimo – all of which serve smaller populations. Kelowna’s system is the best performing, moving more than 13,000 riders per day, while Kamloops carries more than 9,000 riders daily and serves around 100,000 people. Tourist-dependent Whistler, which has a significantly smaller population, boasts a similar ridership to Abbotsford-Mission, while Prince George had around 360,000 fewer riders but spends less on transit and serves a smaller population than Continued on A4
Taxpayers subsidizing more than 75 per cent of local transit – the least efficient in the region BEYOND THE DREAM? A26 Study finds prices will increasingly soar beyond what is affordable for most families
ERODING RIVER BANKS A12 A breach of the Matsqui dike could cause damage as high as $2.6 billion
RASH OF BREAK-INS A7 Police report 28 incidents in the Townline area since November
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Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . .A49
85¢ Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun says a successful transit system would feature more buses on Abbotsford’s major TYLER OLSEN Abbotsford News corridors, like the No. 3 GoLine bus, which connects Clearbrook and UFV.
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