West Kootenay Transit System

West Kootenay Transit System serves the regional district of Central Kootenay, including the communities of Argenta, Balfour, Castlegar, Edgewood, Fruitvale, Kaslo, Montrose, Nakusp, Nelson, Rossland, Salmo, Slocan City, and Trail.

Conventional service in Nelson is operated by the City of Nelson. Conventional service in Trail and Castlegar is operated by NextGen Transit. Community Bus and handyDART services are operated by Arrow & Slocan Lakes Community Services.^[1]^[2] Funding is provided by the Regional District of Central Kootenay and the Regional District of Kootenay-Boundary. Planning and administration support is provided by BC Transit.

History

West Kootenay Transit System was formed on July 1, 2015 after the merging of Nelson Transit System, Castlegar Regional Transit System, and Kootenay-Boundary Transit System (Trail). As the conventional systems already connected at Selkirk College in Castlegar, the regional districts decided one merged system would have benefits in centralizing information for riders and harmonizing fares.

Facilities

Garage/HQ

Address: 80 Lakeside Dr, Nelson, BC. The Garage operates City of Nelson buses.

Address: 8170 Old Waneta Rd, Trail, BC. Operates Trail routes and HandyDart for Trail.

Routes

Nelson and Area:
Slocan and Area:
- 20 Slocan Valley
Castlegar and Area:
Trail and Area:
- 41 Binns
- 42 Columbia Heights
- 43 Glenmerry/Fruitvale
- 44 Sunningdale/Hospital
- 45 Teck
- 46 Rossland
- 48 Red Mountain - Saturday and Sunday, December-March
- 98 Columbia Connector
Nakusp and Kaslo Paratransit:
- 51 Nakusp / Hot Springs - Monday
- 52 Slocan / Nakusp via Silverton - Wednesday
- 53 Edgewood / Nakusp - Friday
- 57 Kaslo Local - Friday
- 58 Argenta / Kaslo - Thursday
Health Connections:
- 72 Salmo / Nelson - Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
- 74 Nakusp / Nelson - Tuesday, Thursday
- 76 Kaslo / Nelson - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Active roster

Nelson Conventional

Operates most trips on routes 1-10 and 99.

Fleet number(s)	Year	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission
3003-3004	2013	Grande West	Vicinity 27.5'	Cummins ISB6.7	ZF 6AP1002B
4461-4462	2018	Grande West	Vicinity 35'	Cummins B6.7	Voith D864.6
9348-9349, 9352-9353	2009	Nova Bus	LFS	Cummins ISL	Voith D864.5

Kootenay Lake West Community Bus

Operates routes 14-15, 20, 51-58, and 72-76, some trips on routes 1, 4, 10, and 99, and HandyDART service for the City of Nelson.

Fleet number(s)	Year	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission	Notes
2323	2012	Chevrolet/ARBOC	4500/SOM28D	GMC Duramax 6.6L		2323 transferred from Creston Valley in 2021. 2339 transferred from Elk Valley in 2021.
2468-2469, 2527	2014	Chevrolet/ARBOC	4500/SOM28D	GMC Duramax 6.6L
2565, 2585	2015	Chevrolet/ARBOC	4500/SOM28D	GMC Duramax 6.6L		2585 transferred from Creston Valley in 2020.
3017-3019	2015	International/ElDorado	3200/Aero Elite	Navistar MaxxForce 7	Allison 2100 PTS
3025-3026	2018	International/ElDorado	3200/Aero Elite	Navistar MaxxForce 7	Allison 2100 PTS

Trail and Castlegar

Conventional

Operates all trips on routes 31-38, 41-48, and 98.

Fleet number(s)	Year	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission
3014	2013	Grande West	Vicinity 27.5'	Cummins ISB6.7	ZF 6AP1002B
4039-4040	2017	Grande West	Vicinity 30'	Cummins B6.7	Voith D864.6
4415-4420	2017	Grande West	Vicinity 35'	Cummins B6.7	Voith D864.6
4451-4455	2018	Grande West	Vicinity 35'	Cummins B6.7	Voith D864.6

HandyDART

Fleet number(s)	Thumbnail	Year	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission	Notes
2569-2570		2015	Chevrolet/ARBOC	4500/SOM28D	GMC Duramax 6.6L		Allocated to Castlegar.
2791-2792		2021	Ford Girardin	T-350 Micro Bird MB-II	Ford 3.7L gasoline		Allocated to Trail.