West Kootenay Transit System
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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 and HandiDART services in Nelson as well as rural services serving Slocan Valley, Nakusp, and Kaslo are operated by the City of Nelson. Services in Trail and Castlegar are operated by PWTransit. Planning and administration support is provided by BC Transit.
History
Nelson
- 1899 City of Nelson streetcar service commences. From 1913 until conversion to bus service owned and operated by the City of Nelson.
- 1951 City of Nelson bus service commences.
- 1975 Fire destroys transit garage and much of the fleet; System begins to receive funding and operations support from the BC Bureau of Transit Services, predecessor to BC Transit.
- 1982 Door to Door accessible service introduced through the Nelson Paratransit System. First contracted operator was Nelson and District Home Support Services Society.
Trail
- 1950s Interior Stages Ltd. operates local transit service and regional interconnecting lines. Service suspended by 1956.
- 1977 Trail Regional Transit System begins operations in partnership with Bureau of Transit Services (predecessor to BC Transit). System Contractor was Trail Transit Services Ltd.
- late 1990s System amalgamated with Castlegar to form Kootenay Boundary Regional System.
Castlegar
- 1986 System begins as Castlegar Regional Paratransit System, operating limited fixed route service. contracted operator was Trail Transit Services Ltd.
Kaslo-Nakusp and Slocan Valley
- 1982 Kaslo Paratransit System begins operation.
- 1989 Nakusp Paratransit System begins operation.
- 1992 Nelson - Playmor Junction Paratransit system begins operation
===ALL FIVE REGIONAL SYSTEMS WERE MERGED INTO THE NEWLY FORMED WEST KOOTENAY TRANSIT SYSTEM ON JULY 1, 2013.===[1]
- West Kootenay Transit System was formed on July 1, 2013 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.
As of April 1 2024 the City of Nelson was awarded the operations contract for local handiDART and rural services formerly operated by Arrow and Slocan Lakes Community Services. PWTransit took over all operations in the Trail and Castlegar regions.
Facilities
Garage/HQ
Address: 80 Lakeside Dr, Nelson, BC. The Garage operates City of Nelson, Slocan Valley, Nakusp, and Kaslo buses and handiDART vehicles.
Address: 8170 Old Waneta Rd, Trail, BC. Operates Trail routes and HandyDart for Trail and Castlegar, as well as Boundary Transit system (Grand Forks and Area).
Routes
- Nelson and Area:
- Slocan and Area:
- 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) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9338, 9348-9349 9353, 9373, 9380 |
|
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) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2324 | 2012 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L |
| ||
| 2468 | 
|
2014 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L | ||
| 2565, 2585 | 
|
2015 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOM28D |
GMC Duramax 6.6L |
| |
| 2723 | 
|
2020 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOF 27 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L |
| |
| 2860 | 2022 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOF 27 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L | |||
| 2861-2863, 2874 | 2023 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOF 27 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L | |||
| 2907, 2913, 2959 | 2024 | Chevrolet ARBOC |
4500 SOF 27 |
GMC Vortec 6.0L | |||
| 3025-3026 | 
|
2018 | International ElDorado |
3200 Aero Elite |
Navistar MaxxForce 7 | Allison 2100 PTS | |
| 3032-3034 | 2022 | International ElDorado |
3200 Advantage |
Cummins B6.7 | Allison 2100 PTS |
Trail and Castlegar
Conventional
- Operates all trips on routes 31-38, 41-48, and 98.
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 4461-4463 |
|
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 |
| |
| 2791-2792 | 2021 | Ford Girardin |
T-350 Micro Bird MB-II |
Ford 3.7L gasoline |
|
Transferred/retired roster
Nelson Conventional
Kootenay Lake West Community Bus/HandyDART
Trail and Castlegar
Conventional
HandyDART
| Fleet number(s) | Thumbnail | Year | Manufacturer | Model | Engine | Transmission | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C055 | 1990 | Ford Weco |
E-350 Weco |
||||
| C105 | 1991 | Ford Procomm |
E-350 Procomm |
||||
| C404-C405 | 1997 | Ford Corbeil |
E-450 Corbeil |
||||
| C465-C466 | 2003 | Ford Corbeil |
E-450 Corbeil |
||||
| C550, C569 | 1996 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar II |
||||
| C598 | 1998 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar II |
||||
| C923 | 1999 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar II |
||||
| 2178-2179 2222 |
2009 | Ford CBB |
E-450 Polar V |
||||
| 2340-2341 | 2012 | Mercedes-Benz | Sprinter MiniBus | ||||
| 6865 | 1986 | Ford Weco |
E-350 Weco |
| |||
| 6865 | 1987 | Ford Champion |
E-350 Champion |
|
References
