New Penticton to Kelowna bus route will ‘make the world a bit smaller’

PENTICTON – Anticipation is on the rise as Central and South Okanagan residents wait for the inaugural run of a new bus route linking Kelowna with the Peach City.

Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen planner Apollo Figueiredo says he’s been receiving a number of calls from interested residents asking about the new route, where to get tickets, where it stops, and more generally, expressing positive comments about the prospect of the new service becoming a reality on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

The new service, to be known as route 70 Penticton to Kelowna, will make its first pick up at the Real Canadian Superstore in Pentiction at 5:51 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, before stopping at the Penticton terminus at Cherry Lane Mall at 6:03 a.m. Figueiredo says the Superstore stop is an extended stop that is on the way to and from the bus yard at Berry and Smith Trucking in Penticton, but Cherry Lane will be considered the terminus.

The bus arrives at Cherry Lane Mall at 6:03 a.m. and 3:36 p.m. daily, with an additional two midday trips on Monday, which arrive at the terminus at 9:08 a.m. and 12:37 a.m.

At the Kelowna end, the bus arrives at the terminus at Kelowna's Queensway Exchange at 7:25 a.m. and 4:55 p.m.

The additional Monday trips arrive in Kelowna at 10:25 a.m and 1:55 a.m.

B.C. Transit spokesperson Chris Fudge says the additional Monday trips represent an extra 'health connection service' that is expected to expand next year.

The bus will also make a couple of extended stops in the afternoon beyond Cherry Lane on the way back to the bus station.

The new route is a little unusual in that the route is entirely funded by B.C. Transit and residents of the regional district, but its primary purpose is to leave the district.

The route is operated by the South Okanagan Similkameen Transit System through the regional district.

Figueiredo says the regional district worked out where the stopping points would be with outlying municipalities, figuring out where the bus could stop and what facilities could be used. He says there is potential for these and possibly other municipalities to buy into the route at a later date.

Fares are $5 per trip with monthly passes available. Figueiredo says there could be some modifications in the future once the route is established and riders’ preferences can be figured out.

Figueiredo says the main impetus behind the regional district’s creation of the route came about after Greyhound pulled out of the area last year, leaving gaps in service throughout the valley.

“Accessing Kelowna was the major priority coming out of that. We thought the route would be beneficial to the region as a whole because there is more access to health care and services like that,” he said. “We basically wanted to make the world seem a little bit smaller and amalgamate our region to Kelowna so we could move people between here and there.”

For more information about the route, see the regional district website, or B.C.Transit’s South Okanagan Similkameen website.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.